Low Calorie Instant Pot Ham And Bean Soup

This no-fuss Low Calorie Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup recipe is the perfect warm and cozy soup to warm up with all winter! No soaking is required! Stovetop instructions included!

Whenever we cook ham, whether for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter, I always grab the hambone while there’s still some meat attached and freeze it for this soup or my Instant Pot Bean Soup.

For this low calorie Instant Pot ham and bean soup recipe, the Instant Pot does most of the work for you! Producing a perfect soup with ham that tastes as if it simmered for hours on the stove, but in reality, it takes less than an hour to make. Win!

What are green split peas? This soup’s star is split peas, aka the beans. Green split peas, yellow split peas, and green field peas are the same bean. However, green and yellow split peas are intentionally cultivated for peeling and drying, which speeds up the cooking process.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• It’s made in the Instant Pot in under an hour but delivers a simmered-all-day flavor. No bean soaking is needed. 
• Next time you cook bone-in ham, instead of tossing the bone, you can use it in this soup, so no ham goes to waste. 
• Ham and bean soup is a hearty,  stick-to-your-bones style soup perfect for cold weather and is surprisingly low-calorie! 
• This soup is a great make-ahead freezer meal.

Ingredients You'll Need

• Butter: To coat the inner pot, so the soffrito vegetables don’t stick as they soften. Butter also enhances the richness.
• Soffrito Vegetables, AKA Italian Mirepoix: This combines diced onions, celery, carrot, and garlic. It’s a building block of flavor in classic ham and bean soup and many other soups, stews, sauces, and so on.   
• Hambone: Ham and bean soup is traditionally made with hambone with clinging meat. During the holidays, don’t forget to cook bone-in ham intentionally to snag the hambone and use it in this recipe.
• Green Split Peas: Sorted and rinsed well.
• Water: For this soup, we’re using pure water instead of broth because the other ingredients add enough flavor that broth isn’t necessary. 
• Bay Leaf: Bay leaf brings a distinctively rustic, earthy, and floral dimension you just can’t get from other woody herbs.
• Salt & Pepper: Ham has a smoky, salty taste similar to bacon, so the hambone alone may add enough flavor. That being said, be sure to taste before adding any additional seasoning.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1: Saute the soffrito. Set the Instant Pot on SAUTE mode. Add the butter. Once melted, add the onion, celery, carrots, and garlic. Season with a pinch of salt, and cook, continuously stirring, until the onions soften and your kitchen smells divine.

Step 2: Add the remaining ingredients. Push the CANCEL button to turn the Instant Pot off. Add the hambone, bay leaf, and green split pea, and cover with water.

Step 3: Cook on HIGH pressure. Lock the lid in place, ensuring the steam valve is sealed. Then cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. Remember, it will take some time to build pressure before the timer starts. 

Step 4: Quick-release pressure. When the timer goes off, immediately QUICK release the steam. You may want to stand back if you’ve never done this before. It can be startling.

Step 5: Pull and shred the ham. Remove the hambone from the pot. Cool slightly, then pull the ham off the bone, discarding any pieces of gelatinous fat and gristle. Shred the ham before returning it to the Instant Pot. Discard the bone.

Step 6: Adjust seasonings and serve. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, and give everything one last good stir. Serve hot.

Expert Tips

• Split peas do not need to be soaked, but they do need to be sorted. Spread the beans on a sheet pan and pick through the pieces, removing the broken beans and debris. After sorting, rinse under cool running water until the water runs clean.
• Remember that an Instant pot needs time to build pressure before it begins cooking. Therefore, the 20-minute timer will start once the pressure is finished building. It can take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes, sometimes longer.
• Ham and bean soup will thicken upon standing and also while it’s stored in the refrigerator.

Variations & Serving

I don’t recommend deviating far from this ham and bean soup recipe as written, but you can add more aromatic veggies to the soffrito, like diced bell peppers, chopped mushrooms, and leeks.

As for serving, this healthy ham and bean soup is a meal on its own, but it’s also excellent served with thick crusty bread to soak up every drop of the rich and creamy broth base.

