Dry Lima Beans Instant pot recipe is so easy to make. This dried baby lima beans recipe is vegan, nut free and a perfect wholesome plant based soup that your whole family will enjoy.
Instant Pot Lima Beans
Instant pot lima beans no soak method works out so good every single time. You'll have perfectly cooked buttery beans in a jiffy. And the soup also tastes so good, no one can guess that this baby lima beans instant pot recipe is not simmered for long hours!
You can make this vegan soup with dried baby lima beans (no need to soak!) under 30 mins! This healthy plant based soup is loaded with veggies like carrots, celery, bell pepper and tomatoes.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Find the Ingredients with actual measurements at the bottom of the post. The list below is just a reference.
- Dry Baby Lima beans: Pick the beans and rinse them well before pressure cooking.
- Aromatics: Onion and garlic. Yellow onion tastes best in this soup.
- Veggies: Celery, carrots, tomatoes.
- Seasonings: Thyme, oregano, smoked paprika, ground black pepper, red pepper flakes for a subtle kick, salt to taste (add according to your own personal taste preference).
- Bay Leaf.
- Sauces: Low sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos or Tamari. The soy sauce will help brighten the flavors.
- Liquid smoke: We love this product. This will add a subtle smoky flavor to your lima beans instant pot recipe.
- Liquid: Vegetable stock. We love this instant pot vegetable stock from veggie scrapes. You can store it in the fridge for a long time.
- Cooking fat: Extra light or light olive oil or avocado oil.
Tips for success
- Butter beans consistency: Once the pressure cooking cycle is over mash a few cooked lima beans with the back of your ladle. This will help thicken the soup naturally and also make it creamy without the use of any non-dairy cream.
- Slow cooked smoky flavor: Add the liquid smoke and the smoked paprika to give this recipe a flavor boost. These two ingredients will lend the baby lima bean recipe with a slow cooked smoky flavor.
- Prepare dry lima beans: Pick the beans to remove any dirt or debris and than rinse them very well under running tap water before pressure cooking.
How to cook lima beans in instant pot?
Find the detailed step by step recipe along with measurements + Video at the bottom of the post.
Step #1 Sauté veggies
- Sauté veggies: Heat oil in the instant pot on sauté mode set at high setting. Add the chopped and diced onion, carrots, celery and garlic. Sauté for 1 min.
- Add seasonings & sauté: Add the seasonings along with the salt. Sauté for just 30 secs.
Step #2 Add tomatoes & rinsed lima beans
- Add fresh tomatoes: Add diced fresh Roma tomatoes and sauté for 30 secs.
- Add rinsed baby lima: Add rinsed and drained dry baby lima beans, give a quick stir. Pour the veggie stock. Add the soy sauce and the liquid smoke.
Step #3 Deglaze pot & pressure cook
- Deglaze pot: Deglaze the pot very well by scraping the sides and the bottom of the pot with the help of a spatula. This will help loosen any stuck food particles and prevent the burn. Add the bay leaves. Cancel the sauté function.
- Pressure cook butter beans: Secure the lid and pressure cook the baby lima beans for 25 mins on high pressure followed by a 15 mins natural pressure release. Open the lid. Mash a few cooked beans with the back of your ladle to naturally thicken the soup.
- Serve: Serve the vegan lima beans garnished with fresh chopped parsley or chives.
Serving Ideas
You can serve this savory instant pot butter beans recipe as such or add the following sides to make it a complete meal:
- Crusty whole wheat bread.
- Whole wheat Sourdough bread.
- A light crisp salad.
- Steamed broccoli.
- Steamed green beans.
- Steamed carrots.
- Steamed beets.
Leftovers and storage
Fridge: You can store dry lima beans instant pot recipe for up to 4 days in the fridge. Use air tight containers to store this healthy soup. The soup will thicken further as it rests in the fridge.
