Hearty, flavorful and nutritious, these Instant Pot white beans with rosemary, garlic and olive oil are the perfect example of healthy Mediterranean cuisine. Learn how to make this delicious dish inspired by Italian and Greek recipes and enjoy it as a main or side dish for dinner, lunch or breakfast. Gluten-free, vegan-friendly. Weight Watchers: 7 Smart Points (green) or 6 points without olive oil.
The Mediterranean diet is considered one of the healthiest in the world and it heavily features foods like beans and lentils, lots of vegetables, herbs and heart-healthy olive oil. Today's recipe for Instant Pot white beans is something you would commonly find in Mediterranean and Italian cooking: slowly braised with aromatic rosemary or other herbs and garlic and finished with a little olive oil. It's easy, affordable and super healthy.
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WHY COOK WHITE BEANS IN INSTANT POT
This applies to all beans, which benefit from Instant Pot cooking in the following ways:
- Pressure-cooking helps to break down the sugars in the beans quickly, making them easier to digest and less gas-inducing.
- A long soak and adding some baking soda also helps to reduce the gassy effects of all beans and lentils.
- Cooking the beans in the Instant Pot takes a fraction of the time of stovetop cooking, speeding up your meal prep or dinner making.
- Pressure cooking locks in and retains more nutrients in the foods, and some argue more flavor.
- Check out our how to cook basic white beans in Instant Pot here.
HOW TO MAKE BRAISED MEDITERRANEAN BEANS
Our recipe uses pre-soaked dried white beans and you can use any variety: cannellini, Great Northern, Haricot, Navy. White beans have a nutty, earthy flavour with tender flesh. The beans are braised in vegetable stock infused with garlic, rosemary and onion.
Once cooked, they release a bit of starch which adds thickness and creaminess to the broth. This recipe is very easy, however, there are a few steps involved.
Soaking white beans
Pre-soaking the beans overnight with a little added bicarb soda (optional) will rehydrate the dried beans and will soften the fibres, making them easier to digest. Pre-soaked white beans take less time to cook and by using the Instant Pot, you're looking at about 34-40 minutes from start to finish. You will need 8-12 hours for soaking, so do it overnight or in the morning if you plan to cook these at dinner time.
PS. Adding bicarb/baking soda to soaking beans helps to degas them even more but it is optional.
Thickening The Sauce
Once the beans are cooked, together with herbs, onions and garlic, which infuse a lot of flavor into this dish, the next step is to turn the cooking liquid into a creamy and thick stew-like sauce. There is a very simple trick to do this!
Remove rosemary sprigs and onion from the dish. Scoop a cup of the cooked beans AND liquid and add to a blender or a food processor. Whiz a few times until smooth and return to the beans. This will thicken the broth nicely.
Finish the dish by drizzling good quality olive oil over the top. The finished beans can be stored in the fridge for 4-5 days and in the freezer for 3 months.
WHAT TO SERVE WHITE BEANS WITH
These rustic beans can be eaten as a stew with a side of crusty bread or crostini as a main dish or you can have them as a side dish with extra protein like lamb, fish or chicken or some pasta or rice. A side of green vegetables or a salad will complete this meal.
Oftentimes, braised beans are served on some toasted bread for breakfast. You can add a fried egg on top or some lovely cherry tomatoes.
MORE MEDITERRANEAN RECIPES FOR INSTANT POT
- Egg Bites With Herbs & Feta
- Tomato Barley Risotto With Marinated Feta
- Broccoli Soup With Gremolata
- Italian Fish From Frozen With Capers, Olives & Cherry Tomatoes
- Chickpeas With Salsa Verde & Roasted Peppers
Rate This Recipe
Instant Pot White Beans With Rosemary & Garlic
Ingredients
Soaking the beans
- 2 cups cannellini beans or Great Northern beans, dry
- 4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon bicarb soda
For the cooking part
- 4 cups soaked white beans yielded from 2 cups of dry beans
- 4 cups water
- 1 cube of vegetable stock see notes
- 5 cloves garlic roughly diced
- 3 sprigs of rosemary
- ½ medium onion cut into 4 wedges
- 1 teaspoon salt
To finish
- 2 tablespoons olive oil see notes for WW adjustments
- 1.5 tablespoons lemon juice ⅓ lemon
- A little lemon zest optional
Instructions
- Soak the beans in water and bicarb soda for 12 hours (overnight or during the day). They will double in size. Rinse and use right away or refrigerate in an airtight container for a maximum of 12-24 hours.
