With an Instant Pot and 30 minutes (after soaking), you can make perfectly cooked baby lima beans every time! Let us show you how.
Instant Pot Lima Beans
The Instant Pot is our preferred method for cooking lima beans because it’s quick, easy, and yields perfectly tender beans!
While most beans don’t need to be soaked before cooking in the Instant Pot, we highly recommend soaking lima beans. We tested not soaking them, but the center of the beans wouldn’t fully cook.
Here’s what you need to know:
- Soak the beans for at least 6-8 hours, then drain
- Ratio = 1 part baby lima beans : 3 parts water
- Cook Time = 5-7 minutes
- Release = 15 minute natural release, then release any remaining pressure
Baby lima beans have a mild, creamy, buttery flavor and texture, making them incredibly versatile and delicious. They can be enjoyed in stews, soups, salads, and more. And they’re even delicious by the spoonful!
Did you find this helpful? If so, be sure to check out our Instant Pot Cooking Times Guide for perfectly cooked grains and beans every time!
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
*Note: recipe updated 12/10/21 to address reader issues with texture.
Instant Pot Lima Beans (Fast, Tender, Perfect!)
Ingredients
- 1 cup baby lima beans (white, not green)
- 3 cups water (or vegetable broth for more flavor)
Instructions
- Add lima beans to a bowl and cover with cool water by about 3 inches (ensuring they’re well submerged). Soak overnight, or for at least 6-8 hours at room temperature.
- Drain lima beans, then add to the Instant Pot. Add water and stir to prevent sticking. Pressure cook on high for 5-7 minutes (it will take about 8 minutes for the Instant Pot to pressurize before cooking begins).
- Once the timer goes off, allow to naturally release for 15 minutes, then release any remaining pressure. Carefully remove lid once steam has fully escaped and strain off any excess cooking liquid.
Notes
*Total time includes active cook time, release time, and the time it takes for the Instant Pot to heat up (~8 minutes).
*Prep time does not include soaking beans.
Mary says
Perfect recipe with overnight soak. Giant limas kept their integrity for adding in salads and baked beans – not mushy.
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
We’re so glad to hear it! Thank you for sharing your experience, Mary!
Jen says
Hey, thanks for this recipe! I found this to be a great reference.
I chose to go 4 minutes instead of 5, released pressure after 10 minutes instead of 15, because I’d soaked longer and they turned out great.
3:1 water to beans seems pretty standard to me :)
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
Yay, so glad to hear this worked out for you, Jen!
Nadiel Yecaled says
I agree with everyone who got a poor result. It was far from clear that the ratio for a cooking was not 3 1 this was a horrible recipe.
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
Hi Nadiel, so sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy the result. Are you referring to the water leftover? That is normal when cooking beans in the Instant Pot because the water needs to fully cover them so they don’t cook unevenly. You can drain it off at the end.
Kristen says
Hi! We had the same issue as Donna and Sonia, we used a 3:1 ratio for water to soaked beans and ended up with just mush and shells. Soaked the beans overnight, as the recipe recommends, and followed all the other steps as outlined. Any ideas to what we did wrong, or what we could do differently in the future? Sounds like other people (Nancy and Angela) are having better success with a 2:1 ratio?
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
Sorry to hear that, Kristen! We’re thinking the age of the beans and hardness of the water (which will vary by location) may be leading to differences. We’d suggest reducing the cook time to 5 minutes next time to see if that helps.
Donna says
This was the very first time I used my instant pot. I have to say that your directions were not clear enough. I ended up with a big pot of mush. It would’ve been helpful if you would’ve clarified that the 3 to 1 ratio is strictly for soaking. I read the booklet for a second time and had to remove some of the water before starting the cook cycle. In the future, please emphasize how much water to put in the pot for cooking. Thank you.
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
Hi Donna, sorry for any confusion here. The 3:1 ratio is for the water:soaked lima beans, so it sounds like you followed the recipe correctly, but then removed some of the water? As for there being water leftover, that’s the nature of the Instant Pot. It won’t all get absorbed and needs to be strained off at the end of cooking. If you reduce the amount of water, the beans are prone to cooking unevenly because they won’t be fully submerged throughout the cooking process. Hope that helps for future Instant Pot recipes!
Sonia says
I followed the recipe exactly and came out with mush and shells.
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
Oh no! Sorry to hear that happened, Sonia. How long did you soak the beans? We’re wondering if it may have been too long.
Nancy Johnson-Cramer says
Bulk Butter Beans:
I needed a full 15 minutes to cook with 2 cups of beans soaked overnight using 3 cups of broth and 1 cup of water. I make bulk foods for freezer storage. I put in a metal pan insert with holes in the bottom on a rack so beans are really steamed and nutrients kept. This avoids that burn message that my pot frequently gets.
thank you for your post.
Liz says
Hi Dana,
How would you recommend cooking Jumbo Lima beans in an instant pot? Do you know how much (if any) extra time we would need to add?
Thank you!
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
Hi Liz, we haven’t experimented with jumbo lima beans, but would estimate maybe an additional 5 minutes? Let us know how it goes!
Angela says
Thank you. This is helpful!
Tessa says
Lesson learned🙄I read really quickly and found the lima beans not soft at all. Because I didn’t soak. Yes.🗣️ Told us so… We only have “lima beans” by the way. Are borlitti beans the ones you call big lima’s?
How can I support you because i use this site a lot and don’t want to get everything “for free”
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
Aw, sorry to hear they didn’t turn out, Tessa. We think borlitti beans are a different variety and we haven’t tried them. Your ratings and review are helpful – thanks so much for asking!
Tessa says
Update:
I put them back for 5 minutes on high and they turned out perfect!!!! Maybe the fact that I rinsed them with hot water wasn’t a great idea either.
I meant moneywise😬patreon or so..
Angela says
Hi,
I started soaking two cups of beans before I realized the 3:1 ratio is for one cup. I put four cups of water in the soaking pot. I’ll keep and eye on them.
With that in mind, is the pressure cook time still seven minutes?
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
Hi Angela, just make sure your Instant Pot can handle that volume. According to the manufacturer, with foods that expand, it’s best not to fill past the “1/2” line. As for timing, yes, 7 minutes will work even with a larger batch. Hope that helps!