Ground Beef and Kale Soup (Instant Pot) VIDEO

This Ground Beef and Kale Soup is hearty and loaded with potatoes, ground beef and nutritious kale.  The best part is that this soup makes a quick and easy dinner with 4 minutes of cooking time.

Pressure Cooker Ground Beef and Kale Soup (Instant Pot)

Ever since Olive Garden’s infamous Zuppa Toscana became a usual choice, dozens of copycat versions came bursting forth on the internet. The real Zuppa Toscana uses Italian sausage, which if you’re avoiding junk in your home like I am, can get quite pricey for a clean variety.

Instead, I’ve found that using ground beef with particular seasonings can still achieve that hearty Tuscan flavor typically found in Zuppa Toscana.

Bacon is optional.

Omitting bacon from the soup saves time and money. If using bacon, make it using your preferred method (mine — baking it on the rack in the oven at 425F degrees for 30-40 minutes). The problem I keep running into hungry people devour it straight off the pan before I have a chance to chop it up for the soup.

This soup is amazingly delicious with the bacon but no worries if none is on hand. There’s plenty flavor in the soup without it.

Pressure Cooker Ground Beef and Kale Soup (Instant Pot)

This soup is not only hearty and delicious but also very easy to make. Filled with chunks of russet potatoes, flavorful ground beef, and fresh kale, this soup is a much more economical adaptation to the traditional Zuppa Toscana.  The purposeful addition of the bone broth adds more nutrients and flavor to the soup.

Related: The Makings of Bone Broth – 3 Methods

The best part is that after initial sauteeing and cooking of the ground beef, the cooking time for the soup is only 4 minutes in the Instant Pot. I know that does sound deceiving considering that you still have some prep work to do beforehand. However, for an easy weeknight meal, this Ground Beef and Kale Soup does extremely well for an easy and nourishing dinner.

Can I use frozen ground beef in Instant Pot?

Short answer, yes. I’ve often used frozen ground beef in this soup with great success. If you ever find yourself in a tizzy at 5 o’clock, do this:

1. Place your package of ground beef (provided that it’s sealed well) in a bowl of room temperature water.
2. Meanwhile, start working on sauteeing onions. That’ll buy you some time for the thawing of the ground beef.
3. As soon as the onions are translucent and turning golden brown, add ground beef, even if it’s still mostly frozen. It will help to clear the pot by moving the onions to the sides.
4. As the beef is cooking, start breaking it up, exposing frozen bits to the heat. Turn the beef over and scrape the cooked bits off (they should release easily).
5. Do this until the all of ground beef is thawed and cooked almost completely.

Helpful Items for this Pressure Cooker Ground Beef and Kale Soup

• Instant Pot – you can use whatever pressure cooker you have but we love our Instant Pot. The older models have definitely dropped in prices but still do a great job at making healthy and delicious meals quickly.
• Glass Lid – I love these lids and have 2. Technically, you can use whatever lid you have from other pots that fit Instant Pot but these lids make any pressure cooking easier. Use this instead of the Instant Pot cooking lid after you add the kale and cream. It allows the steam to escape so the soup won’t be overcooked.

Pressure Cooker Ground Beef and Kale Soup

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 4 minutes

Total Time: 44 minutes

Servings: 12 servings

Calories: 412 kcal

Hearty and delicious, this soup comes together quickly and easily in the Instant Pot or your favorite pressure cooker. 

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Ingredients

• 1 12 oz bacon (optional)
• 2 tablespoon butter, ghee, lard or tallow
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 1/2 lb ground beef
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoon sea salt
• 3 quarts bone broth (or water)
• 5 russet potatoes diced
• 1 pint heavy cream
• 1 bunch kale leaves coarsely chopped

Instructions

1. (Optional) Cook bacon whichever way you feel most comfortable that will give you bacon crumbs. I prefer to cut them crosswise with kitchen shears and spread the pieces on the baking sheet to bake at 350 F degrees for 30 minutes.

2. On Instant Pot, press the sauté button and allow to warm up. When 'hot' is displayed on the screen, add cooking fat and chopped onions. Cook until translucent, stirring occasionally.
3. Add ground meat, garlic and all spices. Continue to sauté , breaking up the beef until it's almost fully cooked and all the spices are incorporated.

4. Bacon should be done by now, if using. Remove it from the oven and reserve the fat for other uses.

5. Add chopped potatoes and cooked bacon to the ground beef mixture directly into the Instant Pot. 

6. Add enough broth or water to the 1.4L (3 quarts) mark and give it a quick stir.
   

7. Close the lid, set the valve to sealing position and set to manual for 4 minutes cooking time.

8. When the cycle is complete, do quick pressure release until safety pin is completely down.

9. With caution, open the lid, add chopped kale and cream. Give a quick stir once more and season with salt if needed. 

10. You can close the lid back and keep it set to Keep Warm until ready to enjoy. Garnish with extra parmesan just before serving.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

| Nutritional Information Disclaimer |

Nutrition Facts

Pressure Cooker Ground Beef and Kale Soup

Amount Per Serving

Calories 412 Calories from Fat 252

% Daily Value*

Fat 28g43%

Saturated Fat 14g70%

Cholesterol 99mg33%

Sodium 560mg23%

Potassium 630mg18%

Carbohydrates 19g6%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 1g1%

Protein 21g42%

Vitamin A 1800IU36%

Vitamin C 19.2mg23%

Calcium 73mg7%

Iron 2.3mg13%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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