Ingredients
Method
- Sauté Sofrito or if you do not have Sofrito then use garlic, onion, carrots, celery, beans, oregano, rosemary, and bay leaves into a 6-qt slow cooker or Instant Pot. Stir in 4 or 5 cups water and add the rest of the ingredients at this time. Season with Sazon and black pepper, to taste.
- Cover and cook Pressure cook high for 30 minutes in the Instant Pot. On a Slow Cooker cook for 8 hours on low heat, or 4 hours on high heat.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
- Enjoy your instant pot ham and bean soup!
- Healthy Cabbage Soup
- Shrimp and Rice Soup
- Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Nutrition
Notes
Pro Tips:
Choose a meaty ham bone over a lean ham hock because the fat renders slowly during pressure cooking, creating the rich base this soup needs. Lean bones give you flavor but not the silky mouthfeel that makes this soup satisfying. Don't skip the natural pressure release for the full 15 minutes because beans continue cooking in that residual heat and steam. Quick-releasing creates a temperature shock that makes bean skins separate and float throughout your soup. Add your sofrito (sautéed garlic, onion, and bell pepper) after pressure cooking, not before, because the Instant Pot's intense heat destroys the bright aromatic compounds that give this Caribbean-style base its distinctive flavor punch. Buy ham bones from a butcher who cuts them fresh rather than pre-packaged ones because fresh-cut bones still have marrow exposed, which dissolves during cooking and gives the broth a deeper, more complex flavor than sealed bones.
Choose a meaty ham bone over a lean ham hock because the fat renders slowly during pressure cooking, creating the rich base this soup needs. Lean bones give you flavor but not the silky mouthfeel that makes this soup satisfying. Don't skip the natural pressure release for the full 15 minutes because beans continue cooking in that residual heat and steam. Quick-releasing creates a temperature shock that makes bean skins separate and float throughout your soup. Add your sofrito (sautéed garlic, onion, and bell pepper) after pressure cooking, not before, because the Instant Pot's intense heat destroys the bright aromatic compounds that give this Caribbean-style base its distinctive flavor punch. Buy ham bones from a butcher who cuts them fresh rather than pre-packaged ones because fresh-cut bones still have marrow exposed, which dissolves during cooking and gives the broth a deeper, more complex flavor than sealed bones.