Hearty Instant Pot Bean Soup with Ham - and lots of flavourful veggies - hits the spot when you're craving comfort for your belly. Make up a big potful in the Instant Pot and go put your feet up while it cooks. Then call the gang and watch them come running. It tastes even better the next day, so hide some of the leftovers for your lunch! (Recipe here.)
Well, friends, I am converted. I think the Instant Pot might become my new love . . . and we've just barely met. We're only in the dating stage - you know, where you're still just learning about each other, getting to know each other's little fibbles and foibles, but smitten nonetheless. I'm starting to look ahead to the future and all the wonderful foodie dates we might go on. I can see us gazing adoringly at each other over a lovingly simmered spaghetti sauce, maybe holding hands as we power-blast a pot of stew or a deliciously savoury batch of pulled pork. I can imagine us giggling together as we speed-date our way through chilies, soups, and baked beans. My heart goes pitter patter at the thought of tender moments with roast beef, baked potatoes, and boiled beets. Yup, our future looks rosy.
My new love really impressed me this week when he offered up this stunningly aromatic, bubbling, brothy, steaming pot of hearty Instant Pot Bean Soup with Ham. I couldn't have drooled more if he'd brought me a dozen long-stemmed roses. For a metal-head, he sure knows how to impress a girl.
I think I'll keep him around.
So, while the wintry world outside looks like this:
Mr. Instant Pot and I will be cozying up inside and making a pot of bean soup together .(It'll be a while before we're able to sit outside in our chairs or have any picnics in the sun.)
When my cousin and sweet little daughter came to visit us last summer, they gifted me with an Instant Pot. I was so thrilled with the idea of it, but didn't really get around to experimenting with it until lately (working full time gave me the incentive I needed). After dragging my feet for months, I'm now wondering why I didn't put this handsome fella to use right away. He's every girl's dream of a handy type of kitchen guy!
Let's Get Making Our Instant Pot Bean Soup with Ham
Measure or weigh out the dried lima beans or white beans.
Chop up the ham and veggies.
Brown up the ham in the Instant Pot, then add the diced vegetables.
Pile it all into the Instant Pot (or pressure cooker or slow cooker or stovetop soup pot). Do the cooking thing.
And voilà! Comfort in a bowl.
I've loved having a big batch of this soup to take to work in my thermos every day this week. (You know it's a good thing when you're looking forward to your lunch all morning long!) The aroma when you heat up a bowlful is enough to make you drool, and the taste fulfills all your olfactory buds' expectations. Soft, meltingly tender beans, salty little chunks of ham, and sweet tender veggies - and the magic all happens in the sealed up pot while you go and put your feet up. Thanks, Mr. Instant Pot.
* * * * *
Kitchen Frau Notes: See below for how to cook this soup in the Instant Pot, pressure cooker, slow cooker, or in a regular old soup pot on the stove.
For the chicken stock used in the recipe, you can of course use a delicious batch of your homemade chicken stock, but if you're not so lucky to have it around, a good purchased stock will work well, or even a good bouillon cube or paste.
Instant Pot Bean Soup with Ham
gluten free, dairy free
- 2 tablespoons butter, ghee, or oil
- 1 lb (454gms) diced or shredded ham (about 3 cups, diced) or smoked sausages, halved lengthwise and sliced into half moons
- 1 large fennel bulb (~400 gms/3 cups diced) - or substitute with 2½-3 cups diced celery
- 2 large carrots (2 heaping cups, diced)
- 1 large onion (2 cups, diced)
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb (2½ cups) dried lima beans, navy beans, or small white beans
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon dry thyme
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- 4 cups (960ml) chicken stock (or good bouillon mix)
- 5 cups (1200ml) water
Set the Instant Pot to the Sauté setting. Add the butter or oil to the insert and when it is hot, add the diced ham and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the ham is browned in spots and there is a bit of brown fond stuck to the bottom of the Instant Pot (but don't let it burn). While the ham is sautéing, dice the fennel, onion, carrots, and mince the garlic. Add them to the ham after the 10 minutes is over and sauté for 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally.
