Instant Pot Vegetable Soup

Instant Pot Vegetable Soup is a great way to make use of your pressure cooker! The soup is heart-healthy, full of flavor and ready in under 30 minutes! Plus, the entire recipe is made in the Instant Pot, so clean up is a breeze. 

This Instant Pot Vegetable Soup is a warm, comforting meal that's full of veggies. It's hearty, healthy and a great excuse to bust out your Instant Pot (as is my Instant Pot Spanish rice... just saying!).

Lately, I've been playing around with my pressure cooker and figuring out the best uses for it. This article outlines a handful of common uses for the Instant Pot. Not surprisingly, one common use is soup, which I found to be super easy and intuitive.

Recipe features

• It's loaded with--wait for it--VEGETABLES, along with potatoes, making it super flavorful
• It comes together in 30 minutes total and is both gluten free and vegan 
• You only need one dish (the Instant Pot) for this recipe, so clean up is a breeze

Ingredients

• Onion, garlic - An absolute must for almost any soup recipe.
• Carrots, celery, green beans - These make up the bulk of the vegetables, so I don't recommend any substitutions.
• Parsley - Parsley adds even more flavor, so don't skimp on it! If you have to, you can use dried parsley. Start with 2 teaspoon and then add more as needed.
• Russet potatoes - also called Idaho potatoes. You can peel them if you want, but it's not necessary.
• Canned diced tomatoes - LOVE using fire roasted diced tomatoes because they have so much more flavor to them. In a pinch? Regular diced tomatoes work just fine, though if that's what you use, I would add ¼-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes to the Instant Pot.
• Italian seasoning - 1 tablespoon may seem like a lot, but I pinky promise it's the perfect amount.
• Vegetable broth - this is a no-brainer, but you need vegetable broth in order to make vegetable soup. No substitutions.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Sauté the vegetables. Add 1-2 tablespoon of olive oil to your Instant Pot, then add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, parsley, and Italian seasoning and press "Sauté". Sauté the vegetables for 3-5 minutes or until the onion is soft.

Step 2: Pressure cook the soup. Add the potatoes, green beans, diced tomatoes, vegetable broth, and a pinch of salt and pepper and stir to combine. Then, lock the lid in place and make sure the valve on top is on the "sealing" setting. Hit the "Pressure Cook" button (make sure it's set to high pressure) and set the timer to 10 minutes.

It will take around 10 minutes for the Instant Pot to come to pressure, so don't worry if it seems like nothing is happening at first.

Step 3: Naturally release the pressure. Once the 10 minutes is up, the IP will beep, and then begin a new timer to let you know that the pressure is naturally releasing. Naturally release the pressure for 5 minutes, then carefully switch the valve from "seal" to "vent", which will manually release the rest of the pressure.

Once that's done, carefully open the lid, then stir the soup before pouring it into a bowl.

Tips and FAQs

• Vegetable substitutions: If you're looking for other delicious veggies to use instead, try cauliflower, sweet potato or even diced bell pepper.
• Want to make this a creamy vegetable soup? Once it's done cooking, add a ½ cup milk (any kind!) and stir.

Is there a preferred way to dice the potatoes?

Not necessarily. The good thing about soup is that it's pretty forgiving, and how you cut the vegetables doesn't really matter. With that said, I chose to keep the potato skins on, and then I sliced the potatoes into rounds before cutting them into fourths.

How long does this soup need to cook?

Honestly, not long. The thing about vegetables in the Instant Pot is that they cook really quickly vs. meat, which takes a little longer to fully cook. You want the vegetables to be soft, but not soggy, so 10 minutes is the perfect amount of time!

Can I use frozen veggies?

Yes! Feel free to use frozen carrots and/or frozen green beans if that's what you have on hand. 

What should I serve this with?

Honestly, it's pretty delicious on its own with a slice (or two!) of sourdough. Or, you could have it with a side of zucchini fritters, which is what we did and it was fantastic.

Storage

• Refrigerator: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. 
• Freezer: Allow the soup to cool, then transfer it to a freezer-safe bag and place it in the freezer for up to 4 months.
• Reheating: I recommend reheating it in a saucepan over the stove. It's the quickest way, and it's a good way to make sure the heat gets evenly distributed.

More delicious soup recipes

• Dairy Free Mushroom Soup
• Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
• Vegan Minestrone Soup
• Instant Pot Red Lentil Soup

If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below, and tag @thealmondeater on Instagram!

UPDATE NOTE: This post was originally published in September 2019. It was updated with new text in January 2022.