I know a lot of you have brand new Instant Pots, but have no idea how to use them. So in this recipe I want to show how easy it is to make something incredibly delicious and healthy in your Instant Pot, like these Instant Pot Soup Beans.
So what are soup beans?
Soup beans are simply Pinto Beans that have been slow-cooked in a pot all day. Every single time my mom and I would visit her relatives in Kentucky, there was ALWAYS a big pot of these on the stove with a pan of cornbread somewhere close by.
Soup beans and cornbread were staples in my mom's family so it was something I learned to love early on. I mean dried beans are CHEAP, so what better way to feed a gang of kids (and my mom came from a VERY large family) than with a pot of beans, some homemade cornbread, and a big mess of greens?
My mom used to crumble her cornbread into a big glass of buttermilk and eat it with a spoon too..... I never went THAT far, but I did love my soup beans so I posted my original stove-top recipe back in April of 2014, right after I started this blog.
You can find that recipe for Vegan Soup Beans here.
And since then, many of you have asked for an Instant Pot Version. And with the recent questions about how to USE an instant pot in my BNV Community Facebook Group, I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone.
Now I will say that even though this is an Instant Pot recipe, it's not necessarily a FAST recipe, as I did soak my beans first. Also, you want to give the Instant Pot plenty of time to cook the beans and to vent naturally, so this will take some time.
But, the nice thing about using your Instant Pot is you can pretty much set it and forget it and let the appliance do all the work for you.
A few simple ingredients and seasonings and about an hour later you have some of the best beans you have ever tasted that literally melt in your mouth.
I hope you enjoy them as much as I do so let's get to it.
Instant Pot Soup Beans
Start by picking over 2 cups of dried pinto beans. We're just looking for any deformed beans or the occasional rock or twig that makes it way into the beans during processing.
Now, to soak? Or not to soak?
I was always taught by my mom and grandma to soak your beans first. They say it helps with that unpleasant "after-effect" of eating a lot of beans. Namely gas. But now there are just as many articles saying it's not necessary anymore so I will leave it up to you.
I did NOT soak mine overnight, but rather I covered mine with about 2" of water, first thing in the morning, and then drained and rinsed them very well before I started cooking. So mine soaked 3-4 hrs total.
Again, totally up to you.
Then we place our well-rinsed beans into our instant pot along with a diced onion, several cloves of minced garlic, and a few simple seasonings (all listed in the recipe box below), and cover with ½ cup of water and 32oz of low sodium Veg Broth. (I used a 1 qt box of Pacific Veg Broth)
Stir well and DO NOT ADD ANY SALT. We will add salt AFTER they are cooked.
Attach the lid to your Instant Pot and make sure the vent dial is turned to SEALING.
I have a 6qt IP Duo so mine has a MANUAL setting. The newer models have a different setting so in that case, you'll want the PRESSURE COOK button instead.
Set the timer to 30 minutes by using the + and - buttons, and walk away. That's all there is to it.
When it is done you will hear a beep, and the display will switch to KEEP WARM/CANCEL and will show you how many minutes have passed since it completed. You should also notice the little silver button next to the vent dial on top is still in the raised position, meaning your Instant Pot is still pressurized.
The 'L' on the display stands for Lapsed (time
If that silver peg is still in the UP position, do NOT try and remove the lid yet. You can instead take a wooden spoon handle and gently pry up on the vent dial to release any remaining pressure (but after 30 min there shouldn't be much if any).
Now you can stir your beans, check for doneness, and add a little salt to taste. Serve with your favorite garnishes like diced onion, green onions, and maybe a little cilantro or hot sauce if you are into that sort of thing.
And don't forget the cornbread!!! Which is a
Oh and you can find the Instant Pot I use in my Cooking Gadget Kit. This is an affiliate link so I will get a small kickback if you purchase one but at no extra cost to you.
Instant Pot Soup Beans
- Prep Time: 120 min
- Cook Time: 60 min
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
- Category: Beans
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American, Vegan
Description
This week I wanted to show all the new IP owners how easy it is to make something incredibly delicious and healthy, like these Instant Pot Soup Beans.
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried Pinto Beans
- 4 cups low sodium Vegetable Broth
- ½ cup water
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¾ tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Sort beans and remove any debris
- Cover beans with 1-2" of water and allow to soak at least 2 hrs
- Drain and rinse beans thoroughly and add to the instant pot
- Add onions, garlic, water, broth, and all the seasoning EXCEPT the salt and stir to combine
- Attach lid, set vent to SEALING, and cook on MANUAL for 30 minutes
- Allow to naturally vent for another 30 minutes before carefully removing lid
- Season with salt and garnish as desired
- Garnish suggestions: diced onion, green onions, jalapenos, cilantro, or hot sauce
- Oh, and don't forget the cornbread 😉
Notes
Marilee McMinn
My instapot is only 1.5 quarts. Would I cut the recipe by 4ths? Love me some soup beans
Elise
Making these in my crockpot now since I don’t have an IP and they smell so good! So excited to find a veg recipe for soup beans! I also added a chopped bell pepper since it needed to be used. Serving with some warm cornbread tonight. Can’t wait!