Press the Cancel button to stop the sautéing. Pick over the beans to make sure there are no pebbles or gnarly beans in them, then add them to the sautéed ham and vegetables. Add the bay leaves, dry mustard, thyme, pepper, chicken stock, and water to the Instant Pot. Stir. Close the lid of the Instant Pot.
Press the Bean/Chili function and manually add 10 minutes to the time so the total cook time will be 40 minutes on high pressure. When the cook time is done, don't release the steam or open the lid - let the pressure come down naturally for 20 minutes. Then use a wooden spoon handle to turn the vent to Release. Let out any remaining steam, remove the lid, and taste for seasoning. Add more salt if necessary. (It depends on the saltiness or your stock and your ham. I found I didn't need to add any more salt).
Serves 6.
To make Instant Pot Bean Soup in a regular pressure cooker: Sauté the ham and vegetables as above. Then add the rest of the ingredients, seal the pressure cooker (at least a 5 quart/litre size), and bring it to high pressure. Turn the heat to medium to stabilize the pressure. Cook at high pressure for 40 minutes, then allow the pressure to come down naturally for 20 minutes before opening the pot.
To make Instant Pot Bean Soup on the stovetop: Soak the beans in water for 8 hours or overnight. Sauté the ham and vegetables as above, in a big heavy bottomed stock pot or dutch oven. Drain the beans and add them along with the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook until beans are tender 1½ to 2 hours.
To make Instant Pot Bean Soup in the slow cooker: Sauté the ham and vegetables as above, in a big heavy bottomed pot or a skillet. Add the sautéed ham and vegetables to a slow cooker along with the rest of the ingredients and cook on low for 10 to 12 hours.
Guten Appetit!
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Vivian
Margaret! I am SO SO SO glad you have joined the ranks of us "potheads"!! I'm really looking forward to more of your IP creations. I have three of the little devils...two 3 QT and one 6 QT. I'd especially like recipes for the smaller ones. All the available cookbooks seem to be for the larger one. Even knowing what adjustments need to be made when halving a recipe would be helpful. Also, knowing how to change regular pressure cooker recipes to do in the InstantPot. I think the IP doesn't quite get to as hjgh a pressure (15 lb.) as a stovetop model so times have to be adjusted. Any advice you come across would be welcome.
Margaret
It is a pretty exciting innovation in cooking, that is for sure. I have a stovetop pressure cooker that I occasionally use, but haven't played with that enough either. I love the fact that with the Instant Pot you can just time it and leave it. It seems so foolproof. My mom has always used a pressure cooker and sworn by it, but I was always too afraid to play with it much after my aunt exploded one in her kitchen and sent the contents and lid blasting all across her kitchen ceiling. I know the new ones are much safer! My Instant Pot is a 6 quart, so I'm afraid I won't be much help in adapting to a smaller one, but I think I'll be having a lot of fun trying out things with the one I have! (I love your term 'Potheads'! LOL)
Sina
Dear Margaret,
I would love a bowl of this, what a wonderful soup!
And solid writing! I enjoyed the idea of a love story with Mr. instant pot, it made me smile 🙂
Pressure cookers generally confuse me, I'm not very experienced in using them. However, I own an old WMF pressure cooker for use on the stovetop and pull it out for recipes like this. My mom uses her's all the time, but somehow I never got used to it. For most things I just use a regular pot and forget about it.
Vivian
Sina, you won't regret getting an InstantPot! Saves so much time and very safe!
Margaret
Thanks so much, Sina. You are so kind! I agree with you about the pressure cooker - I rarely pull mine out, but somehow this Instant Pot seems more foolproof. I do love the cozy smell of deliciousness that comes from a pot of soup simmering on the stove, too - it just feels like comfort. That's one thing missing with the Instant Pot - you don't get a whiff until you take the lid off, but then it is like a wonderful surprise when the aroma comes wafting out all at once.
