This Vegetarian 15 Bean Soup is made with beans and a handful of veggies, cooked in the Instant Pot or Stove Top. It’s a warm, comforting meal for busy weeknights. Best of all, it’s simple to make, budget-friendly, and freezer-friendly.
I love it when a recipe has very little prep and you can add everything in and let it cook, just like my dump and start instant pot red lentil tortilla soup. This 15-bean soup recipe is exactly like that. Once I’ve chopped the veggies and soaked the beans overnight, I can make a really large batch that’s hearty and loaded with flavour.
Whether I make it in the Instant Pot, on the stovetop, or in the slow cooker, this vegetarian bean soup is always a hit for a warm and comforting meal.
Jump to:
- 💛Why You'll Love This Recipe
- 👩🏻🍳Sandhya' Top Tips
- 📋Ingredients
- Easy Substitutions for Vegetarian Bean Soup
- 🔪How To Make Your Own Bean Mix for Soup
- Soaking The Beans for the Bean Soup Recipe
- 🔪How to Make Vegetarian 15 Bean Soup in Instant Pot?
- 🍽 What to Serve With Vegetarian Bean Soup?
- 🧂Storing
- ❓Recipe FAQ's
- More Vegetarian Instant Pot Soup Recipes
- Vegetarian 15 Bean Soup Recipe
💛Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Budget-friendly. You just need beans, some veggies, spices, and stock!
- Easy to make with minimal prep and in just one pot.
- With fifteen different types of beans, it naturally contains protein and fibre, for a satisfying meal.
- It freezes really well, so I always make a big batch for quick, ready-to-go lunches.
👩🏻🍳Sandhya' Top Tips
- Wash & Soak the beans for a minimum of 8 hours or overnight. If you can, allow soaking for 24 hours.
- Cook in the Instant Pot for a faster vegetarian 15-bean soup. Not in a rush, stove top or slow cooker woks just fine.
- Customise to your liking. Add leftover air fryer sausages or veggies from christmas traybake, especially after Christmas and Thanksgiving, to make this soup - it's so good.Just like I use Christmas leftovers to make baked Bubble and Squeak cakes on Boxing Day!
- Use Your Own seasoning mix. I usually throw the seasoning away that comes with the bean mix like Hurst's 15 bean soup mix. It's easy to flavour your own way.
📋Ingredients
- Mixed Beans: I’ve used Hurst 15 bean mix (available in US supermarkets), but you can also use a 10 bean mix, 12 bean mix or make your own bean mix for soup.
- Olive Oil or any neutral-flavored oil
- Garlic: Fresh minced garlic adds the best flavor, but garlic powder works if needed.
- Onion, Celery, Carrots: The classic mirepoix trio that adds great texture and flavour.
- Tomatoes: Canned diced or crushed tomatoes, or passata - all works well.
- Spices: I’ve used Italian seasoning, bay leaf, ground cumin, ground black pepper, smoked paprika, and chili powder.
- Vegetable Broth: Adds rich flavour, though water can be used if broth isn’t available. You can also make vegetable stock with stock cubes.
Easy Substitutions for Vegetarian Bean Soup
- Beans: You can make this soup with any dried beans (navy, cannellini, black bean, etc.) Most UK stores sell a soup mix or a bean mix in the dried section or soup aisles.
- Veggies: Any combo works really well. If you don't have onion, celery or carrots, simply leave them out. You also add courgettes(zucchini), sweet corn, mushrooms, spinach or kale.
- Mixed Canned Beans: Sub with canned beans. You can easily cut the soaking time and cooking time by more than half.
- Spices: Feel free to swap with Cajun or Fajita seasoning instead of the combination of spices mentioned in the ingredients list.
🔪How To Make Your Own Bean Mix for Soup
For my UK readers—while you can find the Hurst 15 bean mix on Amazon, it’s often super expensive. Instead, I recommend picking up the Waitrose LOVE life 10 bean mix. It's much more affordable and includes beans like black-eyed, butter, black turtle, haricot, lima, pinto, red kidney, mung, rose cocoa, and alubia beans. You can always add a few more beans from your pantry to make up the difference!
