Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (2024)

FAQs

What makes ham and bean soup thicken? ›

Step 2: Thicken the soup.

Sprinkle in flour then cook for 1 minute stirring constantly. The addition of flour to the Ham and Bean Soup will give it a nice velvety texture.

I soak 2 lbs of beans overnight and cook them the next day in the Instant Pot. In less than 45 minutes of "I-forgot-I-am-cooking-beans" later, you have about 12 cups of cooked beans all ready at your disposal.

All you need to do to cook beans in the instant pot is add them into your pot, followed by 2 – 3x that amount of water. So if you're using 1 cup of dried beans (unsoaked), you'd follow that with about 2 – 3 cups of water.

Cook It Longer

Sometimes soup just needs to simmer longer to reach the perfect consistency. Check to see if the vegetables are tender, and then taste the broth. If the soup tastes a bit watery, give it more time.

Prepare a roux.

A roux is equal parts flour and butter. Add flour to melted butter over medium-low heat, and cook the mixture until it's light brown. Whisk the hot liquid into the roux; use two ounces of roux for every cup of liquid. This method is excellent for creamy bean soups.

In a large pot, add 6 cups of water for each pound (2 cups) of dry beans. Heat to boiling; boil for 2–3 minutes.

1 pound of dried beans = 3 cups of dried beans = 6 – 7 cups of cooked beans.

Boil a large pot of water, drop dry beans into the pot and let them boil for two minutes. Take it off the heat, cover it and let it sit for one hour. Drain the beans and discard the liquid. Add fresh water and continue cooking until the beans are tender.

Place seasoning and beans in pressure cooker. Cover with about 1 1/2 inches of hot water over the level of the beans. Be sure to not fill the cooker over half way. Cook for 22 to 30 minutes, depending on the variety.

To soak beans the traditional way, cover them with water by 2 inches, add 2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt (or 1 tablespoon fine salt) per pound of beans, and let them soak for at least 4 hours or up to 12 hours. Drain them and rinse before using.

What is the best ingredient to thicken soup? ›

Cornstarch is a great option as it is a natural thickening agent, but you'll want to be careful about how much you use. Start with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch whisked together with cold water to create a slurry. Then, gradually add the slurry to the soup, letting it boil for one to two minutes before adding more.

One way to thicken a stew without flour is to add some cooked rice or quinoa. Another option is to puree some of the vegetables in the stew to thicken it. To thicken a stew without flour, some recipes call for using a thickener such as arrowroot starch or almond flour.