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    Home » Recipes

    Instant Pot Red Kidney Beans Soup [V]

    Published: Dec 2, 2019 · Modified: Aug 10, 2020 by Sonila · This post may contain affiliate links · 11 Comments

    • 50
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    This Red Kidney Beans Soup is cooked in the instant pot with plenty of fresh vegetables and olive oil. I love serving this beans soup with rice and pickled vegetables. I tend to add some kick to the soup by spreading sliced, raw jalapenos & red chilis to soup bowl.

    A bowl of red kidney beans soup shown as the focus of the picture, while on the sides you can see rice and a salad with pickled vegetables.
    Instant Pot Red Kidney Beans Soup

    Some links in my posts may be affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission if you purchase items by clicking on these links. I will always disclose when a product in a post has been gifted by a company as well as when a post or product is sponsored.

    Mediterranean Beans Soup

    I grew up in Albania and as in many other Mediterranean countries we cook plenty of beans soup, especially in winter time. The most typical Albanian bean soup is made with navy beans and you can find that recipe in my blog too – Instant Pot Bean Soup, Albanian Fasule. We call beans fasule.

    Red beans were a bit more rare to find, but we enjoyed cooking them anytime we could find them. They’re healthy and contain a lot of minerals, high fiber and protein. It’s a great food to add to your diet to help with heart health, blood sugar and other health issues.

    Typically beans in the Mediterranean are cooked with onions, garlic, peppers, tomatoes and carrots. Then each country adds their own signature herb or spice, and usually most serve it with rice or a salad. And of course we cook it with olive oil:) and drizzle with olive oil when we serve it as well.

    A bowl of red kidney beans soup served with sliced jalapenos and red chilis.
    A Bowl Of Red Kidney Beans Soup

    Soaking The Beans

    I’m not sure if soaking the beans is still considered a best practice, but I continue soaking the beans. I usually soak them the night before and next day drain and rinse them. It’s said that soaking the beans overnight helps with digestion and gas.

    Red Kidney Beans Soup Recipe Notes

    Before I get into the recipe, please see some of my notes and process pictures below.

    • Cooking time in the instant pot might vary. I usually cook for an hour on the beans/chili setting, de-pressurize, check if it is cooked then add more time if needed. This time it took me 1 hr and 40 mins to get the soup cooked as I wanted. The cooking time varies a lot on type of beans and how old they are (which you can’t see in the package unfortunately).
    • You can use other types of multi-cookers to make this soup, even a regular pressure cooker. Please follow safety instructions of each device.
    • Some recipes require an almost surgical precision with instructions. But this beans recipe is so easy, you just need to saute everything, add beans, add tomato paste, water and cook. That’s it!!
    • Mediterranean flavors don’t rely on a lot of spices. Mediterranean food usually has a lot of fresh vegetables and herbs. I add some spice to this soup with the raw slices of red pepper and jalapeno on the bowl. However, if you like your soup itself to be spicy or have a kick you can add more spices in before you close the pressure cooker lid and let them cook with the beans.
    • In Albania, we pair bean soups with salads made with pickled vegetables. Some people even add the dressing of the pickled salad back in the soup to add more flavor.

    Here’s a picture of all the ingredients before I started cooking. Hope it helps you visualize quantities and help with shopping list.

    Ingredients used to cook Red Kidney Beans Soup
    Ingredients for Red Kidney Beans Soup

    Another image that I thought might be helpful is the below collage of 4 process pictures taken while I was cooking the soup.

