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This Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup takes the most humble ingredients and turns them into a cozy, filling soup that tastes like it simmered all day, yet is ready in record time. With dried beans, a leftover ham bone, and just the right seasonings, this ham bean soup is hearty, nourishing, and costs just pennies per serving.
Ham and Bean Soup is one of my favorite leftover ham recipes. It takes what is often thrown away, combines it with some pantry staples, and delivers a soup that warms you to your core.
Kristen's Keys for Ham and Bean Soup
A few small details are the difference between a good soup and why didn't I make a double batch soup.
- Check your beans. Ensure your great northern beans aren't expired, as believe it or not, dried beans DO expire and old beans won't soften, no matter how long you cook them.
- No bone leftover from a holiday baked ham? Use a ham hock. Either works to deliver a smoky undertone that gives this ham bean soup its signature flavor.
- Use a combination of chicken stock and water. Using both prevents the soup from becoming overly salty and allows the beans to soften properly, while still adding plenty of flavor.
- Wait to salt! While the chicken stock and ham bone have a bit of salt, we don't want to add any additional salt to the soup until after it cooks, as too much salt can interfere with the beans ability to soften.
- Plan for a natural pressure release. Letting the pressure come down naturally for at least 15 minutes ensures the beans fully cook and retain their texture. And prevents a starchy mess from spewing all over the kitchen.
5-Star Reader Review
This is an excellent bean soup recipe! A bit nontraditional (for me) with the tomato sauce, but it really adds a lot to the soup. I never was a huge fan of plain ol' ham & beans. My hubby loved it as well, which is impressive because he loves everything "the way my mom made it". THANK YOU! -ChemteacherB2
Ingredients Needed
Below is a quick glance of what you need to make this Ham and Bean Soup with a few notes on substitutions.
- Dried Beans: Traditionally made with dried northern white beans. But feel free to replace them with cannellini beans. And see recipe modifications for notes on using canned beans or soaked beans.
- Tomato Sauce: A small amount of tomato sauce added helps to enrich and enhance the earthy flavors in the soup. Omit for brothier base or replace with tomato paste for a deeper, more classic bean and bacon style soup.
- Seasoned Salt: Seasoned salt is a blend of seasonings that adds just the right amount of flavor and salt to this soup. If you don't have it on hand, use ½ teaspoon kosher salt plus ¼ teaspoon each onion powder and paprika.
How to Make Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup
This section will ensure your ham bean soup turns out perfectly, whether you are just learning how to use an Instant Pot or are a seasoned user.
Step One: Sauté Veggies
Use the sauté function to soften the onions, carrots, and celery in a little oil. When the onions look glossy, add the garlic and cook for just 30-60 seconds. Garlic burns fast, so you want to take care not to cook longer than a minute. Hit cancel to turn off the sauté function.
Step Two: Deglaze Inner Pot
Add in the chicken stock and use a spatula or spoon to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the inner pot. This will prevent a burn notice from occurring. Not to mention, those browned bits help to flavor the soup!
Step Three: Layer Ingredients
Add the water, bay leaf, thyme leaves, and rinsed dried beans to the inner pot. Nestle the ham bone (or ham hock) into the broth. Pour the tomato sauce over the ingredients and resist the urge to stir!
👉🏻Don't stir after adding tomato sauce! Keeping it on top helps avoid a burn notice and allows the Instant Pot to come to pressure without issue.
Step Four: Pressure Cook
Place the lid on the Instant Pot, ensure the vent knob is sealed, and set to cook for 45 minutes on high pressure. Once the cooking time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally for at least 15 minutes to allow the soup to finish cooking.
Step Five: Finish Soup
Remove the ham bone, bay leaf, and thyme stems. Shred any remaining ham and stir it back into the soup. Season with 1 teaspoon seasoned salt, taste, and adjust as needed.
Recipe Modifications
- Crockpot Ham Bean Soup: Layer the ingredients (minus the seasoned salt) inside the base of a crockpot and slow cook for 12 hours on low. Remove ham bone, season as directed and serve.
- No Fresh Thyme? Use 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves (not ground thyme).
- Using a Glazed Ham Bone: Remove any heavily glazed pieces to avoid sweetness.
- Using Soaked Beans: Soak the beans overnight in cold water. Drain, and proceed with the recipe, reducing the water to 3 cups and the cook time to just 35 minutes.
