This Instant Pot Bean Soup is the perfect meal when there’s a chill in the air. Make a big batch of this hearty soup and freeze any extra portions for on hand lunches!
What’s better than bundling up in a soft blanket in front of your fireplace? Add a big bowl of bean soup with a crusty piece of bread and it’s a win for me.
Soup warms you up from the inside out and beans are a stick-to-your-ribs kind of food. All of that adds up to the perfect cold weather meal. Best of all is that the butternut squash and aromatic veggies and herbs add up to great flavor too.
Where Can I Buy Bean Soup Mix?
I live in the south so we have Hurst brand and in most Hispanic markets you can find Goya brand, but there are many others.
The number of beans refers to the varieties and it’s ok if you have 6 beans or 18 beans or anything in between. If it has a flavor packet, just discard it. Usually they are full of things you don’t want to eat and are not vegan or vegetarian.
My Bouillon Cubes Have Salt, When Should I Add Them?
Great question! Salt slows the cooking of beans so we don’t want to add any in until after the beans are soft. So if you have salted bouillon add it before serving.
You could also add no salt broth in place of the water if you’d rather use it instead of bouillon.
What Is Nutritional Yeast?
Nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast that tastes delicious. Vegans use it to add a cheesy flavor to foods and everyone can enjoy it’s burst of umami flavor in stews and soups like this one.
It is not the same thing as brewer’s yeast which tastes awful or the active yeast that you use to make bread. So don’t use them to substitute if you don’t have nutritional yeast. It’s better to just leave it out if you don’t have any.
You can buy nutritional yeast at most groceries now in either the healthier food section or the spice section. However, it’s often more expensive for small amounts.
I recommend that you order a 1 lb. bag of it on Amazon, or get it from bulk containers at a health food store like Whole Foods, Sprouts, or your local food coop to get the most nooch for your dollar.
How Do You Store Leftover Instant Pot Bean Soup?
This recipe makes a lot of soup and don’t worry if you have a smaller family – it freezes great. I make a batch then freeze in single and double portions. That way I have a future dinner or two waiting.
There is a great soup freezer tray that I love that gives you the perfect single serving blocks.
Another way to win with this is to freeze in lunch portions. Then just grab from the freezer to heat up later in the day.
Instant Pot Bean Soup Recipe
This soup is just what you crave when the cool weather creeps in. This recipe makes a big pot of bean soup, so please use a 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot or cut the recipe in half to make in a 3 quart electric pressure cooker.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Soaking Time: 8 hours
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 8 hours 50 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 (1 lb.) bag 15 or 16 bean soup mix, about 2 cups
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 cups minced onions
- 1 Tbsp. minced garlic
- 2 no salt vegetable bouillon cubes
- 7 cups water
- 2 cups diced butternut squash
- 1 cup minced celery
- 5 bay leaves
- 1 Tbsp. dried thyme
- 1 Tbsp. dried marjoram
- 1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
- 1 Tbsp. paprika
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast, optional
- 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place the dry beans in a large bowl that’s at least twice the size of the dried beans, and fill about 3/4 full with water. Let the beans soak for at least 8 hours. Or you can quick-soak the beans if you want to make this recipe now.
- Heat the olive oil on high sauté until warm, then add the onions and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté a minute or two more. Turn the Instant Pot off.
- If you are using no salt bouillon add now, but if it has salt in it add with the balsamic before serving instead!
- Add the water, beans, butternut squash, celery, bay leaves, thyme, marjoram, smoked paprika, and paprika. Stir well.
- Cook on high pressure for 16 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for at least 15 minutes, also known as do nothing, then you can finish releasing the pressure manually until the pin drops and you can open the lid of your Instant Pot.
- Stir in the nutritional yeast if using, as well as the balsamic vinegar, kosher salt, and black pepper, then serve.
- This will keep in a cold fridge for about 1 week, and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
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Can I sub broth for the bouillon and water? I don’t have any vegetable bouillon on hand.
Yes, but you’ll want it to be no-sodium broth so it doesn’t slow down the cooking of the beans. Enjoy, Marcy!