Instant Pot Bacon Green Beans with Potatoes will be a hit on Thanksgiving! Easy to make (only 20 minutes!) and is packed full of flavor.
A DELICIOUSLY QUICK SIDE DISH RECIPE
The cool, crisp air of fall has me dreaming of comfort food and Thanksgiving meals. A classic must-have at any dinner table is green beans with potatoes and - of course - bacon. Normally, it requires snapping off the ends of the green beans and cutting them and dirtying up a few separate pots to cook the bacon and boil the beans and potatoes. Not to mention taking up precious stove space. Not anymore!
CAN I USE HAM INSTEAD OF BACON?
Absolutely! You can use diced ham, ham shanks or ham hocks to infuse flavor. You can just skip the dicing and browning part. I am keeping the green beans whole to save myself some time in prepping.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
- bacon
- vegetable or light olive oil
- shallot
- garlic
- salt & pepper
- water
- fresh green beans
- baby red potatoes
HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT GREEN BEANS AND POTATOES:
Slice bacon into ½-inch slices. Turn on the sauté feature of a 6-quart (or larger) Instant Pot electric pressure cooker. Add two tablespoons of oil to the bottom of the pot insert. Add in sliced bacon. Cook and stir until bacon starts to turn light brown in color and lightly crispy.
Cook’s Note: If you want your bacon to be crispy in the final dish, you will want to remove the bacon with a slotted spoon at this point and place on a paper towel to drain excess grease. Then continue with the directions. When the beans and potatoes are finished cooking in the Instant Pot, remove and then top with the crispy bacon you set aside in this step.
Add in diced shallot. Season with salt and pepper and stir well. Once shallot has softened, stir in the minced garlic and turn off the sauté feature.
Pour in the water and scrape the bottom of the pot to de-glaze. Try to scrap off all the brown bits on the bottom.
Add in green beans and potatoes and stir gently to combine.
Place the lid on the Instant Pot, taking care to lock it into place. Turn the steam release knob into the “Sealing” position. Press the Pressure Cook button and adjust the time to 5 minutes on the high setting.
Pressure cooker will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure then it will begin counting down the cooking time. When cooking is finished, do a quick pressure release (turning the steam release knob to “venting”). Remove the lid.
When ready to serve, gently pour it all into a large serving bowl. Beans should be soft and potatoes will be fork-tender.
CRAVING MORE? GIVE THESE RECIPES A TRY!
Instant Pot Green Beans and Potatoes
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil (or light olive oil)
- 1 whole shallot diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 cup water
- 1.5 pounds fresh green beans
- 1.5 pounds baby gold or red potatoes
Instructions
- Slice bacon into ½-inch slices.
- Turn on the sauté feature of a 6-quart (or larger) Instant Pot electric pressure cooker.
- Add two tablespoons of oil to the bottom of the pot insert.
- Add in sliced bacon. Cook and stir until bacon starts to turn light brown in color and lightly crispy.
- Cook’s Note: If you want your bacon to be crispy in the final dish, you will want to remove the bacon with a slotted spoon at this point and place on a paper towel to drain excess grease. Then continue with the directions. When the beans and potatoes are finished cooking in the Instant Pot, remove and then top with the crispy bacon you set aside in this step.
- Add in diced shallot. Season with salt and pepper and stir well. Once shallot has softened, stir in the minced garlic and turn off the sauté feature.
- Pour in the water and scrape the bottom of the pot to de-glaze.
- Add in green beans and Little potatoes and stir gently to combine.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot, taking care to lock it into place. Turn the steam release knob into the “Sealing” position.
- Press the Pressure Cook button and adjust the time to 5 minutes on the high setting.
- Pressure cooker will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure then it will begin counting down the cooking time.
- When cooking is finished, do a quick pressure release (turning the steam release knob to “venting”).
- When ready to serve, gently pour it all into a large serving bowl. Beans should be soft and potatoes will be fork-tender.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Levon Vartanian
This is my favorite "go to" side dish!!!!! Thank you so much and instead of water .....I use Chicken BROTH or Stock and some Louisiana cajun spice instead of salt/pepper to taste and I add baby carrots. But either way......its delicious!!!! Instant Pot the way to GO. Oh and this is a 5 star for me!!!!!!!
Sam
This recipe was delicious. Beans and potatoes were perfect but I had so much liquid when it was finished. Are you supposed to boil off the water at the end? Or do you take veggies out and Bill down for a sauce?
Kay Murphy
My 1st Instant pot recipe! I'm old enough to remember my mom using the old school style presser cooker, so I a bit hesitant. I also questioned whether 5 minutes would actually cook the veggies The bacon was crisp, which I also question that it would. LOL. Mom likes her food softer so I added 1 minute. This dish came out perfect!! THANK YOU FOR BEING MY GUIDE. I LOVE THIS NEW MACHINE!
Brandie @ The Country Cook
Well I am so honored that you made one of my recipes first! I actually think veggies are a great way to start getting comfortable with these electric pressure cookers! Thank you for coming back and commenting!
Merry
Can I use frozen green beans instead? If so how long to cook?
Brandie @ The Country Cook
Hi Merry, I have not tested this with frozen green beans. However, you could certainly use them. I don't think you have to add much time for frozen. Just depends on how soft you like your green beans. Try adding one more minute onto the pressure cooking time.
Wolieg
You have excellent recipes. I'm always following your website. I'm trying. Thank you.
Brandie @ The Country Cook
Thanks so much! So happy to have you here!
Gina
Thank you! Definitely making these!!
Kathy
I don't have an instant pot. Can I do the potatoes and green beans in slow cooker? They look so good, I would like to try them.
Brandie @ The Country Cook
Hi Kathy, You sure can! Just follow the directions above for the bacon, shallots and garlic, then put it all in a slow cooker toss together with green beans, potatoes and water (or chicken broth) and cook on low for about 6 hours or until it reaches your desired level of tenderness. 🙂
Kathryn Triplett
Thank You. Will definitely make this.