And if you don’t have access to either mix, no problem! Just mix together whatever beans you have on hand. I usually have at least 10 different types, and they work perfectly for this recipe.
Soaking The Beans for the Bean Soup Recipe
Wash the bean and soak in enough water for at least 8 hours or overnight. It takes bit of planning but makes a big difference in texture. You can see how I cook chickpeas after soaking in my chickpeas cooking guide.
I’ve been following this practice for over 20 years and learnt it from my mum. She said soaking helps the beans swell, absorb flavours better, and cook more evenly like for chana masala or rajma masala
But Can you still cook the soup without soaking? Yes! In the Instant Pot, unsoaked beans just needs a longer cooking time.
🔪How to Make Vegetarian 15 Bean Soup in Instant Pot?
Step 1: Heat oil in the Instant Pot on saute mode. Add onion, garlic, carrots and celery and saute until the onions soften.
Step 2: Add the soaked beans, tomato, spices, salt, pepper and vegetable broth.
Step 3: Add the vegetable broth ( or stock). Seal with lid and pressure cook High for 20 minutes. Natural Pressure Release.
Tip: If you are making 15 bean soup without soaking the beans, pressure cook for 40 minutes. You can also use the preset Bean and Chilli mode.
Step 4: Allow the pressure to release naturally. Then stir in lemon juice and season with more salt or pepper as needed.
Tip: If you want a creamier texture, pulse the soup a few times with an immersion blender. I love serving in bowls, topped with a little cheese and parsley.
🍽 What to Serve With Vegetarian Bean Soup?
This Vegetarian 15 bean soup is a meal on its own, but I love pairing it with white soda bread, garlic knots, or yogurt flatbread. Sometimes, I even enjoy it with a big, hearty salad or a festive coleslaw.
🧂Storing
I make a large batch of Instant Pot vegetarian bean soup and love to portion it in individual serving for storing.
- In the fridge: Allow the soup to cool. Then transfer any leftovers in air tight containers. Store in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. To reheat, warm in the Instant Pot, stove top or microwave before serving.
- In the freezer: You can freeze the soup in Tupperware or freezer-safe containers for up to 3 months. When you're ready to eat, just defrost it overnight in the fridge and reheat it before serving.
❓Recipe FAQ's
No worries! For a quick soak, just place the beans in the Instant Pot, cover them with water, and set it to SAUTE mode. Bring the water to a boil and let it boil for about 2-3 minutes. Then, turn off the heat, secure the lid, and let the beans sit for 1 hour. Drain and rinse before cooking.
If you didn’t soak the beans, no problem! Simply skip the soaking step and cook the beans straight away. Set your Instant Pot to HIGH pressure and cook for 40 minutes. The rest of the recipe and method stays the same.
Yes, you can freeze this soup! Once it’s cooled completely, transfer the soup to freezer-safe containers or sealable bags. Be sure to label the bags and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. The soup will also keep well in the fridge for up to a week.
Use an immersion blender to pulse the soup a few times, or simply mash some of the beans to naturally thicken it. You can also stir in a bit of mashed potato for extra creaminess, or let the soup simmer longer to reduce the liquid.
A classic 15-bean mix (like the one used for Hurst’s 15 Bean Soup) typically includes northern beans, pinto beans, large lima, yelloweye, garbanzo, baby lima, green split, kidney beans, cranberry beans, small white, pink, small red beans, yellow split peas, lentil, navy beans, white kidney, and black bean beans. The exact combination can vary by brand, but it always has a colourful assortment of small and large beans that cook evenly and create a hearty, flavourful soup.
Look for mixed dried beans or dried soup mixes in the supermarket aisles—Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, or Waitrose all carry good alternatives. Waitrose used to offer a 10-bean mix, but any mixed bean blend works well. You can also buy bean mixes from Whole Foods online.
