Ground Beef Chili with Olives (Instant Pot or Stovetop)

Ground Beef Chili with Olives is a delicious no-bean low-carb chili recipe that’s easy to make in the Instant Pot or on the stove! And even kids who like olives will probably like this ground beef chili recipe that’s not too spicy.

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This Ground Beef Chili with Olives is a favorite chili recipe that I find myself making over and over. And right now the weather is extra cold in many parts of the U.S., and that’s the perfect time to make chili! Everyone who loves olives (like me!) will love this low-carb beef chili with olives!

This is also a pretty mild chili, so kids or people who don’t like spicy chili will enjoy this recipe. And if you’re not an Instant Pot user, I’ll give you directions for making ground beef chili on the stove as well.

This recipe has ground beef, onions, red bell peppers, garlic, cumin, chili powder, dried cilantro (or not), canned green chiles, beef stock, crushed tomatoes, and black olives! All those flavorful ingredients cook in the Instant Pot or simmer on the stove. Then when the chili is done I add lime juice and serve with plenty of grated cheese and sour cream cream. Don’t you think that sounds like a perfect dinner when the weather is cold?

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is ONLY a list of ingredients for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)

• ground beef
• Olive Oil (affiliate link)
• onion
• red bell peppers
• crushed or minced garlic (affiliate link)
• ground cumin (affiliate link)
• Chili Powder (affiliate link)
• dried cilantro (affiliate link), optional, but good if you like cilantro
• canned black olives
• canned diced green chiles (affiliate link)
• beef broth or homemade beef stock
• canned crushed tomatoes
• fresh-squeezed lime juice, I used my fresh-frozen lime juice
• salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste

What size Instant Pot did I use for ground beef chili?

I use a 6 Quart Instant Pot for all my Instant Pot Recipes, including this one. Check out all my Instant Pot Recipes!

Is this Ground Beef Chili really low in carbs?

This tasty no-bean chili for olive lovers only has about 9 net carbs per serving and 33 grams of protein!

Can you make ground beef chili without an Instant Pot?

If you don’t have an Instant Pot or just like to make chili on the stove, check after the instructions in the complete recipe for the stovetop instructions!

How to make Ground Beef Chili with Olives (Instant Pot or Stovetop):

(This is ONLY a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. These are Instant Pot instructions. Check after the instructions in the complete recipe if you want to make ground beef chili on the stove.
2. I know some people want to cook everything in the Instant Pot (affiliate link), but if I’m going to saute a few ingredients I like to use a pan and add each one to the Instant Pot as it’s done. Your choice on that!
3. Heat the olive oil and cook the beef until it’s nicely browned, then add to the Instant Pot.
4. While the beef cooks, chop the onion and red bell peppers.
5. Add a tiny bit more oil if needed and cook those just a few minutes to start to release flavor; then add the crushed garlic, ground cumin, chili powder, and dried cilantro (optional) and cook a few minutes. Add to the Instant Pot.
6. Drain olives and cut in half. Then add olives, one can diced green chiles, one can beef stock, and 2 cans crushed tomatoes to the Instant Pot.
7. Lock lid, set to HIGH PRESSURE, and cook 15 minutes. Use the QUICK RELEASE to release the pressure.
8. Check to see if you feel the chili should be a bit thicker, and cook for a few minutes using SAUTE, MEDIUM HEAT if you prefer a thicker chili.
9. Stir in the lime juice and season to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper.
10. Serve Instant Pot Ground Beef Chili hot, with plenty of grated cheese and sour cream to add at the table if desired.

Make it a Low-Carb Meal:

Chili can definitely be a one-dish meal of course. But if you want something to serve on the side, Ground Beef Chili with Olives would be delicious with Savory Almond Flour Bread, or serve with Olive Bread for a double dose of olives!

Want more low-carb chili recipes?

Check out my collection of Amazing Low-Carb and Keto Chili Recipes for lots more delicious chili from Kalyn’s Kitchen and around the web!

Weekend Food Prep:

This recipe for Ground Beef Chili has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

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Yield: 8 servings

Ground Beef Chili with Olives (Instant Pot or Stovetop)

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Additional Time 15 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Ground Beef Chili with Olives is a perfect no-bean low-carb chili recipe recipe for anyone who loves olives! And you can make this in the Instant Pot or on the stove!

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 4 tsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 red bell peppers, stem and seeds removed and chopped
• 1 T crushed garlic
• 1 T ground cumin
• 1 T chili powder (see notes)
• 2 tsp. dried cilantro (optional, but good if you like cilantro)
• 2 cans black olives (6 oz. cans)
• 1 4 oz. can diced green chiles (see notes)
• 1 14 oz. can beef broth
• 2 14.5 oz. cans crushed tomatoes
• 2 T lime juice (see notes)
• salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat 2 tsp. olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook until the beef is cooked through and nicely browned. Add cooked beef to the Instant Pot (affiliate link). (You can also cook the beef right in the Instant Pot and then remove it to saute the onions and spices if you prefer.)
2. While beef cooks, peel the onion and chop into pieces about 1/2 inch square. Cut out stem and remove seeds from the red bell pepper and chop peppers into pieces the same size as the onions.
3. Heat the other 2 tsp. oil in the frying pan (or in the Instant Pot) and saute the onions and peppers until they're barely starting to soften. Then add the crushed garlic, ground cumin (affiliate link), chili powder, and dried cilantro and cook about 2 minutes more. Add onions, peppers, and spices to the Instant Pot.
4. While you cook the onions and peppers, drain olives and cut each one in half.
5. Deglaze the frying pan with the can of beef stock and add to Instant Pot with the diced green chiles and juice, crushed tomatoes, and olives. (If you cooked the beef in the Instant pot and then removed to cook the onions, peppers, and spices, put the beef back on.)
6. Lock the lid and set the Instant Pot to HIGH PRESSURE and cook 15 minutes.
7. Use QUICK RELEASE to release the pressure.
8. Check to see if you'd like the chili to be a bit thicker, and if so use SAUTE, medium heat and cook until some water has evaporated and chili is as thick as you prefer.
9. Stir in the lime juice and season to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper.
10. Serve the Instant Pot Chili hot, with sour cream and grated cheese to add at the table.

Stovetop Cooking

1. Brown the ground beef as described above and put it in a heavy soup pot.
2. Cook the onions, peppers, and spices as described above and add to soup with all the same ingredients as above but use two 14 oz. cans of beef stock for stovetop cooking.
3. Simmer the chili on low heat for about 45 minutes, or until it has cooked and thickened to your liking.
4. Turn off heat, stir in the lime juice, season with salt and fresh ground black pepper and serve the Ground Beef Chili hot.

Notes

I like ground Ancho chile (affiliate link) for this, but use your favorite chili powder or ground chile.

Use Anaheim chiles for the diced green chiles (affiliate link) and not jalapenos unless you really want it spicy.

I used my fresh-frozen lime juice for this recipe.

This recipe created by Kalyn and tested with Jake and Kara.

Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 381Total Fat 23gSaturated Fat 8gUnsaturated Fat 12gCholesterol 101mgSodium 509mgCarbohydrates 11gFiber 2gSugar 5gProtein 33g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This Ground Beef Chili is a perfect main dish for any low-carb eating plan, or even Keto since this can be a one-dish meal. It can also be good for any phase of the original South Beach Diet. South Beach would recommend lean ground beef and low-fat dairy products, but low-carb plans would probably prefer full-fat ingredients.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Soup or Stew Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe
This Ground Beef Chili recipe was first posted in 2018. It was last updated with more information in 2025.

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