Southern-style green beans typically require an hour or more of simmering to become soft and tender, but using an Instant Pot, you can have them ready in minutes.
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Why this Recipe Works
Fresh green beans are often quickly steamed or sauteed and served crisp. Southern green beans are entirely different. They are slow-cooked until soft, tender, and flavorful. To get them truly soft takes at least an hour of simmering. Using the Instant Pot, we can get the same results in under 20 minutes, making this a great option for a quick and easy side dish.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
- 1 cup diced onion
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1½ cups chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and pepper, to taste
How to make Instant Pot green beans
Note: This recipe was developed using a 6 qt. Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus. You may need to adjust if using a different size or model.
Cooking green beans in the Instant Pot makes this side dish so quick and easy! Begin by setting your Instant Pot to saute mode and allow it to preheat. While the pot preheats, rinse and trim the green beans and dice the onion.
Melt the butter in the pot then add the onion and saute for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened. Turn the Instant Pot off then add the chicken broth and scrape up any brown bits from the pot.
Add the beans then season with a ½ teaspoon of garlic powder along with salt and pepper to taste and stir. Lock the lid then set the pot to manual high pressure and cook for 5 minutes.
Allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes. Then quick release any remaining pressure before removing the lid.
Optional Flavorings
- Bacon - This is a classic addition to Southern style green beans. Cut 4-5 slices of bacon into 1 inch strips and saute until crisp before cooking the onion.
- Ham bone - Another classic, you can add a ham bone in with the beans to add more flavor in the pressure cooking phase.
- Red pepper flakes and hot sauce - if you want to add some spice to your beans, add 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes and a few dashes of hot sauce when adding the broth.
- Garlic - I use garlic powder in this recipe already but if you want more garlic flavor add 2 cloves of minced fresh garlic after cooking the onion. Cook the garlic for around 45 seconds before adding the broth.
How to serve Southern style green beans
These quick and easy green beans are perfect with classic Southern dishes like fried chicken or barbecue dishes like ribs and pulled pork BBQ. They are also awesome with comfort food dishes like my turkey meatloaf. This green bean recipe is a great choice for a quick and easy holiday side dish for Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas too!
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Southern Style Green Beans
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh green beans, rinsed and trimmed
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1½ cups chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to saute and allow it to preheat. While it preheats, rinse and trim the beans and dice the onion.
- Add the butter to the pot and melt then add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning.
- Turn off the pot then add the chicken broth and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the beans, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Lock the lid on the Instant Pot and set to manual high pressure for 5 minutes.
- Allow the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes then quick release the remaining pressure before removing the lid.
Nutrition
* All nutrition information we provide are estimates based on third party calculators. We encourage you to calculate these on your own for accurate results.
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