There is no need to soak the beans. Simply add the veggies, beans, spices and stock in the slow cooker, and cook for 6-7 hours. Once beans have softened, add tomatoes,lemon juice and cook for a further 30 minutes. Serve with cheese and a garnish of herbs.
More Vegetarian Instant Pot Soup Recipes
Ingredients
- 1 lb 15 bean soup mix 2 cup (any of your favourite dry bean mix)
- 1 carrot diced
- 1 medium-sized onion chopped
- 1 stalk celery ¾ cup, chopped
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon chili powder optional
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 7-8 cups vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Optional Garnish
- Cheddar Cheese
- Parsley
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- Rinse the beans and soak them in 8 cups of water overnight or for 8 hours. Drain and set aside.1 lb 15 bean soup mix
- Set the Instant Pot to SAUTE mode for 3 minutes. Once hot, add oil, onion, and garlic, and sauté for 2 minutes. Stir in the carrots and celery, and sauté briefly.1 medium-sized onion, 3 cloves garlic
- Add the drained 15 bean mix, spices, salt, diced tomatoes, and 7 cups of vegetable stock.1 can diced tomatoes, 1½ teaspoons smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon chili powder, 1 bay leaf, 7-8 cups vegetable stock, Salt and Pepper to taste
- Secure the lid, set the vent to SEALING. Press the MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK button, select HIGH, and cook for 20 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally.
- Stir in lemon juice, taste, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed. For a creamier texture, pulse the soup with an immersion blender.(optional). For a brothy soup, leave it as is.2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with cheese and parsley, and serve with crusty soda bread.
Stove Top Instructions
- Soak the beans overnight or use the quick soak method. Drain.
- In a large pot, heat some oil over medium heat. Sauté onions, garlic, and any other veggies you're using until softened.
- Add the soaked and drained beans, vegetable broth, and seasonings.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cover the pot. Simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender.Adjust seasoning to taste and serve warm. Enjoy your hearty 15-bean soup!
Notes
Variations
- Add a handful of spinach to the soup.
- Add 1 can of Green Chiles.
- Seasoning - Add a dash of Soy Sauce and Balsamic Vinegar for entirely new flavours.
Expert Tips & Tricks
- Wash & Soak the beans for a minimum of 8 hours or overnight. If you can, allow soaking for 24 hours.
- Cook in the Instant Pot for a faster vegetarian 15-bean soup. Not in a rush, stove top or slow cooker works just fine.
- Customise to your liking. Add leftover air fryer sausages or veggies from Christmas traybake, especially after Christmas and Thanksgiving, to make this soup - it's so good.
- To make the Vegetarian Bean Soup without soaking the beans, increase the pressure cooking time to 40 minutes in the Instant Pot. I'm not sure how long the soup will take to cook on the stove top without soaking the beans.
Diana says
Could this be made in a slow cooker? Would the beans need to be soaked first do you think or just use canned?
Sandhya's Kitchen says
This can be made in a slow cooker. You don't need to soak if you are cooking in the slow cooker. At about 5-7 hours, the beans will be tender. If you would like deeper flavors, continue to simmer for a little longer time.
Cindy says
I just made this soup tonight and it was delicious! My husband couldn’t stop eating it. Thank you for sharing this tasty recipe!
Danielle says
Hello, for the dry ingredients, ie: cumin , paprika
Italian seasoning, chili powder, black pepper, etc…. Is that Tablespoons , or teaspoons.
Thank you
Danielle
Sandhya's Kitchen says
Hi Danielle,
Thank you for bringing this to my notice. It is all in Teaspoon. I have amended that.
Danielle says
Thank you Sandhya. I’m starting the beans now.
Kathleen L Welch says
I only have the 3 qt Instant Pot. Can this recipe be halve? Will it affect cooking times?
Sandhya's Kitchen says
This recipe can be halved. Cooking time remains the same!