A quick and cheap comfort soup that cooks in the InstantPot so you aren’t stuck in the kitchen. At less than $5 for the meal, this is a true pantry staple recipe.
Beans are the Best!
One of my all-time favorite pantry staples are dried beans. You’d probably find them in most households, but they live on the shelves for years and don’t get used. Seriously, what a tragedy because beans are an awesomely cheap source of protein and other health-happy vitamins and minerals. I think most beans die a slow death on the pantry shelf because we think they take so much time to cook. Well, think again!
This soup uses that beautiful bean mix available in every grocery store and market. Sometimes it’s 13 beans, or 15 beans, or 9 beans… it doesn’t matter. And yes, they’re technically cheating because you can see there are green split peas and yellow lentils and all sorts in there. It’s fine. Get whatever bag looks prettiest, or check the bulk bins. They all work, but if you can’t find them, here’s one I like. We aren’t using the super salty seasoning packet, so don’t worry about that.
A note on soaking – do it if you want to, don’t do it if you don’t. This recipe does not require the beans to be soaked. In this batch, I put the beans in water for maybe 2 hours, mostly to give you a photo of how they plump… the cook time is the same. If you do soak the beans overnight, go right ahead, but this recipe is for a quick method, just dump the dry beans in and let the InstantPot do it’s magic.
Broth
I got really sick of hauling boxes of broth home from the store. Nevermind all the pantry space they take up. This broth base is my favorite. It’s delicious and as close to home-cooked broth as it gets for me. A heaped tablespoon in a quart of water is all you need, and one little jar goes back to it’s place inside the fridge.
No Stress Recipes
This is how I store most of my recipes… laugh at me if you want. I have a notes section in my phone and when I cook something that is delicious and wow-worthy, I jot down what I did. Now if you don’t cook often, or just really are attached to a true recipe with exact measurements and all that, don’t fret, I’ve included details below. Just sharing my no-stress approach to cooking. We all like comfort food, how about some comfort cooking!
Comfort in a Bowl
Simply delicious. It looks like you spent hours in the kitchen and all you did was literally dump stuff in a pot and walk away. Amazing. And for less than $5 (yes, I’m even factoring in the 2023 prices), what an incredible meal.
It tastes so good, you’ll appreciate having some leftovers for another meal.
Yes, this soup freezes well too. (I store soup in jars in the refrigerator, and in freezer bags in the freezer. Freezing soup in bags takes up less freezer space and makes it super easy to reheat later on.)
Let’s Make Some Soup!
13 Bean Soup - Instant Pot
Dump & Cook - One Pot, No Prep - Cheap Pantry Eats
Ingredients
- 1 cup 13 Bean Soup Mix
- 1 quart Chicken Broth
- 1 handful Carrots, shredded or chopped
- 1 Potato, peeled & chopped
- 1/4 tsp Garlic powder
- 1 tsp Dried Herbs (whatever combo you like, I use marjoram & herbs de provence)
- 1 TBSP Chili Powder
- 1 TBSP Olive Oil
- 15oz can Diced Tomatoes
- Tabasco, optional but delicious
- Grated Parmesan on top, optional but delicious
Instructions
- Rinse the beans and add to the Instant Pot
- Add broth, carrots, potatoes and dried seasonings. Stir
- Drizzle olive oil on top, but do not stir through
- Put lid on Instant Pot, set valve to sealing. Cook on HIGH pressure for 45 min
- Let Instant Pot do a natural release.
- Remove lid and stir in the can of tomatoes. Season with salt to taste and add tabasco if using.
- Let sit until ready to serve. This can stay in the pot on "keep warm" setting or be enjoyed immediately.
Notes
For a larger batch, Bean-Math for soup is: 4 cups (1 quart) for each cup of dried beans.
To speed up your Instant Pot coming to temperature, heat the broth before adding to the pot.
Use any dried herbs you have in the pantry! If mixing, give them a sniff and see if they smell good together. I've used many combinations of whatever I had on hand and they all make great soups.
Tabasco makes bean soups even more warming. I don't add enough to make it super spicy, but a couple tips of the bottle does add to the flavor.
Serve this soup with a salad or grilled sandwich. If you don't have the need for a whole loaf of crusty bread, a toasted English Muffin is quite good for dipping.
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