Instant Pot Black Bean Soup is a hearty and delicious vegan soup with no soaking of beans required. Even most avid carnivores and kids will love this soup!
Pressure Cooker Black Bean Soup
Sharing my super uber easy Instant Pot black bean soup. No soaking of beans is necessary.
Black bean soup is extremely simple and affordable. You get plant-based protein and veggies in one bowl. Not to mention I appreciate soups that feed a crowd – my always hungry family. 🙂
In Ukraine, we ate soup every day, even in summer. Today we do the same living in Canada. It just works to pull out soup leftovers for lunch.
I cooked this Mexican soup after many Instant Pot black beans tests and glad I did. Nothing I grew up with but oh so good. Perfect for a snow day.
Ingredients for Instant Pot Black Bean Soup
Guarantee you have all ingredients in the pantry right now.
- Dried black beans: No need to soak. You can use canned black beans – see recipe below for cook time please.
- Onion: White, yellow or red onion works. You won’t see it after pureeing.
- Tomato sauce: Plain from a can. Mine is low sodium.
- Broth: Any low sodium broth works. I used chicken bouillon cubes with water – all I had. Even water works.
- Spices: Chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne.
How to Make Instant Pot Black Bean Soup
- Dump all ingredients: No need to saute onion or soak beans.
- Cook for 30 minutes on high: Some models have Pressure Cook button and on other it’s Manual.
- Wait 10 mins and release pressure: Don’t release pressure right away, your counter will be a black mess.
- Blend just until desired thickness. I gave soup just a few pulses with an immersion blender to break down a few black beans and leave some whole. Creamy with chunks soup.
- Use favorite Mexican toppings: See below for ideas. There are lots. 🙂
Black Bean Soup Toppings Ideas
Mexican toppings bring boring black bowl of soup to life.
- Avocado: Diced avocado or guacamole
- Veggies and herbs: Corn, diced fresh tomatoes, jalapenos, cilantro, lime.
- Onions: Diced white, red or green onion. Not yellow.
- Tortilla chips: Our favorite brand is Que Pasa or Good Food Should Taste Good.
- Cheese: Shredded Colby or cheddar cheese, crumbled cotija or feta.
Variations and More Tips
- Canned beans: Use 3 x 14 oz cans of black beans, 6 cups water or broth and cook for 6 minutes with 15 minute natural pressure release. If not low sodium, don’t add any salt and adjust after to taste.
- Smoky soup: Replace regular paprika with smoked paprika. Or add a few diced chipotles in adobo sauce with 1 tbsp of sauce.
- Fancy tomatoes: Substitute tomato sauce with diced tomatoes with chilies, or just fire roasted.
- 3 quart Instant Pot: Cut ingredients in half but keep same cook time.
- More help: Read my Instant Pot guide with ver 15 tips and tricks. Or which one I recommend to buy.
How to Store, Freeze and Reheat
Storing: Soup is a long lasting dish. It will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days before you have to freeze, eat or discard it.
Freezing: This soup freezes beautifully. Transfer to a glass container and leave some room for expansion. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight or on a counter (during winter).
Reheating: It is not unusual for black bean soup to thicken with tim and once cold. Reheat only amount you plan to eat by simmering on low heat. Refrigerate the rest and reheat as needed.
More Instant Pot Soup Recipes
- Instant Pot Thai chicken soup
- Instant Pot chicken tortilla soup
- Instant Pot lentil soup
- Instant Pot minestrone
- Browse all healthy Instant Pot recipes.
Did you know we have entire Youtube channel dedicated to healthy Instant Pot recipes and tips? Make sure to subscribe and hit the Bell icon not to miss new videos.
Instant Pot Black Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 3 cups dried black beans rinsed
- 1 large onion chopped
- 14 oz can tomato sauce low sodium
- 2 tbsp chilli powder
- 2 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 8 cups vegetable or chicken if not vegan broth, low sodium
- Toppings: avocado cilantro, lime, tortilla chips etc.
