Name: Vegan Black Bean Soup (Instant Pot)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 1 cup Black beans ((dry, rinsed with water)); 4 cup Vegetable stock ((or water)); 2 Tomatoes ((medium size, chopped)); 3/4 cup Onion ((chopped)); 2 Celery ((stalks, diced)); 1/2 cup Bell Pepper ((chopped)); 1 Carrot ((large, diced)); 1 tbsp Garlic ((chopped)); 1 1/2 tsp Salt; 1 tsp Serrano pepper ((diced or chopped, adjust to taste)); 1 Bay leaf; 1/2 tsp Cumin powder; 1/4 tsp Red chili powder ((adjust as per taste)); 1/4 tsp Oregano; Cilantro ((chopped)); Lime juice ((as per taste))

5 from 4 votes

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Black bean soup is a hearty and flavorful comfort food, especially for chilly days. It is vegan, gluten-free, and can be made in an instant pot without soaking the beans. Check out this no-soak instant pot black bean soup made without oil.

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Black Beans Soup in a bowl and garnished with lemon, avacado slice and shredded cheddar cheese.

Instant pot black bean soup is perfect for cold and chilly days call or when you are craving some comfort food. It is vegan, gluten-free, and made with dry beans without soaking.

It is made with pantry ingredients and is a dump-and-go recipe for instant pot. This black bean soup is also healthy as there is no oil added and the soup is loaded with a lot of veggies. The beans are nutritious too.

The soup stores and freezes well and can be made ahead of time for meal planning.

Ingredients

This instant pot black bean soup recipe is made with very few ingredients and spices usually found in the kitchen pantry. The main ingredient is black beans. You can use dry, soaked, or canned beans to make this hearty soup.

Veggies like onions, carrots, bell pepper, and celery are used in this recipe but you can always your favorite ones. I like to make this vegan black bean soup with fresh tomatoes however, canned ones work well too, and can be added at the end.

Garlic, bay leaf, oregano, and cumin powder add flavor to this soup. Black bean soup can be made spicy by adding some serrano pepper or red chili powder as per taste. You can also add some jalapeno pepper.

Vegetable broth or water can be used to make the soup. Finally while serving, add some lime juice, and garnish it with a few slices of avocado and chopped cilantro.

Instructions

It is extremely easy to make vegetarian black bean soup in the instant pot, especially once all the veggies have been chopped. This is a healthy version of black bean soup as there is no oil used to saute the veggies.

This is a dump-and-go recipe in which all the ingredients are added to the instant pot liner and then pressure cooked. I have made this black bean soup in the instant pot mini but it will work well in a 6 qt. instant pot as well.

Once all the ingredients are added, give it a quick mix and then pressure cook on high-pressure mode followed by a 10 minutes natural pressure release. Remove the remaining pressure manually by moving the pressure valve to the venting position.

Instant pot will take some time, about 15 minutes, to come to pressure and then pressure cook for the set amount of time. Also, you will have to wait for 10 minutes to naturally release the pressure, and then the remaining pressure can be removed manually.

After opening the lid, check that the beans have been well cooked by pressing one with your fingers. If it is not cooked well then you can cook it again for another 10-15 minutes.

I like the black bean soup to be more creamy and prefer to blend a small quantity of the soup in Vitamix and then pour it back into the instant pot. An immersion hand blender will work as well.

If you like to add spinach or kale to the black bean soup, you can stir it in at this stage. Adjust the taste of salt and squeeze in some lime juice before serving.

collage of 4 images making instant pot black beans soup step by step.

Variations

Black bean soup can be made in the instant pot using canned beans, dry beans, or soaking them for a few hours. Either of the methods works well and the only difference is the cooking time.

Dry beans - It takes about 25-45 minutes depending on the type or brand of beans you use. Most of the time I use the Goya brand of black beans and they cook well in just about 25 minutes. However, some other brands have required about 45 minutes to be fully cooked.

Soaked beans - Black bean soup is made quicker with soaked beans as it takes much less time and gets cooked in just about 12 minutes in the instant pot.

Canned beans - Add 1 can of well-rinsed beans and pressure cook for 5 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then release the remaining pressure manually by moving the pressure release knob to the venting position.

Substitutions

This vegan and gluten-free black bean soup can be adapted to your taste.

Veggies - you can add more veggies as per your liking.

Spices - you can add some serrano pepper or jalapeno pepper to make it spicy.

Serving suggestions

While serving black bean soup, you can add some lime juice and sprinkle some black pepper to it. Garnish it with a few slices of avocado, chopped cilantro, tortilla chips, and optionally some shredded cheese.

It can be served with sides like cilantro lime rice, roasted broccoli, or roasted potatoes. A Grilled cheese sandwich, a few slices of garlic bread, or toast also complement well.

Equipment

I have made this vegetarian black bean soup in the 3 qt. instant pot. You can make it in other larger pots as well and make bigger batches too for storing or meal planning.

To get a creamy consistency, you can remove some black beans and blend them in a standalone blender like Vitamix or just use an immersion hand blender in the instant pot directly.

Storage

Any leftover black bean soup can easily last 3-4 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. It is a great make-ahead soup and can be made over the weekend for meal planning.

When you are ready to serve, simply reheat the soup in the microwave, stovetop, or in the instant pot on the saute mode.

Homemade black bean soup freezes well just like most beans. If you are meal planning, allow the soup to completely cool down and then divide it into portions.

Freeze the portions individually in freezer-safe containers or ziplock bags. This way you can only use what you need and will not have to defrost all the soup at once.

When you are planning to serve the soup, you can simply put it in the fridge overnight to thaw and then reheat it before serving. If you are short of time, you can also defrost it in the microwave.