Instant Pot Black Bean Soup
The ease and deliciousness of this instant pot black bean soup recipe will have you tossing out your stockpots and lovingly embracing your pressure cookers. But that’s a little extreme because although you may not make black bean soup in them again, they’re good for other things, like boiling pasta.
Soup is a great comfort to me. And although I eat it year round, I find it tastes wonderful, it’s warming and like being wrapped in a fluffy comfy blanket. This is one of my favorite soups and I eat it whenever I’m feeling like I need a little extra loving.
💭 Helpful tips
- Always wash and pick over dried beans. Sometimes there can be rocks hiding in there.
- No need to soak the beans.
- Although I urge you to make the recipe with dried black beans for a more robust soup, you could substitute three cans of black beans instead and set the cooking time to 10 minutes.
- To make this recipe vegetarian, either use vegetable broth or water.
- If you’re not vegetarian, you can either use beef or chicken broth.
- Here is how to do a quick release
- Don an oven mitt and carefully turn the knob to the venting position. It will take up to 5 minutes for the pressure to release and the pressure knob to drop. Now it is ready to open the lid of the instant pot.
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🥘 Ingredients and substitutions
- Black beans – dried, organic.
- Onion – I use a Vidalia onion because it is a little sweeter but you can also use a yellow onion.
- Carrots – organic and washed.
- Celery – organic and washed.
- Red bell pepper – organic, medium and washed.
- Diced tomato – canned.
- Chicken broth – organic. I love the Trader Joe’s brand. It’s affordable and delicious. You can also use homemade chicken stock.
- Garlic paste – you can find this in the produce section near the fresh herbs. If you can find it, you can substitute minced garlic cloves.
- Cumin – ground and organic.
- Oregano – ground and organic. You can substitute it with basil if you prefer.
- Chipotle powder – organic. Sprinkle as much as you want. I can only use a little since my hubby can’t take the heat.
- Bay leaf – organic.
- Salt – to flavor the soup.
Alternate garnishes
- Sour cream
- Cilantro
- Pico de gallo
- Sliced avocado
- Lime – squeeze some lime juice on top and stir
- Mexican cheese
🔪 How to make instant pot black bean soup
Pre-step
Take out an instant pot or pressure cooker. Wash and pick over the black beans.
Step one
Gather the ingredients – black beans, onions, red bell pepper, carrots, celery, diced tomatoes, chicken broth and garlic paste.
Step two
Chop the onion, pepper, carrots and celery in chunks. Gather the herbs and spices – oregano, cumin, bay leaf and salt. (A)
Step three
Place beans, veggies, chicken broth, diced tomatoes and herbs and spices in the instant pot insert. (B)
Step four
Seal the instant pot, make sure the venting knob is in the sealed position. Press the soup function button and set the timer for 40 minutes. Make sure the mode is on ‘normal’ and at high pressure.
The pressure cooker will take around 15 minutes to come to pressure.
Step five
Either let the instant pot release the pressure naturally which could take up to 25 minutes. Or after 5 – 10 minutes, do a quick release. (See helpful tips on how to do that.)
Transfer the soup into a serving bowl.
Ladle the instant pot black bean soup in some crocks.
If you want, dollop some sour cream on top. Or if you want to, sprinkle on fresh cilantro to give it a little kick.
Yum.
I hope you enjoyed this instant pot black bean soup. It’s so delicious!
Other soup recipes
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Instant Pot Black Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups black beans (dried and washed)
- 1 large onion (chopped)
- 3 large carrots (chopped)
- 1 stalk celery (chopped)
- 1 large red bell pepper (chopped)
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 15 ounces diced tomatoes (small can)
- 1 teaspoon oregano (dried)
- 1 teaspoon cumin (ground)
- 3 tablespoons garlic paste (or 3 cloves, crushed)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder
Instructions
- Place beans, veggies, diced tomatoes, broth, oregano, cumin, salt, bay leaf and garlic paste in the instant pot insert
- Seal the instant pot, make sure the venting knob is set to sealed and press the soup function and set the timer to 45 minutes. Make sure the mode is set to normal and the pressure is set to high. The IP will take around 15 minutes to come to pressure
- When the instant pot beeps that it is done, either let it release the pressure naturally (around 25 minutes) or do a quick release. (See notes for how to do it)
- Transfer the soup to a serving bowl
- Ladle into crocks
- Eat
- Smile
- Enjoy
Equipment
Notes
- Always wash and pick over dried beans. Sometimes there can be rocks hiding in there.
- No need to soak the beans.
- Although I urge you to make the recipe with dried black beans for a more robust soup, you could substitute three cans of black beans instead and set the cooking time to 10 minutes.
- To make this recipe vegetarian, either use vegetable broth or water.
- If you’re not vegetarian, you can either use beef or chicken broth.
- Here is how to do a quick release
- Don an oven mitt and carefully turn the knob to the venting position. It will take up to 5 minutes for the pressure to release and the pressure knob to drop. Now it is ready to open the lid of the instant pot.