Instant Pot Ham Hock and Bean Soup is a hearty classic you can make in your pressure cooker. Great flavor from a smoky ham hock, thyme, garlic, and bay leaves. You don't even have to soak the beans if you don't want to! This pressure cooker ham hock and beans soup recipe is adapted from my mom's.
Instant Pot Ham Hock and Bean Soup
I know there's a month of Summer left, but I'm ready for all of the comfort foods of Fall! Pumpkin everything is already circulating online, so others must be feeling it too. So starts my Instant Pot Soup recipes posts!
Once again, I'm turning to my trusty Instant Pot to make this Instant Pot Ham Hock and Bean Soup. No need to have a pot boiling on the stove for a few hours, and I didn't start it early enough to use my crock pot.
In the electric pressure cooker this soup only takes about an hour. That includes the warm up and natural release time. Not bad! Just keep in mind that old beans will take longer to cook.
It is almost impossible to tell how old beans are, so just cook the recipe per instructions, leaving yourself a 15 to 25 minute window of time in case you need to add more time.
Also, on a warm day, I'm not heating up my kitchen. I say that all the time, but it is a huge reason why I will choose to make something like this in the Summer!
This pressure cooker ham hock and beans soup is total comfort food, and sure brings back my childhood!
I have over 50 Instant Pot Soup recipes here on the blog. You can use the search bar in the menu area to search, or search all of my Instant Pot soups here: Instant Pot Soups
Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana (Sausage Potato Soup)
Instant Pot Beef Barley Vegetable Soup
Sandy's Instant Pot Beef Stew
Instant Pot Mushroom Soup
Did you make this tasty Instant Pot Beans recipe? Please leave a comment with a star rating below. I'd love to know how you like it!

Instant Pot Ham Hock and Bean Soup can be ready in a little over an hour. Cook a tasty ham hock with navy beans and veggies for a delicious and comforting soup.
- 1 ½ lbs Ham Hock or meaty ham bone (I use 1 large ham hock)
- 1 lb Navy Beans* (dry, or soaked 2 hours)
- 6 cups Low Sodium Broth or Water, chicken or pork
- 1 large Yellow Onion, chopped
- 3 ribs Celery, chopped
- 3 Carrots, chopped (larger pieces for firmer veggies)
- 4 Garlic Cloves, finely minced
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 3 sprigs Fresh Thyme (or ¼ teaspoon dried)
- ⅓ cup Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley, chopped
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
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Add all ingredients to the inner liner of the Instant Pot. Stir (Make sure the beans are fully submerged so you don't get any crunchy ones).
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Put the lid on, and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
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Press the Pressure Cook or Manual button or dial, then the +/- button or dial to choose 45 minutes.
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When the cooking cycle ends, turn off the pot and let it sit undisturbed to naturally release pressure for 20 minutes.
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Carefully release the remaining steam manually, using short bursts at first to make sure the soup won't spew out of the steam release knob. When all steam is out of the pot, and the pin in the lid drops, open the lid facing it away from you.
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Serve hot with some nice bread or rolls.
*I soak my beans for 2-4 hours and use 40 minutes cook time for this recipe. If you don't soak your beans, try 45-50 minutes and add more time if you need to.
• Old beans will need more cook time.
RESOURCES TO MAKE Instant Pot Ham Hock and Bean Soup and more
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Kay R
I am new to instantpot. I brought a 3 qt because its only my husband and I. Will these reciepes work for a 3 quart insta pot ?
Sandy
You will need to cut the recipe in half and see if that amount works for you. Keep cook time about the same. The 3 qt has a slightly lower wattage, so it might need a few more minutes of cook time.
Pam
I had a beautiful leftover Christmas hambone and I decided that navy bean soup was in order. Originally I was going to try a stovetop recipe, but I ran out of soaking time and searched for a pressure cooker recipe instead. I found this and saw it was yours and knew we'd love it. And we do. It's easy and delicious, as are all the recipes of yours I've tried.
katie
Hi Sandy, how long should I cook if using precooked beans? Thank you for your help!
Sandy
Hi Katie, the main reason the timing works on this recipe is that the beans and the ham hock need the same cook time. So what I would do when using canned beans is cook the ham hock first without the beans (also cut back on the liquid as your beans will not be soaking any up). Then do a natural release of 10 minutes, open the lid, add in the beans, and close and re-seal the pot. Then pressure cook about 5 minutes to get the beans well incorporated in the soup. Then finish up as directed. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Shirley Cooper
Best recipe I seen for pinto beans. I do use smoked ham hocks. My Husband doesn’t like onions cooked in the beans. I’m an old southern cook. Love my buttermilk cornbread and fried potatoes with my beans. Thanks for sharing your recipe!!!
Nanny B
I made this with Navy beans and ham bone..it was delicious!
This time around, I purchased Great Northern beans.
May I ask, could Great Northern beans be substituted for Navy beans? Would the 2 hour soak time then decrease cook time to 35 minutes as well?
Thank you so much for any suggestions you might lend!😊
Sandy
I think they are very similar, so it should work. At the worst, you might have to add a few minutes of cook time.
M
This was my first attempt in the Instapot (duo mini). I cut the recipe in half. It is delicious! I used a smoked pork hock, which gave it a deep, rich flavor. I may use a ham bone next time, as I like some ham in my beans lol!
Overall, a great recipe and great flavor!
Penny
My husband requests this all the time, we love it.