Our Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup has tremendous flavor and wonderful bean texture. You don’t have to pre-soak the beans at all and in about 75 minutes, you have a delicious ham and bean soup for the whole family. 

Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup Recipe in Pressure Cooker or Slow Cooker in a bowl

How to Make Ham and Bean Soup in Pressure Cooker?

First of all, it’s super easy to make Instant Pot Pressure Cooker ham and bean soup. Seriously, we never thought making ham and bean soup would be this easy. Second of all, we’ve made so many variations of ham and bean soup in the stove top and the slow cooker. With different tests of soaking and not-soaking the beans, the flavors are great but they all take time to prepare. None of it is quick and when you’re looking for a quick and easy ham and bean soup recipe, you often will be compromising flavor. But when you make ham and bean soup in the Instant Pot, you’ll be in for a real treat! The time to make a huge batch like this is literally under an hour and a half, but without sacrificing flavor and texture. If you want to make a stove top version, here’s our Quick & Easy Ham & Bean Stove Top Recipe.

Video: Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup Recipe

Ham Flavor in the Soup

There’s plenty of delicious and savory ham flavor that you really barely need any salt because between the stock and the ham, everything was well seasoned. Using regular chopped cooked ham will give you lots of flavor. But if you decide to use a smoked ham hock, you’ll have even more flavor and be super delighted with the outcome. We tested a version with a smoked ham hock and it was out of this world DELICIOUS. The smoked flavor was incredible. So if you can get your hands on a smoked ham hock, we totally suggest this route.

How long to cook the dried beans in the Instant Pot? Do beans taste good?

We were a little cautious about how the dried beans would cook and if they would be mushy. But they weren’t mushy at all and this bean soup was definitely one of the best we ever had. The Instant Pot pressure cooker cooks the beans perfectly and stews all the flavors together wonderfully. The beans were tender, delicious and the rest of the vegetables and ham were delicious. We used dried beans without soaking and it took a little over an hour (time to come to pressure, cooking and releasing pressure).

Do you need to soak the dried beans for the ham and bean soup?

There’s always a lot of discussion and debate if you need to soak the beans. We tried both methods and for the most part, they tasted the same. We always used dried white beans (regular size) or dried cannellini beans. They cook great and perfectly tender. Other types of beans might cook differently, so you’ll have to be open ended to different cooking times and textures when not soaking other beans. Soaking takes an extra step and we found that we didn’t need to do that. It was easier to just add the dried beans in the pressure cooker and then cook it for a little longer. If you’re used pre-soaked beans, you can cook it for about 20 minutes less.

Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup Recipe in Pressure Cooker or Slow Cooker with ladle
Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup Recipe in Pressure Cooker or Slow Cooker in a bowl with spoon

Our Favorite Cookers & Goodies for Entertaining:

Whether you prefer a slow cooker, pressure cooker, or a multi-cooker, these kitchen counter appliances help make dinner a little easier for the busy household, plus with an added bonus of some of our favorite finds for entertaining:

Crockpot Slow Cooker
The Crockpot 6qt. Slow Cooker

The original slow cooker. On this on the lid locks down which is great for transporting to potlucks and such. Simple, inexpensive and reliable.

Instant Pot Duo
Instant Pot Duo Pressure Cooker

It has cult-like following for a reason. It’s a pressure cooker and so much more. Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Steamer, Sauté, & Yogurt Maker. It’s awesome! If  you want a pressure cooker that has a few more bells and whistles (like hands free steam release), this Breville Pressure Cooker is also great.

Cuisinart Multi-Cooker
Cuisinart Multi-Cooker

If pressure cooking is a not your thing but want a bit more than just a slow cooker, this multi-cooker is perfect for you. It can Sauté, Steam, and Slow Cook. Perfect to create those one pot meals.

This recipe was originally published in 2017 and re-published in 2022 with updates.

Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup Recipe in Pressure Cooker or Slow Cooker | @bestrecipebox

Instant Pot Ham Bean Soup

Yield: 10 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
If you’re using a ham hock with ham meat, you don’t have to add the additional cooked diced ham. We used a ham bone that didn't have much meat, so we added the extra diced ham.
The saltiness of the broth will vary greatly depending on how well seasoned your chicken broth is and if the ham is salted. Make sure to taste the broth after cooking and adjust seasoning accordingly.
Dried beans cook differently too. After several tests, we found that an average cooking time of 1 hour worked best to ensure that different types of dried beans were thoroughly cooked. If you're using larger beans like dried lima beans, they will need an additional 15 minutes cooking time. Instant Pot needs to be a 6-qt size or larger.
4.84 from 53 votes

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Ingredients

  • 1 large ham bone or ham hock, if needed cut at the joint so it will fit in the Instant Pot
  • 1 1/2 cups (170 g) cooked diced ham
  • 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
  • 1 onion , diced (use a sweet onion, it’s delicious!)
  • 3 cloves garlic , minced
  • 7 cups (1.66 L) chicken broth
  • 2 teaspoons (10 ml) Worcestershire sauce
  • 2-3 stalks celery , diced
  • 2-3 carrots , peeled and diced
  • 1 pound (454 g) dried navy beans , great Northern Beans, pinto beans, etc…
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 teaspoon (25 ml) dried thyme or dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) ground cumin (optional)
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) kosher salt , or to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) fresh cracked black pepper , or to taste
  • 1 cup (70 g) chopped kale or cabbage, optional (to make it healthier!)
  • minced parsley for garnish, optional

Equipment

Instructions 

  • Turn Instant Pot on "Sauté”, and add oil. Add the onions and garlic and cook until soft, about 2 minutes.
    Adding onion and garlic to instant pot base
  • Add the ham bone, diced ham, broth, Worcestershire, celery, carrots, dried beans, bay leaf, dried thyme, optional ground cumin, salt and pepper. And add any additional optional veggies. Stir the mixture.
    Remaining soup ingredients in instant pot
  • Close the lid, set to high pressure, and after the pressure cooker reaches full pressure,  cook for 60 minutes (These are the steps we did for our Instant Pot: Press "Cancel" to stop the "Sauté" setting. Press the "Manual" button. Set the time to 60 minutes.)
    Setting the time on the instant pot
  • After the cooking time is complete, press “Cancel” and carefully release the pressure.
    Pressure releasing from Instant Pot
  • Remove ham bones and any excess fatty chunks from the Instant Pot and pull off any ham meat and cut into small pieces. Add the ham back into the Instant Pot. If you want a thicker soup, mash a few of the beans in the soup. Give the soup a good stir and add additional salt and pepper, to taste.
    Using tongs to shred ham pieces
  • Garnish with minced parsley (optional). Serve warm with bread.
    Ham and bean soup in a bowl

Notes

Recipe was tested in a 6-quart Instant Pot.

Video

YouTube video

Nutrition Information per Serving

Calories: 195kcal, Carbohydrates: 32g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 1mg, Sodium: 798mg, Potassium: 819mg, Fiber: 11g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 3130IU, Vitamin C: 22mg, Calcium: 102mg, Iron: 3.2mg
Course: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: American
Calories: 195
INSTANT POT HAM & BEAN SOUP RECIPE

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