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20 Minute Vegetarian Chickpea Minestrone Soup (Pressure Cooker/Instant Pot)

Soothing minestrone soup chock full of chickpeas and veggies, perfect as a light lunch or side. 

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine American, Italian, Mediterranean
Keyword chickpea, crockpot express crock multi cooker, instant pot, meal prep, minestrone, pressure cooker, soup, standing in the kitchen, vegetarian
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 12 cups
Calories 284 kcal
Author Lillian

Ingredients

  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1 whole onion large dice
  • 2-3 large carrots peeled, large dice
  • 3-4 stalks celery large dice
  • 1 15 oz can chickpeas drained and rinsed
  • 1 15 oz can kidney beans drained and rinsed
  • 2 dried bay leaves
  • 4 cups broth
  • 1 2 lb jar Marinara* with no added sugar!
  • 1 medium zuchinni* sliced into half circles, add AFTER soup is cooked
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Press HEAT/SAUTE button on your pressure cooker, when fully heated add in oil and diced veggies. Saute veggies until lightly caramelized, the edges should be colored and the veggies will be very aromatic. 

  2. Keep the HEAT/SAUTE option on, add broth into the pot. Add the beans and marinara. Stir to combine (use a wooden spoon so you don't scratch the inner bowl!). Add the lid and twist it to the locked position, make sure the steam release is set to closed. Cook at high pressure for 10 minutes under the manual setting*.

  3. When the soup is done, manually release the pressure (be careful, it's hot pressure!!!) by twisting the steam release knob until all pressure is released. Close steam release knob, remove lid, add the sliced zuchinni and stir to combine. Remove to bay leaves. Finish to taste with salt and pepper.

  4. Recipe can be frozen with great results! See notes.

Recipe Notes

I use Costco's brand of marinara. It does not have any added sugar and tastes delicious! 

Adding zuchinni at the end ensures they do not overcook in the soup, the residual heat will soften and cook them.

I own and use the Crock Pot Express Crock Multi Cooker. It does not have a labelled manual setting. Instead you can use either the Beans/Chili, Dessert, or Soup settings, which operate as manual. Make sure to adjust the pressure for your recipe! You can read more on their FAQ page here.

To freeze, place soup in a large FREEZER ziploc bag, remove as much air as possible and seal it. Lay on a sheet pan and freeze, so that it freezes flat and is easier to store! To thaw, just place in the fridge overnight. Heat in the microwave or on the stovetop. The zuchinni does get very soft but I find that I don't mind it.