I am one happy bride right now. Mark now eats green beans. Yes, you read that correctly. My picky super-taster husband is now willingly eating a green vegetable, even asking me to make them! I’ll give you a minute to recover from the shock.
I shouldn’t talk so sarcastically. Truth be told, his palate has expanded greatly in the last few years. When we first started dating he told me he ate five vegetables, almost all of them a starch, except artichokes. He’s always loved artichokes.
A couple of years ago on a Telluride trip, one of our friends made sauteed green beans with bacon and onions. Not only did he eat them, he had a second serving. I sat there agape, wondering who this man was that looked and talked like my husband. Yes, I got the recipe and have even dialed back the bacon-to-bean ratio. Shhh, don’t tell him.
Then we bought a 6-Quart Instant Pot when our trusty old pressure cooker died. I wanted to cook more than artichokes with it and scoured the internet for recipes. Boy howdy, there are a lot. I stumbled across one for green beans but there were lots of extra ingredients that I didn’t want to deal with but I did notice the cooking time. As luck would have it, green beans were on sale that week at the grocery store so I figured this was the best time to play with a quick and easy way to make them.
Mark likes butter and fresh garlic on just about anything so steaming the beans with those two items seemed like a good place to start. Good start it was, all we had to do after that first try was to adjust the cooking time. Winning!
Most times we pair the beans with a grilled meat and a salad. We are trying to eat better after all. It can’t be all cookies and pies.
I do roughly 3/4 pound of beans when it’s just the two of us. My dad likes green beans so I’ll up it to just over a pound when he’s over for dinner.
The first thing you want to do is rinse and trim the green beans. I’m sure there’s a real fancy and culinary proper way to trim them but I line them up, trim of a little of one end then do the same with the other end.
I use the rack that came with our pot for this recipe. After putting the rack in, add your water. I use between 3/4 and 1 cup, depending on how much we are cooking. If you don’t have a rack or don’t want to use it, then you can can place everything in the pot. You’ll want to use tongs or a slotted spoon to get the beans out.
Add the beans next. I don’t want them to fall between the rack so I place them perpendicular to the rack lines. My weird idiosyncrasy. Top with butter. You can add it in one piece or break it up into little pieces. Add as much garlic as you’d like. We use one or two cloves. Little cloves, always two. Huge cloves, just one. I also spread them out onto the beans. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper if you want.
Put the lid on in locked position and make sure the vent is on SEALING.
Here comes some more variations:
If you like your beans firm and crunchy like me, you’ll set the Instant Pot on Low Pressure for 0 minutes. The beans will steam perfectly while the pot comes up to pressure.
If you like your beans a little soft but still with a little firm, set the Instant Pot on Low Pressure for 2 minutes.
If you like them on the softer side but not mushy, you like them how Mark does. Set the Instant Pot on Low Pressure for 3 minutes.
One thing I’ve noticed in the cooking time. If I pick a variety of sized beans, larger ones for me and smaller ones for Mark, then setting the time at 3 minutes works perfectly for both of us. The larger ones are firmer like I want and the smaller ones are softer for Mr. Picky. But, can I really call him that anymore? Hmmm.
Mark also is keen on adding bacon. We keep the big Kirkland container of precooked bacon in the refrigerator so it’s easy to pull out just a few pieces. It’s completely optional but adds just the right amount of wow deliciousness.
Instant Pot Green Beans
Set for one pound of beans, you can adjust as needed
- 1 pound fresh green beans, ends trimmed
- 1 cup water
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 3 pieces cooked bacon, diced (a delicious option)
- Salt, pepper or any other spice to taste
- Pour water into Instant Pot. Add green beans, butter, garlic and seasoning.
- Place lid on in lock position with valve set to sealing.
- Cook to your desired firmness on Low Pressure: 0 for firm and crunchy or 2 for soft but still a little firm or 4 for soft but not mushy.
- Once timer dings, use a long wooden spoon and move the sealing valve to release pressure. Yours may say Manual Release or Quick Release on the unit.
- Carefully lift out the rack with the beans using pot holders. Or use tongs to pick out the beans.
- Enjoy!