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Instant Pot Tuscan Bean Soup

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This Instant Pot Tuscan Bean Soup is inspired by the traditional Tuscan Ribollita soup, and now you can make it quickly and easily at home using your Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker.

Pressure cooking is the ideal way to prepare beans, as it reduces cook time a fraction of what it would be on the stove top. That means you can enjoy this warming and comforting thick and hearty soup, really more like a stew, sooner.

Ribollita means "reboiled", and the soup would traditionally involve "reboiling" leftover vegetable soup and adding chunks of stale bread to fill it out. If you happen to have stale bread ends lying about, this Instant Pot Tuscan Bean Soup really is the perfect recipe for using them up, rather than letting them go to waste. Good quality crusty bread would be ideal, but feel free to use any bread of your choosing.

If you don't have stale bread, you can still make this dish, as I often do! Just skip the last step that calls for adding the bread, and instead, serve with a fresh crusty slice on the side. I promise, it will taste just as good. :)

The Instant Pot Tuscan Bean Soup uses cavolo nero, sometimes called Tuscan kale, which adds a vibrant colour to what might otherwise be a washed out looking soup. I love the firm texture and substance of cavolo nero, but if you can't get any, using green or any other kind of kale would be fine. Try to get whole leaf cavolo nero if you can, as it makes removing the stalk much easier.

While this Instant Pot Tuscan Bean Soup comes together pretty quickly in the pressure cooker, it does require a bit of advance planning, as the cannellini beans require overnight soaking. If you don't have the luxury of overnight, then soak them first thing in the morning, as they'll require a minimum of eight hours' soaking before cooking. They should swell to about 1.5 time their dried size, and the skins should start coming loose.

As with all my Instant Pot recipes, this one is a favourite for midweek meals. Everything can be prepared and mostly cooked in advance and left to keep warm until needed - just add the finishing touches before serving. This recipe is suitable for vegans, but if that doesn't matter to you, you could top with freshly grated Parmesan when serving.

Here's what you'll need to make this Instant Pot Tuscan Bean Soup:
(Click here to jump straight to the recipe)

The night before
250g dried cannellini beans
1/2 tsp salt
Plenty of fresh filtered water

For the soup
Oil for cooking
1 medium onion, chopped
3 large carrots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
600ml vegetable stock [1]
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
200g cavolo nero, rinsed, stalks removed and sliced
Stale bread ends (optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

And here's what you'll need to do:

• Soak the dried cannellini beans overnight in plenty of fresh filtered water, with half a teaspoon of salt mixed in.

• When ready to cook, prepare the onion, garlic, carrots and thyme. Drain and rinse the beans, and set aside.

• Heat some oil in the bowl of your Instant Pot using the Saute (Normal) function, and cook the onion for a few minutes until translucent. Add the garlic, and cook for another minute.
• Then add the carrots, and cook for a few more minutes until they begin to soften.

• Add the beans and chopped tomatoes, and give everything a good stir.
• Then add the vegetable stock, and lay the thyme sprigs on top.

• Close and lock the lid, and cook on High Pressure for 10 minutes with natural release.
• Meanwhile, prepare the cavolo nero.

• When the pin drops, open the lid, and carefully scrape the thyme leaves (they will be hot!) from their stalks, and stir them into the soup.

• Using the Saute (Normal) function, cook the kale for a few minutes until soft. Then add the bread, if using, and cook for a few more minutes.
• Cancel Saute, stir in the balsamic vinegar, and taste for seasoning.

• Serve the soup as is or with crusty bread on the side.

Notes

1. You may need to adjust the amount of liquid you use, depending on whether or not you add stale bread and how much of it you add. The more bread you add, the more liquid it will absorb, particularly if it is quite dried out.
   
   

Instant Pot Tuscan Bean Soup

By Wendy | Serves 4

This Instant Pot Tuscan Bean Soup is packed vegetable goodness, making it as nutritious as it is comforting.

Prep Time: 20 minutes plus overnight soaking
Cook time: 15 minutes plus natural release
Serves: 4
Course: Main, Soup, Stew
Cuisine: Modern European, Italian
Tags: Ribollita, Bean Stew, Vegan Cooking

Ingredients

The night before
250g dried cannellini beans
1/2 tsp salt
Plenty of fresh filtered water

For the soup
Oil for cooking
1 medium onion, chopped
3 large carrots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
600ml vegetable stock [1]
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
200g cavolo nero, rinsed, stalks removed and sliced
Stale bread ends (optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

1. Soak the dried cannellini beans overnight in plenty of fresh filtered water, with half a teaspoon of salt mixed in.
2. When ready to cook, prepare the onion, garlic, carrots and thyme. Drain and rinse the beans, and set aside.
3. Heat some oil in the bowl of your Instant Pot using the Saute (Normal) function, and cook the onion for a few minutes until translucent. Add the garlic, and cook for another minute.
4. Then add the carrots, and cook for a few more minutes until they begin to soften.
5. Add the beans and chopped tomatoes, and give everything a good stir.
6. Then add the vegetable stock, and lay the thyme sprigs on top.
7. Close and lock the lid, and cook on High Pressure for 10 minutes with natural release.
8. Meanwhile, prepare the cavolo nero.
9. When the pin drops, open the lid, and carefully scrape the thyme leaves (they will be hot!) from their stalks, and stir them into the soup.
10. Using the Saute (Normal) function, cook the kale for a few minutes until soft. Then add the bread, if using, and cook for a few more minutes.
11. Cancel Saute, stir in the balsamic vinegar, and taste for seasoning.
12. Serve the soup as is or with crusty bread on the side.

Notes

1. You may need to adjust the amount of liquid you use, depending on whether or not you add stale bread and how much of it you add. The more bread you add, the more liquid it will absorb, particularly if it is quite dried out.

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