Lima beans in Instant Pot are a cozy and satisfying way to serve up a classic Southern-style comfort food with ease. This hands-off method turns dried beans into a tender, flavorful dish in under an hour—no soaking required. It’s a fantastic recipe to keep in rotation when you need something filling, budget-friendly, and delicious.
Making lima beans in pressure cooker is a great solution for busy days when you still want a hearty meal on the table. The method helps lock in flavor and moisture, especially when you add smoked meat like ham hocks or diced ham. This Instant Pot lima beans and ham recipe is perfect for using up holiday leftovers and creates a dish that’s rich, savory, and deeply comforting—just like the slow-cooked version but ready in a fraction of the time.
Content Covered Here
Why We Love This Lima Beans in Pressure Cooker
- A flavorful symphony
This hearty soup is a delicious blend of savory ham, creamy lima beans, and a rich broth. It’s a comforting and satisfying meal that’s perfect for a cold day. - Set-it-and-forget-it convenience
The Instant Pot makes this recipe a breeze to prepare. Simply toss in your ingredients, set the timer, and let the Instant Pot do the work. It’s a great option for busy weeknights or lazy weekends. - A nutritious choice
Packed with protein, this soup is a healthy and filling meal. Plus, it’s a great way to incorporate essential nutrients into your diet.
Butter vs Lima Beans: What’s the Difference?
Actually, butter and lima beans are the same type of bean. Lima are immature and green in color. Butter are more mature and beige in color, but they are the same plant!
This recipe calls for lima beans, but you’ll see that they lose their greenish color when cooking.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
This hearty instant pot butter bean soup includes just a few simple ingredients.
Here is the complete list of all 7 ingredients needed:
- Large lima beans: These may also be called butter beans. No lima beans on hand? You can use any smaller sized white bean (cannellini, pinto, or great northern beans).
- Precooked ham: Purchase precooked meat or use your leftover ham or ham hocks (see recipe variations below).
- Chicken stock or vegetable broth: The broth or stock adds great flavor to the soup.
- Water: This liquid is necessary for cooking the dried beans.
- Yellow onion: You may also use white onion.
- Garlic: Adding garlic makes for a savory soup, however, garlic can be omitted or substituted for chives, green onion or leek leaves.
- Bay leaves: Bay leaves add depth and an aromatic flavor, but you can substitute for other seasonings- cumin, chili powder, thyme and oregano according to your personal preference.
Use dried lima soaked overnight, a quick soak 1 hour method, or frozen lima beans for this Instant Pot recipe.
🎯 TFN Pro Tip
Also, you can make this soup with ham bone leftovers from Christmas or Easter to make this delicious lima bean soup recipe. Or try our ham in coke slow cooker recipe. While any precooked ham will add great flavor, using an actual ham bone or ham hock takes the savoriness to a whole other level.
Recipe Variations
- Ham hock swap: For deeper, smoky richness, use one large ham hock in place of some of the diced meat. If it’s meaty, reduce the amount of diced Instant Pot ham to about 3 cups so the flavors stay balanced.
- Vegetarian version: To make it suitable for vegetarians, skip the meat and use vegetable broth. Add cannellini beans, red peppers, and finish with a splash of lime juice and chopped cilantro for brightness and depth.
- Bacon-loaded beans: Replace the ham with a pound of sautéed and crumbled bacon for a salty, crispy edge. The bacon adds a delicious twist and pairs well with a squeeze of lime just before serving.
- Southwest veggie mix: For a colorful variation, stir in chopped carrots, celery, pinto beans, and diced bell peppers after pressure cooking. Simmer on sauté mode for 5-10 minutes for a heartier, veggie-packed dish.
Equipment Used in this Recipe
- An electric pressure cooker, at least 6 quart-sized, is used with this recipe.
These are popular brands for Instant Pot:
- Ninja Foodi
- Crockpot Express
- Cuisinart Pressure Cooker
- GoWISE USA
- Chef IQ
New to Instant Pot Cooking? Read How to Use the Instant Pot 101 first! And, then Instant Pot for beginners is great for new owners and seasoned IP-ers alike!
How to Soak Dried Baby Lima Beans
Follow the directions label on your beans to soak your dried baby lima or dried butter overnight. Or, I have instructions for how to quickly soak dried beans right in the Instant Pot. You can also use frozen lima beans in this recipe.
Also, learn more about dried beans in this handy reference article.
Using dry lima in the Instant Pot makes this a real budget-friendly recipe. And, they are really so delicious when made with ham.
Lastly, if you do not have time to soak, just add 20 minutes to the pressure cooking time to do a no-soak recipe. You can also see the frequently asked questions below for more information.
How to Make Instant Pot Lima Beans and Ham
This recipe is so simple you can make it in just 3 steps! It’s the perfect family-friendly dinner to make on a busy weeknight or lazy weekend when you want something super comforting but completely easy to make.
