Zippy's Chili Copycat Recipe (Pressure Cooker or Stovetop)
Recreate Zippy's chili at home with this copycat recipe. Portuguese sausage makes this chili a classic Hawaii local dish. Use Instant Pot, slow cooker, or stovetop, and serve over rice!
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 5 oz Portuguese sausage mild
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 4 medium stalks celery chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp worchestire sauce
- 6 tbsp tomato paste about 4 oz
- 1 can pinto beans drained
- 1 can kidney beans drained
- 1 14 oz can chicken broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 cups short grain white rice (optional)
Instructions
- Pulse the Portuguese sausage in a food processor until it matches the consistency of ground meat. (The onion, celery, and bell pepper can also be chopped in the food processor if you wish).
- Put the Instant Pot on saute and cook the onion, celery, and bell pepper in a little bit of vegetable oil until soft.
- Add ground beef and Portuguese sausage and cook until just browned.
- Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, and garlic. Saute until fragrant.
- Turn off the saute function. Add tomato paste, chicken broth, drained beans, worchestire sauce, and bay leaves. Give a little stir.
- Close the Instant Pot, set vent to sealed, and push the chili setting, or cook at high pressure for 30 minutes according to your pressure cooker's settings. Meanwhile, cook white rice if using.
- When Instant Pot is done cooking, release the pressure. Fish out the bay leaves.
- Add 3 tbsp mayonnaise and stir to mix. Taste the chili and add salt as needed.
- Serve over white rice if desired.
Notes
If using a slow cooker, you can saute your veggies and meat first in a skillet and transfer to the slow cooker. Or you can just dump it all in there, if you're feeling lazy. Cook on high for 4-6 hours. You may need to add extra liquid.
If cooking on stovetop, follow the same instructions but in a deep dutch oven or pot. Simmer for at least 20 minutes. The longer you simmer, the better the flavor.
My initial recipe used only one cup chicken broth for the Instant Pot. I upped the amount to one 14 oz can (approx 1 1/2 cups) for a less thick chili, but it's up to your tastes.
My husband prefers that I use only one can of beans for this recipe. He does not love beans. I do. You be the judge.
My original recipe used one whole 6 oz. can of tomato paste. I recently tried using less, as I had a smaller amount of tomato paste leftover, and I ended up liking it better, so I updated the recipe, but feel free to use the original 6 oz.
Did you know chili powder in the US is actually a blend of a few different spices? That means depending on the brand you buy it may be more or less spicy or have some different flavors. I have used anywhere from 2-3 tablespoons for this recipe. You may want to start with 2 and then taste and add more at the end.