Instant Pot ham and bean soup is a great recipe for using up leftover ham or ham bones from the holidays! With carrots, celery, onions, and dried white beans this flavorful soup comes together easily and deliciously.
Turn Instant Pot to Saute and set the time for 5 minutes.
Add the olive oil, onion, carrots, and celery and stir until the timer beeps.
Stir in the minced garlic for about 30 seconds and then add in all of the dry seasonings and stir.
Add in the chicken stock and stir again, scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pot.
Add in water, dried beans, ham bone, and bay leaf.
Close the lid and seal it shut.
Turn it to pressure cook for 45 minutes on HIGH. Allow it to natural release for 25 minutes.
Release remaining pressure (carefully).
Remove meat from ham bone and add the ham meat back into the soup.
Serve warm and enjoy.
Notes
Recipe TipsNo need to soak beans beforehand. You can simply rinse the beans to free them of dirt and debris and remove any rocks. Then they're ready to go!It's okay if you don't have a ham bone and only have ham chunks. Just use about 1 cup of cooked ham in its place.If you're using a leftover holiday sweet glazed ham, you may want to slice off the edge crusts where the sweet glaze is, or else you run the risk of a sweetened soup.Some hams are much saltier than others, so you can save the addition of salt until the soup is ready and do a taste test first and add it "to taste" instead.Also, we want to let it Natural Pressure Release for about 20-25 minutes before releasing the remaining pressure. The soup will be hot, so we want it to settle before venting so no one gets hurt and your counter doesn't become too messy.StorageAfter the ham bean soup has completely cooled, store it in airtight freezable containers and let it freeze for up to three months before thawing and reheating.Using Canned BeansWhen the soup has finished cooking and does its NPR, stir in 2 cans of drained and rinsed white beans and close the lid. Wait about 5 minutes and then stir and serve. The beans should be warmed up and the broth should still be tasty.