Instant Pot Butter Beans with Roasted Tomatoes (Gigantes)

Gigantes beans with roasted tomatoes, two sage leaves in a bowl and a spoon.

Instant Pot Butter Beans with Roasted Tomatoes (Gigantes)

Creamy Instant Pot butter beans (Greek gigantes) in a garlicky broth, folded with charred, roasted cherry tomatoes and sage. An easy, cozy Greek-style bean stew.

Course Dinner, Main Course, Pulses, Vegetarian

Cuisine Greek

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 45

Resting time 6

Servings

Calories 261kcal

Author by Jenny Skrapaliori Graves

Equipment

Instant pot or Pressure cooker
medium baking pan

Ingredients

17 oz dried gigantes-butter beans I used the 3 alfa 500 gr package
1 teaspoon salt, for soaking
32 oz broth One carton of organic free range chicken or vegetable broth.
12 oz mixed cherry tomatoes
8-10 garlic cloves
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil divided
3-4 fresh thyme sprigs
3-4 fresh sage sprigs
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
1 onion diced

For serving

sage leaves (fried in olive oil)
chili flakes

Instructions

Soak the beans

Cover with plenty of water, stir in 1 teaspoon salt, and soak overnight. Drain and rinse.

Cook the gigantes beans

Set the Instant Pot to sauté. Add 2–3 tbsp olive oil and the diced onion, and sauté until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the drained beans and stir to coat them in the oil. Add the broth, 2–3 sage leaves, salt, and freshly ground pepper.
Close the lid, set the valve to sealing, and cook on High pressure for 18–25 minutes (see notes). Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then quick release the rest.
Check a bean: it should be creamy all the way through but still hold its shape. If the beans need more time, simmer them on sauté for a few minutes until tender.

Roast the tomatoes

Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C). Place the tomatoes and garlic cloves in a baking pan, drizzle with 2–3 tbsp olive oil, and add the fresh herbs. Season with salt and pepper, mix well, and roast for 30–45 minutes, depending on how charred you like them.
Once the tomatoes and beans are ready, gently mix everything together in a separate pot and serve.

Notes

Cooking time depends on your beans. Freshly dried or homegrown gigantes cook much faster than beans that have been sitting in the pantry. For very fresh beans, start with 12–14 minutes on high pressure. For store-bought packages, 18–25 minutes is usually right. When in doubt, go shorter. You can always add a few minutes, but you can’t undo mushy beans.
The natural release keeps cooking the beans. If yours tend to split, shorten the natural release or skip it.
Beans: Large lima (butter) beans or any large white bean can stand in for gigantes. Smaller beans cook faster.
Canned shortcut: Use two 15-oz cans butter beans with their liquid plus ½ cup broth. Simmer 10 minutes after sautéing the onion, then fold in the roasted tomatoes.
Instant Pot: Don't fill past the half line, and use natural release.

Nutrition