    Step by step process pictures: 1. Shows onions and garlic being sauteed. 2. Peppers have been added. 3. Add the beans and keep sauteing. 4. Final step shows the beans, vegetables in a tomato base soup, ready to cook. Then I closed the IP lid.
    Step by Step Pictures While Cooking the Soup
    Vegan Red Kidney Beans Soup shown in a soup bowl, topped with sliced jalapenos and red chilis

    Instant Pot Red Kidney Beans Soup [V]

    Sonila
    Instant Pot Red Kidney Beans Soup – a vegan soup, served with rice and pickled vegetables. This soup is hearty and delicious for a cold winter day. This red kidney beans soup can be topped with sliced jalapenos & red chilis for some extra spice.
    5 from 4 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 1 hr 40 mins
    Unpressurizing cooker 8 mins
    Total Time 2 hrs 3 mins
    Course Main Course, Soup
    Cuisine Albanian, Mediterranean
    Servings 8 servings
    Calories 177 kcal

    Equipment

    • Instant Pot

    Ingredients
      

    • 3 cups red kidney beans
    • 1 yellow onion
    • 3 garlic cloves
    • 3 carrots
    • 1 green bell pepper
    • 1 red bell pepper
    • 2 tbsps tomato paste
    • 4 tbsps olive oil
    • 1.5 tsp salt (add to taste)
    • 6 cups hot water
    • 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped leave about 1 tbsp or so for garnishing at the end
    • 1 tsp chili powder
    • 0.5 tsp paprika

    Instructions
     

    • Clean beans from impurities like small rocks. Soak them overnight if possible.
    • Chop onion and bell peppers. Clean and chop the parsley too.
    • Start sauteing onions and minced garlic in olive oil. Once onions become translucent add bell peppers. Lower heat to medium.
    • While bell peppers are sauteing, peel carrots and slice them. You can also buy carrots already sliced.
    • Add carrots to pot, stir and saute some more. Add the beans.
    • Mix everything well, add tomato paste and chopped parsley. Add salt & water. Also at this point add chili powder and paprika. Stir one more time.
    • Close the lid to Instant pot, cook for an hour. De-pressurize following safety instructions and check for taste and consistency. Add more to cooking time if needed. It took me 1 hr 40 minutes to cook the soup this last time but time varies on beans.
    • Serve with rice, sliced chilis or jalapenos and if you like the combination of flavors, add a salad made with pickled vegetables for more authentic taste.

    Notes

    • Cooking time varies on the beans, there’s no way you can read that on the label or get that information before hand. So usually I would cook the beans on a day that I’m home. This is a very easy recipe, with little active cooking time. Instant pot does the rest, but you need to check on it to make sure soup reaches the perfect consistency.
    • I tend to use less salt while cooking this soup because I love serving it with pickled vegetables and olive oil which are kind of salty and make up for less salt in soup. So please add salt as needed, especially if you are not serving the soup with something salty.
    • If I have leftovers, I store them in the refrigerator for few days. If you want to make enough for freezing, then store in airtight snap containers and it should be good for up to 6 months. I haven’t tested longer than that because if I freeze this soup, we’ll usually have before winter is over.
    • If you’ll not use red chilis or jalapenos to serve on the soup bowl, you can add them in the instant pot to cook with the beans. In that case soup will be spicy. If you don’t like the soup to be spicy but you want to be a little more flavorful, you can add cumin and other spices to it. 

    Nutrition Label

    Nutrition Facts
    Instant Pot Red Kidney Beans Soup [V]
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 177 Calories from Fat 72
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 8g12%
    Saturated Fat 1g6%
    Sodium 504mg22%
    Potassium 508mg15%
    Carbohydrates 22g7%
    Fiber 7g29%
    Sugar 3g3%
    Protein 7g14%
    Vitamin A 5087IU102%
    Vitamin C 45mg55%
    Calcium 49mg5%
    Iron 3mg17%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 177kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 7gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 504mgPotassium: 508mgFiber: 7gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 5087IUVitamin C: 45mgCalcium: 49mgIron: 3mg
    Keyword Beans Soup, Fasule te kuqe, Mediterranean Soup, Red Kidney Beans Soup, Vegan Beans Soup
    Tried this recipe?Mention @mediterranean_latin_love or tag #mediterraneanlatinloveaffair!

    If you would like to save this recipe for later, please save the below image in Pinterest. You can reach out to me if you made it or have questions in social media:)

    Instagram: mediterranean_latin_love or Twitter: MediterrLatin or Facebook: Mediterranean Latin Love Affair.

