Instapot Hearty Winter Vegetable Bean Soup

To soak the beans:  Cover the beans with 2-3 inches of water.  Soak overnight, or at least 6 hours, in the refrigerator.  You can skip this step if you’re using canned or pre-cooked beans.

To make the Winer Vegetable Bean Soup:  Select the Sauté setting on your Instapot.  While the Instapot heats up, peel and dice the carrot and turnip.  Trim and chop the celery into bite-sized pieces.  Add the diced vegetables to the Instapot.  Stir immediately to prevent sticking.  Sauté for 5 minutes, until golden brown, stirring off to ensure even cooking.

While the vegetables sauté, use your hands to strip the Red Chard leaves off of the stalks.  Set the leaves aside for later.  Trim the stalks and chop into bite-sized pieces, like you did with the celery.  Once the vegetables have sautéed, add the dried basil, thyme, and chopped chard stalks.  Sauté another 1-2 minutes, just until the spices become aromatic.

To finish cooking the soup:  Drain and rinse the soaked Canary Beans.  If using canned beans, drain and rinse.  Add the beans, the canned tomatoes (and their juices), the bay leaf, and 6 cups of water to the Instapot.  Secure the lid on the Instapot.  Change the setting from Saute to “Bean/Chili – Normal”.  The timer should automatically set for 30 minutes but follow your model’s guide for cooking beans.

To finish the soup:  Roughly chop the reserved Chard leaves.  Once the timer is finished, carefully vent the steam from the Instapot.  If you’re not around, the Instapot will automatically do this and change to a “Keep Warm” setting.  A few minutes before you’re ready to eat, remove the lid.  Stir in the chopped chard leaves, along with the salt and pepper.

Serve and Enjoy!

Yield: 10 Cups

Chef Katie’s Cooking Tips:

No Instapot?  If you don’t have an Instapot, you can cook this in a regular pot, right on the stove.  Follow the same steps, sautéing the vegetables first, then adding in the canned tomatoes and beans later.  Simmer until the beans are tender, anywhere from 45-90 minutes, depending on the freshness of the beans.

Short on Time?  Don’t have time to cook raw beans?  Use canned!  Simply substitute the raw beans for 1 can of Cannellini, Navy, or Red Kidney beans.  You can even use a whole grain like quinoa instead.  You can cook the soup on your stove top or in the Instapot.  If on the stovetop, you’ll still want to simmer everything for about 10-15 minutes, to develop delicious flavor.