Make these Instant Pot Ham and beans for a delicious bowl of Southern comfort food or whenever you need to use up leftover ham. White beans are cooked in a flavorful ham broth until soft and creamy, making this dish hearty and cozy.
In This Post:
- ℹ️ Recipe Overview
- 🛒 Ingredients
- 📷 How To Make It
- 👩🍳Recipes Tips
- 💡Variations
- 🥦 What To Serve With
- 🫙Storage Tips
- 📝 Full Recipe
- ⭐️ Comment On & Rate This Recipe
Instant Pot Ham And Beans
Ham and beans is an old-fashioned Southern comfort food made with white beans cooked in a tasty, savory broth flavored with ham and a few basic ingredients like onions, garlic, carrots and bay leaf. Most of the flavor comes from the ham though, and ham bone is typically used as well as diced meat.
This dish is somewhere between a soup and a thick stew, the broth is thickened by the starch and flesh from the beans themselves. The thickness and softness of the beans depend on your personal preference. Some people love it super thick and the beans to be almost disintegrated into the broth. Others prefer the beans to keep their shape and have a bite to them. Our recipe is somewhere in between.
Beans usually take a long time to cook so using the Instant Pot is a great way to make this dish a bit quicker. Our Instant Pot ham and beans are made with unsoaked white beans but you could also soak the beans for 6-8 hours prior, which will speed up the cooking even further.
So, whenever you have leftover ham and/or ham bone after the holidays, make sure to try this traditional ham and beans recipe in the Instant Pot. It's cozy and delicious!
👉 You might also like to try out Instant Pot cowboy beans, Instant Pot white beans with rosemary and garlic, or learn how to make refried beans in your pressure cooker.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you will need to make Instant Pot ham and beans.
- Beans: dry white beans (medium-sized) such as Great Northern or Navy beans. Cannellini can also be used but they are a little larger in size so add 5 more minutes to cooking time.
- Ham: We used leftover glazed ham (minus the glaze), which was made with a smoked ham shoulder. So for this recipe, we had the leftover ham bone with some meat on it and about a cup or two of diced ham as well. You can also purchase smoked ham hock and ham separately and use those instead (e.g. outside of the holiday period).
- Vegetables: onion, carrot, celery and garlic are used to add flavor to the broth; these will soften and incorporate into the stew while cooking. There is no need to discard these.
- Seasoning: salt, pepper and bay leaf - super simple as most of the flavor should come from the smoked ham.
- Lemon juice: This is optional and perhaps not very traditional BUT a little drizzle of lemon juice cuts through the richness of the beans and brightens up the flavor. We think it's a wonderful addition, so give it a try!
How to Make Ham & Beans In The Instant Pot
You will find the full recipe with ingredients and nutritional breakdown in the recipe card below. Here are step-by-step photos and a video to guide you along.
Step 1. Prepare all the ingredients you need for the recipe. If using leftover holiday ham, slice off as much meat from the bone as you can. Dice enough ham to fill about 1.5 cups. Chop all the vegetables.
Step 2. Set the Instant Pot to Saute on Normal mode. Add a splash of olive oil, chopped onions, celery and carrots and cook for 3-4 minutes to soften and caramelize slightly. Some people dump-n-go all the ingredients but we prefer to saute the vegetables first to get them extra sweet and flavorful.
Step 3. Add the ham, beans, garlic, salt, pepper and bay leaves. Add 5.5 cups of water and stir through. Place the ham bone or ham hock in the middle and nestle it in the beans.
Step 2. Secure and lock the lid. Set the Instant Pot to Pressure Cook/Manual setting on HIGH for 50 minutes with natural pressure release at the end. For larger white beans, set to 55 minutes. Note, that our cooking times are longer than the usual recommended times for beans in the Instant Pot but that's because most ham and beans recipes need to have very soft beans, to get that thick texture in the stew.
Step 3. Once the pressure is released, open the lid and carefully remove the ham bone. The meat will fall off the bone, make sure to scoop it out so you can discard any little bones and chop up the meat to add back to the stew.
Step 4. Stir ham and beans. Mash the beans with a potato masher slightly to break some of them down, which will thicken the stew with their soft flesh. You can also scoop a cup of the beans and liquid into a bowl or a jug and puree it using an immersion blender stick or you can do this in a blender/food processor. You can also use an immersion stick directly in the pot, just blitz it 2-3 times so you don't over-puree the contents.
Step 5. The final step is optional. Add a tablespoon or two of lemon juice and stir through. We think it really improves the stew's flavor and brightens it up. Garnish with parsley or scallions when serving (also optional).
Recipe Tips
- If you have the time, sort through the beans before cooking and remove any little pebbles or shrivelled-up beans. These will not plump up like the rest of the beans and will not be as tender. The little pebbles are not pleasant on the teeth!
- Most of the flavor will come from the ham so keep that in mind. Good quality ham will give you the best results. Smoked ham is essential for great ham and beans.
- Beans can be soaked to reduce the cooking time. Soak beans in water for 8 hours and up to overnight. Be sure to drain the water and start with fresh water before cooking. Reduce cooking time to 15-20 minutes.
- If the beans feel not quite done to your liking, put the lid back on the pressure cooker and make sure the release valve is set back to "sealing." Cook at high pressure for another 5 to 10 minutes. The pot will quickly come back up to pressure because the contents are already hot.
