This delicious Instant Pot Black Bean Soup is budget-friendly and so easy to make with dried black beans in a little over an hour. You don't even need to soak them first!

a bowl of instant pot bloack bean soup topped with tortilla chips, avocado, sour cream, cheese shreds, and cilantro.

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Easy Instant Pot Black Bean Soup! This one is so tasty, comforting, and ridiculously easy. A real dump-and-cook situation and almost all hands-off except for 2 or 3 blitzes with an immersion blender and a squeeze of lime at the end.

It's the perfect, comforting meal for chilly fall and winter days and makes the best leftovers.

Toppings like tortilla chips, avocado, vegan sour cream or yogurt, green onions, shredded vegan cheese, or crumbles of my vegan feta, and cilantro, are optional but recommended. It's also good served over fluffy rice, or with crusty bread or vegan garlic bread for dipping.

No Instant Pot? Try my Vegan Black Bean Soup which is pretty much the same recipe but made with canned beans on the stovetop.

Want more hearty vegan Instant Pot recipes? Be sure to give my Instant Pot Spaghetti Bolognese, Instant Pot Red Lentil Soup, and Instant Pot Vegetable Soup a try!

Mel x

Ingredients

Here is what you need at a glance, along with some important ingredient notes:

dried black beans, vegetable stock, olive oil, red chili pepper flakes, tomato puree, cumin, onion, lime juice, garlic, bell pepper, black pepper, salt, bay leaf

Black beans - These should be dried and unsoaked. The Instant Pot makes cooking them so easy!
Bell pepper - I like red, orange, or yellow bell peppers in this recipe. They tend to be sweeter than green. That's not to say you can't use green if it's all you've got, but if you have the choice...
Red chili pepper flakes - This soup isn't particularly spicy, but feel free to add a few more if you do want to spice things up!
Herbs - I like to use either dried oregano or dried mint. Dried mint with black beans is something I've been doing since my Instant Pot Black Beans back in 2018. It's an unlikely combo that really works, so don't be wary of trying it! The bay leaf adds a little something something that no one can really put their finger on, but if you don't have one, you can omit it.
Cumin - Black beans' best friend! It feels like a lot, but this makes quite a big pan of soup, and it will be just right but the time you're done.
Lime juice - This is for finishing the soup and goes in after the heat is turned off and immediately before serving. The touch of citrusy acidity complements the rich flavour of the soup.

Let's Make Instant Pot Black Bean Soup!

Can't wait to make this soup? The full printable recipe is below, but first, let me walk you through the steps to set you up for success in your kitchen. I recommend watching my recipe video if you're more of a visual learner:

1 - Saute the onions and garlic then add the tomato paste, herbs, and chili flakes and let them cook for a couple more minutes. Cooking the tomato paste and the spices removes their harsh raw, slightly bitter edge and makes your soup taste more rounded and complex.

sauteed onions, bell pepper, garlic, tomato paste and herbs in an Instant Pot

2 - Add everything else except the lime and pressure cook for 1 hour.

cooked black bean soup in an Instant Pot

3 - Blitz the soup with an immersion blender just a couple of times. This thickens the soup and releases more flavour! Finally before serving squeeze in the lime juice for a burst of citrusy freshness.