Instant Pot Bean Soup (Only 5 Ingredients)

This budget-friendly, healthy Instant Pot bean soup has only 5 key ingredients and is great to whip up for the whole family. Dried beans are pressure cooked, then added to make the soup with the additions of smokey bacon, onions, carrots and ready-made tomato sauce, all of which add plenty of flavor. You can use pre-cooked, canned beans for a super speedy version of this soup. 

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• Try this delicious Instant Pot bean soup for lunch or dinner. It’s healthy, full of fiber and gluten-free.
• Using just 5 ingredients (we don’t count salt/pepper/oil/stock) makes this soup recipe very affordable. You can use any dried beans you like; we opted for Great Northern white beans. We also provide instructions for using canned beans.
• Bacon, onions, carrots and tomato sauce provide a lot of flavor without having to use too many extra seasonings or ingredients.
• You can swap out the bacon for mushrooms to make a vegetarian version.
• Super easy to make and great for batch cooking and meal prepping. You can store it in individual portions in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze it for later.
• This is a great dish when you’re travelling with your Instant Pot and want to make a hearty dinner without having to buy too many ingredients. 

This is a super simple bean soup recipe that uses accessible ingredients and isn’t complicated with too many steps. Let’s go through the key ingredients you’ll need to make this soup in the Instant Pot.  Please note, that we don’t count pantry staples like salt, pepper, stock or oil as key ingredients.

Beans: This recipe uses smaller white dried beans such as Great Northern beans. You can use any type of beans here. Tip: If you’re using black beans, you could add some Taco seasoning mix to turn it into a Tex Mex inspired soup. Skip the first stage of the recipe is using canned white beans and

Bacon: This is a very important ingredient as it will add a lot of flavor and saltiness to the soup. Smokey bacon is best and we recommend using Canadian back bacon as it’s meatier and lower in fat but regular streaky kind is totally fine.

Tomato sauce: Another hack to using fewer ingredients without compromising on the flavor is getting a pre-made tomato pasta sauce that has tasty ingredients in it. We used chunky vegetable tomato sauce, which is already seasoned and has the benefits of extra veg. You can use simple Marinara or Napoletana tomato sauce, whatever you can get. If you’re using unseasoned, plain tomato sauce, make sure to season with extra salt and pepper, and some dried herbs or garlic powder if you have some.

Other veggies: onions and carrots, both add a lovely sweetness to the soup; if you have celery, throw it in too for that classic soup trifecta.

Liquid: vegetable or chicken stock from stock cubes adds a lot of flavor but you can also use water and season with salt and pepper as needed.

You will find the full recipe with ingredients and nutritional breakdown in the recipe card below. Here are some handy step-by-step photos of how to cook this bean soup in the Instant Pot. You can use a 6-quart or 8-quart Instant Pot. This recipe uses dried beans but you can skip the first stage with canned beans.

COOKING DRIED WHITE BEANS

Step 1. Measure out about 1.5 cups of dried white beans.

Step 2. Add unsoaked beans to the Instant Pot together with 5 cups of water. We’re not adding salt at this stage as it tends to make the beans tougher. They will take on the flavor in the soup.

Step 3. Select Bean/Chili button on Normal mode (30 minutes, HIGH) or use the manual Pressure Cook button and adjust the time to 30 minutes on HIGH. The Instant Pot will take 15 minutes to come to pressure due to the amount of liquid. Once the timer has finished, release the pressure naturally for 15 minutes.

Step 4. Then strain the beans and rinse. They are now ready for adding to our soup!

COOKING THE SOUP

Step 1. Rinse and wipe the pot clean. Place back in the Instant Pot and turn the Saute function on. Once hot, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, onions and bacon and cook for 5 minutes, stirring a few times. Then press Cancel to stop the Saute process.

Step 2. Add the pre-cooked or canned beans, chopped carrots, and tomato sauce. Stir through. Note: If using canned beans, you will need about 4-4.5 cups or 2 cans (drained).

Step 3. Secure and lock the lid. Select Pressure Cook and adjust the time to 3 minutes on HIGH. Once the timer has finished, allow 5 minutes for natural release and then use the quick release to let off the pressure.

Step 4. Open the lid and stir the soup. Taste for salt and add black pepper or a pinch of chili flakes for an extra kick. Serve as is or garnish with basil or parsley if you have some on hand.

• Divide the soup into containers (individual portions are very handy) and let it cool down. Store airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days and reheat until very hot. 
• Follow the above instructions for the freezer. Label the containers and store them once cooled down completely. Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight, in a microwave or directly in the pot over low-medium heat. 

MORE 5-INGREDIENT INSTANT POT RECIPES

• 5-Ingredient Coconut Chicken Curry
• Pumpkin Pasta Bake (Only 5-Ingredients!)
• 5-Ingredient Creamy Sausage Pasta
• Easy Instant Pot Chicken Tacos (5-Ingredients)
• Want more soups? 35+ Best Instant Pot Soup Recipes

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