- Use a potato masher to partially squash the beans to thicken the texture. You can also scoop a cup of the beans and liquid and use a blender or an immersion stick to puree the mixture. Then return it back to the stew.
Variations
- Add a cup of canned tomatoes or tomato sauce and Italian seasoning to give the dish a more Mediterranean twist.
- Add chili flakes or cayenne pepper to give it a kick.
- Use smoked turkey or chicken instead of ham for a different meat flavor.
Serving Suggestions
- Cornbread is a classic side for ham and beans. Its slightly sweet and crumbly texture contrasts nicely with the hearty and savory beans and ham. Try this cornbread recipe.
- Fluffy biscuits are another excellent choice, especially if you want to soak up the delicious bean and ham juices. They're a comforting addition to the meal.
- Keep it simple with some buttered sourdough or bread rolls.
- Creamy coleslaw provides a cool and refreshing contrast to the warm and savory ham and beans. The crisp crunch of the cabbage also complements the dish well.
- A side of pickles or pickled vegetables, such as pickled okra or pickled onions, can provide a tangy and crunchy contrast to the rich flavors of ham and beans.
- If you enjoy Southern cuisine, fried okra is a crispy and flavorful side that complements the dish while adding a touch of Southern charm.
Storage Tips
If you have a large batch of ham and beans, consider dividing them into smaller portions. This makes it easier to store and reheat only what you need, reducing the risk of food waste.
- To store: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- To freeze: Portion and freeze for up to 3-6 months.
- To reheat: Once thawed out, gently warm on the stovetop or in the microwave, adding a splash of water if needed.
Full Recipe
Find the full list of ingredients, instructions, and a nutritional breakdown below. If you have questions or cook this recipe, please let us know in the comments, and make sure to rate this recipe so it’s easy for others to find.
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Instant Pot Ham And Beans
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion medium, diced
- 1 carrot small, diced into cubes
- 1 celery stick diced
- 2 cloves garlic finely diced
- 14 oz white beans dry, unsoaked, such as Great Northern or Navy
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 ham bone or ham hock
- 1.5 cups ham diced 8-9 oz. / 250 g
- 5.5 cups water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice optional but recommended
- parsley or scallions, a couple of tablespoons, chopped
Instructions
- Prepare Ingredients. If using leftover holiday ham, slice off as much meat from the bone as you can. Dice enough ham to fill about 1.5 cups. Chop all the vegetables.
- Set the Instant Pot to Saute on Normal mode. Add a splash of olive oil, chopped onions, celery and carrots and cook for 3-4 minutes to soften and caramelize slightly. Some people dump-n-go all the ingredients but we prefer to saute the vegetables first to get them extra sweet and flavorful.
- Add the ham, beans, garlic, salt, pepper and bay leaves. Add 5.5 cups of water and stir through. Place the ham bone or ham hock in the middle and nestle it in the beans.
- Secure and lock the lid. Set the Instant Pot to Pressure Cook/Manual setting on HIGH for 50 minutes with natural pressure release at the end. For larger white beans, set to 55 minutes. Note, that our cooking times are longer than the usual recommended times for beans in the Instant Pot but that's because most ham and beans recipes need to have very soft beans, to get that thick texture in the stew.
- Once the pressure is released, open the lid and carefully remove the ham bone. The meat will fall off the bone, make sure to scoop it out so you can discard any little bones and chop up the meat to add back to the stew.
- Stir ham and beans. Mash the beans with a potato masher slightly to break some of them down, which will thicken the stew with their soft flesh. You can also scoop a cup of the beans and liquid into a bowl or a jug and puree it using an immersion blender stick or you can do this in a blender/food processor. You can also use an immersion stick directly in the pot, just blitz it 2-3 times so you don't over-puree the contents.
- The final step is optional. Add a tablespoon or two of lemon juice and stir through. We think it really improves the stew's flavor and brightens it up. Garnish with parsley or scallions when serving (also optional).
Notes
- If you have the time, sort through the beans before cooking and remove any little pebbles or shrivelled-up beans. These will not plump up like the rest of the beans and will not be as tender. The little pebbles are not pleasant on the teeth!
- Beans can be soaked to reduce the cooking time. Soak beans in water for 8 hours and up to overnight. Be sure to drain the water and start with fresh water before cooking. Reduce cooking time to 15-20 minutes.
- If the beans feel not quite done to your liking, put the lid back on the pressure cooker and make sure the release valve is set back to "sealing." Cook at high pressure for another 5 to 10 minutes. The pot will quickly come back up to pressure because the contents are already hot.
Anonymous
I used Camellia brand kidney beans since that’s what i had on hand and added a can of Rotel tomatoes to a 1/2 recipe. This was really delicious. Thank you for posting this. It’s a great way to use up leftover ham.
Andrea
I am loving that you made this marvelous, classic, Southern ham and beans in the instant pot. I can't wait to make this.
Anjali
This was such an easy recipe but was packed with flavor!! We served it with cornbread for a light dinner!
April
Made this today. New years eve. Fantastic. Very flavorful. Husband loved it and he is a picky eater.
Nathan
This was so easy to make, and so perfectly savory! I had a nice bowl of this on a chilly and rainy evening and it really hit the spot. Thanks for the recipe!
Saif
I do love white beans. I am sure it taste delicious