Instant Pot Navy Bean Soup
A tasty and hearty bean and vegetable soup medley made simple in a pressure cooker, featuring navy beans, onions, celery, carrots, and potato.
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 lb dry navy beans
- 1 onion chopped
- 3 carrots peeled and chopped
- 3 celery stalks chopped
- 1 potato peeled and diced
- 2 Tbsp minced garlic 5-7 cloves
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves 1 tsp dried
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper
- 5-6 cups Umami Vegetable Broth and/or water divided**
- 2 Tbsp light or white miso paste
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- Fresh parsley
- salt and pepper to taste optional***
Instructions
- Soak the beans in water overnight, or for at least 8 hours.
- Rinse the beans in water, set aside.
- Using the sauté function in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker, sauté the vegetables and potato for 3-5 minutes. Add a little broth or water, if needed, to keep from sticking.
- Add the minced garlic and sauté for 1 additional minute.
- Add in the thyme, cumin, bay leaves, crushed red pepper, rinsed beans, and 4 cups of vegetable broth and/or water. Stir to combine.
- Lock the lid and ensure the sealing knob is turned to “sealing” or “closed”. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally, about 20-25 minutes.
- Remove the lid. Remove the bay leaves and stir in the miso paste, lemon juice or vinegar, and 1 cup of broth and/or water. Add in more water, if desired. The more you stir this soup, the more the beans and vegetables break down and blend. If you prefer a creamier soup, blend with an immersion blender for 20-30 seconds. Alternatively, remove 1-2 cups of soup and blend until smooth in a blender or food processor, then return to the pot and stir in to combine.
- Ladle in bowls and serve with fresh parsley and a drizzle of vinegar or lemon juice, as desired.
Notes
* Use ½ tsp crushed red pepper for mild and 1 tsp for medium. Add in more if you prefer it spicy.
** The ingredient list calls for 5-6 cups Umami Vegetable Broth and/or water, divided. The amount and combination is really up to you. You can use all broth, all water, or a combination of the two. I use one quart (4 cups) of Umami Vegetable Broth which contains lots of flavor, zero salt, and is absolutely free (no cost). If you’re using commercial broth that contains a lot of salt, you may want to use one quart of broth and one quart of water. I also like using less liquid during the pressure-cooking process to reduce the pressurizing and depressurizing timeline. Then you can customize the amount of liquid and consistency of your soup by adding in more broth or water, as desired. Add in less if you prefer your soup super thick and add in more if you like it thinner.
*** I don’t add salt; but if you prefer to enhance the flavor profile, add ½ -1 teaspoon of salt.
- You can make this soup on the stove. In a large pot or dutch oven, sauté the vegetables as directed, then add in the beans, seasonings, broth and/or water. Bring to a low boil and reduce heat. Cover the pot and simmer on low heat covered for 1 – 1½ hours, stirring occasionally. The beans should be very soft. Remove the bay leaves and adjust the seasonings. Stir in the miso paste and vinegar or lemon juice and parsley.