Instant Pot Black Bean Soup is hearty and wholesome dinner soup. It’s super easy to make, tastes heavenly and gets ready in 20 minutes. This one pot bean soup recipe also has handful of flavorful veggies. When it comes to cozy, and budget-friendly meals, this Smoky Black Bean Soup recipe is a forever favorite.
We love dinner soups for cozy weeknights in our family. Stuffed Pepper Soup, Lentil Quinoa Soup and Creamy Mushroom Soup are our favorite weeknight one pot soup recipes.
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Living in Chicago, we end up making all kinds of soups throughout autumn and winter months- which covers 6 + months of the year. I love the fact that soups are easy to make, full of nutrients and one pot meals.
You can create several different soups and stews with numerous combinations using basic pantry staples and vegetables. For every mood and every craving, there is a soup recipe you can whip up. Seriously !!
Recipe Highlights
- This Easy Healthy Black Bean Soup needs very few ingredients yet it's ultra delicious and flavor packed.
- Best vegan, gluten free and freezer friendly black bean soup.
- It's earthy, rustic and comforting. You will love how the different flavors mingle together in every bite.
- It’s loaded with plant based protein and full of fiber and all those “good for you” ingredients.
- There is smoky, spicy, bold and tangy tinge that will want you eat more and more of it.
- It’s very filling soup and I must say, WAY BETTER than the "Panera" soup or any other store bought carton soups. Comfort food made easy !
Don’t you love a hearty meal that’s soo easy to make? And in case you are wondering, this soup is soo budget friendly yet it feels and tastes indulgent. You can easily feed family of four under $10 and that too multiple times.
Ingredients
Exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below. Here's a brief overview of what you need to make this black bean soup.
- Black Beans : You can use dry beans or prepared canned beans to make this hearty soup. If you prefer to soak the beans before using, feel free to do so. I have attached a cooking chart below to adjust cooking time according to what type of beans you are using.
- Veggies : Red onion, minced garlic, red bell pepper, tomato puree are main flavor builders. You can also add celery, carrots and other vegetables if you prefer.
- Other Ingredients : Extra virgin olive oil ( skip if you want to make it WFPB-no oil ) and low sodium vegetable broth.
- Seasoning: for the earthy rustic flavors, we use Cumin powder and smoked paprika. For additional deliciousness, I prefer to use all purpose seasoning blend like Better than Bullion or 21 Seasoning Salute. Salt and freshly ground black pepper round up the flavors.
How To Make Instant Pot Black Bean Soup
- Turn on the Sauté button on your Instant Pot and add the oil. When heated, add the onions and sauté for 2-3 minutes until slightly translucent. Add garlic and continue to sauté for a minute.
- Add the bell peppers and put all the ingredients listed under the seasoning. Mix well. Add the black beans and tomato puree. Stir well so everything is coated and mixed well. Stir in vegetables broth or water. Check the taste of the seasoning.
- Press CANCEL. Close the Instant Pot lid with vent in sealing position. Select BEAN setting. Instant Pot will come to pressure and do the cooking. * Check recipe note for amount of time depending on which beans are used.
- When it's done cooking, wait for 10 minutes on KEEP WARM timer and then release the leftover pressure manually. Carefully open the lid.
- Using the immersion blender, blend the soup a few times. Few swirls of blending will make the soup creamy, velvety and thicken it further.
- Pour in a serving bowl with ladle. Sprinkle the cilantro leaves, and lime juice. Serve Hot. Enjoy your delicious creation!!
Cooking time details
Dry Black Beans : 20-25 minutes HIGH Pressure
Soaked Black Beans : 10-12 minutes HIGH Pressure
Canned Black Beans: 6-8 minutes HIGH Pressure
How to make black bean soup with canned beans
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and red pepper. Cook until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
- Stir in the canned black beans, tomato puree, vegetable broth, and all the spices and seasoning. Turn the soup to low and let simmer for 15 minutes.
- If you want to thicken the soup, use an immersion blender to purée some of the soup for a thicker consistency but don’t blend it completely, just a little to thicken it up. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can carefully transfer 2 to 3 cups of the soup to a blender and blend until smooth. Stir the pureed soup back into the pot.
- Stir in the cilantro and fresh lime juice. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve warm with desired toppings. Enjoy!
*This soup thickens substantially over time. So please add water or broth while reheating.
Meal Prep and Storage
I often make a large batch and freeze it in individual portions. This soup reheats well and flavors develop over time so tastes amazing. Comes in very handy for school lunches, work lunches or even mid day snack cravings.( who said you can’t have soup for snack?)
- To Store. Store leftover bean soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- To Reheat. Reheat the soup on the stove over medium-low heat until hot. You can also reheat leftovers in the microwave until heated through.
- To Freeze. Place soup in an airtight freezer-safe storage container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Expert Tips
- I am using Instant Pot to make this delicious soup. You won’t believe how easy and convenient it is to use InstantPot and whip up this soup. Practically a dump and go recipe, this soup actually tastes like it’s simmered for hours. The flavors mend perfectly together in just below 20 minutes.
- To make thicker soup, I prefer to use Immersion Blender. Beauty of Immersion blender is that you can blend it as much as your desired consistency. I keep it ¾ blended soup so there are still bits and pieces of beans and veggies left in every scoop. Also, you can immersion blend it while the soup is still warm eliminating the need to wait for it cool down and reheat ( unlike traditional blenders )
Serving Suggestions
Similar to typical Mexican food, several delicious munchies can be added as a topping for this soup. We prefer to add chopped onions, cilantro and few pieces of jalapeno for extra spice kick. A generous squeeze of lime or lemon helps bring all the flavors blend in together.