Stovetop Ham And Bean Soup

1. In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat.
2. Add the diced onion, celery, carrots, and minced garlic to the pot. Season with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions become translucent and the vegetables soften. This should take about 5-7 minutes.
3. Add the hambone, bay leaf, green split peas, and 8 cups of water to the pot. Stir everything together.
4. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to low and cover the pot with a lid. Let it simmer gently for about 1 to 1.5 hours, or until the peas are soft and the soup has thickened to your desired consistency. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking and add more water if necessary to reach your preferred soup thickness.
5. About 20-30 minutes before the soup is done, check the hambone. If the meat is falling off the bone, remove it from the pot. Let it cool slightly, then shred the ham off the bone, discarding any fat and gristle. Shred the ham and return it to the pot, discarding the bone.
6. Season the soup to taste with salt and black pepper. Continue to simmer until the ham is heated through.

Storing & Freezing

Storing: Let the soup cool to room temperature, and keep it refrigerated in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

Freezing: This soup also freezes well. Once cooled, ladle the soup into a gallon size freezer bag, leaving some space at the top for expansion. Squeeze as much air out of the bag as you can and seal it securely. Lay the bag flat in the freezer and keep it frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge before reheating on the stove or in the microwave.

Recipe FAQ's

More Instant Pot soup recipes

If you love this recipe, please leave a comment with a five-star rating — or simply hit the five-star button in the recipe card. Don't forget to signup for my newsletter!

Low Calorie Instant Pot Ham And Bean Soup

5 from 12 votes

By Kate

This no-fuss low calorie Instant Pot ham and bean soup recipe is the perfect warm and cozy soup to warm up with all winter! No soaking is required!

Pin Recipe Print Recipe Save RecipeSaved!

Prep 15 minutes mins

Cook 45 minutes mins

Total 1 hour hr

Servings 8 Servings

Calories 302kcal

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Special Equipment

• ▢
  Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
• ▢
  Nylon Ladle
• ▢
  Measuring Spoons and Cups

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 tablespoon butter
• ▢ 1 large onion diced
• ▢ 1 celery rib diced
• ▢ 1 large carrot peeled and chopped
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt or more to preference
• ▢ 1 hambone, with clinging meat
• ▢ 1 pound green split peas sorted and rinsed
• ▢ 6 cups water
• ▢ 1 bay leaf
• ▢ Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• Set the Instant Pot on SAUTE mode. Add the butter. Once melted, add the onion, celery, carrots, and garlic. Season with a pinch of salt, and cook, continuously stirring, until the onions soften and your kitchen smells divine.
• Push the CANCEL button to turn the Instant Pot off. Add the hambone, bay leaf, and green split pea, and cover with water.
• Loch the lid in place, ensuring the steam valve is sealed. Then cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. Remember, it will take some time to build pressure before the timer starts.
• When the timer goes off, immediately QUICK release the steam. You may want to stand back if you’ve never done this before. It can be startling.
• Remove the hambone from the pot. Cool slightly, then pull the ham off the bone, discarding any pieces of gelatinous fat and gristle. Shred the ham before returning it to the Instant Pot. Discard the bone.
• Season to taste with salt and black pepper, and give everything one last good stir. Serve hot.

Notes

• Split peas do not need to be soaked, but they do need to be sorted. Spread the beans on a sheet pan and pick through the pieces, removing the broken beans and debris. After sorting, rinse under cool running water until the water runs clean.
• Remember that an Instant pot needs time to build pressure before it begins cooking. Therefore, the 20-minute timer will start once the pressure is finished building. It can take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes, sometimes longer.
• Storing: Let the ham and split pea soup cool to room temperature, and keep it refrigerated in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
• Freezing: This ham and split pea soup also freezes well. Once cooled, ladle the soup into a gallon-size freezer bag, leaving some space at the top for expansion. Squeeze as much air out of the bag as you can and seal it securely. Lay the bag flat in the freezer and keep it frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge before reheating on the stove or in the microwave.

Nutrition

Calories: 302kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 17gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 22gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 333mgFiber: 13gSugar: 1g

All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.

Tried this recipe?Give it a star rating and leave a comment below!