Name: Instant Pot White Bean Soup (Vegan)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 75 min
Total time: 85 min
Ingredients: 1 lb White beans ((Great Northern beans)); 7 cup Vegetable stock ((or water)); 2 count Tomatoes ((medium size, chopped)); 1 cup Onion ((chopped)); 2 count Celery ((stalks, diced)); 2 count Carrot ((large, diced)); 2 tbsp Garlic ((chopped)); 2 1/2 tsp Salt; 2 tbsp Jalapeno pepper ((diced or chopped, adjust to taste)); 1 count Bay leaf; 1 tsp Cumin powder; 1/2 tsp Red chili powder ((adjust as per taste)); 3 sprigs Rosemary; Cilantro ((chopped)); Lime juice ((as per taste))

5 from 16 votes

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This hearty and delicious white bean soup is made with great northern beans. It is vegan, gluten-free, and loaded with veggies of your choice. Check out how to make instant pot white bean soup from dried beans without soaking.

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White bean soup is a hearty and nutritious soup and can be made easily in an electric pressure cooker like an instant pot using dried white beans like great northern beans. Yes! you can use unsoaked beans to make this vegan and gluten-free soup and that too without using any oil or butter.

This soup 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 vegan white bean soup is made with very few ingredients available in the kitchen pantry. This soup is made with dry great northern beans and can also be made with soaked ones in which case the pressure cooking time will be reduced to about 15 minutes. Instead of great northern beans, you can also use cannellini beans.

Vegetables like carrots, celery, onion, and tomato are used to make this soup. And you can add more variety of veggies as per your liking. Some baby spinach or kale can be added once the soup is done cooking.

Adding some chopped jalapeno and red chili powder gives a good kick. You can always adjust the spiciness as per your taste. A few rosemary sprigs 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 white 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.

If you are using dry beans then it is best to rinse them before using them to get rid of any residue and ensure that they are clean. Place all the ingredients including the great northern beans, low sodium vegetable broth, spices, and salt in the instant pot liner.

Now lock the lid and cook on high-pressure mode for 40 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. Optionally, you can 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 white 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 of dry white 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 white 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 storing or meal planning.

Serving suggestions

This hearty white 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

White 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.

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

You can also make this white 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 white beans or white 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.