Freeze: Freeze the soup in air tight portion control freezer safe bags or containers for up to 3 months. Thaw over night in the fridge and than follow the reheating directions shared below, consume the soup immediately.
How to reheat
- From fridge: The pressure cooked lima beans soak up a lot of liquid when stored in the fridge. Add more water or stock before reheating the soup in the microwave oven until warm or hot.
- From freezer: Thaw the baby lima beans instant pot recipe overnight in the fridge. Follow the reheating directions shared above. You can also reheat the soup on the stove top in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium high heat. Do not leave the soup unattended and do stir it often to prevent it from getting burnt.
FAQs
Green lima beans typically refer to the fresh, young pods of the lima bean plant. These pods are harvested when they are still green and immature, and the beans inside are tender and green in color. On the other hand, lima beans, without the "green" designation, generally refer to the mature, dried seeds of the lima bean plant. These beans are allowed to fully mature and dry on the vine before being harvested. They have a starchy texture, a slightly mealy flavor, and are usually beige or white in color.
The term "lima beans" is often used interchangeably with "butter beans." Butter beans or lima beans are extremely healthy.
If you don't soak lima beans they will take a little longer to fully cook.
It is not mandatory to soak lima beans before cooking. Unsoaked lima beans will take a little longer to get fully cooked as compared to the soaked beans.
Baby lima beans are a smaller and more tender variety of lima beans that are harvested at an early stage of growth, while lima beans generally refer to the mature, dried seeds of the plant.
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Recommended
Dry Lima Beans Instant Pot.
Equipment
- 6 quart instant pot
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound lima beans - **dry baby lima beans picked, rinsed, and drained.
- 1 cup celery - **roughly chopped.
- 1 cup carrots - **diced into small pieces about ¼ inch.
- 1 cup Tomatoes - **fresh Roma tomatoes diced into small pieces.
- 1 cup onion - **yellow onion roughly chopped.
- ½ tbsp garlic - **minced.
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce - **Low sodium soy sauce or tamari or liquid aminos.
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon olive oil - **extra light or light olive oil or avocado oil.
- salt to taste - **add according to your own taste preference.
Seasonings
- 1.5 teaspoon paprika - **smoked paprika.
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes - **skip if making it for kids.
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Liquid
- 6 cups vegetable stock - **homemade veggie stock from scrapes.
Instructions
Prep dry baby lima beans
- Pick the lima beans to remove any dirt or debris. Rinse them well under running tap water several times and drain them in a colander. Set them aside.
Saute veggies
- Set the instant pot on SAUTE mode set at high heat setting. Add oil. When the oil becomes moderately hot add the chopped onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Saute for just 1 min. Next, add all the seasonings mentioned above in the "Seasonings" section of the ingredients list. Also, add the salt according to your personal taste preference. Saute for 30 secs. Add the diced tomatoes and saute for another 30 secs.
Deglaze pot
- Add the baby lima beans and give everything a good stir. Add the veggie stock, and deglaze the pot by scraping the sides and the bottom of the pot with the help of a spatula. This will help loosen any stuck food particles and prevent burn errors. Add the soy sauce, liquid smoke and bay leaves. Cancel the saute function.
Pressure cook baby lima beans
- Secure the lid of the instant pot, seal the valve, and pressure cook on high for 25 mins. Once the cooking cycle is over the instant pot will begin to beep. Wait for a natural pressure release for 15 mins and then release the rest of the pressure manually by moving the valve from the sealing to the venting position. Open the lid carefully.
- Discard the bay leaves. Give the cooked lima beans a good stir. You may even mash a few cooked lima beans with the back of your ladle to thicken the soup naturally.
- Serve the instant pot lima beans garnished with fresh chopped parsley or chives. Enjoy!
Notes
- Red pepper flakes: Skip if making the recipe for kids.
- Soup consistency: You can totally control the consistency of the soup. Mash a few cooked lima beans with the back of your ladle to naturally thicken the soup as per your liking. If you prefer brothy soups, add more stock.
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