Spicy Pinto Bean Soup

Spice it up with this fiery Mexican inspired Pinto Bean Soup made from scratch in the Instant Pot. This sensational soup recipe features creamy pinto beans, Mexican chorizo sausage, tomatoes, and a range of piquant peppers from Poblano to Chipotle.

Creating a delicious Mexican feast at home is so easy! Type ‘Mexican’ into the recipe search bar to find the many great Mexican recipes on this blog. Start with a cup of Pinto Bean Soup then bring out a mouth-watering tray of golden fried Milanesa de Res and wash it all down with a Spicy Pineapple Margarita.

Disclosure: This post is made possible by Alberta Pulse Growers. All opinions and experiences are my own.

Spicy Pinto Bean Soup

This Pinto Bean Soup recipe is for those who love the heat. It builds with each spoonful, until your sinuses become clear and the warmth spreads from your head to your toes. However, this soup not only brings the heat, it brings the flavor too.

Although Instant Pot soup recipes take very little time, this soup tastes as though it has been simmering stovetop all day long. The secret is the incredible flavour that builds as you sauté your way through the ingredients list. Mexican chorizo meatballs provide heat and a generous amount of oil for sautéing the aromatics, while classic spices bridge the gap between the aromatics and hot peppers.

Blending half of the beans with stock in a high-speed (or immersion) blender before adding them back into the soup creates the most luxurious and satisfying soup. By the way, if you use canned pinto beans in this soup recipe, the recipe can be ready in 20 minutes cook time (30 minutes total time).

My favourite way to serve this satisfying soup is with simple cheese toasties or Bean and Cheese Quesadillas for even more bean protein!

Ingredients for this Recipe

The combination of spices and peppers in this Pinto Bean Soup creates a flavourful medium heat. If you want to reduce the spice level, you can reduce/omit the jalapeños or reduce the chipotle peppers. I don’t suggest omitting the chipotles because they make this soup extra tasty.

Additionally, if you crave even more spice feel free to increase the diced jalapeño or add your favourite hot pepper. I suggest habañero, serrano, or ghost peppers.

To make a vegan pinto bean soup, simply omit the chorizo sausage and use vegetable broth in place of chicken stock. This soup is naturally gluten-free if you source gluten-free chorizo sausage.

• Dried Pinto Beans
• Olive Oil
• Chorizo Sausage
• Onion
• Poblano Pepper
• Jalapeño Pepper
• Garlic
• Cumin
• Oregano
• Chipotle Peppers in Adobo
• Can of Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies
• Tomatoes
• Chicken Stock
• Fresh Cilantro
• Avocado

Dried Pinto beans are budget friendly and store well for a lengthy time, which makes them perfect pantry staples. Beans are a great source of protein and fiber and super healthy as they contain numerous vitamins and minerals. Canned beans can be high in sodium, so I choose dried beans or reduced sodium canned beans for my recipes.

Did you know that 38% of Alberta’s bean crop is Pinto beans? This is because both the seed and the seedling are hardier and can withstand Alberta’s unique climate better than most other varieties.

For this recipe, I used Mexican style fresh chorizo, seasoned with jalapeños, dry chilies, vinegar, and aromatic spices like cinnamon and clove. It is not the same as Spanish style dried chorizo which is heavily seasoned with smoked paprika.

While some of the heat in this soup is from the chorizo sausage, the bulk of it is from peppers, in particular diced chilies (in the can of tomatoes), jalapeños, and canned chipotle peppers in adobo.

I used Rotel brand ‘original’ diced tomatoes with chilies but you can use a can of fire roasted tomatoes with a small can of diced chilies. Just be careful, you can always add more heat, but you can’t take it away.

The spice level of most fresh peppers, like jalapeños can vary widely. Sometimes they can be quite mild, and I use the whole pepper and other times, I can only use a portion of the pepper. The only way to know how much to use is to taste it raw.

Canned Chipotle Pepper in Adobo can pack quite the punch. I’ve made the mistake of adding the entire can to a pot of beans (the first recipe test of Chipotle Pinto Beans with Peaches) and while they were still edible, they were much too spicy for me. I’m much more cautious now and only added two to this recipe.

Pro Tip: Freeze the remaining Chipotles in portions using an ice cube tray (but not one you use to for making ice!) and store in an airtight container.

How to Cook Pinto Beans in an Instant Pot

There are so many ways to cook dried beans, they’re almost more convenient than opening a can. There’s the long or overnight soak technique, the quicker hot soak/oven method, and finally, the Instant Pot method.

And so, if you own an Instant Pot, you own one of the handiest kitchen appliances when it comes to preparing beans from scratch. Since this Pinto Bean Soup recipe is made entirely in the Instant Pot, we’re going to start cooking those dried pinto beans in this handy electric pressure cooker.

To begin, pick and rinse 1 cup dried pinto beans. Add them to your Instant Pot, then cover the beans with 4 cups of cold water. Add a few bay leaves for extra flavour if you like. Place the lid on the pressure cooker and close the pressure valve. Select High Pressure, then add one minute cooking time on the timer.

When the one-minute timer beeps, shut the Instant Pot off (or unplug it) and let the beans soak in the closed pot for 60 minutes. After the 1-hour soak is complete, drain the beans and set aside. Rinse out the Instant Pot insert.

How to Make Pinto Bean Soup

Now that the beans are ready to go, it’s time for veggie prep. Start by washing and preparing the vegetables. Peel and chop the onion in a small dice. Next, peel and finely mince the garlic. Lastly, de-seed and finely dice the jalapeño pepper. Lastly, small dice the poblano pepper, canned chipotle peppers, and tomatoes.

Next, let’s focus on building the soup’s flavour profile. Drizzle 4 tablespoons olive oil in the bottom of the Instant Pot. Remove the chorizo meat from one sausage casing, creating small rustic meatballs as you drop them into the oil. Repeat with other two chorizo sausages.

Turn the Instant Pot to sauté mode and cook the sausage, using a flipper to prise each meatball from the pot once it is well browned. It doesn’t need to be cooked through yet, but it should hold together and have some colour.

Once the sausage meatballs are browned on all sides, add the diced onions, poblano pepper, and jalapeño pepper. Sauté until the onion becomes soft and translucent, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, cumin powder, and oregano. Stir and sauté for one more minute.

Add the can of diced tomatoes with juice to the pot and stir, scraping the bottom of the pot. Add the halved fresh cocktail tomatoes, the chipotle peppers, and chicken broth or vegetable stock.

Wipe any oil splatters off the rim of the Instant Pot then lock the lid in place. Select High Pressure and add a 10-minute cook time. When the cook time ends, use the quick release to decrease the pressure rapidly.

Remove one cup of broth from the soup. Place the broth in a high-powered blender, along with half of the beans. Process until the mixture becomes smooth and creamy. Add the other half of the beans to the pot, then cook the soup on High Pressure for another 10 minutes. When the cook time ends, use the quick release.

Stir the blended bean mixture into the soup. Divide the soup into bowls and garnish with chopped cilantro and sliced avocado. Serve with a side of cooling sour cream.

Looking for more Pinto Bean recipes? Enjoy this classic Pinto Beans and Rice side dish on your next taco night or slow bake them with peaches for a fun twist on Chipotle Baked Beans.

If you make this Spicy Pinto Bean Soup recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest for my latest recipes. Also, if you do make this recipe, please tag me on Instagram, I’d love to see what you guys are making! Thank you so much for reading my blog.