Instant Pot Vegan White Bean Soup

I like to make January an eating challenge, a “reset” if you will. Last year I did Whole30, which was great (and hard) but I was a little alarmed at the amount of meat I ate. This year I decided to go Whole Food Plant Based (or at least vegetarian, I’m keeping my olive oil for now) for January. Turns out this Instant Pot Vegan White Bean Soup was the perfect dinner, with plenty of leftovers for lunches! Flavorful and filling, you won’t miss the meat.

2020 has come in like a lion and with it has been my January eating resolutions. This year I decided on a Whole Food Plant Based January (which means a lot of things to a lot of people). To me, my Whole Food Plant Based January involves lots of veggies, whole grains, and legumes. I’ve given up meat entirely (turns out this is WAY easier than you would think) and trying to eat as little as possible of animal products (butter, dairy, eggs). It’s been a challenge, but after watching Game Changers on Netflix, I thought it would be good to at least try to be more purposeful about my eating, especially about increasing my plant consumption. (Take away points: eating plants is good for you in just about every way you can imagine)

Will I become Whole Food Plant Based long term? Only time will tell (and probably never strictly). But I will continue to try to be as plant forward as possible for as long as I possibly can because I agree, the health benefits are many. And no matter if I go back to eating meat or not, I will never stop eating this protein and fiber packed soup!

This Instant Pot Vegan White Bean soup, although quick to throw together, does take some forethought. I prefer to use dried beans and soak them overnight. A little trick I got from America’s Test Kitchen is to “brine the beans” which means to soak the beans in salted water. It makes the beans soft and creamy which is exactly what you want. In a hurry? By all means, you could use a few cans of cannellini beans (rinsed) and still get a fantastic soup (and if you have a lot on your plate, go for it, I sure won’t judge), but if you have the time…brine the beans. And just like in our Instant Pot Bean and Bacon Soup, you can cook the beans from dry right in the soup. If you choose this method, be prepared to add more cooking time (manual for at least 45 minutes) and assume you will need to add more broth after cooking.

So if you are not a planner, don’t fret-you can still have this amazing soup!

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Instant Pot Vegan White Bean Soup

This vegan white bean soup is low in calories, but packed with fiber and protein. Full of flavor, it will fill you up with good healthy ingredients. Leave the olive oil out for a truly Whole Food Plant Based soup.

Course Instant Pot, Soup, Vegetarian, Vegetarian/Vegan

Cuisine American

Keyword vegan white bean soup

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Soaking Time 12 hours

Total Time 12 hours 45 minutes

Servings 8 people

Calories 290 kcal

Author With Two Spoons

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried cannellini beans
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil (+ extra for garnish)
• 1 onion diced
• 3 large carrots diced
• 4 celery ribs diced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 1 Tablespoon fresh oregano chopped (+ extra for garnish)
• 8 cups Vegetable Broth + Extra for rewarming
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley chopped (+ extra for garnish)

Instructions

1. In a large container, dissolve 3 Tablespoons of kosher salt in 12 cups of water. Add dried beans and soak overnight. Drain and rinse.** (see notes if you don’t have time for the overnight soak)

2. Turn Instant Pot to saute. Heat oil until shimmering.
3. Add onion, carrot, celery, salt, pepper and sauté for approximately 7 min or until vegetables are soft.
4. Add garlic and oregano, stir for 30 seconds.

5. Add broth and beans and give a quick stir.

6. Press manual on your Instant Pot and set for 30 minutes.

7. Allow natural pressure release.

8. Give the soup a few turns with the immersion blender (don't puree entirely unless you like your soups pureed!).

9. Add lemon juice and parsley. Stir.

10. Ladle into bowls, garnish with extra chopped oregano and parsley. Drizzle with olive oil (optional) and serve.

Recipe Notes

1. You can use dry Cannellini beans without soaking-but you will need to increase your manual cook time to 45 minutes and expect to need to add more vegetable broth after your natural release.

2. You can use canned Cannellini beans (use 3 cans for this recipe), drained and rinsed. Adjust your manual cooking time to 20 minutes which should be plenty for these already soft beans.

3. If you have leftovers and need to reheat your soup, no problem (one thing I love about soup is the leftovers!).  But you may need to add some vegetable broth to keep the soup like consistency as it thickens as it sits in the refrigerator.

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Are you looking to add an Instant Pot to your kitchen? I use this one which is perfect for beans, soups, quinoa, yogurt, etc. I also use this Immersion Blender, which is one of the kitchen tools that I use the most!

Are you looking for more Plant Forward recipes? Try any one of these!

Instant Pot Sweet Corn Chowder

Healthy Vegan Lettuce Wraps

Citrus Kissed Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Carrot Zucchini Fritters (contains egg)

Roasted Carrots with Easy Thai Peanut Sauce

What kind of great foods are you cooking up for January? Anyone doing Whole Food Plant Based? Whole30? Other ways of eating? Has anyone seen the Netflix show “Game Changers”? SO MUCH I WANT TO DISCUSS!! Hop on over to social media and lets get the conversation started! Or leave your comments below…