Here’s the easiest way to make ham and lima bean soup (or butter bean) using the Instant Pot:
- Combine all of the ingredients in the Instant Pot, and seal the lid.
- Pressure cook for 25 minutes. Bring to a boil, and allow a natural pressure release for 10 minutes before doing a quick pressure release to release any remaining pressure and preserve their tenderness.
- Remove the lid and stir until they thicken, stirring frequently. Then season to taste with salt and pepper.
That is it! Soups with lima and ham are gluten-free, quick, and easy one-pot dishes.
Then, you can serve this with my dairy free cornbread recipe!
Serving Suggestions
These lima beans in Instant Pot are warm, hearty, and incredibly comforting—perfect as a main dish or a satisfying side. For a full Southern-style meal, serve them with warm cornbread or buttery biscuits to soak up the flavorful broth. You can also pair them with white rice or mashed potatoes for extra heartiness. A simple side of collard greens or a fresh cucumber salad adds a bright contrast to the rich soup. Don’t forget to offer hot sauce at the table for those who enjoy a little extra kick!
Try Our Other Bean Recipes
For those who love to use Instant Pot, these Instant Pot beans pinto, and a recipe for navy bean soup are great side dish options. If you want to try our slow cooker recipe, the calico bean recipe crock pot is another great option.
And if you are looking for a stovetop recipe, the stovetop chili con carne is delicious. You may also want to try our fresh green beans in Instant Pot, cucumber and bean salad, and calico beans.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can! Substitute the dried for three 15-ounce cans of canned lima or butter beans. And pressure cook for just 15 minutes. You’ll want to omit the water as it is unnecessary for canned.
You can use my quick soak method right in the Instant Pot or add 20 minutes to the pressure cooker to skip soaking overnight. Or, use frozen lima beans in place of the dried.
Keep your cooled leftovers in an airtight container or storage in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This soup will also freeze well for up to 3 months.
This soup is great for enjoying with a big piece of homemade easy fluffy buttermilk biscuits, or some delish jalapeno cheddar sourdough bread.
More Soup Recipes To Love…
If you tried this lima beans in pressure cooker recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Lima Beans in Instant Pot
Equipment
- Instant Pot (or any electric pressure cooker)
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried lima beans, soaked overnight or quick soak (for non-soaked beans see notes below)
- 6 cups precooked ham, diced
- 3 cups chicken broth or stock, low sodium
- 3 cups water
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 bay leaves
Optional:
- 1 ham hock or ham bone
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to the Instant Pot or pressure cooker, ensuring you do not exceed the fill line of the pot. Lock pressure cooker lid into place, put pressure lever to seal (if needed). Cook at high pressure for 25 minutes.
- After pressure cooking, allow pressure cooker to naturally release for 10 minutes, then initiate a quick release.
- The beans will be soupy in texture. To thicken the beans, cook on sauté mode with lid off until desired thickness, stirring frequently. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Video
Notes
- Also, you can make this soup with ham bone leftovers from Christmas or Easter to make this delicious lima bean soup recipe. Or try our ham in coke slow cooker recipe. While any precooked ham will add great flavor, using an actual ham bone or ham hock takes the savoriness to a whole other level.
- For non-soaked beans, add 20 minutes to pressure cooking time for a total of 45 minutes.
- While any precooked ham will add great flavor, using an actual ham bone or ham hock takes the savoriness to a whole other level.
- Ham hock swap: For deeper, smoky richness, use one large ham hock in place of some of the diced meat. If it’s meaty, reduce the amount of diced Instant Pot ham to about 3 cups so the flavors stay balanced.
- Vegetarian version: To make it suitable for vegetarians, skip the meat and use vegetable broth. Add cannellini beans, red peppers, and finish with a splash of lime juice and chopped cilantro for brightness and depth.
- Bacon-loaded beans: Replace the ham with a pound of sautéed and crumbled bacon for a salty, crispy edge. The bacon adds a delicious twist and pairs well with a squeeze of lime just before serving.
- Southwest veggie mix: For a colorful variation, stir in chopped carrots, celery, pinto beans, and diced bell peppers after pressure cooking. Simmer on sauté mode for 5-10 minutes for a heartier, veggie-packed dish.
- Keep your cooled leftovers in an airtight container or storage in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This soup will also freeze well for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Save This Recipe!
Enter your email below, and we'll send the recipe straight to your inbox.
Previous
Kay says
Where’s the directions for using frozen lima beans?
Gianne - TFN Team Member says
Great question! If you’re using frozen lima beans instead of dried, the good news is that they don’t require soaking and will cook much faster. While we haven’t tested this exact recipe with frozen beans, a good rule of thumb is to reduce the cooking time significantly—typically, frozen lima beans only need about 5–7 minutes on high pressure in the Instant Pot, followed by a quick release. You’ll still get that delicious, creamy texture without the long wait! Let us know if you give it a try—we’d love to hear how it turns out!