Back in 2018, I had a group of vegan friends over for a salad potluck. Everyone was to bring a favorite salad to share. The day before our gathering my friend Joanie sent a message asking if she could bring a pot of soup instead – of course I said yes. She showed up with this amazing Pumpkin Black Bean Soup that was to die for. It was such a nice addition to our salad buffet – I think we all went back for seconds and ate every last bit of soup. Of course we all requested the recipe and I have been making it on a regular basis for the past month. I almost feel guilty for not sharing the recipe with you sooner because, I know you are going to love it too. It uses simple pantry ingredients and takes only minutes to make in the Instant Pot pressure cooker. What’s not to love about that?
You have no idea how difficult it is to photograph black bean soup! It’s almost impossible to make it look good. Just know that it really does taste delicious. It is such a different flavor because of the unusual combination of allspice, cinnamon and black pepper. It all works perfectly well together with the canned pumpkin which adds fiber, creaminess and flavor.
I have met the nicest people since going plant based. I first met Joanie when she attended one of my whole food plant based cooking classes. She is so much fun to be around – love her positive attitude. She had a knee replacement since I had last seen her and she looked fabulous! While Joanie was recovering from her surgery a friend brought her this soup and kindly shared the recipe. Thank you for passing it on and sharing this wonderful recipes with all of us Joanie.
I like to double this recipe – it fits nicely in the 8 QT Instant Pot. If you have the 6 QT you can double the recipe but hold out 2 cans of beans and add them after it has cooked. Garlic goes well with black bean soup and is really healthy so I add a few cloves of garlic to the recipes as well. With an immersion/stick blender you can blend the soup right in the Instant Pot. Love that. If you want it to have more texture add another can of drained beans after blending the soup.

I like to serve this soup with a beautiful side salad. This Mexican Chopped Salad with Crispy Tortilla Strips is a perfect match.

This Fall Salad With Crunchy Japanese Sweet Potato Croutons is a crowd pleaser and will go nicely with the soup recipe too.
For dessert I mad the simple but fabulous Fall Pudding and topped it with pomegranate seeds.
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Joanie’s Pumpkin Black Bean Soup
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker, Immersion blender
Ingredients
- 2 cans black beans rinsed and drained
- 1 can Muir Glen fire roasted diced tomatoes – no salt added
- 1 can pumpkin – 15 ounce
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 4 small garlic cloves – or to taste
- 3/4 teaspoon allspice
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
Garnish
- Balsamic Vinegar to drizzle over the top
Instructions
- Set Instant Pot to saute mode, using a small amount of the vegetable broth saute the onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, give it a stir. Put the lid on and set it on high pressure for 5 minutes. Allow natural pressure release. Using an immersion blender, blend to desired consistency. The first time I made this I was using my new immersion blender which is far more powerful than my old one and I over blended it! So then I added an extra can of beans to give it some more body. We liked that so well that I have continued to do that. After the soup is in the bowl drizzle your favorite balsamic vinegar over the top. If you have any of the California Balsamic flavored vinegars use one of your favorites. I like the Sweet Heat on this one. Yum!
Notes
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We are also Holland Bowl Mill Affiliates. The 15 inch Holland Bowl Mill Cherry fruit bowl has a permanent home on our kitchen island. It’s beautiful and useful. The heart shaped bowl makes me happy – I love everything heart shaped! We use our 15 inch Beechwood & cherry bowl (his and her’s) to chop our salads everyday. Eating a salad for one meal every day helped me lose weight and become a size 4. I still eat a salad for one meal a day but now it’s a Big Beautiful Chopped salad and it helps me stay a size 4! See the Chopped Salad Blog Post to find out how you can incorporate a chopped salad into your daily food plan and how you can get a free mezzaluna knife with your Holland Bowl order when you use our Holland Bowl affiliate link as well as free engraving and free shipping.
It sounds delicious Tami. I’ll definitely give it a try. My favorite go to black bean soup recipe is a Dr McDougall one, although I add extra liquid. It’s so simple and quick to make when you need a filling soup in a hurry and feel too tired to “cook”. Thanks again for the recipe.
I can relate Caroline – sometimes I am too tired and don’t want to cook and that is when I need quick and easy recipes like this one. That black bean soup you mentioned sounds like a winner too!
Happy Cooking,
Tami
Yes it’s three cans of black beans, salsa, veggie stock and spices. Now easy is that? Done in 10 minutes?
Caroline that is pretty quick and easy!
This soup sounds delicious and your picture makes it look delicious! I especially love how fast it is to make. It’s great for those days when dinner sneaks up on you and you need something quick.
Indeed, Michelle it’s perfect for a last minute meal!
This soup is AMAZING! So quick and easy and delicious. Definitely a recipe that will be added to my regular cold weather rotation. Do not forget to add some balsamic vinegar to each serving as that finishing touch really puts it over the top!
Thank you for your review Kathy – it is such a good soup and you are right that drizzle of balsamic vinegar is the crowning touch.
great soup; a keeper; the next day it is even better.
I am so glad you liked it. I agree it is even better on day two! Happy New Year!
Hello! What size can of Glen Muir diced tomatoes did you use for the recipe as written? I’m assuming the 14.5oz but wanted to make sure! Thank you!
Yes, that is the size.