Instant Pot Butter Beans

If you've ever wondered how to get those tender, melt-in-your-mouth dried butter beans full of rich ham flavor without simmering all day this Instant Pot recipe is the answer. With just an hour of cook time and no need to soak the beans, you can have a hearty, flavorful pot of Southern-style large lima beans on the table with almost no fuss. It's an easy way to turn a simple bag of dried beans and a bit of ham into a satisfying meal.

Jump to:

• What are butter beans?
• How to flavor dried beans
• Instant Pot dried beans
• Ingredient Notes
• Recipe Prep
• Step by Step Directions
• Serving Suggestions
• Recipe FAQs
• Common Issues Cooking Dried Beans in a Instant Pot
• What to do if the beans are not done?
• Why You'll Love This Recipe
• ⭐Leave a Star Rating
• Instant Pot Butter Beans

What are butter beans?

Butter beans are large lima beans. They are a creamy and meaty bean that melts in your mouth.

I am a little late to discovering butter beans. Which is surprising to me because I love making dried beans. One of my favorite bean recipes is my Instant Pot Great Northern Beans recipe that cooks in just under an hour.

If I'm not in a hurry I like to slow cook dried great northern beans in the crock pot overnight. That way they are ready to eat by lunch time the next day.

It looks like I may have found a new favorite bean and ham recipe. I really love how the meatier butter beans taste. You can make a hearty and filling meal with a bag of beans, a small amount of ham and some cooked white rice.

How to flavor dried beans

When I make a pot of dried beans I love to use some of my leftover ham to flavor them. After any dinner I serve baked ham I save the ham bone and as much of the leftover ham as I can to make dried beans later.

I tuck it away in the freezer until needed. I will use about a pound of the ham when I cook a 16 oz. bag of dried beans.

So what can you use to flavor dried beans if you don't have any leftover ham?

Most grocery stores sell bean or soup size hunks of ham. It may be labeled as country ham, ham hock, fat back or something similar depending on where you live.

You can find it at the meat counter near the pork. You can also use a pound of thick cut bacon if that's all you have.

I used a 16 oz. package of country ham to make this dried bean recipe.

Instant Pot dried beans

The Instant Pot has made cooking dried beans so much faster and easier than ever. no soaking, no babysitting the stove, and no worrying about them turning out tough or undercooked.

With just a few simple ingredients and the push of a button, you can go from a bag of dried beans to a warm, flavorful pot of tender butter beans in about an hour.

It takes all the guesswork out of cooking dried beans, making it a total game changer for busy home cooks who still want that homemade, from-scratch flavor.

Ingredient Notes

Scroll down to the printable recipe card for the exact ingredient amounts.

• dried butter beans
• broth or water: I use chicken broth. It adds so much flavor.
• ham flavor: ham bone, country ham, fat back or even bacon
• herbs and vegetables: yellow onion, carrot, garlic and (optional parsley)
• spices: dried bay leaves, salt and pepper

Recipe Prep

Prep these ingredients ahead and save time when you are ready to cook.

• Prep the vegetables.
• Peel and dice the onion and carrot.
• Rinse the beans under cold water and pick through to remove any discolored beans, rocks or debris that can sometimes be found in bagged dried beans.

Step by Step Directions

Follow the easy step by step directions with pictures below. You can find the more detailed directions in the recipe card below.

• Step 1: Put the ingredients into the inner pot of an 8-quart Instant Pot.

Step 2: Pour the chicken broth or water over the ingredients. They need to be covered well in liquid.

Step 3: Once done cooking use the back of a large spoon to smash some of the beans to make the broth rich and creamy. If the beans are tender the way you like them serve them the way you like.

Serving Suggestions

I like to serve cooked dried beans with a scoop of cooked white rice and a dash of hot sauce as a meal.

They make a great side dish with pork or your favorite meat. See how I make perfect white rice on this recipe if you need help cooking white rice.

Serve with buttered corn bread, sliced garlic and rosemary bread or homemade dinner rolls.

Recipe FAQs

Some commonly asked questions about this recipe:

Common Issues Cooking Dried Beans in a Instant Pot

• Older beans: if you grab a bag of dried beans off a shelf in the pantry that has been there for the last year you may need to cook them longer, add extra liquid or pre soak them before cooking.
• Not enough liquid: You need 3 cups of liquid for every cup of dried beans you are cooking. A 16 oz. bag of beans equals about 2 ½ cups of dried beans. That is 7 ½ cups of liquid at a minimum. I like to round it out to 8 cups of liquid.
• Cooking time: Cooking times will vary. I always time my recipes so I can tell you the exact cooking time that worked for me. You may need to make adjustments. Larger older beans will take longer to cook than a fresh bag or beans you have grown in the garden, dried and stored at home.
• Over cooking: Usually over cooking in a pressure cooker is not an issue. But I have found that you can over cook dried beans. Instead of the beans getting softer they will start to get a little firmer. Follow tested and timed recipes like mine and you shouldn't have a problem.
• Liquid Spewing: If you try to release the pressure using the quick release method you will mostly likely run into the issue of a thick liquid spewing out of the pressure valve. This is a very common issue when pressure cooking recipes that have a thick sauce or broth like dried beans, thick cheesy and creamy soups and stews. Another common issue is the dreaded burn notice if you do not have enoough liquid in the pot. You can read my Instant Pot Burn Notice article for the details.
• Electric Pressure Cookers: I am using the 8-quart Instant Pot IP-LUX. All brands are not equal. I have been using this brand since it first came out and have never had any issue. Please keep this in mind when using another brand of electric pressure cooker. They all work differently.

What to do if the beans are not done?

• Cook them longer: If the beans are not done or a little firmer than you like check the liquid level, add more if the beans are not covered in a couple of inches of liquid and pressure cook them 5 minutes longer.
• Add more liquid: If the liquid is not covering the beans completely add enough liquid to cover them with an inch or more over the top.
• Pressure cooking: Twist the lid back on, close the sealing valve, press the manual or bean button and add 5 minutes to the timer. Once the pressure cooking is done allow the steam to naturally release for 10 minutes.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

There's just something so comforting about a warm bowl of butter beans and ham, especially when it comes together this easily.

The Instant Pot takes all the guesswork out and delivers that slow cooked flavor in a fraction of the time.

Whether you're serving it up with cornbread for a simple supper or freezing leftovers for later, this is one of those tried-and-true recipes you'll come back to anytime you need a filling, no fuss meal.

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