Instant Pot Bacon Green Beans are an easy, dairy free, vegetable side dish. I make the sauce right in the Instant Pot, making it a true one-pot wonder! One guest who tried this recipe described it as, “The best green beans I have ever had!”

These fresh Instant Pot green beans have a beautiful umami flavor. Coupled with chunks of thick bacon, this easy side dish is sure to be a hit!

Fresh green beans are so good, but sometimes they have a slightly waxy texture. That’s why I love these Instant Pot Bacon Green Beans!

In about 10-15 minutes total, they cook to the perfect soft, yet al dente firmness. Fun fact: Green Beans are also called Haricots Verts, pronounced “hairy-co-vair.”

Instant Pot Meatloaf with mashed potatoes

This easy side would be a great accompaniment to any protein main dish, like Instant Pot Ribs, Chicken Drumsticks, Kalua Pork, Ham and Cheesy Potatoes, or Instant Pot Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes.

If you make this for Thanksgiving or Easter, you could also use my amazing Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce recipe!

Why I use less water in the Instant Pot for vegetables or delicate foods

I only added a little more than 1/2 cup of liquid to the Instant Pot. This is because I really didn’t want to overcook the green beans. Let me explain.

The Instant Pot needs liquid to work and function. Instant Pots are pressure cookers, which means they use the pressure created by boiling water/steam to cook. It builds up all the energy and heat from the steam and squeezes it into the food, cooking it super fast!

So, the more liquid there is, the more pressure there will be. Instant Pots will not work if they don’t have liquid (whether that be water, broth, etc.)

When you “quick release” the pressure (turn the knob from sealing to venting), it can take several minutes to depressurize. Keep in mind that it’s still cooking that entire time.

When it comes to delicate foods like vegetables, the longer it takes to release the pressure, the longer the contents will cook.

The Instant Pot is like a soda bottle

Think of it like shaking up a big soda bottle. The more soda there is that’s shaken, the more pressure there will be and the longer it will take to get that cap off without spurting soda everywhere. Except in this analogy, there’s green beans in the soda bottle that are still cooking while releasing the pressure. 🙂

I don’t recommend going under 1/2 cup for 3 and 6 quart pots, because you DO need that liquid. If you don’t add enough, you may get a BURN error on your pot. Because of the larger surface area in the 8 quart, I recommend a minimum of 3/4 cup water for larger Instant Pots.

How to make Instant Pot Green Beans (with soda bottle example)

Instant Pot Bacon Green Bean Ingredients

First, preheat your Instant Pot on the Saute feature while you get your ingredients out. Once the pot registers HOT, saute 3 slices worth of bacon pieces until cooked and crispy. Drain out all but about 2 tablespoons of bacon grease.

BACON AND ONIONS

Add chopped mushrooms, dried onion flakes (or minced fresh if you prefer), garlic, and a couple cracks of black pepper. Stir it around until the mushrooms absorb the flavor from the pot and start cooking down.

Add 1/2 cup water or vegetable broth, 1 teaspoon of Better than Bouillon, and soy sauce to deglaze. Turn off the Instant Pot.

DEGLAZE THE POT

At this point, you’ll have the sauce already made! Make sure you use a wooden spoon and scrape all the browned bacon bits and flavor off the bottom of the pot with the liquid.

Doing so will help reduce the chance of getting a BURN error, and help infuse the Instant Pot Bacon Green Bean sauce with more FLAVOR!

Dump in the washed green beans over the bacon mixture. Lock the lid, turn the knob to Sealing, and cook on Manual High pressure for 2 minutes. The pot will say ON and beep, letting you know it has understood your request.

COOKING THE GREEN BEANS

When the pot has come to pressure, it will start counting down from 2. Allow a 5 minute natural pressure release. That means after the 2 minutes are up, an L will appear on the display (indicating lapsed time.)

This means that it has turned off the heat in the pressure cooker, and is naturally releasing the pressure on its own. So, we’ve stopped shaking the soda bottle and we’ve twisted the cap just slightly to let the pressure escape.

After 5 minutes of that, you’re ready to do a quick release and get rid of the rest of the pressure (you’re twisting the entire cap off!)

Transfer the Instant Pot Bacon Green Beans to a bowl or serving platter. All the sauce and the bacon and mushrooms will still be on the bottom of the pot, so pour it over the green beans.

If your sauce is too watery or thin for your taste, remove the green beans and set the Instant Pot to Saute. Let the sauce simmer and reduce down to the desired consistency. It will concentrate the flavors down as well.

So easy, right? I guarantee you’ll love these Instant Pot Bacon Green Beans as an easy side dish for your next Sunday, Valentine’s, or Easter dinner!

Graphic of Air Fryer Garlic Green Beans with a picture of a plate of green beans smothered with garlic.

OTHER VEGETABLE DISHES

DON’T FORGET TO PIN INSTANT POT BACON GREEN BEANS