Ken
Another good BNV recipe. These pintos are really tasty and soft. Works for me! Thanks.
Shannon
These are so good!! I didn't even have vegetable broth and it STILL is delicious!! I made some cornbread muffins to go with it. I will be making this weekly from now on! Thanks for a great recipe for pinto beans!
Scott
Can I sub navy beans for the pinto beans?
Chuck Underwood
You can, sure.
Sarah
Absolutely outstanding beans!! I’ve used different varieties of beans for this and it is always a winner and now always have some tucked away in the freezer too!
Dana
I grew up eating this and knew your recipe would be good when you shared the story of your mom eating cornbread with buttermilk. My grandfather used to do the exact same thing. This is such a nostalgic and cozy meal for me.
Terri Doyle
Wonderful!!! I have been making beans in the instant pot for a while, but I wanted to try these. I added half a bag of frozen collard greens and we had these beans over brown rice with your cornbread. The cornbread is so good. This is the first vegan cornbread I have made that held together and didn't crumble. Delicious! Thank you for the great recipes.
Patricia A. Hansen
I made a pot of these beans today, and they are so good! I hadn't cooked dried beans in my Instant Pot before, so that was fun. The beans are perfectly cooked and very flavorful. I think I put in too much liquid, so they are very soupy, but the liquid is good, too. I'll definitely be making this recipe again.
Terri
I am not a big fan of beans but these are my game changer! Today is my third time making them in a month!
Shawna Sealander
Best soup beans EVER!!!
Debbie Miranda
I grew up a . Kentucky farm kid and soup beans with cornbread was staple. I was skeptical of the instapot recipe since it has been cemented in my brain that you HAVE to soak all night and cook them ALL day the next day for dinner. (And had to have a chunk of ham hock or some sort of meat) WOW! I am IMPRESSED! Made them today and I will never go back to the old way! Well done !
Douglas R Mosier
I only had 1 cup of pintos left, so I used a cup of Great Northerns with them. So, good! I don't know if it was the broth or the cumin but it was so much better than the "regular" bean soup I've always eaten. The sliced green onion and cilantro garnish put it over the top! I think I have a new go-to recipe.
Jill
Very tasty, made it on the stove top and added some kale and cooked rice ?
Pamela Thomas
I made this recipe for soup beans today! Soaked the beans 2 hours. Very good!. I decided to cook them a bit longer though they were certainly edible after 30 minutes in the IP and NPR.
Our go to daily recipe is extremely simple: 1/2 c. black beans, 1/2 c. kidney beans, 1 cup pinto beans, 1/2 t. black pepper, 4 c. water. IP 2-4 hours and add 1 t. salt at the end..We like our beans cooked longer, and some of these beans do take longer - even after 4 hours they are NOT mujshy. No soaking, no other spices. Just outstanding. If you like soup, add another 1/2 cup water. This is handy because you can put on beans in just a couple of minutes and have a delicious base for supper before you walk out the door for the day!
Jackie
Hi!! Awesome soup recipes!!
However now you’re Vegan... you can’t kill birds with stones!!
CA
You mentioned that current articles are mentioning no need to soak beans. Have you had any more information on that? The last article I read mentioned you do not have to soak beans cooked in an instapot if you did not use the bean juice (where the gas causing perpetrators are deposited during cooking). The juice in the afore stated cooking method is usable but can cause gas. If you wish to use the bean juice and not jave gassy effects, you should still soak the beans. If there is new information, I would love to have it as having to soak beans is a step I would love to cut.
A Troupe
I'll be using our IP for the first time today. A good friend who cooks beans frequently told me he uses the IP for the soak: 4min then allow to decompress, rinse then cook w/fresh water/broth for 25-30 min. Be sure to use plenty of water for the soak process: 2 cups beans/6-8 cups water. I'll use 8. I'm guessing this process adds about 30-45 min. to the total time which is certainly quicker than a 3-4 hr or overnight soak.
After witing the fist paragraph I went through the soak (4 min.), drained the beans, replaced in pot, added turkey broth & meat (frozen leftovers), added chopped onion & garlic, used beans setting for 30min, and 'voila'! Will add seasoning as needed. We've got soup for the week.,
Mary Carmichael
I love this recipe...I made it on the stove. I would love to make it in the pressure cooker. I don't have the instant pot. I have a cuisinart electric pressure cooker. My question is manual for 30 minutes the same as high for 30 minutes? I don't have a manual setting. Thanks
Tonya
The instant pot is just an electronic pressure cooker, so the the timing should be the same.