This Instant Pot Black Bean Soup is complete meal by itself. It's filling and satiating. You can add a side of Cornbread, Crispy Kale Chips or Mango Peach Salsa . You can also serve it with Mexican Rice, Mexican Street Corn Salad or Grilled Shishito Peppers for easy weeknight meal.
A few slices of avocado and few tortilla chips make it even more satisfying. You can also add cheese or cream if you wish.
Which Beans Should I Use For This Soup?
You can use Dry, Soaked or Canned Black Beans. For this Easy Healthy Black Bean soup recipe, I used dry black beans. Cooking time and water ratio will slightly change depending on the which beans you used.
Should I soak Black Beans?
I prefer to soak the beans before using since they are easier to digest and absorb the flavors much better. But I totally understand that it may not be always possible or remember to plan ahead of time.
So dried beans are ok to use too and for all practical convenience, canned beans are ok too. Make sure to cover the beans entirely with water or broth while cooking.
Instant Pot Soup Recipes
Hope you like making this Easy Healthy Black Bean Soup !! Are you looking for some ultimate comforting soup recipes? Our blog features several delicious and healthy , easy to prepare one pot meal recipes.
- Vegetable Barley Soup
- Chickpea Orzo Soup
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Creamy Gnocchi Soup
- Vegan Split Pea Soup
- White Beans and Spinach Soup
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★ If you make this Instant Pot Black Bean Soup Recipe , do let us know how you like it by ★ star rating it and leaving a comment below.
📖 Recipe
Easy Black Bean Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil Skip for WFPB cooking
- 1 medium Red Onion chopped
- 1 pound black beans rinsed and washed or 2-(16 oz ) cans, liquid drained
- 1 large red bell pepper or 1 cup tri color peppers
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 (10oz.) can Tomato Puree fire roasted preferred
- 3 cups of low sodium vegetable broth
For Seasoning:
- 1 Tablespoon Cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon All purpose seasoning mix
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
How To Make Instant Pot Black Bean Soup
- Turn on the Sauté button on your Instant Pot and add the oil. When heated, add the onions and sauté for 2-3 minutes until slightly translucent.
- Add garlic and continue to sauté for a minute. Add the bell peppers and dump all the ingredients listed under the seasoning. Mix well. Add the black beans and tomato puree. Stir well so everything is coated and mixed well. Stir in vegetables broth or water. Check the taste of the seasoning.
- Press CANCEL. Close the InstantPot lid with vent in sealing position. Select BEAN setting. InstantPot will come to pressure and do the cooking. * Check recipe note for amount of time depending on which beans are used.
- When it beeps after cooking, wait for 10 minutes on KEEP WARM timer and then release the leftover pressure manually. Carefully open the lid.
- Using the immersion blender, blend the soup a few times. Few swirls of blending will make the soup creamy, velvety and thicken it further.
- Pour in a serving bowl with ladle. Sprinkle the cilantro leaves, and lime juice. Serve Hot. Enjoy your delicious creation!!
How to make black bean soup with canned beans
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and red pepper. Cook until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
- Stir in the canned black beans, tomato puree, vegetable broth, and all the spices and seasoning. Turn the soup to low and let simmer for 15 minutes.
- If you want to thicken the soup, use an immersion blender to purée some of the soup for a thicker consistency but don’t blend it completely, just a little to thicken it up. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can carefully transfer 2 to 3 cups of the soup to a blender and blend until smooth. Stir the pureed soup back into the pot.
- Stir in the cilantro and fresh lime juice. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve warm with desired toppings. Enjoy!
- *This soup thickens substantially over time. So please add water or broth while reheating.
Video
Notes
Instant Pot Cooking time
- Dry Black Beans : 20-25 minutes HIGH Pressure
- Soaked Black Beans : 10-12 minutes HIGH Pressure
- Canned Black Beans: 6-8 minutes HIGH Pressure
Storing and Re-heating
-
- To Store. Store leftover bean soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
-
- To Reheat. Reheat the soup on the stove over medium-low heat until hot. You can also reheat leftovers in the microwave until heated through. This soup thickens substantially over time. So please add water or broth while reheating.
-
- To Freeze. Place soup in an airtight freezer-safe storage container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Nutrition
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MZ
Great recipe. I used some red tropical sazon seasoning along with the cumin and paprika. served with sour cream and shredded cheese. Yummy!
Prajakta Sukhatme
That sounds amazing. Glad you liked the recipe !
VeganBody
Loved this soup thanks for the recipe I think I'll make this a lot, so simple!
Fran Thompson
I made this today. Excellent recipe! I didn't have the All Purpose Seasoning, so just put my own together as best I could. Very good!
Bronwyn
I made the recipe quite closely but I replaced the bell pepper with a cauliflower and left out the all purpose seasoning. I don’t usually cook with beans and I have to say, we enjoyed it. I also put avo on top which complemented the dish well. Thanks. I was a bit confused because the recipe doesn’t say when to add the tomatoes, but I worked it out.
Madhu
I made the black bean soup using canned black beans. I did not have vegetable broth so I just added water. It was so easy to make and was delicious.
admin
Glad to hear that you liked it.
Brooke
I love a dump and go! This looks so good!