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This quick and easy Instant Pot white bean curry is insanely creamy, flavorful, and infused with ginger, garlic, and red curry paste! With just 10 minutes of prep time and one pot, it’s a tasty and spicy meal perfect for chilly days!
If you are looking for an easy curry that doesn’t lack flavor, you are going to be served with this one! It is filling, flavorful, and also high in protein (thanks to the beans!)
It’s the perfect curry to have on those cold Winter days. Plus, it keeps very well and tastes even better the next day!
🥣 How to Make White Bean Curry
As with most Instant Pot recipes, this one is quick and fuss-free! Plus, it requires basic pantry ingredients. Here is what you will need:
- White navy beans – With their soft and buttery texture, navy beans work great here. As you may know, beans take longer to cook in an acidic liquid. Since we are cooking the beans in a tomato-based sauce, we absolutely need to soak them overnight to shorten the cooking time. Do not skip the soaking step!
- Shallot, garlic, and ginger – These aromatics add another layer of flavor.
- Red curry paste – Curry paste brings the heat and a ton of flavor. If you like your curries very spicy, add an extra tablespoon of curry paste.
- Crushed tomatoes – Canned crushed tomatoes, to save time.
- Coconut milk – Full-fat coconut milk is best for a rich and very creamy curry. Light coconut milk will work as well if you want to lower the calories, but it won’t be as creamy.
- Soy sauce – Feel free to use tamari to keep this curry gluten-free.
- Coconut sugar – Or white sugar, brown sugar, or maple syrup. It balances with the acidity of the tomatoes.
- Curry powder – Use your favorite brand!
Preparing this curry couldn’t be easier:
- Sauté aromatics: Use the “Sauté” function of the Instant Pot on normal mode, and sauté the shallots, garlic, ginger, and red curry paste for 2-3 minutes.
- Deglaze the pot: Deglaze the Instant Pot with a cup of water. This will prevent small bits of aromatics from sticking to the bottom of the pot and trigger a “burn” message.
- Add the remaining ingredients: Crushed tomatoes, coconut milk, soy sauce, coconut sugar, curry powder, and drained beans.
- Pressure cook: Finally, close the Instant Pot with the lid, set the valve to the “Sealing” position, and pressure cook for 45 minutes.
I personally like the beans very soft and almost melty, so I found 45 minutes was the perfect time to get that texture. If you prefer beans with more texture, try reducing the cooking time to 35 minutes.
Once the timer has turned off, let the pressure release naturally for about 10 minutes. Then, rotate the valve to release the remaining pressure.
At this point, you can stir in greens: kale, baby spinach, or collard greens. The curry will be hot enough to cook those leafy greens in 3-5 minutes.
To finish the curry, add a squeeze of lime for freshness, and top with fresh cilantro!
🍚 How to Serve this Curry
You can serve this curry as is, more like a bean soup, or as a side with:
- Your favorite grain: white rice, quinoa, couscous, or even farro!
- Bread: Rustic bread, baguette, or naan!
💬 FAQ
You can make this recipe on the stove by omitting the water and using about 3 cups of cooked white beans. Let everything simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Yes! Chickpeas, red beans, or black beans are great alternatives! You could even use a combination of different beans for more color and texture.
This curry will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Reheat on the stove, or use the “Keep warm” function of the Instant Pot and heat it for 15-20 minutes.
This Instant Pot curry has the perfect sweet, salty, and spicy balance! Serve with rice for a tasty and comforting meal!
🍲 More Vegan Instant Pot Recipes
Let me know in the comments and leave a rating if you try this recipe!
Instant Pot White Bean Curry
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried white navy beans soaked overnight
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 shallot minced
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
- 2 tbsp red curry paste
- 1 cup water
- 1 14-oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 13.5-oz can full-fat coconut milk
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1-2 tbsp lime juice
- 2 cups loosely packed baby spinach
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Heat the Instant Pot on "Sauté" mode (Normal). Once hot, add the oil, minced shallot, garlic, and ginger. Sauté for 2-3 minutes, or until soft and fragrant. Next, add the red curry paste and sauté for one more minute, stirring regularly. Turn off the "Sauté" function.
- Deglaze the pot with the water and use a spatula to remove any bits that could have sticked to the bottom of the pot.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, coconut milk, soy sauce, coconut sugar, curry powder, salt, and soaked white beans (drained). Close the Instant Pot with the lid and set the valve to the "Sealing" position. Press the "Pressure Cook" button and set the time to 45 minutes.
- Once the timer has ended, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Manually release the remaining pressure and remove the lid.
- Stir in the baby spinach and stir to combine. The curry will still be very hot and will cook the spinach. Stir in the lime juice, top with chopped cilantro, and serve!
- You can serve this curry with white rice, quinoa, and/or naan! This curry will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Reheat on the stove, or in the Instant Pot with the "Sauté" function set on "Less".
Nutrition
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
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I’ve just read through the recipe for white bean curry, but you do not say when to add the beans.
I noticed the same thing. Presumably it’s prior to the 45 minute pressure cook.
Sorry about that Jeanette! Doesn’t matter how many times I re-check before publishing, there is always something I can miss!
It has been fixed.
Looks delicious! I’ll have to try it this week, it’s great weather here for a nice stew.
Thank you 🙂
Hi
Really enjoyed this with the family. Can I add chicken pieces to this ? If yes at which part should I add in the chicken ?
Hi PN,
I do not eat or cook meat so I’m afraid I cannot help you with this. I would guess you could add it just before pressure cooking.
Yeah I’m guess in step three you add the beans before 45 minutes of pressure cooking.
Big oops!!!
Oops! It has been fixed 🙂
I made this tonight and it was so, so good!!
Thanks for the great recipe!
Julia
Thanks Julia!
I made this tonight and it was so, so good!! We ate it over rice with some soy yoghurt. Delicious!!
Thanks for the great recipe!
Julia
Soy yogurt sounds like a delicious addition 😉
For the first time, my beans were soaking just 10 minutes after I opened your email with this recipe and I made it again for the second time yesterday. It is a bit different to the curries that I normally make, as I either make Thai style or Indian style curries but never thought of mixing them. And I never made curry with white beans either. I used great northern beans because they were the only white beans I had on hand and it turned out to be such a wonderful dish both times. I added some green chillies, a teaspoon of turmeric and black pepper for extra flavour. Thank you Thomas for another great recipe. I love your work however, I have to admit I’ve been mainly experimenting with your quick and easy dishes as I don’t normally have the time for the more involved recipes. 😉
Thanks so much for your feedback Maria 😉
Yes, it’s definitely not a common type of curry, I’m glad you liked it!
No worries, there are more quick and easy recipes coming!
Just tried. I loved white beans curry. Very good.
Thanks for your feedback Tommy!