A hearty soup with smoked sausage, beans, tomatoes and potatoes. Wilderness Soup can be made in your Instant Pot or Crockpot. It’s the perfect recipe to either make ahead of time and bring on a camping trip or if you’re RV camping it’s great to make on site. There’s also a third option, if you’re like me and not a camper you can just make it and enjoy it at home in your kitchen!
Wilderness Soup
This soup is my take on a recipe I found on Beyond the Tent. When I first looked at the recipe I thought might be a little bit boring. However, my son and I both agreed that this soup was the bomb! Even in the middle of June we loved sipping on this soup. It starts with smoked sausage which gives a great base of flavor for the soup. It’s chock full of healthy ingredients like tomatoes, peppers, kidney beans, black beans and potatoes. It will fuel you up for all your camping activities.
This soup freezes nicely. I like to ladle it carefully into a hefty slider bag and freeze flat. Then I can pack it in a cooler and use it when we go to our cabin. The day before I want to eat the soup I remove it from the freezer and let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator. I then reheat it quickly in a pot on the stove.
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Olive oil–or canola oil
- Beef smoked sausage–or another type of smoked sausage like andouille or kielbasa.
- Beef broth–or chicken broth. You can also use Better than Bouillon and water.
- Kidney beans–or cannellini beans
- Black beans–or pinto beans
- Crushed tomatoes
- Potatoes–I used unpeeled russets. You can also use red or yellow potatoes.
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Garlic powder
- Italian seasoning–or make your own
- Red bell pepper–or yellow or orange
- Green bell pepper
Steps
Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the oil and swirl it around. Add in the smoked sausage and brown for about 2 minutes on each side.
Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
Dump in the kidney beans, black beans, tomatoes, potatoes, salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and bell peppers. Don’t stir.
Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the SOUP button to 4 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid. (If you don’t have a soup button then cook on low pressure for 4 minutes).
Stir. Taste test and add salt to taste, if needed. Ladle into bowls and enjoy!
Notes/Tips
- Serve with garlic bread or French bread.
- This recipe is adaptable. Try subbing in green beans in the place of the peppers. Or use chickpeas in the place of kidney beans. There are lots of additional veggies you can add too! Try cauliflower florets, carrots, celery, diced onion, mushrooms, etc.
- This recipe is gluten free and dairy free.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in an 8 quart pot. Cut the recipe in half for the 3 quart pot.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Other recipes you can make with potatoes are Instant Pot Hobo Casserole and Needy Husband Casserole.
More Instant Pot Camp Recipes…
Instant Pot Alabama Camp Stew
Shredded pork and chicken in a tomato bbq sauce with potato chunks, lima beans and corn. Super tasty and made easy with your Instant Pot.
Instant Pot Campfire Hash
Traditionally made over a campfire this potato, smoked sausage and corn dish is much faster and easier when made in your Instant Pot.
Instant Pot “Not a Camper” Casserole
A hamburger, potato and cheese casserole that started out as a camping dinner made in a dutch oven. My version is made indoors with your Instant Pot or slow cooker.
Karen’s Campfire Potatoes (Instant Pot)
Karen’s Campfire Potatoes are like the Dutch oven potatoes you eat when camping but they are made in a fraction of the time. Plus you don’t have to set up camp and start a fire! You’re going to love these red potatoes with onions, bacon and the perfect amount of seasoning.
Instant Pot Campfire Soup
A hearty meal in a bowl. It’s a flavorful beef and vegetable soup that you can make in the Instant Pot or the Crockpot.
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.
Wilderness Soup
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 4 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 24 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
A hearty soup with smoked sausage, beans, tomatoes and potatoes.
Ingredients
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 (12 oz) package beef smoked sausage, sliced into quarter inch rounds
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 (15.5 oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (15.5 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 8 ounces potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt (plus more to taste)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 red bell pepper, cored and diced
- 1 green bell pepper, cored and diced
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the oil and swirl it around. Add in the smoked sausage and brown for about 2 minutes on each side.
- Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Dump in the kidney beans, black beans, tomatoes, potatoes, salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and bell peppers. Don’t stir.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the SOUP button to 4 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Stir. Taste test and add salt to taste, if needed. Ladle into bowls and enjoy!
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Dump the smoked sausage, kidney beans, black beans, tomatoes, potatoes, salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and bell peppers into slow cooker. Stir.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.
- Stir. Taste test and add salt to taste, if needed. Ladle into bowls and enjoy!
- Category: Soup
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
*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.
I made this soup per the recipe. I made it in our Instant Pot. It smelled great! It looked really appetizing.
But once my wife and I tasted it, we both agreed that the broth tasted like watered down spaghetti sauce.
The addition of the sausage and other items required from the recipe didn’t save it.
Personally we just didn’t like it. Just our opinion.
Sorry you didn’t like it!
This one is next up on the list to try before we go camping in the fall (too hot here right now to camp out). One question: if I want to use diced onions, do I need to sauté them with the sausage?? (P.S. gotta have onion! ha) Thanks much.
Yes that’s what I would do because the raw onion would be too strong!