- Using Canned Beans: Replace dried beans with two 16-ounce cans Great northern beans(drained and rinsed), reduce water to 2 cups, cook for 20 minutes, and reduce seasoned salt to just ¼ teaspoon.
Storage Instructions
This soup freezes and reheats well, so be happy if you have leftovers!
- Refrigerate: Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freeze: Cool completely, transfer to freezer-safe container, and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheat: Warm gently on the stovetop or microwave in 60-second bursts, adding extra broth or water as needed.
More Easy Instant Pot Soup Recipes
You can browse all of my Instant Pot Soup recipes here or enjoy a few favorites below.
Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup
Video
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, minced
- 2 stalks celery, thinly, sliced
- 2 large peeled carrots, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock, or additional water
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups dried white northern beans, rinsed and sorted
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 8 ounces tomato sauce, optional
- 1 ham bone, or smoked ham hock
- 1-2 teaspoons seasoned salt
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot to sauté, add ½ tablespoon oil, and let briefly heat. Once heated, add onions, celery, and carrots and sauté for 3-4 minutes, or until onions have become soft and translucent. Once the onion has softened, add in garlic and sauté for another 30-60 seconds until just aromatic. Hit Cancel to turn the Instant Pot OFF.
- Add 2 cups of chicken stock (or additional water) into the inner pot and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the inner pot.
- Add 4 cups of water, rinsed beans, 2 bay leaves, 2 sprigs of thyme, and 1 teaspoon pepper to Instant Pot. Nestle the ham bone inside the inner pot and top with 8 ounces of tomato sauce (if using).
- Place lid on pressure cooker and turn vent knob to sealed. Set cook time to 45 minutes on HIGH pressure. (Hit manual/pressure cook button and then use +/- keys to adjust time to 45 minutes).
- After the cooking time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally. This can take 15-20 minutes. Open the lid and remove ham bone, bay leaf, and thyme sprigs.
- If desired, pick off any remaining bits of meat from ham bone and stir back into the soup, along with 1 teaspoon of seasoned salt. Give the soup a taste and add up to an additional 1 teaspoon seasoned salt if needed.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Originally posted in 2017 and updated in 2025.
This is now the ONLY way I make ham bean soup!! The flavor is incredible and it’s so easy!! My whole family tells me it is better than my MIL’s and hers was the “gold standard” prior to this! ☺️
What a compliment! Thank you Janis for sharing!
Delicious! I had navy beans and it turned out great. I took about a cup of beans out after it was cooked and mashed them. It made the soup a bit thicker. Will definitely make this again!
I'm so excited to try this recipe but I do have a question. I've always heard that tomatoes should be added after beans have softened because the acid binds to the beans shell and makes it harder for water to permeate them to cook them. Is this not a problem with the instant pot?
Thank You for any help you can give.
Hi Robin. That is correct--tomatoes and salt can interfere with the cooking time. This recipe accounts for that and the cooking time allows the beans to get soft 🙂
You have been inspiring me to use my Instant Pot more and more with your recipes. This recipe for ham and bean soup became the best I’ve ever made! Great flavor even though I left out the thyme, pepper, bay leaf and salt (salty enough). The family prefers simple tastes and the taste of the ham really came through and the beans were soft with a creamy texture. I used my Easter ham bone, chopped leftover veggies from my crudités platter, and the white northern beans. Timing of 45 minutes was perfect. Quick and delicious meal! Especially since the beans didn’t need an overnight soaking. Thank you for a delicious recipe. It’s a keeper!
I love hearing my recipes are inspiring you and I am so glad you enjoyed the soup! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment.
Really delicious. Love that there is no need to pre-soak beans. (I used the dry Goya 15 beans). Used vegetable broth for fluid. Did not sauté veggies. Threw everything in the pot and waited to cut the ham off the bone. Threw it in and “bam”, about an hour later soup was ready to eat. Thanks for this recipe. The soup was ready before we finished Easter dinner!
What changes would I need to make to substitute pearl barley in place of dried beans
I would actually suggest making my Beef and Barley soup and substituting the ham in place of beef. The liquid measurements and timing are for pearl barley instead of dried beans in that recipe. Enjoy!
Easy to follow, common ingredients , Mindful mom is a kitchen Angel of the people
Thank you so much Jon!