Black Bean Soup in the Instant Pot from Guatemala

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You only need 4 ingredients and 10 active minutes to make this Instant Pot Black Bean Soup from Guatemala at home. Customize it to your liking and enjoy a taste of Central America from your own kitchen!

Instant Pot Black Bean Soup with tortilla chips and guacamole

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Recipe Origins

A few months ago, I spoke with Michele from A Taste for Travel about Guatemalan Food and how she makes it. In this interview, Michele told me about a Black Bean Soup that her husband’s family (a family of Guatemalans) makes.

When it came time to cook Guatemala, I knew I wanted to try making a version of her recipe in the Instant Pot!

This Instant Pot Black Bean Soup is so simple. There are only 4 ingredients and hardly any active work whatsoever. I can’t wait for you to try making this at home!

Why Make this Recipe

Overhead view of soup with sour cream and also guacamole

Hands Off: I love when a recipe requires very little active work. Simply chop the onion and rinse the black beans, and your Instant Pot Black Bean Soup will be ready in no time.
Quicker to Cook: You can certainly make this recipe on the stove, but cooking the beans in the Instant Pot is so much easier and faster! Your beans will be tender and delicious.
Customizable: There are no seasonings or toppings in this recipe, so you can customize it to whatever you like. Follow the recommendations for delicious additions you can try.

What Ingredients Do I Need to Make this Recipe?

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.

Dried Black Beans: If you can find Black Turtle Beans, use those!
Onion: You can use a yellow or white onion. I used yellow.
Garlic: In some recipes I’m all for using pre-chopped garlic, but in this recipe I recommend using fresh garlic cloves. It makes a world of difference!

What Spices or Seasonings Can I Add to this Recipe?

Please keep in mind that this recipe was adapted from a Guatemalan blog about how to make Guatemalan Black Bean Soup. The article mentions that Guatemalan black bean soup recipes do not have spices or seasonings, which is why I followed suit in my Instant Pot adaptation.

If you would like seasonings, you can add some of the recommended ones below. You can also add toppings to the soup to make the whole bowl even more delicious!

Seasoning Suggestions

Salt
Cumin
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Hot Sauce

Topping Suggestions

Sour cream
Avocado
Green onion
Cilantro
Tortilla chips
Jalapeños
Queso de Zacapo
Feta or Cojito Cheese
Anything else that sounds delicious

How to Make this Recipe

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Step 1: Cook the Black Beans

Black beans and onions in the instant pot with water

Put the black beans, water, whole garlic cloves, and chopped onion in the Instant Pot.

Set the timer for 40 minutes and then when the timer is up, allow for a 20 minute natural pressure release. Use a QR to release any remaining pressure after 20 minutes.

Step 2: Thicken the Soup

Once you have released the pressure, put about half of the beans/water and all of the garlic in a blender or food processor. Blend them up, then add them back into the pot with the rest of the beans.

Spoon into bowls and serve with any of the above toppings. Enjoy!

Expert Tips

Rinse and sort through the black beans to make sure you have all dirt and stones removed before cooking. You do not need to soak the black beans (just like for this Cuban Black Bean Recipe), so just begin the process with dry beans!
It is common to also add chicharron to the bowls of soup before serving them. Find instructions on how to make Chicharrones in my Chifrijo recipe.
This recipe is normally cooked in a pot over an open flame in Guatemala. The Pressure Cooker is not a traditional method, but instead is used to speed up the process. Just like the Sopita recipe from Mexico. This Mexican Shells and Cheese recipe is made on the stove or over an open fire. Find instructions for how to make this on the stovetop in the FAQs section.

Recipe FAQs

Spoon scooping a bite of instant pot black bean soup

How Can I Make This on the Stovetop?

You can easily make this recipe on the stovetop instead of the Instant Pot. For this, use a large pot and boil the beans for about 1 ½ hours until the beans are tender. Then, follow the rest of the instructions as written.

Other Variations of this Recipe

Some versions of this recipe call for not cooking the onions with the beans. Instead, start by cooking the beans as instructed in the recipe.
Then, when the beans are cooked, heat up a skillet and saute the onions until completely soft. Remove the beans from the pot and add them to the skillet and fry them alongside the onion.
Both versions of this recipe come from Guatemalan sources (video of this method can be found here), so feel free to do whichever sounds more delicious to you.

Did you like this recipe for Instant Pot Black Bean Soup? If so, make sure to check out these other recipes I picked out just for you: