Vegan Spiced White Bean Soup
This comforting and heart-warming White Bean Soup is packed with flavorful Mexican spices for a truly delicious vegan soup recipe that is healthy, easy to make and can be made with soaked or unsoaked dry white beans! Both Instant Pot pressure cooker and stovetop instructions are included for this spicy, smoky soup!
This divine comfort food of a soup is so ridiculously and addictively tasty, that I have trouble not eating the entire stock before my family makes their way to it! The spice combo in this vegan soup is well-balanced and perfectly rich. Combined with the hearty nutrition of white cannellini beans (a.k.a. white kidney beans) & your choice of toppings, this easy Instant Pot soup recipe will become your new favorite thing in the months ahead (I just know it!).
Recipe Features
- Hearty, comforting, rich, flavorful, and truly heart-warming.
- Super easy to make.
- Smoky and spicy.
- Easily customized with your choice of toppings.
- Conveniently made in an Instant Pot pressure cooker or the stovetop.
- Packed with wholesome, nutritious ingredients.
- Vegan, dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free!
What ingredients are needed to make White Bean Soup?
- White cannellini beans a.k.a white kidney beans.
- Oil, onion, garlic, and a green chile.
- A special spice blend.
- Vinegar.
- Coconut sugar (optional).
- Salt.
- Water or vegetable broth.
(Note: to see full recipe ingredients and amounts, scroll down to the full recipe card towards the bottom of this post.)
How to Make Instant Pot White Bean Soup – Step by Step
Top Tips for Making Vegan White Bean Soup
- White Beans
I like to use white cannellini beans (white kidney beans), but navy beans or great northern beans work as well (with no further adjustments).
- Store it
This soup keeps well in lidded containers in the refrigerator for up to one week. This soup also freezes well for up to about 3 months!
- Top it Off
This delicious soup really elevates with the addition of the right toppings. We like: parsley, cilantro, vegan or regular shredded cheddar, sunflower seed sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips!
- Choose Your Acid
I like to use apple cider vinegar in this soup, but lemon or lime juice works just as well!
Common Recipe Questions
- To soak or not to soak?
Soaking your beans for this recipe is a personal choice. If you have the time to do so, I think it results in a creamier, better-textured soup. If you do not have time, it still works out well! So long as the dried beans you use are not super old, no further adjustments should be necessary to the cooking time if you are not soaking your beans. Soaked or unsoaked, if your beans are not tender enough to your liking after cooking — simply place the lid on and cook another 5 minutes on high pressure (repeating if necessary), until the desired tenderness is achieved.
- Can I omit the coconut sugar?
Yes. For a keto-friendly or sugar-free soup, simply omit the sugar. Alternatively, you can replace it with a sugar-free sweetener, honey, or maple syrup if desired.
- Is this white bean soup spicy?
Yes, it does have a bit of a kick. I would say about medium-spicy. If a kick isn’t your thing, simply omit the green chile and cayenne for a still tasty soup!
More Vegan Soup Recipes
Gluten-Free Vegan Lentil Minestrone Soup
Instant Pot Cajun Spiced Chickpea Soup
Instant Pot Vegan Split Pea Soup
Spicy Southwestern Vegan Corn Chowder
Vegan Instant Pot Mexican White Bean Soup (+ Stovetop Instructions)
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried white cannellini beans white kidney beans, soaked or unsoaked (see tips section in post above for more info) (400 grams)
- 1 tablespoon olive or avocado oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 8 garlic cloves peeled and crushed
- 1 green chile finely chopped (roasted Hatch, jalapeno or serrano)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon oregano leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 8 cups vegetable broth or water 1880 ml
- 1 teaspoon coconut sugar optional, see tips above in post
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- sea salt or pink salt to taste
- parsley and/or cilantro for garnishing (optional)
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- Prior to making soup, optionally soak beans in water for 4 hours (or longer).
- Set Instant Pot to saute mode. Add oil, onion, garlic and chile. Saute for 5 minutes.
- Add spices. Saute for 2 minutes longer.
- Add beans and water/broth. Give a good stir, then place on lid. Seal pressure valve and set the Instant Pot to manual high pressure for 35 minutes.
- Let pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Release steam and remove lid.
- Stir in vinegar and sugar, then salt to taste.
- Garnish with parsley/cilantro, serve and enjoy!
Stovetop Instructions
- Note: For stovetop method, soak beans for at least four hours prior to cooking.
- In large pot heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and chile. Saute for 5 minutes.
- Add spices. Saute 2 minutes longer.
- Add vegetable broth or water and soaked beans.
- Bring pot to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer.
- Simmer for 1-2 hours or until beans are tender, adding more broth or water if necessary.
- Stir in vinegar and sugar. Salt to taste.
- Garnish with parsley/cilantro, serve and enjoy!
I didn’t have white beans, so I used navy beans instead and it was a delicious soup with well-balanced flavors and nutrients.
This was so hearty and yummy. The directions were well written which made this even easier to make. Thanks for the great recipe!
The cannellini beans are the perfect creamy base for the flavorful broth! I chose to soak my beans before making this recipe.
I love making yummy creations in the Instant Pot! This bean soup came out perfectly- warm and smoky and I loved the flavors. Will make it again!
I had a giant bag of beans I needed to use up so this recipe was perfect! So easy to make in my IP!
This is seriously my kind of soup. Thank you for including instructions for non-Instant pot. I still haven’t joined that club.
You have such great soup recipes! This one will join my collection!
This is perfect cold weather soup for us up here in the North East! The flavors of this are going to make this a staple in my house!
Love so hearty this soup looks! I really enjoy roasted hatch chiles, can’t wait to give this a try. Going to be cozy coming into fall weather this week 🙂