Instant Pot Lima Beans are the perfect healthy dish! You can easily make these delicious and tender beans in less than 30 minutes!
Forget about soaking beans ever again - and make this lima bean recipe asap! It's the perfect side dish to pair with any type of entree. Don't forget to add a little bit of butter right on top!
Everyone tends to forget that lima beans are a REALLY great food. They get a bad wrap sometimes, but they shouldn't! Lima beans have a buttery texture to them that will have you adding more beans to your menu asap.
If you want the kids to try something new and delicious, this is the perfect bean recipe to whip up.
Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works
Lima beans are great for lunch, dinner, or even as a healthy snack. You can change up a lot of the flavor as well easily, which is just another season that beans are so versatile.
- It's a great way to add more fiber to your diet
- You'll love how simple it is to cook up a side of beans
- There are more than enough beans to have leftovers later
Recipe Video
Recipe Ingredients
Lima Beans - For this recipe I use large lima beans, but you can use baby limas as well. Baby lima beans are fresh and green, and you can find them usually frozen.
You can also use butter beans as well.
Garlic - Minced garlic adds so much flavor and taste.
Onion - Choose your favorite type of onion and add it to the Instant Pot.
Salt and pepper - To taste.
Bay Leaves- The bay leaves are to be added for flavor - not to eat.
Chicken Broth- You can also use Instant Pot Bone Broth if you'd like. For a vegan version, add vegetable stock instead or just use water.
How to make Instant Pot Lima Beans
Before starting the simple lima bean recipe, gather up all the ingredients needed to make it. You don't want to have to stop the recipe because you forgot something!
Put the lima beans into the Instant Pot.
Once the beans are added, put in the diced onions and minced garlic.
Dump in the salt and the pepper.
Add the chicken broth to the Instant Pot.
Pour in the water.
Put the bay leaves in last.
Put on the lid and move the valve into the sealing position.
Pressure cook at high for 20 minutes.
Once the time has passed, wait for a natural pressure release. It may take around 20-30 minutes.
Open the lid and drain off the cooking liquid.
Dish and enjoy every savory bite!
Variations
Add bacon - You can toss in some bacon to cook with the beans!
You can cook the bacon together with the beans, or make the bacon separately using this Instant Pot Bacon recipe, and add it on top for serving.
Change up the seasonings - If you want to add more than salt and pepper, do so. The beans do a great job at taking on any flavors, so change it up. You an add paprika, cumin or any other spices you like.
Recipe Notes
- Do not soak the lima beans prior to cooking! This is one of the biggest benefits of this recipe - no soaking required!
- Some people add a tad bit of baking soda to beans for them to cook faster, but it's not needed for this recipe. The pressure cooker already cooks the beans super fast, so there is no need to add baking soda.
How to Serve
There are so many ways to serve up a bowl of these beans! You can literally add them to a bowl and top them with butter or put them on a plate next to your favorite main entree.
You can also add lima beans in stews, soups, salads any anything you like.
Some of my favorite pairings are with Instant Pot Chicken Meatballs!
Need more inspiration? Check out What To Serve With Lima Beans for 15 delicious ideas.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can make baby lima beans in the Instant Pot using the same recipe. Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes, wait for natural release and serve.
Leftover beans are so easy to store! Be sure to let them cool down all the way and then store them in an airtight container in the fridge. Eat them within 2-3 days.
Yes, you can freeze cooked lima beans! Just store them in a freezer-safe container and eat them within 3 months.
If you want to cook other foods with lima beans, you can! Add ham hocks for flavor, toss in some bacon, or add other vegetables.
There is no difference between the two beans! You may see them labeled as two different things, but there is no difference between them.
More Instant Pot Bean Recipes
Do you love beans as much as I do? Check out some of my other favorite bean recipes!
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and leave a comment below. Thanks!
Instant Pot Lima Beans
Ingredients
- 1 lb lima beans dried or fresh
- ½ chopped onion
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 4 cups water
- bay leaves
Instructions
- Put the lima beans into the Instant Pot.
- Add diced onions and minced garlic.
- Add salt, pepper, chicken broth and water and stir.
- Put the bay leaves in last.
- Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes.
- When cooking time is complete, wait for a natural pressure release.
- Open the lid and drain off the excess liquid.
- Serve and enjoy 🙂
Nutrition
Video
Notes
- Do not soak the lima beans prior to cooking! This is one of the biggest benefits of this recipe - no soaking required!
- Some people add a tad bit of baking soda to beans for them to cook faster, but it's not needed for this recipe. The pressure cooker already cooks the beans super fast, so there is no need to add baking soda.
- Feel free to add other spices like paprika or cumin.
- For vegan lima beans, use vegetable stock or water instead of the chicken broth.
- You can use large lima beans or baby lima beans. Cooking time stays the same.
I have used this recipe 3 times so far. The beans come out great every time. Thank you for sharing.
I believe 1 cup garlic is a typo.
Fixed thank you 🙂
Can I just use 7 cups of water not use chicken broth since I dnt have it
Yes, definitely! Increasing the amount of seasoning slightly would help to make up for some of that lost flavor and saltiness.
Thank you ! This worked out well ! I did added 3 carrots cut up and 3 ribs of celery as well to our baby Lima’s . Made a yummy dinner for my husband and myself !
The cooking time was perfect .
Happy you like the recipe ^_^
Thank you very much Gabrielle :]
Where’s the salt??
Sorry it was just a typo. Now I have added in the recipe.
the broth