A heart-healthy, Southern classic side dish that's tender and delish!
Instant Pot Lima Beans Recipe
This is a very simple dish, that tastes like it's been cooking all day thanks to the instant pot ;-).
Lima beans are a staple Southern dish. They remind me of Sunday dinner!
I recommend making an extra batch of these to freeze and eat later! It's SO helpful to have a bag of these in the freezer to take out and eat for busy days. I have more information below about freezing and thawing lima beans.
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Ingredients
How To Cook Dry Lima Beans
Large Lima Beans Instant Pot
Without Soaking
To be perfectly honest, it takes just as long to cook the lima beans in the instant pot without soaking as it takes on the stove. But one advantage is if you are doing a lot of cooking and don't have room on the stove. It's a breeze to just throw the dry beans in the instant pot!
Using soaked beans
Soaking the beans cuts the total cook time down to ~30 minutes (depending on how tender you like your beans). In my opinion, soaking them creates more "skins" at the end. It wasn't a ton of them but they were there, so just an FYI ;-).
*Note: cook times can vary depending on how old the beans are. I do my best to be accurate but you may have to adjust the cooking time.
Stovetop
Dry lima beans in the instant pot take the same amount of time to cook as the stovetop, in my experience. For the full recipe click "jump to recipe" or just keep scrolling!
How To Season Lima Beans Without Meat?
It is so, so possible to have flavorful beans without using pork or any other type of meat. What's the benefit of this? The largest benefit is less fat and sodium. This is something that I feel pretty passionate about and it's one of the reasons I became a dietitian. High blood pressure and high cholesterol are just way too common, but we can do something about it! And recipes like this are just one way to do something about it. For more information, and 5 natural ways to lower blood pressure click the highlighted text.
Add flavor to lima beans by using:
- Broth or stock
- Fresh garlic or minced garlic in a jar
- Fresh onion or onion powder if you're short on time or don't have it on hand
- Bay leaves (I always have dried bay leaves on hand)
- Celery or carrots
- Black pepper
- Thyme
Instant Pot Lima Beans Vegan
To make this recipe vegan, simply swap the chicken broth for vegetable broth. Easy peasy!
How Long To Store In The Fridge?
Beans keep well in the fridge for no more than 3-5 days.
Let them completely cool on the counter. They will cool faster if you move the metal insert from the instant pot to a pot-holder trivet. Then transfer to a container with a lid that closes tightly. If you plan to reheat them in the same container then I would recommend using a glass container.
Can You Freeze Lima Beans?
Yes, you can freeze lima beans for up to 3 months.
Once the beans have completely cooled, you can transfer the beans and liquid to a freezer bag. See the steps below.
- Label the bag using a permanent marker with “lima beans”, include the date you put them in the freezer, and the number of servings (if you like). Listing the number of servings might help you in the future with meal planning. You can also include the date 3 months later as an “expiration date” if you wish.
- Once the beans are in the freezer bag, I like to lay the bag flat on a small baking tray.
- Place the tray in the freezer to let the bag freeze.
- Now you have a nice flat bag that stores easily without taking up a lot of space!
Best way to thaw frozen lima beans
Its best to let them thaw overnight in the fridge. Just in case some of the liquid might leak, I put the frozen beans on a plate in the fridge to thaw out. Microwave the beans heat them on the stove. I wouldn't heat them for a long time though just in case the beans become soggy.
MORE SOUTHERN-STYLE RECIPES!
Black-eyed peas and rice Heart-healthy, Southern classic side dish!
Cajun Green Beans Big flavor with only 3 ingredients!
Instant Pot Lima Beans (dry, large bean)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry large lima beans
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 cup diced onion or a small onion, diced
- 4-6 small, dry bay leaves If using larger bay leaves then you can use less
- 4 cups unsalted chicken broth + 1 cup of water
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Without Soaking Beans
- Measure out 2 cups of dry beans. Sort through the beans to make sure there aren't any stones or discolored beans.
- Add all ingredients to the instant pot and give it a stir.
- Place lid on instant pot and turn valve to "sealing". Cook on high pressure for 60 minutes. Based on my experience testing this recipe, it took that long for the large lima beans to get tender. This makes the total cook time 1 hr and 30 minutes.*To err on the side of caution you can start lower at 50 minutes and just add more time as needed.After it beeps, use a pot holder or long utensil to turn the valve to "VENTING" using the quick release. Be very careful not to have your hand over the valve because it will release steam and burn your hand.