Instructions
- In Instant Pot, add black beans, onion, tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt, cayenne pepper and broth. No need to stir.
- Close the lid, turn pressure vent to Sealing and press Pressure Cooking on High for 30 minutes.
- After Instant Pot has finished cooking, let Instant Pot black bean soup stand for 10 minutes or so and then turn the valve to Venting. This way you will avoid black countertop hot mess.
- Stir to check if you like the consistency. And if you like thicker soup, puree with an immersion blender until desired thickness. Or leave it as is if you like chunky soup. Adjust any seasoning to taste.
- Serve hot with your favorite toppings.
Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Replace regular paprika with smoked paprika for extra flavor.
- Add a few diced chipotles in adobo sauce with 1 tbsp of sauce.
- Substitute tomato sauce with diced tomatoes with chilies or just fire roasted.
- I use organic bouillon cubes instead of broth.
- Canned beans: Use 3 x 14 oz cans of black beans, 6 cups water or broth and cook for 6 minutes with 15 minute natural pressure release. If not low sodium, don't add any salt and adjust after to taste.
- 3 quart Instant Pot: Cut ingredients in half but keep same cook time.
Recipes and images are a copyright of ifoodreal.com
What a superb recipe and so quick to make in a pressure cooker.
Thanks for all your hard work making and thinking up your recipes.
They make my life cooking for my family much easier.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Nick! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Hi there, Miss Olena! I tell people about you all the time! I really appreciate you and all you are doing to educate people on the Instant Pot.
Well I didn’t do black beans,BUT I Did Do 15 bean stew and it was magnificent. I used your recipe, but I sauted ground turkey first in some avocado oil, added my onion, celery, couple Tablespoons of chopped bell pepper, half a small bag of grated carrots, half a container of fresh peas, 8 cups of water with 5 HEAPING TABLEAPOONS of that bouillon called BETTER THAN BOUILLON, ORGANIC CONCENTRATE, added spices, a small diced tomato and of course the rised 15 bean soup package of dried beans. I made sure the beans were totally emersed in the waterand I punched the Chili/bean button for 30 min of high pressure and waited the 10 minutes. Then grated the famous garlic you advised me to grate(luscious!) And then as a thickener I added 4 T. Potato flakes. It was the best I’ve ever made.
In gratitude,
Marky Mander
Pipe Creek, Texas
Thanks for your kind words and feedback! Happy you liked the recipe!
Would red lentils be a good thickener for this soup? If so how much you think?
1/2 cup.
Every recipe i try is so good! Thank you for helping me as a newby to my instant pot
You are so welcome! Happy Instant Pot cooking 🙂
Correction: That shoulda been “bag of 15-bean soup beans”… Oy…!
I made this using a bag of 25-bean soup beans I found at the local supermarket–amazing, they were not just out of TP, but bags-of-beans, too! But lucky me. A great substitute, especially since I do not like black beans. I also added 1 lb of frozen boneless chicken thighs to the recipe. The result was wonderful! The two of us enjoyed this soup for several meals, and the rest is now in the freezer. I am getting hooked on Instant Pot soups! Thanks, Olena!
Joel! So happy you are enjoying the recipes and cooking soup in your instant pot!
I halved the chili powder and cumin, added cooked rice and cooked sausage once chili was fully cooked. So good!
Awesome!!! Happy to hear, Mindy!
WOW! SO easy and SO delicious! I used Rotel tomatoes instead of tomato sauce, and low sodium chicken broth. I then made it a little thicker by using my hand blender. Love using my instant pot for soups and this one was a five star for sure!!!! This will be my go to Black Bean soup recipe all winter!
Yay! So happy to hear, Denise! I am with you – LOVE IP for soups!
As usual, Olena, a gorgeous recipe. Will be back with a review after I make it. Will be making your zucchini lemon bread/cake for the second time today. Another Olena winner!
Thank you! That bread is my favorite recipe I ever created!