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.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by The Little Potato Company. All opinions and text are my own.
INSTANT POT BACON GREEN BEANS WITH POTATOES
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!
ONE-POT WONDER
We are making this entire side dish in one pot. With the Instant Pot, the bacon flavor really gets infused into the beans and the Creamer potatoes from The Little Potato Company. It’s going to be your new favorite way to make this classic southern side dish!
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. I also am able to save time by using Blushing Belle varietal of Little potatoes. They are already pre-washed and ready to go. I just pop them into the pot!
WHY USE LITTLE POTATOES?
The skin on Blushing Belle Little potatoes is naturally thin and tastes good, unlike some other potato skins. It will hold it’s shape during cooking while also absorbing the flavors it is being cooked with. It makes the perfect potato to use in this dish. You can use the Blushing Belle varietal for the red color or even the Boomer Gold varietal for a yellow colored potato. Also, one (1.5 lb) bag is the exact amount you need for this recipe so no guessing needed!
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
bacon
vegetable or light olive oil
shallot
garlic
salt & pepper
water
fresh green beans
Blushing Belle varietal of Little potatoes
HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT BACON GREEN BEANS WITH POTATOES:
Slice bacon into 1/2-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 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. 
Enjoy!
CRAVING MORE? GIVE THESE RECIPES A TRY!
BACON GARLIC GREEN BEANS (STOVETOP)
BRUSSEL SPROUTS WITH BACON
60+ ULTIMATE THANKSGIVING RECIPES
MAPLE GLAZED CARROTS
THE BEST SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE
PUMPKIN PIE MAGIC CAKE
PUMPKIN PIE DUMP CAKE
CROCK POT MAC & CHEESE
HONEY ROASTED PUMPKIN SALAD
CROCK POT SWEET CORN SPOON BREAD
CROCK POT BAKED POTATOES (& TIPS FOR THANKSGIVING LEFTOVERS)
HOW TO FRY A TURKEY
CROCK POT MILLION DOLLAR MASHED POTATOES
CROCK POT STUFFING WITH SAUSAGE
INSTANT POT BACON GREEN BEANS WITH POTATOES
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil (or light olive oil)
- 1 whole shallot diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 cup water
- 1.5 lbs fresh green beans
- 1.5 lbs Blushing Belle varietal by The Little Potato Company
Instructions
- Slice bacon into 1/2-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
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.
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. 🙂
Thank You. Will definitely make this.
Thank you! Definitely making these!!
You have excellent recipes. I’m always following your website. I’m trying. Thank you.
Thanks so much! So happy to have you here!
Can I use frozen green beans instead? If so how long to 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.