    Instant Pot red kidney beans soup. It's a vegan soup, served with rice and pickled vegetables.
    Instant Pot Red Kidney Beans Soup (V)

    Other Mediterranean Soups:

    • Lemon, Egg, and Rice Chicken Soup
    • Cream of Asparagus Soup
    • Yellow Split Peas Soup with Spinach
    • Orzo, Turkey Soup

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    • 50

    Filed Under: Albanian, Main Dishes, Mediterranean Food, Recipes, Soups Tagged With: Mediterranean Diet, vegan

    About Sonila

    Mom of 2, wife, engineer, food blogger & recipe creator! Sonila was born in Albania, her heritage inspires her Mediterranean recipes while that of her husband the Latin ones. Sonila has 2 degrees in Engineering from University of Miami.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Amy

      October 02, 2022 at 10:48 pm

      Used chipotle powder and smoked paprika for the spices. Didn’t have a green pepper so used my red one and some celery. Incredible flavor!! Will put it into rotation.

      Reply
      • Sonila

        October 04, 2022 at 5:02 pm

        Hi Amy, it made me so happy to read your comment!! I often substitute too especially if I don’t have all ingredients available. Or I’d make it in dutch oven instead of pressure cooker if I’m using IP for another dish etc. It’s an easily customizable dish:). I appreciate your comment so much!! Have a great day! Sonila

        Reply
    2. Lee Fraser

      January 13, 2022 at 9:32 pm

      Love the flavours! I made it as a stew (not soup) without an instant pot: cook the beans in water 30 mins, drain, add sauteed vegetables, parsley and two tins of tomatoes. Delicious here in New Zealand summer.

      Reply
      • admin

        January 14, 2022 at 5:31 am

        Hi Lee, so happy to hear that you loved the flavors:)). It’s definitely a very versatile dish you can adapt to your liking.
        Enjoy the summer there:)). I lived in Auckland back in 2009 and got to visit South Island and took several short trips on the North. It’s a beautiful country with great people!! Hope one day to visit again with the kids. All the best:).
        Sonila

        Reply
    3. Taty

      December 03, 2019 at 5:46 pm

      This red kidney bean soup looks amazing. I am getting my installer ready to make it!

      Reply
    4. Monica Chic

      December 03, 2019 at 5:34 pm

      5 stars
      Esto se ve súper delicioso, yo soy súper fan del picante y los frijoles negros para mí son mi debilidad gracias por compartir esta receta, solo hacerlo pero muy de vez en cuando

      Reply
      • Sonila

        December 04, 2019 at 5:42 am

        Gracias Monica!! A mi me encanta el picante tambien y no lo puedo cocinar con picante por los ninos. Asi que me acorde de este metodo que se comen los picantes crudos con la sopa. Pero si todos puden comer picante, les puedes hechar en instant pot antes de cerrar.

        Reply
    5. Estefania

      December 03, 2019 at 3:05 pm

      5 stars
      That kidney bean soup looks yummy and nutritious! It’s perfect for this weather, thanks for the recipe

      Reply
    6. Silvia

      December 03, 2019 at 2:15 pm

      5 stars
      I love red kidney beans but I don’t cook them often. With this soup in the instant pot I’ll be eating them a lot!

      Reply
    7. Vicky

      December 03, 2019 at 12:49 pm

      5 stars
      This red kidney bean soup looks so delicious! I love you posted a pic with the ingredients. It is very helpful to have a visual with all we need!

      Reply
      • Sonila

        December 03, 2019 at 1:16 pm

        Thank you Vicky, it makes me really happy that you liked the picture with ingredients. Having lived in 3 different countries, I’ve noticed produce can wildly vary in size so for me saying use 1 green bell pepper might look different in US than in Europe. But if people see the picture they might realize, hey these peppers look huge, let me double up and adjust. I’m glad the visual helps!!!

        Reply

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    Sonila Zarate
    Sonila Zarate

    Mom of 2, wife, engineer, food blogger & recipe creator! Sonila was born in Albania, her heritage inspires her Mediterranean recipes while that of her husband the Latin ones. Sonila has 2 degrees in Engineering from University of Miami.

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