Instant Pot Tuscan White Bean and Kale Soup
This fall, we finally broke down and bought an Instant Pot to add to our collection of kitchen gadgets. I had my eye out for a pressure cooker and my daughter was lobbying for an air fryer, so when Amazon had a great deal on the Instant Pot Duo Crisp, which handled both duties, we took the plunge.
It's like the opposite of a slow cooker — instead of simmering soups and stews all day long, it helps you bring together a normally slow-cooked one-pot meal in a fraction of the time. While the 8-quart Duo Crisp takes up a lot of counter or storage space, we do use it all the time. I think it's one of our best purchases! Of course smaller versions are available. A 6-quart one would probably do just fine for most pressure cooking recipes, but we like the convenience of having both the air fryer and the cooker in one appliance.
One of the things I've been doing is re-working some of our go-to recipes to work in the Instant Pot. It's involved a little trial and error, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. This Tuscan-inspired white bean and kale soup is one of our family favorites, and it's the perfect thing to make in the Instant Pot or pressure cooker.
One thing I love about cooking it this way is it's easier to use dried beans, which are really so much tastier than canned but usually take a lot more time to prepare. Not so with the pressure cooker! This isn't a super-fast recipe, but you'll have this delicious, healthy, and slow-simmered soup on the table in about an hour. You don't even have to go through the step of soaking the beans before, although if you did you could save yourself a little overall cooking time.
Note that this recipe is written for an instant pot, but you can just as easily make it on the stovetop; it will just take more time. Also, this recipe can be made vegetarian by omitting the pancetta and chicken broth. We often make it this way and it's just as delicious. (Omit the parmesan rind to make it vegan!)
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried cannelini, great northern, or other white beans
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (use 4 if you're omitting the pancetta)
- 4 ounces pancetta, diced
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 1 small bunch dinosaur/lacinato kale, chopped
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 2-inch piece of parmesan cheese rind (optional)
- 8 cups water or low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste
Directions
Set your Instant Pot to "Saute", add the olive oil, and let it heat up until it tells you it's ready. If using the pancetta, add it first and saute until it's browned and crisp on the outside. Add onion, garlic, carrot, and celery and cook until soft, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Add the kale and herbs and cook until the kale is wilted. Hit the "cancel" button to turn off the Instant Pot.
Add the beans, water or broth, parmesan rind (if using) bay leaf, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, and a good grind of black pepper. Secure the lid and and press the "Pressure Cook" and cook on high for 50 minutes. I've found that the cooking time varies depending on the quality of the beans and whether they've been soaked or not. (It you've soaked them beforehand, cook for 40 minutes.)
At the end of the cooking time, let the Instant Pot depressurize naturally for 15 minutes, then go ahead and press the pressure relieve button and let it go until it's fully depressurized. Check the beans to make sure they're done. If not, then replace the lid and pressure cook on high for an additional 10 minutes. Adjust the seasoning and remove the parmesan rind and bay leaf.
Serve topped with grated parmesan cheese, if desired, and good crusty bread (like our no-knead sourdough). This soup reheats really well and can be frozen for a future quick meal.
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