Instant Pot Navy Bean Soup Recipe

The Instant Pot is one of the best tools you can have in your kitchen, and there are plenty of recipes you can use it for, like this navy bean soup. While most people think of enjoying soup in the winter, you can make this year-round. It's full of navy beans — which are a great source of protein — and plenty of veggies like onions, celery, and carrots. Add a little bit of chopped ham to make the soup even heartier, and whether you're eating a bowl for a main course or a cup for a side, it totally hits the spot.

Recipe developer Melissa Olivieri of The Olive Blogger came up with this delicious recipe that you'll want to make over and over again. She explains of the navy beans, "They are a small, white bean with a nice texture, slightly firm, which makes them a nice addition to this soup." And as for her favorite part? "I love how simple yet delicious this soup is! It doesn't take many ingredients to make it, and having it on-hand for weeknight dinners is great for our busy family," she shares.

Once you're ready to begin, gather the necessary ingredients. You'll need navy beans, olive oil, yellow onion, celery, carrots, chopped ham, bay leaves, kosher salt, ground black pepper, chili flakes, garlic powder, and water.

Once you have those items, you can make this delicious Instant Pot navy bean soup.

Grab a cutting board and a sharp knife, then take out the celery, onion, and carrots and chop and dice each one. A course chop is fine, as it's unnecessary to have uniform pieces for this soup. 

Set your Instant Pot to the sauté setting and drizzle in the olive oil. Add in the chopped onions, carrots, and celery, and stir to mix. Allow the veggies to cook until they're slightly softened. This should only take about 5 minutes.

Olivieri loves using the Instant Pot for this recipe. "It cuts the cooking time down by at least 2 hours as you don't have to soak the dried navy beans — quick meals are my go-to!" she shares.

Now, toss in the salt, pepper, chili flakes, garlic powder, and bay leaves. Stir well to combine.

Once you've finished adding the spices, throw in the ham, navy beans, and water. Ham is the special ingredient in this recipe. "I use leftover ham from the freezer, that way I can make this soup any time of year with staple pantry ingredients," Olivieri shares.

Set the Instant Pot to the soup setting (or you can use the medium pressure setting if you don't have this feature) for 25 minutes. When the soup finishes cooking, allow it to release naturally.

Once finished, remove the bay leaves and use an immersion blender to blend the soup. You can blend to your desired consistency, but Olivieri recommends a thicker soup. You can also skip the blending if you wish.

Wasn't that easy? The only thing left to do is to enjoy the soup. It's wonderful on its own, but Olivieri provides a few additional serving suggestions: "I love to serve this soup with a nice, crusty bread and a side salad. Bonus points if your bread is full of flavor — personally, I love an olive loaf," she shares.

If you have leftovers, they would make a great additional meal. "Always store the soup in an airtight container," Olivieri says. "In the fridge it'll last 3 days, but you can easily freeze it and make it last for months!"