Kathy
This sounds delicious and I appreciate that you tell how to make it three ways. I don't have an instant pot - I have no experience with a pressure cooker since my mom never had one and my fella tells stories of his parents blowing the top off their pressure cooker - I have never had the desire to purchase an instant pot. I have a slow cooker and find it a waste of time - perhaps because I'm retired . I much prefer stove top for my soup and likely because it's what I'm familiar with. There is always something comforting about soup simmering on the stove especially on cold winter days. I love your snow photos. ^^
Margaret
Thanks so much, Kathy, for stopping by to comment. I had the same reservations as you about the Instant Pot, and put off getting one for myself. Then when I was gifted with one, and my cousin (and everyone else) kept raving about it, I thought I'd better give it a try and started playing with it. It really is made for scaredy cats like me. I too have heard stories of the old pressure cookers blowing their tops, so had always had a healthy respect for mine, even though it was newer. The Instant Pot is actually a kinda fix-it-and-forget-it kind of appliance. I think I'll have fun with it - but you're right - nothing beats the wonderful aroma of a pot of hearty soup simmering on the stove for hours.
As for our snow - it IS beautiful, but boy, the novelty wears thin after months of it!!!
Kathy
Margaret, I made your soup today - it is totally delicious! It's VERY cold just now in Manitoba so it was the perfect day to try it. I even blogged about it. ^^ I enjoy your blog and recipes.
Margaret
Aww, thank you so much, Kathy. So glad you liked the soup! I'm guessing you have weather a lot like ours - this Canadian prairie weather can get pretty brutal, can't it? We only had -15 degrees Celsius here today, but with the wind chill it felt waaaayyy colder - not quite like the frigid temperatures you mention in your blog post. (Though we get those temperatures here, too.) I checked out your blog, and LOVE your quilting projects - I used to do a lot of hand quilting when our kids were little.
Tammy
What a smile this blog post brought to my face! And yes, I too have been in love with my Instant Pot, for a few years now :0) I'm glad you're able put it to good use - seems like there is always an initial "learning curve" and it's somewhat ongoing as well - I'm finding out, as I experiment more. But that's part of the IP charm and excitement!
I look forward to seeing more IP recipes on KitchenFrau!
Margaret
LOL I guess there are more than a few of us having a wild love affair with our Instant Pots! (Thank you so much for introducing him into my life.) I just cooked a huge sweet potato in him tonight and it turned out beautifully. I've been slowly playing around and it's amazing how easy it is to just press the button and walk away, then come back to a great dinner. I have so many things I want to try out yet. (I think you may have unleashed a monster!)
Tania
Hahahaha. Love the romance with the instapot blog. Please post more recipes! I have one and have only used it once so far as I want recipes I can trust for it. Thanks Margaret!
Margaret
Thanks so much, Tania! You can tell I'm needing to add some excitement to my life! Playing with my 'date' is a great procrastinator for housework 😉 I'm having fun working on recipes.
Ruth Maier
I made this soup for dinner today. It was so delicious. I made it with a regular pressure cooker. I followed your instructions and it turned out perfect. I appreciate that you included that option as well. I had bought myself an Instant Pot for Christmas but returned it again. I just felt more comfortable cooking with my old regular pressure cooker.
Margaret
So glad you liked the soup, Ruth! We've enjoyed it several times on these colder winter days - and I loved having it for lunch the next day! Anything with beans in it is a comfort food for me.
I can understand you sticking with your old pressure cooker. If you have it already, you don't need another one. The Instant Pot really is just a fancied-up pressure cooker to plug in instead of using it on the stove. The only thing different is that it is timed, so you don't need to watch it, and it also slow cooks. (But it's fun to play with a new appliance.)