Occasionally we share recipes not related to the air fryer because our readers all love cooking with other appliances. Usually if you have an air fryer, you also own an Instant Pot. Our Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup has tremendous flavor and wonderful bean texture. You don’t have to pre-soak the beans at all and in about 75 minutes, you have a delicious ham and bean soup for the whole family. 

Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup Recipe in Pressure Cooker or Slow Cooker | @bestrecipebox

Easy Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup Recipe

You’ll be shocked to see how crazy super easy it is to make this popular ham and bean soup in a pressure cooker. Seriously, we never thought making ham and bean soup would be this easy. We’ve made so many variations of ham and bean soup in the stove top and the slow cooker. With different tests of soaking and not-soaking the beans, the flavors are great but they all take time to prepare. None of it is quick and when you’re looking for a quick and easy ham and bean soup recipe, you often will be compromising flavor.

How Long Does it Take to Cook This Instant Pot Soup?

The time to make a huge batch like this is literally under an hour and a half, but without sacrificing flavor and texture. There’s plenty of delicious and savory ham flavor that you really barely need any salt because between the stock and the ham, everything was well seasoned. We were a little cautious about how the dried beans would cook and if they would be mushy. But they weren’t mushy at all and this bean soup was definitely one of the best we ever had. If you decide to use a smoked ham hock, you’ll have even more flavor and be super delighted with the outcome.

Watch the video making Ham & Bean Soup in the Instant Pot

Using Dried Beans vs Canned Beans?

Our recipe uses dried beans and it cooks great! The Instant Pot pressure cooker cooks the beans perfectly and stews all the flavors together wonderfully. The beans were tender, delicious and the rest of the vegetables and ham were delicious. We used dried beans without soaking and it took a little over an hour (time to come to pressure, cooking and releasing pressure). If you want to use canned beans, it will still work but the canned beans might be a little more soft and mushy.

Soaking the dried beans for the ham and bean soup?

There’s always a lot of discussion and debate if you need to soak the beans. We tried both methods and for the most part, they tasted the same.

  • We always used dried white beans (regular size) or dried cannellini beans. They cook great and perfectly tender.
  • Other types of beans might cook differently, so you’ll have to be open ended to different cooking times and textures when not soaking other beans.
  • Soaking takes an extra step and we found that we didn’t need to do that. It was easier to just add the dried beans in the pressure cooker and then cook it for a little longer.
  • If you’re used pre-soaked beans, you can cook it for about 20 minutes less.
  • This recipe is shared from our sister site BestRecipeBox.com. If you’re needing an easy every recipe, check that website for non air fryer foods!
Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup Recipe in Pressure Cooker or Slow Cooker | @bestrecipebox

Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup Recipe in Pressure Cooker or Slow Cooker | @bestrecipebox
Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup Recipe in Pressure Cooker or Slow Cooker | @bestrecipebox

Instant Pot Ham Bean Soup

Yield: 10 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
If you’re using a ham hock with ham meat, you don’t have to add the additional cooked diced ham. We used a ham bone that didn’t have much meat, so we added the extra diced ham. The saltiness of the broth will vary greatly depending on how well seasoned your chicken broth is and if the ham is salted. Make sure to taste the broth after cooking and adjust seasoning accordingly. Dried beans cook differently too. After several tests, we found that an average cooking time of 1 hour worked best to ensure that different types of dried beans were thoroughly cooked. If you’re using larger beans like dried lima beans, they will need an additional 15 minutes cooking time. Instant Pot needs to be a 6-qt size or larger.
4.97 from 32 votes

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Ingredients

  • 1 large ham bone or ham hock, if needed cut at the joint so it will fit in the Instant Pot
  • 1 1/2 cups (170 g) cooked diced ham
  • 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
  • 1 large onion , diced (use a sweet onion, it’s delicious!)
  • 3 cloves garlic , minced
  • 7 cups (1.66 L) chicken broth
  • 2 teaspoons (10 ml) Worcestershire sauce
  • 2-3 large celery stalks , diced
  • 2-3 large carrots , peeled and diced
  • 1 pound (454 g) dried navy beans , great Northern Beans, pinto beans, etc…
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 teaspoon (25 ml) dried thyme or dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) ground cumin (optional)
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) kosher salt , or to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) fresh cracked black pepper , or to taste
  • 1 cup (70 g) chopped kale or cabbage, optional (to make it healthier!)
  • minced parsley for garnish, optional

Equipment

  • Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker)

Instructions 

  • Turn Instant Pot on “Sauté”, and add oil. Add the onions and garlic and cook until soft, about 2 minutes.
    Garlic being added to instant pot
  • Add the ham bone, 1 1/2 cups diced ham, 7 cups broth, 2 teaspoons, Worcestershire, celery, carrots, dried beans, bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, optional 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper (or to your preference on any of the seasonings). And add any additional optional veggies. Stir the mixture.
    All ingredients in instant pot
  • Close the lid, set to high pressure, and after the pressure cooker reaches full pressure,  cook for 60 minutes. (These are the steps we did for our Instant Pot:  Press "Cancel" to stop the "Sauté" setting. Press the "Manual" button. Set the time to 60 minutes.)
  • After the cooking time is complete, press “Cancel” and carefully release the pressure.
    Steam releasing from pressure cooker
  • Remove ham bones and any excess fatty chunks from the Instant Pot and pull off any ham meat and cut into small pieces. Add the ham back into the Instant Pot. If you want a thicker soup, mash a few of the beans in the soup. Give the soup a good stir and add additional salt and paper, to taste.
    Using tongs to shred meat from bone
  • Garnish with minced parsley (optional). Serve warm with bread.
    Ham and bean soup in a bowl

Notes

Recipe was tested in a 6-quart Instant Pot.

If your air fryer is preheated or if you are cooking multiple batches, you may need to reduce timing by a few minutes (unless preheating is called for in the recipe).

Video

YouTube video

Nutrition Information per Serving

Calories: 195kcal, Carbohydrates: 32g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 1mg, Sodium: 798mg, Potassium: 819mg, Fiber: 11g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 3130IU, Vitamin C: 22mg, Calcium: 102mg, Iron: 3.2mg
Course: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: American
Calories: 195

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