Dark Red Kidney Beans Cabbage Soup In Instant Pot

Dark red kidney beans cabbage soup or stew made in the instant pot is delicious, healthy nutritious homemade vegetarian soup perfect for anyone looking for a bean veggie soup from scratch!

This soup or stew with red kidney beans and cabbage has a consistency of vegetarian/vegan chili as well.

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Ideally, a bowl of hot soup is great for fall or cold winter night dinners, but you can have it anytime even on a summer day if you want something really nutritious, delicious, vegetarian, protein rich & filling once you have enjoyed all those delicious cold or frozen summer treats, salads & drinks.

The red kidney beans is different from other red beans varieties.

You can read more information on kidney beans here & also you can get more information specifically on cooking, freezing etc of dried red kidney beans here.

Dark red kidney beans vs light red kidney beans

This red kidney bean soup is made using dark red kidney beans.

In place of dark red kidney beans, you may also use light red kidney beans if that is what you have.

Dark red kidney beans is more deep, darker red in color, as you know and although I recommend using this darker variety in this recipe for the perfect look it gives, you can also substitute it with lighter red kidney beans.

What we use here is dry red kidney beans, so we need to soak the dried red kidney beans in advance to soften it up and also to get rid of any toxicity they might have.

I have also used this variety of dry dark red kidney beans to make easy, delicious Indian style rajma masala in instant pot!

While I have used light red kidney beans to make this instant pot kidney beans with sweet potatoes & also this Indian style kidney beans with vegetables.

You can notice the color difference of dark and light red kidney beans in these different recipes.

I think the lighter red kidny beans are little more delicate and cooks little bit for faster but there is not much noticeable difference in cooking times for both varieties.

Also I personally like the taste, flavor and texture of dark red kidney beans more compared to the lighter version, though there is no significant difference and you can probably use any of these beans as you want.

How to cook dry dark red kidney beans?

To cook dry dark red kidney beans (or lighter red kidney beans as well), you need to soak the kidney beans in water in advance which will soften the beans and also helps with reducing the toxicity of the raw kidney beans.

We rinse and soak the dry dark red kidney beans for about 6 to 8 hours long or overnight for best results.

Then, we discard the water used for soaking the beans and rinse the beans again in fresh water.

Once this is done, the red kidney beans is ready to be cooked.

The soaked dark red kidney beans can be easily cooked using a pressure cooker on stove top (with enough water) or you can cook them in an instant pot pressure cooker even more easily.

In this recipe for kidney beans and cabbage soup, we cook them in instant pot pressure cooker for about 35 minutes long, followed by a natural pressure release.

We add enough water (4 cups for 2 cups of beans is what I recommend for water to red kidney beans ratio for instant pot, but since we use 1.5 cups beans here, I have used 3 cups of water) with spices and cabbage to cook this red kidney beans cabbage soup.

So here is how you can cook delicious, easy, nutritious kidney beans cabbage soup in the instant pot pressure cooker.

How to make red kidney bean cabbage soup?

We use the following ingredients to make easy, delicious and nutritious red kidney bean cabbage soup.

ingredients to make dark red kidney beans cabbage soup

dried dark red kidney beans 1.5 cups (you may substitute with light red kidney beans too)

water 3 cups (plus more water for soaking the beans)

cabbage shredded 1.5 cups

salt adjust to taste

garlic 2 to 3 cloves minced or chopped

onions 2 medium sized

tomatoes 3 large

turmeric powder ½ teaspoon

red chili powder or paprika ¼ teaspoon

olive oil 1 tablespoon

step by step instructions

Wash the kidney beans very well and soak in water for 7 to 8 hours or overnight for best results.

Once soaked, drain the water (discard the water used for soaking the beans) and wash the beans again in water very well.

Add the soaked and rinsed beans to the instant pot.

Chop the tomatoes and onions, add them to the instant pot.

Also add salt, garlic, turmeric powder & red chili powder, mix well.

Add the shrdded cabbage on top.

Add the water and oil (do not mix after adding water), and close the instant pot with lid in sealing position.

Cook in high pressure for 35 to 40 minutes.

Once the cooking is done, wait for a natural pressure release. If you are in a hurry, you may do a careful, gradual manual pressure release after about 15 minutes of natural pressure release.

Once the pressure is all released, carefully open the instant pot.

Stir well and simmer the contents (using saute function) to preferred consistency (I did for about 2 to 3 minutes).

Serve hot for a delicious meal along with bread, vegetables, rice, corn etc as you like!

I sometimes like to add a simple seasoning of fried minced onions, green chilies & curry leaves (lightly fried in a little olive oil on stove top using a different pan) and enjoy this as a curry served over rice!

More cabbage recipes in this blog:

cabbage and eggs breakfast recipe on stove

instant pot buttered cabbage

vegan tomato cabbage soup

cabbage stir fried with spices

cabbage and green peas

cabbage thoran or cabbage poriyal with coconut (instant pot)

cabbage thoran South Indian Kerala style recipe on stove top

instant pot masoor dal with cabbage

Below you can get the recipe for kidney beans cabbage soup in detail.