Instant Pot Cajun 15 Bean Turkey Soup

Name: Instant Pot Cajun 15 Bean Turkey Soup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 70 min
Ingredients: 1 Bag HamBeens® Cajun 15 BEAN SOUP®; 2 1/2 cups cooked turkey (cubed); 2 cups thawed frozen onion and pepper mix ((or fresh onion and peppers)); 2 cups carrots (sliced); 1/2 cup celery (sliced); 2 tablespoons garlic (minced); 2 large dried bay leaves; 1 teaspoon dried thyme; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon ground white pepper; 8 cups chicken broth

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Don't you just love a quick and easy homemade bean soup recipe that is done in less than an hour?

A blue bowl filled with Cajun 15 bean turkey soup.

You may have been avoiding making homemade soup with dried beans because you thought you had to soak them first.

Not when you cook them in the Instant Pot. The electric pressure cooker takes all the work out of cooking with dried beans.

This turkey soup recipe is the perfect recipe to make when you have leftover turkey or chicken on hand.

Soup Ingredients

Most homemade soup recipes start with a combination of very similar ingredients.

This bean and turkey soup recipe starts with a bag of Cajun 15 Bean Soup mix, cooked turkey and chicken broth or stock.

Chicken broth, 15 beans soup mix and diced turkey in individual bowl.

Vegetables for soup

You will also need some fresh or frozen vegetables.

I used fresh carrots and fresh celery. I had a bag of frozen onion and bell pepper mix in the freezer so I use it.

If you have fresh onion and bell peppers on hand you can use those instead of frozen.

I like to use the ingredients I have on hand and since I had the frozen bag on hand I used it today.

Frozen onions and peppers, sliced carrots, and sliced celery in small bowls needed to make turkey bean soup.

Best herbs & spices for soup

I have a few favorite herbs and spices I like to use when I make homemade soup.

You will see that I like to use a combination of the same herbs in many of my soup recipes. There is a reason for that.

This combination of herbs and spices will make homemade soup taste amazing.

Dried thyme, dried bay leaves, minced garlic, salt, pepper and the Cajun seasoning mix in small bowls used to make Cajun turkey and beans soup.

Cooking with dried beans

Whenever you cook with a bag of dried beans you need to prep them before cooking with them. Pour the beans into a colander and rinse them well. Check the beans for any weird looking beans or stones.

Occasionally I will find a small stone in a bag of dried beans. I haven't in years but you should always check to make sure.

Let's make soup!

Chop the vegetables and cube the cooked turkey meat.

Rinse and pick through the beans to make sure there are no stones in the dried beans.

Overhead image of pressure cooker filled with a 15 Cajun bean soup mix.

Put the cleaned dried beans and the cubed turkey into the bottom of the pot.

Overhead image of cubed turkey and dried beans mixed in the pot.

Add the sliced, and diced vegetables to the pot.

Overhead image of soup vegetables added to the Instant Pot.

Add the herbs and spices to the pot.

Overhead image of the dried herbs and spices added to the soup ingredients.

Pour the chicken broth over the ingredients. Mix them with a large wooden spoon to combine.

Overhead image of mixing the broth with the soup ingredients.

Place the lid on and lock it into place. Turn the valve to the sealing position.

Press the manual button and set the time to 35 minutes. Pressure cook for 35 minutes then do a natural release of the steam for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes carefully open the lid away from your face. Check the texture of the largest beans.

Overhead image of Instant Pot Turkey and bean soup after it has pressure cooked.

If the beans are still hard. Lock the lid in place again, press manual and set the time for 15 more minutes.

This time allow the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes. Check the beans again. They should be done.

A metal ladle filled to the brim with turkey and bean soup.

Recipe FAQs

Can you over cook dried beans in the Instant Pot?

Yes, dried beans can get over cooked in the Instant Pot. Smaller beans like lentils may completely dissolve but will help thicken and add flavor to the soup broth.

How long should you pressure cook dried beans?

The pressure cooking time will vary for un-soaked dried beans. Small beans like lentils will cook quickly while larger beans like kidney beans will take longer.

Recipe Expert Tips

Time Saving Tip: Always chop or cut up the vegetables ahead of time if you can. I like to prep the veggie the night before I am making soup. It makes the cooking time fly by because all you need to do is add the ingredients to the pot and set the Instant Pot to cook.
Dried Beans: Buy quality dried beans and use them before the expiration date if possible. Older dried beans can take longer to cook and can be tough.
Pressure cooking dried beans: If some of the beans are still hard lock the lid back in place and pressure cook on manual for an additional 15 minutes.
Turkey: Cooked turkey, chicken or ham can be used in this recipe.