This Instant Pot Great Northern Bean Soup is an easy bean soup recipe that doesn't require soaking the beans. It's a creamy white bean soup that is made with simple ingredients: dried Great Northern Beans, broth, onions, garlic, and rosemary spring.
If you are on the hunt for Instant Pot Soup recipes, check out this Instant Pot Great Northern Bean Soup. It's the perfect hearty winter meal to help you stay warm and cozy. It's also extremely nutritious, as it's high in fiber and protein. This soup will keep you feeling full all day long!
Instant Pot Great Northern Bean Soup without Flour:
This creamy white bean soup is made without flour or heavy cream. To make it creamy, I just used a hand blender to puree the beans. You can keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days because it's a dairy-free soup.
Instant Pot Great Northern Bean Soup Ingredients:
To make the most of this Instant Pot Great Northern Bean Soup, I served it with crispy bacon, used chicken broth, and some fresh chopped parsley.
For those of you that are vegetarians, you can easily change up the ingredients to turn this soup into a vegan creamy white bean soup by simply using 100% vegetable broth, then finishing the cooked white beans with parsley or any topping of your choice.
Instant Pot Great Northern Bean Soup Health Benefits:
This pressure cooker's great northern bean soup offers great health benefits!
Great northern beans are a low-calorie and low-fat and are also a cholesterol-free source of iron, dietary fiber, protein, and potassium.
They are an excellent source of low-fat and plant-based protein for vegetarians (and everyone else), and if eaten regularly can help lower cholesterol and regulate blood sugar levels.
Soaking Beans or No Soaking Before Cooking:
Even though Great Northern Beans (like most other white beans) offer a ton of health benefits, the beans can also cause abdominal discomfort or bloating in some people.
Soaking the beans can break down the complex sugars that can cause gas. This will also make them cook faster.
For this Instant Pot Great Northern Bean Soup, I just washed the dried beans and then started cooking them without soaking them beforehand.
If you decide to soak the beans before cooking follow these steps:
- First, wash the beans thoroughly.
- After that, put the beans into a large bowl and cover them with 2-3 inches of cold clean water.
- Set it aside at room temperature for 8 hours, or overnight.
How Long Does It Take to Cook Un-soaked Beans in Instant Pot:
Cooking un-soaked beans in an instant pot only require 35 minutes, and soaked beans take approximately 25 minutes.
How to Store and Freeze Bean Soup:
Bean soups freeze well. The soup will last up to 3 days in the fridge or up to 1 month in the freezer. Just be sure to thaw it overnight in the fridge and cook over low heat to reheat the soup before using it.
Check out more Instant Pot Recipes: Instant Pot Congee with Chicken Instant Pot Barley Soup Instant Pot Lamb Stew Instant Pot Queso Dip
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Great Northern Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups dried Great Northern Bean
- 32 oz broth
- 1 rosemary spring
- 1 medium onion, (chopped)
- 4 garlic cloves, (minced)
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt, (add more according to your liking)
Optional Toppings:
- Crispy Bacon, (cook according to product packaging)
- Fresh Parsley , (chopped)
Instructions
- Turn the instant pot to "saute" and add olive oil. Cook chopped onion until translucent, then add garlic. Give it a quick stir for about 15 seconds. Press "keep warm or off".
- Add dried Great Northern Beans (soaked or un-soaked), rosemary spring and broth, then and set it to "manual" and adjust to "35 minutes" for un-soaked beans or "25 minutes" on a high setting for soaked beans. Seal the instant pot and set the vent to sealing.
- Once it's done, allow the instant pot to naturally release until pressure subsides, or wait at least 20 minutes before doing a quick release.
- Open the lid and use a hand blender or high-speed blender to puree the beans.
- Season with salt and pepper as desired. Serve with crispy bacon and parsley (optional).
Daphne says
Oh so good. I can’t get enough of it. Thanks for sharing.
