Instant Pot bean soup with sausage is a hearty and delicious meal. Use a 15 – or 16-bean soup to get you started, then add smoked sausage, seasonings, and tomatoes to make a fabulous dinner. With the help of an Instant Pot, it is done in just over an hour with no soaking of the beans required.

Spoonful of bean soup with tomatoes and kielbasa over bowl of soup next to Instant Pot.

It is bean soup season! This great pressure cooker recipe allows you to make it much more quickly than ever before.

You can have dinner ready in under two hours with no overnight soak, and the kielbasa adds such wonderful flavor. So get the condensed milk cornbread or corn muffins ready because dinner is going to be good.

Why is the cook time so long?

You may notice that I am telling you to cook the beans for longer than the instant pot guides suggest for beans. The extra cook time makes the beans buttery soft, which is how we like them in this soup.

Some of them will even disintegrate a bit and thicken the broth, which again is just how we like it. Feel free to shorten the cook time a bit if you like your beans to have a little chew left.

In order to make up for the extended cook time, I add the sausage towards the end of the cook time. That way, the kielbasa isn’t overcooked in an effort to get the beans done.

You could shave off some cook time if you did soak your beans first. Fee free to soak them while you work and cook dinner quickly when you get home!

Ingredients including rinsed 16-bean mix, diced onion, sliced smoked sausage, seasonings, and can of fire roasted diced tomatoes ready to be made into Instant Pot bean soup.

Mostly cooked bean soup in Instant Pot, ready for sausage and tomatoes.

How do you thicken bean soup?

This recipe usually makes nice thick bean soup because of the longer cook time. If your broth is thinner than you’d like, just mash a few of the beans.

The starch from the beans will help make the broth thick and creamier! Also, the soup will thicken as it cools a bit, and leftovers will be thicker as well.

What if my soup is too thick?

If you open your pressure cooker and the soup is thicker than you’d like, just stir in a little water or chicken stock until you reach your desired consistency.

Email Me The Link

I'll email this post to you, so you can easily find it later. Plus you’ll get new recipes from me every week!

Can I add carrots or celery to my soup?

Of course! We like our bean soup to really focus on the kielbasa and bean themselves, but feel free to add carrots and celery to the mix if you want. Just toss them in your pressure cooker along with the beans and let it do its thing.

You can also add additional herbs and spices if you desire. Some people add a pinch of cloves, a sprinkling of red pepper flakes, or a little bit of thyme to the broth.

Diced tomatoes and sliced kielbasa in Instant Pot with bean soup, ready to finish cooking.

Ladle of cooked bean soup with kielbasa over Instant Pot with remaining soup.

Storage

Store leftover soup in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to a week. 16-bean soup also freezes really well.

For easy lunches later, freeze it in single serve sizes. Defrost the soup overnight and then warm up when you are ready to eat it!

Bowl of 16 bean soup with kielbasa in front of Instant Pot.

Jar of parmesan muffin mix and muffins next to a bowl of bean soup with sausage.

Serving Suggestions

This soup is bursting with flavor just the way it is, but there are so many ways you can add even more flavor if you would like.

I like adding a dash or two of hot sauce to my bean soup. It gives it almost a chili type feeling.

My husband is happy to add cheese to anything, so he put some shredded cheddar on his soup.

My grandma loves diced onions and vinegar with her bean soup.

Of course, a sprinkling of fresh herbs would add color and a pop of freshness too. Or make some parmesan herb muffins to serve with the soup.

Get Inspired

Check out my collection of bean recipes for more tasty ideas. For more pressure cooker inspiration, check out my collection of Instant Pot recipes.

5 from 3 ratings

Instant Pot Bean Soup with Sausage

Author: Carlee

Servings: Servings

This hearty bean soup uses a mix of dry beans and sausage to make a hearty meal. The best part is that is all happens pretty quickly with the help of an Instant Pot, no soaking required.

Prep: 10

Cook: 1 15

Total: 1 25

Ingredients

Instructions

Rinse 20 ounces 16 bean soup mix. Put in Instant Pot.
Add 1½ teaspoons garlic powder and 7 cups water. (Go ahead and toss in the spice mix from the beans, too!)
Dice 1 onion and add to pot. Cook on high pressure for 1 hour. Quick release the pressure. Remove the bay leaves.
Thinly slice 1 pound kielbasa. Add to soup along with the 14.5 ounces fire roasted diced tomatoes.
Place lid back on Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. Quick release pressure and stir. Adjust seasonings to your liking and enjoy.

Notes

You can use chicken stock instead of water for the soup. Either cut the salt in half or omit it until after the soup has cooked and add some if needed.