- Add the beans, water, vegetable stock cube, garlic, rosemary, onions and salt to the pot and mix through. Pop the lid on top, lock and make sure the top valve is pointing to Sealing. Press Manual/Pressure Cook, HIGH pressure and set for 10 minutes. The pressure build-up will take about 7-10 minutes. Once 10 minutes are up, allow the pressure to release naturally for 20-25 minutes.
- Open the lid (after quick release, if needed) and skim off the onions from the top. Remove the rosemary sprigs (the needles should fall off into the soup and can be eaten). Stir the beans.
- Depending on how soupy or thick you like your braised beans, you might want to discard about ½ cup of the cooking liquid.
- Now, to thicken the beans, add some of the cooked beans and the broth liquid to a blender or food processor (about 1 cup, see pics above) and blend until smooth and thick. Return the puree to the pot and stir through the beans. The starched puree will thicken the mixture.
- Finally, add the lemon juice and olive oil and stir through before serving. You can also add the olive oil once it is served.
Notes
Nutrition
SAVE THIS WHITE BEAN RECIPE TO PINTEREST
Jack
If we don't wish to soak the beans overnight and instead want to put dried beans straight into the instant pot, how does this change the recipe? Thanks!
Instant Pot Eats
Hey Jack, you will have to increase the cooking time. Pressure cook on high for 30-32 minutes (30 minutes for more firm, 32 for more tender // it will take about 8 minutes for the Instant Pot to pressurize before cooking begins.
Katherine
I made this recipe first to test for myself and loved it. Then I made gallons of it (multiple instapot cookings!) and froze them for a big family event. These beans were a hit with the crowd. I was generous with the rosemary and used Better than Bouillon and used much more of it than the recipe called for because I prefer a stronger broth taste. For batches that were soupy when I wanted it to be more of a bean dish, I just took some off and drank it separately - so good!
Anonymous
I tried to make this because the pic looked so good. However, followed directions and it turned more to a soup and the chick peas didn’t stay nice and whole like the picture. Obviously I did something wrong.
Beth Staggs
I don't think Chick Peas were an option for this recipe.
diane
can i make ahead
Instant Pot Eats
Yes, it keeps well in the fridge and freezer.
Maria Constantine
I always pre cook my beans to cut down on gas. Then I used a 6 inch branch of fresh rosemary, stem and all in the recipe. I stirred the final beans to cool them and they got creamy without a blender or any added oil. These beans were SO Good! I gave a jar of them in a mug as a birthday present!
Ann Fabrizio
What a creative gift idea!
Fran
I love this recipe. I especially appreciate that the water to (soaked) bean ratio and cook time are both appropriate! The flavors are excellent too. I might have added just a smidgeon more garlic than the recipe called for.
Instant Pot Eats
Thanks, Fran
Mike
This really is an exceptional recipe! The beans have a wonderful comfort food quality and get better and better as they age a bit in the refrigerator. I usually can't handle beans but I had no problems with these. I used chicken bone broth because I didn't have the veggie broth.
Instant Pot Eats
Thanks, Mike. Great you enjoyed these beans.
Trina
Delicious, I forgot to ask olive oil are the end, still delicious. Added sautéed chard right before serving.
Will be making this again and again.
Ann Fabrizio
Chard is good idea! Thanks
Meryl
I am not a big beans person but I had some white beans that were going to be past their use by date soon so I found this recipe and made it and absolutely LOVED it! I doubled the garlic, used a whole onion and used beef stock instead of veggie because that’s what I had. It was delicious and I will definitely make it again. And so easy!
JV
These were yummy, but I think there is a typo in the recipe. The part where it says to add the ingredients to the IP - perhaps stock was written instead of salt? I couldn’t find where it said to add salt, but assumed it was prior to cooking. Thanks!
Ann Fabrizio
yes! THANK YOU
Nicole
BEST cannellini beans I’ve ever ate. Such a good recipe. I used Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base, that with the garlic, rosemary, onion... Just delish right out of the Instant Pot. Five Stars! Thank you.
instantpoteats
Thanks so much, very glad you enjoyed it! IPE team
Janis A DeSanti
Can I use canned beans
Ann Fabrizio
Yes. Obviously skip the soaking stage. But be aware that the brand of beans and how they process the beans will affect the texture and outcome of your dish.