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15 Bean Soup is a classic old-fashioned soup packed with veggies, ham, and beans. Hearty and flavorful, this is one of the best soups for a cold night and is great for using up leftovers. Best of all, it’s ready in just under an hour!
Jump to:
- Instant Pot 15 Bean Soup
- 15 Bean Soup Ingredients
- What is in 15 bean mix?
- Do I need to soak the beans for 15 bean soup?
- 15 Bean Soup Instant Pot Instructions
- 15 Bean Soup Recipes Tips
- Recipe for 15 Bean Soup FAQs
- Instant Pot Bean Soup Variations
- Make-Ahead Instructions
- How to Store Leftover Soup
- How to Reheat Leftover Soup
- Instant Pot Soup Recipes
- 📌 Pin it for later!
- 📋 Recipe
- 💬 Reviews
Instant Pot 15 Bean Soup
When it comes to comfort food, homemade soup is at the top of my list. There is nothing quite as comforting as a piping hot bowl of fresh soup after a long day, especially when the weather cools down.
You might not think soup is easy or quick to make, but think again: this 15 bean soup recipe is both! It takes under an hour to make in the Instant Pot, and you don’t have to soak the beans. There is hardly any prep required, and best of all, it is the perfect freezer soup.
Packed with beans, ham, and veggies, it’s filling, too. You can use leftovers for the ham, and the bag of beans is easy to work with and comes with its own seasoning packet.
It’s even easy to prep for ahead of time, so you can get your meal prep done over the weekend, then make your soup during the week or simply reheat. I guarantee you will have a table full of happy faces when you serve this easy bean soup recipe!
15 Bean Soup Ingredients
- Vegetable broth
- 15-bean mix, such as Hurst’s HamBeens
- Cubed ham
- Yellow onion
- Carrots
- Celery
- Garlic
- Butter
I recommend using leftovers if you have them; this is one of the best leftover ham recipes. Try starting with one of my easy ham recipes if you want the perfect combination of flavors. You can even use the leftover ham bone to make ham stock to use in place of vegetable broth for this dish.
What is in 15 bean mix?
A bag of 15-bean mix typically contains a mix of pinto, baby and large lima, garbanzo beans, red and white kidney beans, cranberry, small white and small red, pink beans, yellow split, lentil, navy, northern, yelloweye, and black beans. It also comes packaged with a seasoning packet, which is used in this recipe.
In addition to the beans, 15 bean soup contains ham, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. You can add additional ingredients if you like, such as kale, diced tomatoes, or fresh parsley.
Do I need to soak the beans for 15 bean soup?
For most 15 bean soup recipes, you would want to soak the beans overnight beforehand. This makes them easier to eat and they cook more quickly.
However, for Instant Pot 15 Bean Soup, soaking the beans is not necessary. Although you can soak them if you wish, all you need to do to prepare the beans is rinse and drain them to make sure they are clean and free of any debris.
15 Bean Soup Instant Pot Instructions
- Chop all your vegetables and set them aside.
- Set your instant pot to the saute setting and place the butter inside. Melt the butter.
- Add the chopped onion to the pot and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the minced garlic and saute for another minute. Then, add all the ingredients, except the ham, to the instant pot, including the flavoring packet from the 15-bean bag.
- Cover and set your instant pot to manual/high pressure. Set it for 40 minutes. It will take about 10 minutes to pressurize before the 40 minutes will officially start.
- Manually release your pot once it’s done and add the ham. Stir and let sit for a couple of minutes for the ham to warm through. Add salt and pepper, if desired, and enjoy!
15 Bean Soup Recipes Tips
- You can saute the veggies before for a couple minutes before adding the other ingredients, if preferred, but it’s not necessary for the best flavor.
- If you don’t want to include the seasoning packet, you’ll want to add more spices for flavoring, such as salt, pepper, etc.
- If you like your food a little saltier, add about ½ teaspoon to the mix.
- Using cooked ham is the key here. Great for leftover ham or the cooked, cubed ham you can buy at the store. You don’t want to cook the ham the entire time as it’s already cooked, so it will get tough. You’re just wanting to warm up the ham, which is why you have it sit in the hot liquid for a couple of minutes before serving. It makes it the perfect temperature.
- The soup only cooks for a total of 40 minutes, but you’ll need extra time for it to pressurize and to saute the onions. This is why the full cooking time is an hour.
Recipe for 15 Bean Soup FAQs
For a 20 ounce bag of beans, 8 cups of vegetable broth is needed, using a 6-quart Instant Pot. This is enough to feed 8-10 with about 1 cup serving size. Plain water is not used for Instant Pot bean soup.
Instant Pot bean soup freezes very well. Allow the soup to cool completely in the refrigerator, then add to tightly sealed freezer-safe bags and store flat. Label the bag with the freezing date and store for up to 6 months.
Instant Pot Bean Soup Variations
- Make your own ham seasoning: If you don’t want to use the included seasoning packet, you can use a mixture of ½ teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, and 1 teaspoon oregano for a great combination of flavors. I also like to add a bay leaf and fresh herbs, like parsley. Taste for salt levels before salting.
