Spicy Black Bean Soup in an Instant Pot

This hearty, tasty soup is vegan, vegetarian, WFPB (Whole Food Plant-Based) and oil-free.

And, on top of that, it’s easy to make, too.

Gather the Ingredients

It’s always best to start any recipe by gathering together all the ingredients you’re going to need.

That way, you’ll be sure you have everything and won’t be searching around your kitchen only to find that you’re missing a critical ingredient. (Yes, it’s happened to me, more than I can mention.)

Note: a complete list of ingredients and measurements can be found in the complete, printable, recipe below.

Prepare All of the Ingredients

Be sure to prepare all of the ingredients as describe in the recipe below.

Then add them to the inner liner of your Instant Pot.

Note: for this recipe we used a 6-quart Instant Pot Duo.

Add the Tomatoes LAST!

Add all of the ingredients to the inner liner of your Instant Pot – with the exception of the baby spinach and lime juice. (The spinach and lime juice will be added after everything is cooked.

But, be sure to add the tomatoes LAST, and DO NOT STIR. Why? Well, if the tomatoes are in contact with the bottom of the liner, there is a possibility that you could get the dreaded Burn notice!

Don’t worry, everything will still cook just fine.

You may also have noticed from the ingredients photo, that the vegetable broth is frozen. Yes, it’s okay to put it in the pot frozen. It’ll just take a little longer for the pot to come up to pressure.

We always make our own vegetable broth and keep it frozen it convenient, recipe-friendly sizes – mostly 4-cup and 6-cup containers.

For a quick video on how to make your own vegetable broth, check out How to Make Homemade Vegetable Broth in your Instant Pot on YouTube.

Time to Cook the Soup

Transfer the inner liner to the Instant Pot base and close and lock the lid, ensuring that the Pressure Valve is in the Sealing position.

Select the Bean/Chili mode and set the cooking time for 22 minutes.

Note: if you like your beans really soft, you may want to increase the time to about 30 minutes. We like our beans to still be firm.

Once the cooking time is complete, allow a full NPR (Natural Pressure Release).

All this means is letting your Instant Pot sit until all of the pressure has released naturally and the Float Valve has dropped on its own.

Time to Add the Spinach and Lime Juice

Once all the pressure has been released and the Float Valve has dropped, carefully remove the lid and transfer the inner liner to a heatproof surface.

Add the spinach and lime juice and give the soup a good stir.

Soup’s On!

You can now serve the soup immediately or refrigerate or freeze for later use.

Total Instant Pot Time

The “cooking time” in an Instant Pot is only part of the story.

We always like to give the Total Instant Pot Time with our recipes, so you know exactly how long it will be before you can put the soup on the table.

Total time can also be affected by the size of Instant Pot you use. In this recipe we used a 6-quart Duo.

Here’s the total time for this recipe:

• Time to come to pressure (using frozen broth): approx. 26 minutes
• Cooking time: 22 minutes
• NPR: approx. 36 minutes
• Total Instant Pot time: approx. 1 hour, 24 minutes

Low Calorie

This soup is very low calorie at only 1 kcal/serving.

Low Calorie

This soup is very low calorie at only 207 kcal/serving.

Note: If you are using Weight Watchers, this soup is zero points.

Here’s the complete, printable recipe:

Spicy Black Bean Soup in an Instant Pot

This recipe is vegan, vegetarian, WFPB (Whole Food Plant-Based) and oil-free.

Total Instant Pot Time using a 6-quart Duo:

Time to come to pressure (using frozen broth): approx. 26 minutes

Cooking time: 22 minutes

Full NPR: approx. 36 minutes

Total Instant Pot Time: approx. 1 hour, 24 minutes

• 4 cups vegetable broth (preferably homemade)
• 16 ounces dried black beans (rinsed)
• 2 stalks celery (chopped)
• 4 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 medium jalapeño (seeded and chopped)
• 1 medium yellow onion (chopped)
• 3 medium carrots (chopped)
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 2 medium bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 2 teaspoon black pepper (freshly ground)
• 2 cups baby spinach (packed)
• 1 tablespoon lime juice

1. Prepare all of the ingredients per the list of ingredients.

2. Add all of the ingredients to the inner liner of your Instant Pot, making sure the tomatoes go in LAST and DO NOT STIR. (Note: the reason to not stir is to avoid a "Burn" notice if the tomatoes are in contact with the bottom of the inner liner.

3. Return the inner liner to the base of the Instant Pot and close and lock the lid, ensuring that the Pressure Valve is in the Sealing position.

4. Select the Bean/Chili mode and set the cooking time for 22 minutes.

   Note: If you prefer your beans to be softer, add more time to the cooking time. Perhaps change the cooking time to about 30 minutes.

5. Once cooking time is complete, allow a full NPR (Natural Pressure Release) by allowing the pressure to release on its own until all the pressure has been released and the Float Valve has dropped on its own This will take about 36 minutes.

6. Once all the pressure has been released, and the Float Valve has dropped, carefully remove the lid and transfer the inner liner to a heatproof surface.

7. Add the baby spinach and the lime juice and stir well.

8. Serve immediately or refrigerate or freeze for later use.