Green Beans: Instant Pot

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In my search for the tender green bean, I decided to try the Instant Pot rather than the microwave for the initial cooking step. 

I bought a large bag of “washed and trimmed” beans – 2 lbs – so that I could try the beans 3 ways. I went through the bag and checked them for stems (probably 10-15 beans still had stems), and rewashed them. Then I put them in the steamer basket of my Instant Pot and steamed them for 3 minutes. 

Then I immediately put them in an ice bath to stop the cooking. They were very tender. In fact they bordered on mushy.

I separated them into three bunches. I put some in the freezer, seasoned some for a sheet pan meal, and some others for Stir Fried Rice (see below). 

But I felt like I needed more research, so back to the grocery store. This time I got regular and French beans. 


I steamed the regular beans at 1 and 2 minutes in the instant pot. I steamed the French beans for 0 and 1 minute.  Then I roasted them all for 30 minutes at 325. 

After tasting them, my conclusion is steaming in the Instant pot for 1 minute is best, for regular and for French Green Beans. 

The most welcome surprise was with the frozen beans. When I thawed and roasted them, they were great. It certainly answers the question, “What am I going to do with all these green beans?!?”

After the steaming step, the cooking method beyond that is up to you. In fact, you could season them up and eat them without any further cooking.  But here is one option and a favorite way to use up leftovers. 

Stir Fried Rice

Stir Fry is a dish I usually look to for using up the last bits of the veggies in the drawer. This time, along with the veggies I had leftover rice, so Stir Fried Rice!

In my veggie drawer I found: The ends of two bags of greens, the last of a package of mushrooms, 3 tiny bell peppers, green beans (from the story above!), a half of an onion. 

I also made a paste of fresh garlic, ginger root, turmeric root and lime juice for the principal flavoring. 

Add things to the wok, longest cook things first. I started with the green beans and onions. Then after a few minutes I added the mushrooms. When they were all hot through, I added the peppers, the hardier greens and the rice. This is also when I added the flavoring paste. 

After things were hot through, I turned down the heat and let it sit for about 15 minutes, so the flavors would marry.

Finally I added the spinach and let it wilt. Then formed two wells in the rice mixture and cracked an egg into each. I covered the pot and let it sit for about 3-4 minutes. 

The eggs were only slightly cooked, so I stirred them into the blend very well and turned off the heat. Everything sat for about 5 or six minutes, until I was ready to serve. 


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