- Chicken and bean soup: You can make an amazing chicken 15-bean soup by using leftover shredded chicken instead of ham (rotisserie works great) and chicken broth instead of vegetable broth. Reheat the chicken in the soup the same way you would with leftover ham so it does not overcook.
- Sausage bean soup: Use smoked sausage, such as Andouille sausage, instead of ham. Rather than using leftovers, since sausage cooks quickly, you can cook it just before the bean soup is done cooking, then add it when it’s done. I like to cut the sausage into coins or dice for this soup. Try adding 1 teaspoon chili powder for a little extra kick that pairs well with the sausage.
Make-Ahead Instructions
- Prep all veggies up to 2-3 days ahead of time by chopping them and placing them in airtight containers in the refrigerator. The onions should be kept separate from the celery and carrot, as they are not added at the same time. The same goes for the garlic.
- This is the perfect soup for using leftover ham. If you like, you can make a ham dinner earlier in the week, then save the leftovers for this soup. This is a great way to prep the soup ahead of time and get several meals out of a ham.
How to Store Leftover Soup
Store leftover bean soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
How to Reheat Leftover Soup
Reheat on the stove over low-medium heat until heated through, or in the microwave with a paper towel over the top of the dish to keep it from potentially splattering. You can also reheat in the Instant Pot using the warming function.
Instant Pot Soup Recipes
- Instant Pot Ham Soup
- Instant Pot Pho
- Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana
- Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Soup
- Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup
- See more of my Easy Soup Recipes, like Crockpot Vegetable Soup!
Try serving this soup with a Mushroom Grilled Cheese!
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📋 Recipe
Best Instant Pot Bean Soup with Ham
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 Cups Vegetable Broth
- 1 Bag 15-Bean Mix 20 ounces
- 1 Pound Cubed Ham
- 1 Yellow Onion
- 1 Cup Carrots chopped
- 1 Cup Celery chopped
- 6 Cloves Garlic minced
- 2 Tablespoons Butter
See our Cooking Conversions Chart for help converting measurements!
Instructions
- Chop all your vegetables and set them aside.1 Yellow Onion, 1 Cup Carrots, 1 Cup Celery, 6 Cloves Garlic
- Set your instant pot to the saute setting and place the butter inside. Melt the butter.2 Tablespoons Butter
- Add the chopped onion to the pot and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes.1 Yellow Onion
- Add the minced garlic and saute for another minute. Then, add all the ingredients, except the ham, to the instant pot, including the flavoring packet from the 15-bean bag.8 Cups Vegetable Broth, 1 Bag 15-Bean Mix, 1 Yellow Onion, 1 Cup Carrots, 6 Cloves Garlic, 1 Cup Celery
- Cover and set your instant pot to manual/high pressure. Set it for 40 minutes. It will take about 10 minutes to pressurize before the 40 minutes will officially start.
- Manually release your pot once it’s done and add the ham. Stir and let sit for a couple of minutes for the ham to warm through. Add salt and pepper, if desired or needed and enjoy!1 Pound Cubed Ham
Notes
- You can saute the veggies before for a couple minutes before adding the other ingredients, if preferred, but it’s not necessary for the best flavor.
- If you don’t want to include the seasoning packet, you’ll want to add more spices for flavoring, such as salt, pepper, etc.
- If you like your food a little saltier, add about ½ teaspoon to the mix.
- Using cooked ham is the key here. Great for leftover ham or the cooked, cubed ham you can buy at the store. You don’t want to cook the ham the entire time as it’s already cooked, so it will get tough. You’re just wanting to warm up the ham, which is why you have it sit in the hot liquid for a couple of minutes before serving. It makes it the perfect temperature.
- The soup only cooks for a total of 40 minutes, but you’ll need extra time for it to pressurize and to saute the onions. This is why the full cooking time is an hour.
Stephanie says
This looks delicious and I would love to make….however, I do not own an Instant Pot. Could I make on the stovetop?
Em Beitel says
Hi Stephanie! Yes, you can definitely make this recipe on the stovetop. Here’s how:
1. Soak the beans: I recommend soaking the beans to shave 1 hour off of the cooking time. Rinse them, then add the beans to a pot with water that covers them by about 2 inches. Let it sit overnight. You can skip this step, but it’s better if you soak them.
2. Cut down on the liquid: You only need 4 cups of chicken broth if you soak the beans, and 5 cups if you choose not to soak them.
3. Saute butter over medium heat in a large soup pot.
4. Add chopped onion to the pot and saute until translucent, 5 minutes.
5. Add minced garlic and saute another minute.
6. Add the carrots, celery, and vegetable broth to the pot. Again, make sure to only use 4-5 cups of chicken broth, not the 8 the recipe calls for. Leave the flavoring packet from the beans for later.
7. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer.
8. Add the ham to the pot.
9. Cook for about 2 hours until the beans are tender. If you didn’t soak the beans, cook for 3 hours.
10. Finally, stir in the seasoning packet and taste. Add salt and pepper if needed, and simmer for another minute or so.