Instant Pot Black Bean Soup

Black bean soup in brown bowl topped with sour cream and green onions.

Instant Pot Black Bean Soup

This soup is packed with bold, well-balanced, and full-bodied flavor. Not to mention almost a mouthful of bacon in every bite!

Course Soup

Cuisine Mexican

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Total Time 40

Servings

Calories 360kcal

Author Gary White

Ingredients

12 oz. bacon cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup yellow onions diced
1 Tbsp. garlic minced
6 thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
60 oz. canned black beans drained, not rinsed (or 1 lb. soaked dry beans)
10 oz. Rotel
2 Tbsp. chili powder
2 Tbsp. ground cumin
4 cups chicken stock (or 8 cups of unsalted chicken broth if using dry beans)

Instructions

Using sauté setting – add bacon to pot and cook until almost crispy.
Then add onions and cook for 3-4 minutes, until soft and translucent. You could drain some of the fat if you like.
Next, add garlic, thyme, bay leaves, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently, making sure to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom.
Then add black beans, Rotel, spices, and chicken stock. Give a good mix, lock lid, and cook for 5 minutes at high pressure.
Once cook time is complete, quick-release pressure. Remove thyme sprigs and bay leaves.
Serve topped with your choice of toppings, like sour cream, cheddar cheese, and green onions.

Notes

There are 3 changes that you must make for dried beans.

Add 8 cups of unsalted chicken broth instead of 4 cups of salted broth.
Cook the soup for 40 minutes at high pressure with 20 minutes of natural release.
Do not add any salt until beans are fully cooked. Then add 2 teaspoons of sea salt, mix well, and let soup sit for at least 10 minutes.

Why do I wait until the end to add salt when using dried beans? There are two things that happen is you salt beans before they're cooked: It makes the skins tougher and makes them take longer to cook.

Nutrition