Dice onions, celery, carrots, and ham. Peel garlic and set it all aside. Rinse the beans to get rid of any debris that might be in the bag and set aside to let it strain.
Set Instant Pot to SAUTE and let it heat up. Add oil, onions, celery, and carrots and saute until veggies soften and start to golden. (If using ham bone, add ham bone to the pot.)
Press garlic and add it to the pot. Saute until fragrant.
Add diced ham, stir, and saute for a few minutes. Pour in beans, chicken broth, thyme, bay leaf, crushed red peppers, and salt. Don’t forget to taste to make sure you have enough salt.
Stir, close the lid and make sure it’s latched. Turn the valve to “SEAL” and set the Instant Pot to pressure cook on high pressure cook mode for 30 minutes.
Let it do a natural release for about 10 minutes and then do a quick release. Be careful opening the lid.
NOTE: don't forget to discard the bay leaf and ham bone if using.
Video
Notes
Ham Bone: If you cooked ham on the bone for the holidays, you can throw in the bone as well. Cut the meat off the bone and add the bone into the pot while sautéing the veggies. Then, simply dice the meat that has been cut off the bone and add it to the soup as well. This bean soup will be amazing with or without the bone. This will just be a good way to utilize the bone instead of just tossing it away.
Using other beans?30 minutes is a nice average cook time for beans that are about the same size as a navy bean or smaller. If you want to use larger beans, your cooking time will increase. So for beans like cannellini or white kidney beans, you will want to add another 5-10 minutes. Note that some beans may be larger in size but thinner in thickness, they will have a slightly different cook time. You can always consult your pressure cooker manual for exact cook times.