Ranchero Soup

Ranchero Soup–an Instant Pot soup loaded with smoky bacon, tender pork stew meat, ranch-style beans, Rotel, pasta and corn for a flavorful Southwest-style dinner.

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Ranchero Soup

I loved how this soup turned out! The pork gets unbelievably tender in the Instant Pot and the Rotel brings that perfect hit of flavor and heat. I found a bag of alphabet pasta* (from this other soup) in my pantry and threw it in. It was such a fun little addition, but ditalini or any small pasta works great. If you’re more of a rice person try adding in ½ cup of brown rice right from the beginning if you want to make it a little heartier. This one reminds me of a Southwest cowboy-style soup with beans, pork and bacon. Definitely add this one to your meal plan this week!

Ingredients/Substitution Ideas

• Bacon
• Diced Onion
• Minced Garlic
• Chicken Broth–or water and Better than Bouillon chicken base
• Pork Stew Meat–or beef stew meat
• Black Pepper
• Cumin
• Chili Powder
• Tomato Paste
• Rotel
• Ranch Style Beans–or chili beans
• Alphabet Pasta–or Ditalini
• Frozen Corn
• Salt
• Shredded Cheddar Cheese–or a Monterey jack blend

Steps

Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting. When display says HOT add in the bacon and cook until crispy. Use a slotted spoon to move the bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Discard all but 1 Tbsp of the bacon grease.

Add the onion into the 1 Tbsp of bacon grease in the pot. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. 

Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. 

Add in the pork, pepper, cumin, chili powder, tomato paste and Rotel. 

Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set SOUP button to 20 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.

Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting. Add in the beans, pasta, corn and salt. Cook until pasta is tender. Turn off sauté setting.

Ladle into bowls and top each serving with some cheese and bacon. 

Notes/Tips

• Serve with a warm loaf of crusty bread or cornbread.
• For a whole-grain option, add ½ cup brown rice at the beginning of the pressure-cooking time instead of pasta.
• Use mild Rotel to reduce the spice level or hot Rotel to kick it up.
• You can use beef stew meat instead of pork stew meat.
• This can be gluten free if you use rice instead of pasta.
• This recipe can be dairy free if you leave the cheese out as a topping.
• I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• Other recipes you can make with bacon are Never Enough Casserole and Elvis Presley Meatballs.

Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for. 

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More Instant Pot soups to try…

*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.