Instant Pot Southern Green Beans

Instant Pot Southern Green Beans are made with fresh green beans and bacon, of course, in true Southern-style. These are a terrific side dish any day of the week and especially perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Years!

My husband jokes that green beans and corn were the only two vegetables his family ever ate when he was growing up. He actually says they had three vegetables… green beans, French-style green beans, and corn. ?

Coming from a family that ate all the vegetables, I had my work cut out for me exposing him to new vegetables. Granted, I was the pickiest of my siblings so I don’t eat all the things my family eats, but I certainly ate a bigger variety than Richy did.

But in the meantime, I needed to figure out how to add a little variety to our green beans and dress them up more than just dumping a can in a pot and heating.

Add bacon & onions to green beans for flavor!

One thing my family always did to add a lot of extra flavor to green beans was throw in a slice or two of bacon.  My mama would add onions too. As a young girl and teen, I didn’t appreciate the onions but now that I’m a little older, I don’t mind them so much.

Anyway, with that in mind, I’m sharing a recipe for how we ate green beans growing up.  The only thing I’m changing is that I’m making them in my Instant Pot.

Instead of having to simmer them for hours on the stove-top or bake them in the oven, cooking them in the pressure cooker dramatically reduces the cooking time.  And also? They’re still delicious!!

Looking for a recipe that’s not cooked in the Instant Pot? Check out this recipe for Old Fashioned Green Beans with Brown Sugar & Bacon. ⬅️⬅️⬅️That’s another family favorite!

Benefits of cooking green beans in your Instant Pot:

Being able to cook them in the Instant Pot has other benefits too.

• For one, if you’re cooking a large meal for the holidays, this opens up one more burner on your stove. If you’re anything like me, oven space and cooktop space is always limited during the holidays so this is an easy way to free up some space.
• Also, you can cook them so easily and so quickly… you can focus on other dishes that’ll need more attention.  I love it that I can literally make these at the “last minute” and have them ready in no time!

That sounds like a win-win to me!  So let’s get to it…

Instant Pot Southern Green Beans Recipe

Here’s what you’ll need for the recipe:

• 2 pounds fresh green beans, washed and trimmed
• ½ cup chopped onion
• 4 slices bacon, cut into pieces
• 1 ½ cup chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• ½ teaspoon pepper

Turn on your Instant Pot and press the “saute” button. When the display reads “hot,” add the chopped bacon and cook until crisp. Remove the bacon and reserve for garnish, if desired.

Then add the chicken stock to the pot and deglaze the bottom by scraping the cooked on pieces with a wooden spoon. Cancel the saute function.

Add the onions to the pot and then the green beans. Season with salt and pepper.

Seal the electric pressure cooker with the lid and turn the vent valve to sealing. Press the “manual” button and set it for 8 minutes. When the timer beeps, release the pressure.

Serve green beans topped with bacon, if desired.  Of course you’ll serve with bacon, right?  I do… except I forgot to add it back for the pictures ?

Shop my favorite kitchen tools:

Mixing Bowls

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But you add the bacon, okay?  Do it for me!!

Other Instant Pot Side dishes we love:

• Instant Pot Black-Eyed Peas
• Instant Pot Baked Potatoes
• Perfect Rice in the Instant Pot

Alrighty – enjoy!

Here’s the printable recipe for Instant Pot Southern Green Beans…

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