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Instant Pot White Bean Bacon Soup

A fiber-rich, protein-rich meal or surprising, satisfying side.
Course Soup
Servings 4 as a main, 7 or 8 as a side

Ingredients

  • 4 slices bacon
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 large carrots, sliced into coins
  • 2 ribs celery, sliced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 5 cups water
  • 1 pound dried white beans, rinsed (we used Great Northern, but you can use Navy or Cannellini)
  • 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon mushroom base (optional—see Kitchen Notes)
  • 2 tablespoons oyster sauce (optional—see Kitchen Notes)
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

  • In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until just crisp, then drain on a paper towel-lined plate. In the same skillet, cook onion, carrots and celery in the bacon grease, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for about 45 seconds, stirring constantly. (NOTE: you can do this with the sauté feature in the Instant Pot, but we prefer the control a skillet offers.)
  • Transfer onion carrot mixture to Instant Pot. Add water, beans, mushroom base, oyster sauce, red pepper flakes, rosemary sprigs and a generous grind of black pepper. Add two strips of the cooked bacon, breaking up into bite-sized pieces. Stir to combine everything. Seal the Instant Pot and cook using the bean setting (yes, there is a bean setting). When it’s done cooking, let the pressure release naturally, until the Float Valve goes down. It will keep the soup warm as it releases pressure. Should take a little less than an hour start to finish.
  • Remove the rosemary sprigs—you’ll probably only get the stems because the needles will have fallen off, a good thing. Crumble the remaining bacon into the soup and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, if needed. Also, add a little more water, if needed. We like this on the thick side.
  • Serve. As a main, ladle into shallow soup bowls and serve with crusty bread and maybe a side salad. As a side, ladle smaller amounts into small bowls and serve with whatever dinner is.

Kitchen Notes

Umami sources. For us, Better Than Bouillon bases (our fave being mushroom) and Asian oyster sauce are great for dialing up the umami in many dishes. If you don’t want to use those, use 2 cups of chicken broth and 3 cups of water for your liquid instead of all water. As with the original recipe, adjust seasoning with salt at the end, if needed.