Instapot Black Bean Soup – Simple 10 Ingredients

We love recommending any recipe that is bean-related for some simple facts: it is rich in protein, fibre and iron; it is cost effective and it makes for a healthy, hearty, and easy plant-based meal (dairy excluded)! This Instant Pot Black Bean Soup is healthy, hearty, and easy to make! It’s perfect for meal prep and freezes well.

Ingredients

• 1 small Red Onion, diced
• 3 Cloves Garlic, minced
• ½ bunch Cilantro, stems and leaves divided
• 1 cup Red Pepper, diced
• 1 tbsp Cumin
• 2 tbsp Chili Powder
• ½ tsp Cayenne Pepper
• 14 oz. dry Black Beans (about 2 cups)
• 4 cups Vegetable Broth, plus extra water (about 600 ml or 2/3 of container)
• Juice + Zest of 1 Lime
• Salt, to taste
• Garnishes of your choice: tortilla chips, shredded cheddar, sour cream, cubed avocado with a sprinkle of paprika and fresh cilantro.

Instructions

1. First, add the red onion, garlic, and diced cilantro stems into the Instant Pot with a splash of water. Using the Sauté setting, cook the veggies for 2-3 minutes, or until translucent.
2. Next, add the red pepper and spices to the Instant Pot, and sauté for an additional 1-2 minutes.
3. Add the dried black beans to the pot along with the vegetable broth and lime juice/zest. Stir well, then slowly add in water to the InstaPot until the water line is about 1” above the dried beans.
4. Cover and seal the pot, then set the pressure to Manual High for 40 Minutes.
5. Force release the pressure from the InstaPot, and carefully blend the soup by using an immersion blender, or by transferring it to a blender. We like to blend about half of our soup so there would still be some texture to it.
6. Pour into bowls, top with fresh cilantro and other garnish as desired, and enjoy.

Notes to Mention

• If you would like your soup to be thicker, spoon off some of the liquid from the top of the beans once they finish cooking.
• This soup freezes well, so is great for portioning out for lunches or later meals.
• As with most Instapot recipes, we only find it fast to cook – IF some of the ingredients are prepped the night before. Thus we recommend dicing, mincing and chopping the red onion, garlic, and cilantro stems in advance, covered and stored in the fridge. As well as dicing the red pepper to cove & refrigerate and measuring out the spices to store in a small separate airtight container. Once you arrive home from work – grab everything and follow the instructions above.
• If you do not have an Instant Pot, you can also make this recipe on the stovetop – you will need to adjust the cooking time for the dried Beans, and may need to add in more Water as well. Alternatively, you can substitute 4 cups of drained & rinsed canned black beans for the dried beans – if you do this, you will only need to simmer the mixture for 10-15 minutes or so before blending.

Resource: Adopted from frommybowl.com

For more healthy soup ideas, check out our Glowing Vegan Spiced Lentil Soup (gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, refined sugar-free, soy-free).