Instant Pot Ham White Bean Soup

Hearty, starchy, and filling, this rustic Instant Pot Ham White Bean Soup is the epitome of comfort food. This soup is an easy and satisfying way to transform leftover ham and a ham bone into a hearty meal.

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When it’s cold outside and all you want is to stay cozy and warm, the best thing to do is make a large pot of this hearty soup. Especially, now when I make this soup in a pressure cooker, it is very quick & easy – and ready in minutes. Just chop the vegetables and dump them in the electric pressure cooker, and soup cooks in only 15 minutes on Manual High Pressure after it comes to pressure.

It’s one of my favorite soups from my childhood, and one my grandmother used to make very often. We enjoyed it for lunch and for dinner, and I never got tired of eating it. It was so good! Made with love!

I tried to make the soup just like my grandmother used to make it. While it can’t compare to the soup from my childhood, I think it turned out pretty good! This soup tastes great and it is even better the next day. The flavors of the ham, beans, and vegetables have time to blend together and they taste wonderful. The starch from the beans thickens the broth and makes the soup creamy and so comforting. On cold days like today, there is nothing more satisfying and delicious than a warm comforting soup.

This ham bean soup is a great way to use up any leftover ham from Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas.

Make sure you also try my Instant Pot Ham and Potato Soup and Instant Pot White Chicken Chili.

Why you will love this ham and white bean soup recipe!

Hearty: This instant pot recipe won’t leave you wanting more. It’s filling and it makes for a great main meal.
Great for a crowd: This recipe is perfect for a crowd or a large gathering. And it can be easily doubled.
Make ahead & freezer-friendly: This pressure cooker beans and ham recipe is perfect for weekly meal prep or to freeze for later.

Ingredients for Instant Pot White Bean Soup

Olive oil
Vegetables: carrot, onion, garlic, tomato
Ham: Either leftover ham shanks or cubed ham. You can also add ham hocks.
Beans: 3 cans of Great Northern, Navy beans, or Cannellini beans, or 1 lb Great Northern beans, soaked for 1 hour using the quick soak method (see notes)
Vegetable stock: You can use vegetable or low sodium chicken broth/stock
Water: I use about 1 to 2 cups of water depending on the consistency you like. Keep in mind that the soup thickens as it cools.
Seasonings and spices: salt, freshly ground black pepper, dried mint, thyme, paprika, bay leaves, fresh parsley

How To Make Ham White Bean Soup

Press the “saute” button on the Instant Pot, and heat oil. Once the oil is hot, add carrot, onion, garlic, tomato to the pot. Cook stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. (This is an optional step. You can dump everything in at once if you want).
Add the beans, ham, seasonings, chicken stock to the Instant Pot and close the lid. Lock the lid, move the valve to sealing and cook on Manual for 15 minutes.
When the ham and bean soup is done, and you hear the beep sound, press the Cancel/Keep Warm button. Let NPR for 10 minutes, and then QR until all the pressure is out.
Open lid and serve warm.

For stovetop and slow cooker instructions, check the recipe card below.

process images of making ham white bean soup

TIPS FROM NELI’S KITCHEN

Recipe Notes and Tips

For even more flavor, you can also add a ham bone if you have any leftover Thanksgiving or Christmas bone-in ham.
If you use dry beans and you don’t presoak them, increase the cooking time to 40 minutes. If the beans are not done after the cooking cycle is over, cook them for an additional 5 minutes.
If you use dry beans, you probably need to add 1 to 2 cups of water, additionally.
Make sure you let the pressure release naturally for at least 10 minutes before releasing the remaining pressure.
This soup is great on its own or served with crusty bread to mop the bowl.
The soup will continue to thicken as it cools.

Overnight Soak – Place beans in a large saucepan with about 7 cups water. Cover and let stand overnight, or at least 6-8 hours. Drain soak water and rinse. *Initially, the recipe called for 2 cups water. I reduced it to 1 cup after some readers’ feedback that it was too liquidy. Note though, that if you leave the soup in the fridge overnight, it gets thicker.

