Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup

Cozy Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup recipe with dried beans, hearty chunks of ham, and fresh vegetables in a perfectly seasoned broth. Made super easy with no soaking the beans!

Love Instant Pot soup recipes? Try a bowl of Instant Pot split pea soup with ham or Instant Pot 15 bean soup.

We just polished off a batch of Instant Pot ham and bean soup that was brimming with buttery beans, tender pieces of ham, onion, carrots, and celery. Each spoonful was heavenly and warming!

Instant Pot recipes are a game-changer, specifically for soups and stews. The high pressure creates huge flavor and there’s no long simmering so you can feel cozy sooner.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Uses up Holidays leftovers: The most delicious way to use up leftover holiday ham and clean out the refrigerator. If you made turkey, you have to try leftover turkey rice soup, delish!
• Easy: Just a few minutes to pull together, no presoaking, and the pressure cooker does all the work making this a hands-off recipe.
• One pot meal: You can look forward to easy clean up because we sauté and cook in the same pot.
• Budget friendly: Dried beans are cheaper and healthier than canned beans. This soup is perfect for feeding a crowd.
• Delicious: Ham and bean soup in Instant Pot is infused with flavor, hearty, and satisfying. And if you end up with leftovers, it freezes so well.

Ingredients for Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup

Make Instant Pot ham and bean soup with simple ingredients you most likely already have in your kitchen.

• Cannellini beans: You’ll need 1 pound dried, unsoaked cannellini beans. See notes about smaller beans in Tips section.
• Ham: I used nitrites free Maple leaf natural smoked ham. You can also use leftover ham, see options below.
• Vegetables: Onion, carrots, and celery create a base of flavor.
• Garlic: Freshly minced garlic cloves add the best flavor. Jarred garlic can work in a pinch.
• Broth: I love adding homemade vegetable broth or chicken broth, or Instant Pot chicken broth or Instant Pot beef bone broth. If using store-bought, I recommend low sodium because ham is salty.
• Spices: The rich broth is jazzed up with Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and bay leaves.
• Oil: For frying, I used extra-virgin olive oil for taste reasons.
• Fresh herbs: I garnished with fresh parsley. Thyme or cilantro would be nice too.

How to Make Ham and Bean Soup in Instant Pot

Making ham and bean soup in pressure cooker is super simple, done in 4 steps, and on your table in less than 90 minutes!

Here’s a quick overview, there is also a full recipe card below.

• Sauté aromatics: Set Instant Pot to Sauté and wait for it to say Hot. Coat bottom of pot with oil then add onion, garlic, and celery. Sauté until veggies soften, about 3 minutes, then add Italian seasoning and sauté for 30 seconds. Hit Cancel.
• Add remaining ingredients: Add beans, ham, carrots, salt, pepper, bay leaves and broth.
• Pressure cook: Place the lid on Instant Pot, set valve to Sealing and press Pressure Cook on High or Manual for 45 minutes.
• Release pressure: Wait 10 minutes before turning pressure release valve to Venting. Add fresh parsley, stir, and serve hot.

Tips for Best Results

Here are my top tips for the most flavorful Instant Pot ham and bean soup.

• Check your beans: Try to use dried beans within a year of purchasing, and buy from a store you know keeps fresh stock. Dried beans are a great pantry item but after that first year they can fall apart while still remaining hard in the center, ending up tough and chewy once cooked.
• If using smaller beans: Like white navy beans or great Northern beans, they cook faster. So pressure cook them for 35 minutes instead of 45 minutes. Keep in mind that white navy beans are less starchy, so the broth will be less thick.
• Don’t vent right away: Avoid Quick Release when making anything with broth in your Instant Pot. Make sure to wait 10 minutes before Venting to avoid soup splatter.
• If soup thickens: Starch settles and makes soup more stew like, it’s normal. If your soup thickens just add more broth.
• If you would like to soak the beans: I did not soak my beans because they come out tender and soft from pressure cooking, however, if you soaked your beans you’ll want to pressure cook your soup for 15 minutes.

Should I Use Ham Shanks, Leftover Ham or Just Ham?

So much flavor comes from the ham, and you can use whatever you have on hand and shred or chop the meat depending on your preference.

This recipe is perfect for leftover holiday ham, or buy store-bought ham like me to satisfy ham and bean soup craving any time. You can also use smoked ham!

I’d throw in the ham bone too, if you have it, to really amp up the flavor. Ham shanks or ham hocks can be used, both add richness to the broth but shanks generally have more meat on them. If you use ham hocks, I recommend adding some chopped ham in with it.

What to Serve with Ham and Bean Soup?

The best way to cozy up with a bowl of Instant Pot ham and bean soup is with healthy cornbread muffins for dipping and a glass of wine.

We also enjoy a simple butter lettuce salad next to it or with classic toppings like a dollop of sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, or crispy bacon.

How to Store

Store: Once soup has cooled, transfer to the refrigerator in an airtight container and enjoy leftovers for up to 5 days.

Freeze: This soup is also great for meal prep! Freeze in an airtight container, leaving room for expansion, for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight or on the counter for 5-6 hours before rewarming.

FAQs

More Soup Recipes to Try

• Instant Pot minestrone soup
• Mushroom bean soup
• Instant Pot lentil soup
• Instant Pot black bean soup

Be sure to check out my collection of most popular healthy Instant Pot recipes!