Rika Livingston says
Thanks for sharing your feedback, Daphne! I am glad that you enjoyed this Instant Pot Great Northern Bean Soup recipe!
Ruth says
Great Northern Bean Soup was a winter staple for me when I was growing up. It had been years since I made it so wanted to make sure I got all the right ingredients. Came across your recipe and seen the ingredients included garlic, and my husband loves garlic...and it’s good for you. What the garlic does for this recipe is amazing! We love it!
Rika says
Hi Ruth,
I agree with you, garlic always make everything tastes better and offers a ton of health benefits! I think some people may be surprised to see it as an ingredient in this, but it definitely works.
Thanks for taking a time to share your feedback on this Instant Pot Great Northern Bean Soup recipe! I am glad to hear that you liked this simple soup.
Best,
Rika
Linda Schmidt says
Turned out great! Will make again
Rika says
Hi Linda,
I am glad that this recipe turned out well! Thanks for taking the time to review this soup recipe.
Best,
Rika
Cheryl Hofmann says
Delicious recipe! I used red onions, carrots and garlic and added a ham hock which gave the soup a marvelous flavor. Also, used an immersion blender to create a very smooth soup. Thank you for a wonderful recipe to make on a cold Chicago day!
Rika says
You're welcome, Cheryl. I think adding ham hock to the soup is a brilliant idea and definitely takes this soup to the next level.
Best,
Rika
Peter says
Why is the soup so high in Sodium? and can it be reduced some how
Rika says
Hello Peter,
The high sodium content is because I calculated the serving size for four large portions and based it on using regular broth. However, this recipe can actually yield up to 6 servings. Additionally, you can lower the sodium content by using broth with reduced sodium levels and/or you can omit the salt initially, sample the soup, and add salt to taste later on.
Feel free to reach out if you have any further inquiries or concerns.
Best,
Rika
Sheri says
Delicious and very easy. I will never cook beans or bean soup again without the Instapot as there was consistency in the beans versus some too chewy/crunchy with stove method. I used chicken jelly from baked chicken as we didn’t have broth. Mixed the jelly with water to make broth and finely chopped a little chicken and included that as well. The Instapot and immersion blender did the rest. I really couldn’t taste the rosemary, but maybe that’s a deficiency in my palette. It was a little saltier than expected. I added a little salt to onions as they cooked since broth we usually use has a lot of salt. It was a little salty despite the small amount of salt on cooked chicken and onions compared to the amount in broth. However, it still was really yummy and satisfying, especially considering how simple a recipe it was. Thank you for sharing.
Rika says
Hi Sheri,
Thank you so much for your thoughtful feedback! I’m so glad to hear that the Instant Pot worked well for you and that you found the recipe easy and delicious. I love how you made it your own by using chicken jelly and adding finely chopped chicken—that’s such a creative twist! I appreciate the note about the rosemary and the salt—it's true that salt levels can vary depending on the broth you use, so adjusting to taste is always a good idea. Thanks again for sharing your experience.
Best,
Rika
Melodi says
Excited to try this! Any chance the recipe can be made using canned instead of dry beans?
Rika says
Hi Melodi,
Apologies for the delay! Yes, you can use canned beans—about 3 cans, drained and rinsed thoroughly before cooking. Reduce the liquid to 2-3 cups initially and add more later if necessary. Also, reduce the cooking time to 3 minutes, then allow for a natural release for at least 15 minutes.
Best,
Rika
Lisa B says
I was looking forward to this being such a good bean soup, and it was the most bland and boring soup I’ve ever had. I added a can of green chilies, cream cheese, sour cream, a bit of Parmesan, some more broth at the end (chicken broth instead of vegetable)white pepper and some shredded cheese over the top and it was better.. thank you for the guidance
Rika says
Hi Lisa,
Thank you for your honest feedback. I’m sorry this one wasn’t to your liking. Everyone’s taste preferences are different, and I appreciate you sharing the additions you made to suit your palate.
Best,
Rika