Instant Pot 10-Bean Soup Recipe

Can you ever have too many simple, delicious soup recipes in your arsenal of go-to dinners? We didn't think so. Enter Kristen Carli, a registered dietician who created a method for making an Instant Pot 10-bean soup that is so easy, she says you literally cannot mess it up! Plus, the Instant Pot saves you tons of time, with Carli telling Mashed, "The Instant Pot is great for this dish because you can cook these beans from dried much faster than if you were doing this on the stove top."

So, hit the dried beans aisle at the grocery store, set aside five minutes for prep work, and get ready to taste a meal that is "hearty and delicious," according to Carli. Just don't forget to pick up a loaf of sourdough bread — or make your own — which she says, "is great for dipping."

Then, set the Instant Pot and forget it. Dinner is served in less than an hour.

A few ingredients for your 10-bean soup are definitely hanging out in your kitchen already, just waiting to be put to good use. This recipe calls for one yellow onion, as well as chicken broth. You can also use veggie broth if you prefer. Then, visit the dried bean aisle, and pick up the following ten varieties: lima, northern, black beans, garbanzo beans, navy beans, pintos, split green peas, red lentils, green lentils, and kidney beans. It's worth noting dried beans are often even cheaper than canned beans, and contain less salt. Win!

Finally, you will need ham for Carli's recipe. "I would buy cubed refrigerated ham," she said. But, if you want to make this meal vegan, first, you can swap chicken broth for veggie broth. But Carli also told us, "You can omit the ham." And don't worry! "There is plenty of plant-based protein for vegetarians in this dish," she assured.

As Carli told Mashed, this Instant Pot 10-bean soup recipe is super easy. First, all you need to do for prep work is dice the onion, with yellow onion being one of the best for cooking pretty much anything. You'll cube your ham if it is not pre-cubed. Then, beyond opening bags of dried beans and measuring out the called-for amounts, your prep work is completely done.

Then, believe it or not, you don't even need to dirty a bowl to pull off this substantial, nourishing meal. Simply put all of your ingredients into the Instant Pot. Yup — all ten of your beans, the ham, the diced onion, and the broth go into the Instant Pot. You'll set the pot up to cook the soup, and go do something else, like fix a side salad, or slice your sourdough, or clean up the kitchen. Oh wait, there's hardly anything to clean up!

Once your beans, ham, onion, and broth are added to the Instant Pot, Carli instructs home cooks to close the lid and turn the valve to "sealing." You will cook the soup on "pressure cook" for 40 minutes. Then, go ahead and allow the Instant Pot to naturally release.

And now you can enjoy your bowl of warmth and nutritious goodness. Season with red pepper flakes, or simply salt and pepper if you'd like. And then store whatever you don't eat at the first sitting. Because we're betting leftovers are even more amazingly flavorful and completely worth the wait to reheat.