Quick and easy sauteed green beans cooked in under 20 minutes. Green beans are sautéed in a delicious creole based sauce for tender and flavorful side dish.
Instant Pot Sauteed Green Beans Ingredients
This may look like a lot of ingredients, but it's really not. Most of the ingredients are for the spice mix.
- Green Beans
- Ham Hocks or Bacon
- Onions
- Garlic Cloves
- Smoked Sweet Paprika
- Dried Oregano
- Salt
- Pepper
- Cayenne Pepper
- Onion Powder
- Dried Thyme
- Bay Leaf
- Diced Tomatoes
- Chicken Stock
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How To Cook Green Beans In An Instant Pot (Step by Step)
The key to this recipe comes down to two steps. One - blanching the green beans quickly to cook and preserve the crispness of the beans. Two - creating a quick, but flavorfully potent tomato-based creole sauce.
Step 1: Fry the ham hocks or bacon
Heat IP on “saute” normal settings. Once hot add oil. Let the oil heat up then cook the ham hocks browning on both sides rendering additional fat. Remove and set aside.
Step 2: Saute the vegetables
Add the onions and garlic sautéing for 2-3 minutes. Season with a ⅓ of the seasoning mix
Step 3: Make the Sauce
Add the green beans and mix so that beans are coated fairly well. Add the tomatoes along with their juices. Stir to deglaze the pan. Let tomatoes cook until juice reduces about ½. Add another ⅓ of the seasoning plus the bay leaf, then the chicken stock and mix well. Cancel saute setting.
Step 4: Finish the green beans
Close the lid and pressure cook manual for 7 minutes. Once done let pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Serve
Creole Green Beans Serving Suggestions
Though these green beans are flavored with a creole sauce, they actually pair well with many types of main dishes:
Expert Cooking Tips For Sautéed Green Beans
Here are a few key tips to level up these sautéed green beans
Blanch the green beans if cooking via traditional stovetop
Blanching refers to a cooking technique where you briefly boil a vegetable in water and then plunge it into ice water to preserve the color and texture of the vegetable. In the case of vegetables like broccoli or these green beans, blanching guarantees brightly colored green beans with perfectly tender-crisp.
Season at each step
Bland dishes are the direct result of improper, delinquent seasoning. Too little seasoning is usually the culprit, but a well seasoned dish to me includes layers and complexity. Season the onions and garlic to make the sauce more robust. Spices bloom in flavor when heated. And season the green beans during the final step.
Use a good quality paprika
This is a few ingredient dish that relies on quality vs. quantity. The green beans are the star, but paprika plays a major supporting role in delivering high flavor in a short cook time. Where possible I buy in bulk by the ounce and target sweet smoked paprika vs. the hot one.
Brown the meat. See my previous post on avoiding sticking to the pan
Properly saute your aromatics
Aromatics refer to the garlic, onions, and peppers in this recipe. You want to brown them well to bring out their flavor and aroma.
- Pre-heat the pan to desired heat level first before adding any oil or fat. Pre-heating ensures you are ready to start cooking the moment you add your fat. This is not a step where you try to save time by heating pan with oil at same time because as oil/fats heat up they lose flavor at certain temps.
- Don’t add too much oil; you want just enough to coat the bottom of the pan.
- Don’t stir too much in terms of frequency. Allowing the vegetables to sit still gives them a chance to brown.
- Don’t crowd the pan. Overcrowding traps steam in the pan
Instant Pot Green Beans Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can this be made on the stovetop?
Yes indeed, and it's almost as fast. There is only one additional step - I recommend blanching the green beans first. Blanching refers to bringing the green beans to a boil in salted water and then quickly drop into a bowl of ice water.
Can this be made with canned or frozen green beans?
I prefer fresh for the flavor, but you can likely use either canned or frozen. You'll just need to reduce cooking time by about 2-3 minutes.
Is there a quick way to trim the green beans?
Outside of buying pre-cut green beans, you can use kitchen scissors. I do this often by holding a bunch in my hand and then snipping the tips using the other hand
For similar recipes you might like, try these:
Cajun Beef and Gravy with Rice
Instant Pot Cajun Cabbage and Sausage
Instant Pot Collard Greens with Smoked Brisket
Instant Pot Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken
Instant Pot White Beans and Ham Hocks
Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice
Smothered Green Beans and New Potatoes
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Equipment
- Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs fresh green beans trimmed and cut into 1inch pieces
- 1 ham hock meaty parts cut from bone and diced
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 1 medium white onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves
- 10 oz can diced tomatoes
- ½ tablespoon kosher salt
- ½ tablespoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- Heat Instant Pot via “Saute” normal settings. Once hot, add oil to pot. Add ham hocks or bacon and cook 3-4 minutes per side. Remove and drain on paper towel lined plate.
- Add onions and garlic saute 3-4 minutes. Season with ⅓ of the spices during saute.
- Add green beans and mix well coating all the green beans with seasoned oil and vegetables.
- Add tomatoes and mix well with the vegetables deglazing the pot. Season with another ⅓ of the seasonings. Let the tomatoes cook 2-3 minutes to reduce by half and concentrate the flavor. Cancel “Saute”
- Add chicken stock and the ham hocks/bacon back to the pot. Add remaining seasoning, mix well.
- Close the lid and pressure cook manually for 7 minutes. Let pressure release naturally for at least 10 minutes.
Notes
Blanch the green beans if cooking via traditional stovetop
Blanching refers to a cooking technique where you briefly boil a vegetable in water and then plunge it into ice water to preserve the color and texture of the vegetable. In the case of vegetables like broccoli or these green beans, blanching guarantees brightly colored green beans with perfectly tender-crisp.Season at each step
Bland dishes are the direct result of improper, delinquent seasoning. Too little seasoning is usually the culprit, but a well seasoned dish to me includes layers and complexity. Season the onions and garlic to make the sauce more robust. Spices bloom in flavor when heated. And season the green beans during the final step.Use a good quality paprika
This is a few ingredient dish that relies on quality vs. quantity. The green beans are the star, but paprika plays a major supporting role in delivering high flavor in a short cook time. Where possible I buy in bulk by the ounce and target sweet smoked paprika vs. the hot one. Brown the meat. See my previous post on avoiding sticking to the pan Properly saute your aromatics Aromatics refer to the garlic, onions, and peppers in this recipe. You want to brown them well to bring out their flavor and aroma.- Pre-heat the pan to desired heat level first before adding any oil or fat. Pre-heating ensures you are ready to start cooking the moment you add your fat. This is not a step where you try to save time by heating pan with oil at same time because as oil/fats heat up they lose flavor at certain temps.
- Don’t add too much oil; you want just enough to coat the bottom of the pan.
- Don’t stir too much in terms of frequency. Allowing the vegetables to sit still gives them a chance to brown.
- Don’t crowd the pan. Overcrowding traps steam in the pan