Instant Pot Navy Bean Soup

Navy bean soup is a nutritious soup loaded with vegetables. It can be made easily in an electric pressure cooker using dried navy beans. This is an easy dump and go instant pot navy bean soup recipe with unsoaked beans.

This soup is vegan, gluten-free, and does not use any oil or butter. It can be served as an appetizer or as a full meal with bread or grilled cheese. It can be stored in the fridge or freezer for later use and is a perfect make-ahead soup for meal planning.

Ingredients

This vegetarian navy bean soup is made with only a few ingredients easily available in the kitchen pantry. It is made with dry navy beans and can also be made with soaked ones in which case the pressure cooking time will be reduced to about 10 minutes.

Vegetables like carrots, celery, onion, bell pepper, and tomato are used to make this soup. The best thing is you can adapt the soup to your taste by adding veggies of your choice.

A great way to include some leafy greens is to stir in some baby spinach or kale once the soup is done cooking. Some chopped jalapeno and red chili powder adds spiciness and you can adapt it as per your taste. A few rosemary sprigs, dried thyme, bay leaf, and garlic adds flavor.

A low sodium vegetable broth is preferred to make this soup, however, if you do not have it, you can just use water.

Some lime juice, chopped cilantro, and optionally onion greens are added for garnishing while serving.

Instructions

Making this vegan navy bean soup in the instant pot is very easy. This is a dump-and-go recipe and the best thing is it does not use any oil or butter.

It is best to rinse the dried beans before using them to get rid of any residue and ensure that they are clean. Place all the ingredients including the navy beans, low sodium vegetable broth, vegetables, spices, herbs, and salt in the instant pot liner.

Close and lock the lid and cook on high-pressure mode for 25 minutes with the "keep warm" setting on. Allow the pressure to release naturally for about 10 minutes and then release the remaining pressure manually by turning the pressure release knob to the venting position until the silver pin drops.

Adjust the salt as per taste and add some lime juice and chopped cilantro while serving. Add some spinach or kale at this point if you want to add some leafy greens to the soup.

Variations

This is a vegan and gluten-free navy bean soup recipe and you can adapt it to your liking.

Soaked beans: I have used dry beans to make the soup and the ratio of 1:3 cups of dry navy beans to water works well to cook them unsoaked. If unsoaked beans cause bloating or gas then it is best to soak them overnight. When using soaked beans use 1.5 cups of liquid for every cup of dry beans.

Leafy greens: baby spinach and kale can be added once the soup is ready. They make the soup more nutritious.

Spiciness: adjust the level of spiciness by adding more or less jalapeno pepper or entirely skipping it. Also, adjust the amount of red chili powder accordingly.

Equipment

I have made this vegetarian navy bean soup in the 6 qt. instant pot. You can make it in other larger pots as well or a smaller batch in the 3qt. instant pot. A bigger batch can be made too for meal prep.

Serving suggestions

This hearty navy bean soup is very satisfying and can be served as a full meal or can be served as a side dish. While serving, add some lime juice and chopped cilantro to enhance its flavor.

It can be served with sliced or toasted French bread, white bread, garlic bread, sourdough bread, bread sticks, or garlic knots. You can also serve it with some grilled cheese, mac and cheese, or veggie sides like roasted broccoli and air-fried mushrooms.

Storage

Navy bean soup can be stored in the fridge for about 4-5 days. You can prepare this soup ahead of time for meal planning and use it over the week. If you want to store it for a longer time then it is best to freeze it.

Navy beans, just like other beans, freeze well and can be stored for about 3 months. You can make this navy bean soup and freeze it for meal planning. Another option is to only cook the navy beans and freeze them.

You can also make this navy bean soup from the frozen beans by adding them to the vegetable soup and simmering for about 5-10 minutes before serving.

Before freezing the navy beans or navy bean soup, allow it to cool down completely. Then portion it and freeze it in freezer-safe containers or ziplock bags. This will allow you to use what you need.

When you are ready to use it, simply keep the container in the fridge overnight and then reheat it on the stovetop, microwave, or on saute mode in the instant pot. Garnish it with some lime juice and chopped cilantro.

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