Using Presoaked Beans
- Add presoaked beans and all other ingredients to the instant pot. Place lid on instant pot and turn the valve to "sealing". Cook on high pressure for 12 minutes. This makes the total cook time ~30 minutes. *You can add more minutes if needed to get them to your desired level of tenderness. I found that this method does give some shells. I don't mind it but I know some people do!
Stovetop
- Saute onions in olive oil or butter for ~2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add all other ingredients to the pot. Bring to a boil.Once it's boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook until tender.
Notes
- You can add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil or butter to the instant pot version. I left it off and it is not included in the nutrition facts.
- Start with ¼ teaspoon of salt and add more as needed once you taste it at the end. Salt is not included in the nutrition facts.
- *Note: Older beans take longer to cook and can affect cook times
- To make vegan, use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth
- Add any of your other favorite seasonings!
- Serving size = ½ cup
Helen
Made these today and they are absolutely delish!! Thank you!
KeyVion Miller RDN, LD/N
That's wonderful to hear! Thanks for making them and for stopping by to comment.
Peggy
In the instructions for cooking the pre soaked beans you say, “ this method does give some shells”. What are these shells? I don’t know if I mind them or not, because I don’t know what they are, lol.
KeyVion Miller RDN, LD/N
lol, Hi Peggy! Sometimes when cooking lima beans the thin outer layer/shell comes off in the pot of beans. That's what I mean. Hope that makes sense!
Amaryce
I don't know if it was my dry beans or what, but when I opened my IP, it was just full of mush. The beans had completely disintegrated.
KeyVion Miller RDN, LD/N
Sorry to hear that! Did you use small or large beans? You may have to play around with the cook time and reduce it. That's why I mentioned this in the recipe steps "*To err on the side of caution you can start lower at 50 minutes and just add more time as needed."
Rhonda
Really excellent. A new favorite in our house. Thank you!
KeyVion Miller RDN, LD/N
So happy to hear that! Thank you!
Its me
Love it
KeyVion Miller RDN, LD/N
Thank you!
Stan Norris
Used this recipe today. Pre-soaked Hambeans Large Lima beans for 1 hour. Cleaned as needed. Added ingredients including some ham, sealed and set timer at 12 minutes. Took 30 minutes for entire cooking process including pressure buildup. Released pressure.
Came out perfect. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
KeyVion Miller RDN, LD/N
Hi Stan! I always appreciate whenever someone shares their experience with one of my recipes. Thank you for commenting and I am so happy it turned out well for you!!
Luisa
Simple but very tasty. Fished out the beans and gave them a mash and served them to my toddler. She was a big fan!
KeyVion Miller RDN, LD/N
Oh that's so great! I actually just gave some to my toddler yesterday too!
Brad McLaughlin
Trying it now, but based on the recipe itself, the instructions are for making Instant Pot Lima Beans. In the introduction it said total cook time was 30 minutes. Then it said to set the Instant Pot for 12 minutes for pre-soaked beans. Does that mean that the total cook time are a combination of 12 minutes at high pressure, and then 18 minutes at natural pressure release?
KeyVion Miller RDN, LD/N
Hi Brad! Thanks for your question. For the presoak method, once you cook the beans on high for 12 minutes you'll want to do a quick release to immediately check for "tenderness". I believe the total "cook time" comes out to ~30 minutes using the presoak method. Let me know if you have any more questions and how it turns out!
Pat Rubin
Love this recipe! It is amazing the flavor is so intense and delicious! I seven mine with ham , rice, canned tomatoes and diced onions . A one bowl meal!
KeyVion Miller RDN, LD/N
Hi Pat! Awesome!! So glad you enjoyed it and made it a one bowl meal.
Christina Prunesti
I used the presoak method for this recipe. The beans were complete mush.
KeyVion Miller RDN, LD/N
Sorry to hear that! I know sometimes with dry beans depending on how old they are cook times can vary. If you decided to try it again I would cook on high for 8 minutes. Then once you release and check the beans for tenderness you can add on more time as needed.
Lisa
I was amazed at the flavor of these beans. They were absolutely delicious and I had no idea that a bag of large lima beans could taste so good! I added dried thyme and powdered rosemary. Did not soak my beans and 60 min was perfect in the IP. You have given me a new recipe that I am certain I willl cook again and again! Bless you!
KeyVion Miller RDN, LD/N
Hi Lisa! Thanks so much for you comment. I really enjoy the flavor of thyme and rosemary as well. I'm so happy you enjoyed the recipe. God bless you too!