Instant Pot 15 Bean Soup is cooked with ham hocks or a meaty ham bone for a delicious, full flavored soup. This pressure cooker 15 bean soup recipe is simple, hearty and very good.
Instant Pot Beans Are the Best!
Who doesn't love a big pot of beans? Especially when flavored with some smoky ham hocks or a meaty ham bone. We sure do!
Making 15 Bean Soup in the Instant Pot® is the best method I have found for cooking a yummy pot of beans.
What Are the 15 Beans in 15 Bean Soup?
According to the Hurst's website, the mix contains 15 of these bean varieties: northern, pinto, large lima, yellow eye, garbanzo, baby lima, green split, kidney, cranberry, small white, pink, small red, yellow split, lentil, navy, white kidney, and black bean.
The steps to make Instant Pot 15 Bean Soup with Ham are easy. Here they are:
Can 15 Bean Soup be Frozen?
Yes it can. What I like to do it freeze the soup in portions, usually about 2 cups, in resealable freezer baggies. Then lay them flat to freeze.
The thinner frozen baggie of soup is much quicker to thaw out. Then I either microwave the thawed soup in a bowl, or put it in a saucepan on the stove to heat up.
A Few Variations to This Instant Pot 15 Bean Soup
15 Bean soup is easy to change up to use what you have on hand. Some nice variations are:
• Add some fresh kale or spinach after cooking to get some healthy greens into the soup.
• Don't have ham hocks or a ham bone? Try smoked sausage or bacon. Both will add that tasty, smoky flavor to the soup.
• Vegetarian? Omit the meat, use vegetable broth, and use some liquid smoke for delicious flavor.
Instant Pot Beef Barley Vegetable Soup
Instant Pot Split Pea Soup
Instant Pot Ham Hock and Bean Soup
Instant Pot Wild Rice Soup with Chicken
Talk to Me!
If you make this delicious pressure cooker 15 bean soup, please leave a comment with a star rating below in the comments section.
I would like to know how you liked it!

Instant Pot 15 Bean Soup is cooked with ham hocks or a meaty ham bone for a delicious, full flavored soup. This pressure cooker 15 bean soup recipe is simple, hearty and very good.
- 1 20-oz package Hurst's Hambeans® 15 Bean Soup Mix (with seasoning packet, ham flavored)
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 lg Onion, chopped
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 4 cloves Garlic, minced
- 2 ribs Celery, chopped
- 3 med Carrots, chopped
- 8 cups Low Sodium Chicken (or Ham Broth)
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 3 sprigs Fresh Thyme
- 1-3 Ham Hocks (or a Ham Bone)
- 1 14-oz can Diced Tomatoes
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Pour the beans into a strainer. Set the seasoning packet aside. Rinse the beans and discard any debris. Set aside.
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Turn on the sauté setting on your pressure cooker. When it is hot, add the olive oil, onion, bay leaves, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion starts to turn translucent.
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Add the garlic and cook about a minute, stirring frequently.
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Add the beans, carrots, and broth. Stir, scraping the bottom of the pot with the spoon to make sure nothing is stuck to the bottom.
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Add the pepper, thyme, and ham hocks (or ham bone).
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Turn off the sauté setting and close the lid, making sure the vent is sealed. Then set the pressure cook time to 60 minutes, High pressure. It will take several minutes for the pot to come to pressure.
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When the cook time has finished, let the pot sit undisturbed for 15 minutes, then release the remaining pressure manually. Watch it as it is releasing to see if any soup will spew out of the vent with the steam. If it starts to, just close the vent and release the steam in shorter bursts until you are sure that no soup is going to come out of the vent with the steam. Then open the lid after the pin in the lid drops down.
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Use tongs to remove the ham hocks/ham bone to a plate, and discard the bay leaves and thyme stem.
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Add the seasoning packet and diced tomatoes to the soup and stir.
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Use a fork to carefully remove the meat from the ham hocks/ham bone. Discard the bone and any extra fat & gristle. Add the meat to the soup. Stir.
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Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
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Serve hot.
Rachel
Great recipe! I ended up adding 20 more minutes in the pressure cooker because some of the beans seemed a little crunchy the first time I opened it. But other than that, followed recipe exactly. We look to garnish with banana rings and sour cream.
Joy
I made it with a 1/4 pound of bacon and it turned out amazing. Definitely will make it again.
Beth
This was my first time making this soup. I'm SO glad I came across this recipe! Absolutely delicious!
Cmawilson
This is fantastic! I doubled the onions and celery and put the tomatoes in with the beans. We devoured it.
Shari
Made this on 12-22-22! It’s so good.. I didn’t have a ham hock but I did have some Honey Baked Ham slices.
It’s just so good. It freezes well too.. So Good..
Joan Salvanelli
This was delicious! Very easy to make in the Instant Pot! I will definitely make this again!
Deb
This was so easy and so so yummy! I found I did not have bay leaves and thyme but it was still wonderful. Thank you!
Joan
Never made this before but it came out fantastic!!! Will definitely make this again! It’s a keeper!! Thanks so much!
Barbara Carter
If we have barbecued the bone-in ham, would the time be the same.
Sandy
Yes, as the cook time is all about the beans. If you are concerned with the ham being overcooked, you can add it after pressure cooking, but try to cook the beans with the bone for the flavor!
Karen Fein
Is it okay to use dried thyme? If yes, how much?
Sandy
Yes, try 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme leaves (not ground).