Instant Pot Green Beans: A recipe for fresh green beans steamed perfectly in the pressure cooker.
These Pressure Cooker Green Beans are delicious as a side dish to Chicken Marsala, Chicken Cordon Bleu, or New York Strip Roast.
My daughter and husband love green beans. And their favorite way to enjoy them, is steamed and tossed with some butter and salt.
Simple. Perfect. Easy.
Instant Pot Green Beans
Steaming fresh green beans in the pressure cooker is about the simplest way to make green beans.
It only takes a few minutes and the green beans turn out crisp tender every single time.
How To Steam Green Beans in Instant Pot
Step One: Prepare Green Beans
- Wash green beans and drain well.
- Trim end off green beans.
Step Two: Place Green Beans in Instant Pot
- Pour 1 cup of water into inner pan of pressure cooker.
- Place steamer basket in pressure cooker.
- Place green beans in basket.
Step Three: Steam Green Beans in Instant Pot
- Place lid on pressure cooker and seal vent knob.
- Turn to high pressure and set for zero minutes.
- Do a quick release of pressure.
By the time the Instant Pot has reached pressure, the green beans will be crisp tender. If you would like your green beans a bit on softer side, set for 1 minute on high pressure.
Step Four: Season
- Remove green beans from Instant Pot.
- Place in large serving bowl and season as desired.
Green Bean Seasonings
You can season these steamed beans anyway you desire, but here are some of my favorite combinations.
- Butter, salt and pepper
- Olive oil, freshly grated Parmesan Cheese and pepper
- Olive oil, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and minced garlic
- Butter, salt, pepper, and juice and zest of lemon zest
Tips on Perfectly Steamed Green Beans
- If you are doubling this recipe, you may want to cook on high pressure for 1 minute instead of zero minutes.
- Feel free to saute the green beans in olive oil or butter after steaming for a crisp exterior.
- This is a great technique to use for any recipe that requires you to parboil green beans before proceeding with a recipe.
Instant Pot Essential Recipes
- Instant Pot Chicken Breasts (Fresh or Frozen)
- Instant Pot Chicken Stock
- Instant Pot Yogurt
- Instant Pot Quinoa
- Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs
Instant Pot Green Beans
Ingredients
- 1 pound green beans washed, ends trimmed
- 1 cup water
- desired seasonings
Instructions
- Place 1 cup of water into inner pot of pressure cooker.
- Place green beans into steamer basket for pressure cooker.
- Place pressure cooker in Instant Pot and seal closed.
- Set to high pressure and manual time of zero minutes. (Or 1 minute on high pressure for softer green beans.)
- Do a quick release of power once time has elapsed.
- Remove green beans from pressure cooker and serve as desired.
Notes
- I prefer seasoning these steamed green beans with a bit of butter, salt, pepper, and the zest and juice of half a lemon.
- Recipe can easily be doubled, but may desire to cook for 1 minute on high pressure.
Kristen Chidsey
Latest posts by Kristen Chidsey (see all)
- The Best Italian Stuffed Shells - January 19, 2020
- Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars - January 17, 2020
- Avocado Chickpea Salad Sandwich - January 16, 2020
I had way more than 1 lb of fresh green beans. My pot was full almost to 2/3 mark. I used about 1 3/4 cups of water. Set the time to 1 minute, then let it NPR for about 8 minutes (long enough to set the table, etc.). Then QR. They were perfect for us!
Wonderful! I am so glad you enjoyed Barbara!
I’m trying to convert a favorite green bean recipe for use in IP. The old recipe calls for canned tomatoes including the juice. Can I use the juice from the tomatoes instead of adding a cup of water for pressure cooking ? I assume I’ll need to be sure there is at least a cup of tomato juice. Thanks.
Hi Thomas, the juice from the tomatoes has natural sugars that CAN cause a burn notice (it does not always). I would use the juice and add an additional 1/2 cup stock or water to prevent this 🙂
I am charged with making steamed green beans for Thanksgiving with the family. There will be 35 there. Any suggestions on how to adjust this recipe for a crowd? I appreciate any advice you can give me. Thank you in advance! Carol
Hi Carol! For 35 people, I would think you need to make the green beans in 2-3 batches, depending on the size of your Instant Pot. Most would recommend about 10 pounds of green beans for that many people. However, with it being Thanksgiving and so many sides, I would think 6-8 pounds would be enough. For a 6 quart Instant Pot you should be able to fit 2.5-3 pounds in the steamer. I would just adjust the cook time to 1 minute. Once one batch is done, place in serving bowl and cover with plastic wrap to keep warm, do the next batch and you will be ready 🙂 NOTE: Normally, I would never double the cook time even if doubling the ingredients, but with steaming that much, I have found 1 minutes is often best. You can set for 0 minutes if you like your beans really crisp tender. I hope you enjoy and happy Thanksgiving!
Great! Did just as you instructed.
I sauteed after that with onion and bacon, like grandma used to with her fresh beans from garden!
Thank you
I am so glad you enjoyed Shellie! And love the addition of bacon and onions!
Perfectly soft green beans at 1 minute! I’m so excited to be able to cook green beans again! Thanks!
YAY! So glad you enjoyed Ryn!
Hi. Yes I did the green beans for 6 minutes. We like ours soft so I gave it an extra minute. They were perfect. I put ham onions potatoes chicken broth and water in them. They we delicious.
I am so glad you enjoyed!
The green beans do not get done enough,Even though I did it two times On zero pressure
Hi Catherine! I am sorry that you did not find the beans to your liking. Did you use the full amount of cold water? Also, be sure you use high pressure (I think you meant cook time for zero minutes not zero pressure–but just in case you adjusted to low pressure!) In the future, cook for 2 minutes for soft green beans–this recipe is for more crisp tender beans.
I’m a newbie, and having trouble with terminology:
When “Manual” is specified, is that understood to be one particular button? (I don’t see a “Manual” button).
I believe that Rice, for example, is a “program”, along with the seven other buttons on either side of the display. So those eight are NOT Manual, right?
Eliminating those eight buttons would seem to point me toward either Saute, Pressure Cook, or Steam. I’m gonna go with Steam in this case (the article is How to STEAM Green Beans), but it’s not always that clear.
Does it really make any difference if I select Saute, Pressure Cook, or Steam? With a cup of water in the bottom, aren’t those green beans going to get steamed the same?
Thanks!
Hi Gary! Pressure Cook and Manual button work the same way, sorry I did not make that clear in the post. You may want to read up on Instant Pot 101 and Instant Pot Functions to help you. I explain in detail the difference in how the pressure cooker works for each function.
Perfect recipe! Your green beans are spot on.
Thanks Steve!
Your Instant Pot recipes are always on point and these green beans are no exception! YUM!
Oh thank you so much! I am so glad you know you can trust my recipes <3
Ha, well what do I know. I’ve always thought that steaming green veg would damage the lovely green colour. How wrong I have been – your steamed greens are beautifully vibrant. Thanks for this recipe and the tips.
You bet Jane! As long as you don’t over-steam, your vegetables will still be vibrant!