Pressure Cooker Green Beans with Tomatoes and Bacon! Green beans become silky and soft in the pressure cooker. Makes a great side dish for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any special meal.
Have you ever thought to cook green beans in the pressure cooker? They really undergo a transformation under pressure, becoming silky and soft.
Add bacon, onions, and tomatoes, and you’ve got a fast and flavorful pressure cooker side dish for the holidays — or anytime!
This recipe is an adaptation of one of Elise’s old favorites, which in turn is an adaptation of a dish by Ree Drummond a.k.a. The Pioneer Woman. Elise’s recipe braises the green beans slowly in the oven for about an hour, or the slow cooker for at least twice as long. This pressure cooker or Instant Pot version is ready in just a half hour!
- New to the Instant Pot? Check out our post How To Use an Instant Pot: A First-Timer’s Guide.
Pressure cooking is also an especially great way to prepare tougher, more mature green beans, since the pressure cooking softens them up so nicely.
Soft, braised vegetables are popular in many cuisines around the world, including Southern cooking, Italian, and Greek. If you haven’t had green beans cooked this way, give them a try. Serve them alongside meatloaf or roasted chicken or turkey, for a comforting meal.
More Great Recipes for Green Beans!
Pressure Cooker Green Beans with Tomatoes and Bacon Recipe
- Prep time: 10 minutes
- Cook time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
- 4 slices thick-sliced bacon (about 4 ounces), cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 pound green beans, stem ends trimmed
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
Special equipment:
- 6-quart Instant Pot, or other electric pressure cooker
Method
1 Cook the bacon and onions in the pressure cooker: Select the “Sauté” setting and add the bacon to the pressure cooker. (If you are using a stovetop pressure cooker, use medium heat.)
Let the bacon cook until it has rendered some fat and begun to brown a bit, about 7 minutes. Add the onions and sauté until softened and translucent, about 3 more minutes.
2 Stir in the rest of the ingredients and pressure cook: Add the green beans, diced tomatoes and their liquid, water, salt, pepper, cayenne, and thyme. Give everything a good stir so all of the green beans are coated with some of the cooking liquid.
Secure the lid on the pressure cooker. Make sure that the pressure regulator is set to the “Sealing” position. Cancel the “Sauté” program on the pressure cooker, then select the “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” setting. Set the cooking time to 7 minutes at high pressure. (For stovetop pressure cookers, cook for 6 minutes at high pressure.)
It will take about 10 minutes for your pressure cooker to come up to pressure, and then the 7 minutes of actual cooking will begin.
3 Release the pressure: Perform a quick pressure release by immediately moving the vent from “Sealing” to “Venting” (be careful of the steam!). The pot will take a couple minutes to fully release the pressure.
4 Serve the green beans: Use a slotted spoon to gently transfer the green beans to a serving dish. Scoop up the tomatoes, bacon, and onions, and spoon them over the top of the beans. Serve hot.
