Black Bean Soup - Easy Instant Pot Meal!

Black Bean Soup made in a flash with the help of an Instant Pot. A hearty and healthy dish loaded with classic Mexican flavors. This is a great addition to your Taco Tuesday dinners!

Instant Pot Black Bean Soup Recipe

I love black bean soup, and this creamy Instant Pot Black Bean Soup recipe is so simple and easy to make! With the help of an Instant Pot, or electric pressure cooker, you don't have to worry about presoaking the beans!

Black beans are full of nutrients and antioxidants. They are also filled with protein which makes them filling and a great protein option for vegetarians and vegans. This is a hearty and healthy soup the whole family will love... and it's perfect for meal prep. Make a batch of this soup and store it in the fridge or freezer for easy weeknight lunches and dinners!

This soup is amazing on it's own but I recommend serving it topped with my easy avocado salsa! I love guacamole but a chunky, tangy avocado salsa is a great way to change up regular avocado. Instead of a mashed creamy texture you have a chunky salsa loaded with cubed avocado, tomatoes, red onions and jalapenos for a bit of spice!

Whether you’re meal prepping for the week or just want something warm and cozy for dinner, this Instant Pot Black Bean soup is guaranteed to satisfy. I love how you don’t have to soak your beans beforehand, plus how you can play with the final thickness of the soup just by pureeing or blending part of the soup.

This soup freezes well so I like to make one big batch, and then freeze half of the recipe in individual portions so I can just thaw and heat up on a lazy day.

You can also transform this easy black bean soup into a black bean topping for burrito bowls or refried beans for tostadas or dipping corn chips in! This is an easy versatile recipe you have to try.

What is in Black Bean Soup?

• Dry Black Beans - I love using dry black beans as they are cost effective and I can control exactly what ingredients go into their preparation. With this recipe you do not need to soak the beans first!
• Vegetable Broth - to keep this recipe vegetarian and vegan I like using vegetable broth, however you can use chicken broth or any bone broth to amp up the nutrition level!
• Red Onion, Garlic, Red Pepper - the red peppers and onions add beautiful pops of color to an often dark black bean soup. They add flavor and color to this soup.

• Jalapeno - for an optional added kick of spice add a finely diced and seeded jalapeno, red or green!
• Lime juice and zest, Cilantro - one of my favorite parts of Mexican cooking is the fresh pop of flavor from lime and cilantro. Growing up I wasn't a huge fan of cilantro but over the years I have come to love the exotic tropical flavor!
• Cumin, Chili Powder, Salt - the spices that go into this soup bring out the classic Mexican flavors. You could also use taco seasoning in place of these 3 ingredients.

Avocado Salsa

• Avocado - I always get so much joy slicing into an avocado. The beautiful color and creamy texture is amazing. This avocado salsa keeps the avocados chunky in cubes rather than mashed like guacamole.
• Tomato - cubed tomatoes add texture and heartiness to the salsa. You can use any tomato variety with the seeds removed or even cherry/grape tomatoed sliced in half!

• Red Onion - I have always loved the sharp flavor of red onions compared to white or yellow onions. They are a classic ingredient in salsa and guacamole.
• Jalapeno - optional for a bit of heat add finely diced jalapeños with the seeds removed
• Lime - lime juice adds a pop of tangy flavor and also prevents the avocados from browning.
• Cilantro, Cumin, Salt - a few simple herbs and spices go along way in this salsa!

How to Make Black Bean Soup

Full Printable Recipe at Bottom of Page

Pressure Cook the Soup

1 Wash and drain the dried black beans. Note: the beans do not need to be soaked, just washed and drained. You cannot use canned cooked black beans in this recipe.

2 To an Instant Pot or Electric Pressure cooker add all the soup ingredients. Give it a stir and ensure all of the beans are submerged in the liquid.

3 Place the lid on the pot and lock in place. Set the pressure valve to SEALING. Set the pressure cooker to MANUAL HIGH PRESSURE for 45 minutes. It will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure.

4 Once the cooking time is up, allow the Instant Pot to natural release for 10 minutes. The screen will read L 00:10.

5 Carefully turn the pressure valve to VENTING and release the remaining pressure from the pot. Carefully remove the lid.

Blend the Soup and Prepare Garnish

1 Optional: Blend half of the soup by using an Immersion Blender, or by transferring it to a blender. I like to blend about half of my soup so there would still be some texture to it.

2 Prepare the avocado salsa just before serving by combining all of the ingredients in a medium sized bowl. If preparing in advance cover the salsa with plastic wrap pressed directly on top of the salsa to prevent the avocados from browning.

3 Season the soup to taste with salt and stir in the ¼ cup of chopped cilantro or parsley. Serve in a bowl over cooked white rice, optional, and top with the avocado salsa.

Tips for the Best Black Bean Soup!

• Beans - using dry beans is a cost effective way to cook with beans. When using dry beans in this soup recipe you do not need to soak them first. The beans cook through in the instant pot during the 45 minutes cooking time. Be sure to wash and drain the beans before adding to the instant pot and remove and stones that may be in the package.
• Blending - depending on the texture of the soup you prefer you can blend ½ or ¾ of the soup. I prefer seeing some full beans in the soup so I only blend ½ of my soup.

• Avocado Salsa - to prevent the avocado salsa from browning, aim to prepare it just before serving the soup. I aim to prepare my salsa in the 10 minutes while the Instant Pot is naturally releasing. Once the salsa is prepared cut a piece of plastic wrap to fit over the bowl and press the plastic wrap directly against the salsa to avoid any air hitting the avocado. Oxidation is what browns avocados, so by pressing the plastic wrap flat against the salsa it avoids any air being able to brown it.

Leftovers?

• Burrito Bowls - I love serving leftovers with burrito bowls. You can strain some of the excess liquid from the soup and have perfectly cooked and seasoned black beans for topping your burrito bowls!
• Refried Beans - the leftover soup will thicken while stored in the fridge. Simply blend a few cups of soup, or puree in a food processor, and you will be left with delicious refried beans. Serve as a dip, topping for tostadas or as a side at your next taco Tuesday night!
• Freeze - after the soup has been cooled, add to air tight containers or freezer safe Ziploc bags. I like to pre-portion into 1 - 2 cup servings and freeze. Thaw in the fridge overnight, reheat and enjoy. Since the soup thickens when chilled add a few tablespoons of water when reheating.

3 Course Mexican Inspired Dinner

Pair this black bean soup with my Mexican Street Corn Dip and Pork Carnitas Tacos for a 3 course Mexican Inspired Dinner!

• Mexican Street Corn Dip - features all the classic flavors of elotes. The dip is packed with flavor from green chilies, cotija cheese, green onions and lime juice!
• Pork Carnitas - the easiest pork carnitas you will ever make in a slow cooker, cooked low and slow for the most amazing fall-apart tender goodness! Every tortilla dreams of being filled with Carnitas.

Enjoy!

- Sab

Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, may earn me a small commission.