Storing

Once the soup cools down, you can store it in the refrigerator for about 4 – 5 days. You can also store it in the freezer for up to 6 months for best texture and taste.

Can you freeze this soup?

Yes, this soup recipe is freezer-friendly. You can keep it in the freezer for about 6 months. Once it is cooled, portion it into freezer safe containers or freezer bags, and freeze it. When ready to eat, you can defrost the soup slowly in the refrigerator overnight, and heat it on the stove. If it’s too thick, you can add a little bit water to thin it.

Once a year, I like to make several batches of this soup on a weekend and freeze it for later. And when I am short on time, and don’t have enough time to cook, I just defrost this soup or some of my other freezer meals. This soup recipe is so simple, inexpensive and so good.

Can you make it ahead of time?

Yes, this soup keeps well in the refrigerator for several days. You can make it on Sunday when you meal prep for the week. You can also chop and prepare the ingredients and just pressure cook the soup when you are ready to serve it.

Recipe FAQs

Do you have to soak the beans?

You can cook this ham white bean soup without soaking the beans. Just add 1 or 2 cups of extra water, and increase the cooking time to a total of 40 minutes.
I usually soak my beans for 1 hour using the quick soak method (I used Great Northern beans) before I put them in the Instant Pot but if you are short on time, and don’t have time for soaking the beans or the longer cook time, you could also use 3 cans of Great Northern or Cannellini beans in this recipe. In which case, you don’t need to increase the water or the cooking time.

Can you omit the ham?

If you are looking for a delicious vegan white bean soup, you can omit the ham.

More Instant Pot Soup Recipes

If you loved this bean soup recipe, make sure you check out some of my other comforting soups:

If you enjoyed this Instant Pot Ham Bean Soup recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!

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Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 8

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Instant Pot Instructions

Press the “saute” button on the Instant Pot, and add the oil, carrot, onion, garlic, tomato to the pot. Cook stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. (This is an optional step. You can dump everything in at once if you want).
Add the beans, ham, seasonings, chicken stock to the Instant Pot and close the lid. Lock the lid, move the valve to ‘Sealing’ and cook on Manual for 15 minutes.
When the ham and bean soup is done, and you hear the beep sound, press the Cancel/Keep Warm button. Let NPR for 10 minutes, and then QR until all the pressure is out.
Open lid and serve warm.

Stove Top Instructions

Add cold water to a dutch oven to cover the soaked beans by about 1 inch. Bring to boil over high heat, boil for 5 minutes.
Add sliced carrot, tomato, onion, garlic, ham, and drizzle about 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, paprika, crushed mint, thyme. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally, or until beans are tender.
Serve soup while it’s warm.

For even more flavor, you can also add a ham bone if you have any leftover Thanksgiving or Christmas bone-in ham.
If you use dry beans and you don’t presoak them, increase the cooking time to 40 minutes. If the beans are not done after the cooking cycle is over, cook them for an additional 5 minutes.
If you use dry beans, you probably need to add 1 to 2 cups of water, additionally.
Make sure you let the pressure release naturally for at least 10 minutes before releasing the remaining pressure.
This soup is great on its own or served with crusty bread to mop the bowl.
The soup will continue to thicken as it cools.

Quick Soak – Place the beans in a large saucepan with about 7 cups of water. Bring to a rapid boil on medium-high heat, and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 1 hour. Drain soak water and rinse beans.

Overnight Soak – Place beans in a large saucepan with about 7 cups water. Cover and let stand overnight, or at least 6-8 hours. Drain soak water and rinse. *Initially, the recipe called for 4 cups water. I reduced it to 2 cups after some readers’ feedback that it was too liquidy. Note though, that if you leave the soup in the fridge overnight, it gets thicker.
*Initially, the recipe called for 2 cups water. I reduced it to 1 cup after some readers’ feedback that it was too liquidy. Note though, that if you leave the soup in the fridge overnight, it gets thicker.