You'll love this easy and flavorful, Greek inspired take on gigante beans. You can use more readily available large Lima beans, or butter beans, if you can't fine gigantes. Meaty and buttery, in a delicious tomato herb sauce, Greek Gigante Beans taste like they've been simmering for hours, but take less than an hour (after soaking time).
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You'll want to make sure to serve this dish with some pita bread or delicious crusty bread to sop up all that amazing herby sauce!
This simple Greek gigante beans recipe will also go great with grilled broccoli, tabbouleh, and stuffed grape leaves (dolmas).
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Heart Health Benefits of Greek Gigante Beans
Our gigante beans recipe is low in calories, making it a great meal option to pair with so many dishes! It's also low in fat (especially saturated fat) and sodium, but high in fiber, potassium, and vitamins C and K.
These ingredients deliver a healthful mix of fiber, plant protein, flavonoids, phenolic acids, and bioactive peptides that all work together to help improve cardiovascular risk factors. These things can help improve lipid profiles, lower blood pressure, reduce oxidative stress and inflammation, and improve the gut microbiome.
Macronutrients
In addition to being low in calories, our gigante beans dish is low in total carbohydrates, making it excellent for blood sugar control, and pairing with delicious crusty breads! Despite its low carb content, the dish is high in fiber, adding to its blood sugar controlling ability, as well as helping improve satiety and blood cholesterol.
Pressure cooker gigante beans are low in total fat, and the majority of fat present is heart healthy monounsaturated fat, thanks to our use of olive oil in the recipe. We know monounsaturated fats for their ability to increase HDL (the "good" cholesterol), lower triglycerides, and lower blood pressure (2, 3).
Micronutrients, Phytonutrients, and Antioxidants
Our recipe is high in potassium, thanks to tomatoes, herbs, and the beans themselves. Potassium is incredibly important for heart health, helping to relax the walls of blood vessels, lowering blood pressure, and improving vascular elasticity (4). And the vast majority of people don't get close to enough of it!
Greek gigante beans are also high in both vitamins C and K, and a good source of vitamin A and protein. These vitamins help keep your immune system in good working order, help keep your bones strong, and help keep your blood clotting properly. If you are on a blood thinner, read more about vitamin K and heart health here!
Plant based recipes like this one are often high in antioxidants and phytonutrients. The major ones in this recipe are:
- Quercetin - (in onions) an antioxidant and flavanol that may reduce blood pressure (5, 6);
- Allicin - (in garlic) a sulfur containing compound that can lower blood pressure, improve lipid profiles, and reduce inflammation (7, 8);
- Lycopene - (in tomatoes) an antioxidant known to reduce blood pressure and LDL cholesterol, and improve endothelial function (9);
- β-carotene - (in carrots) a type of fat soluble plant pigment that also functions as an antioxidant to reduce markers of cardiovascular disease, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and inflammation (10);
- Apigenin - (in celery) flavonoid that can reduce blood pressure and atherosclerosis (11, 12);
- Herbal antioxidants - (rosmarinic acid and terpenes in oregano, carvone and tannins in dill, and lutein and zeaxanthin in parsley) varied group of antioxidants that reduce inflammation and may help manage blood lipids and blood pressure, and prevent cognitive decline (13, 14, 15, 16).
Ingredients
We're using a variety of fresh vegetables and fresh or dried herbs for our Greek butter beans.
- Dried gigante beans (or large lima beans)
- Olive oil
- Onion
- Carrot
- Celery
- Garlic
- Vegetable broth
- Tomato
- Tomato paste
- Dry white wine (not pictured)
- Dill
- Parsley
- Oregano
- Lemons
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
There will be veggie chopping involved here, but after that everything comes together quickly!
- Step 1: Soak the beans in cold water for at least 12 hours, then drain, rinse, and set aside.
- Step 2: Set the pressure cooker to sauté, and cook the vegetables in oil until they begin to soften.
- Step 3: Pour in the wine, and continue to cook until all the liquid is evaporated.
- Step 4: Add the tomato paste, and stir and cook for an additional minute.
- Step 5: Add all the rest of the ingredients.
- Step 6: Stir to combine, lock the lid, close the pressure valve, and set the pressure cooker to cook on high for 20 minutes.
- Step 7: Allow the pressure to release naturally for another 20 minutes, and then manually release the rest. Serve immediately, with crusty bread or pita.
Hint: if your beans aren't tender after the pressure release, reseal the lid and pressure cook on high for another 5 minutes. Older beans can take longer to cook.
Substitutions
- Gigante beans - use dried large Lima beans instead
- White wine - simply omit it, or use a splash of vegetable broth
- Vegan - make sure your wine is vegan
Equipment
You'll need a pressure cooker of some kind. Any brand will be just fine. Instant Pot is one of the most popular brands. A pressure cooker allows us to cook beans in under an hour that would normally require multiple hours to cook, so it is a must for this recipe!
You'll otherwise need some garden variety kitchen tools, like a cutting board and knife, measuring cups and spoons, and possibly a citrus juicer.
Storage
Cool the beans completely, and store covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
This will also freeze well for up to 6 months. Thaw completely, and reheat gently on the stove.
Pro tip
Be sure to cook the wine down completely so all the alcohol cooks out. Pressure cookers concentrate flavors, and not cooking down the wine completely can lead to some off flavors (this is true of slow cookers, too!).
FAQ
If you don't want to use wine, simply leave it out. The dish will still be great without it.
This can happen if the Lima beans are old, or if they're either under or over cooked. If you think they might be under cooked, try resealing the pressure cooker and cooking for another 5 minutes. If they are not under cooked, try adding a splash of apple cider vinegar and a few teaspoons of sugar or maple syrup.
Always make sure your Lima beans are within the use by date. If the bitter taste is not easily corrected with the above strategies, you might want to throw them away, as some sources state that a bitter flavor in Lima beans can indicate a high content of cyanogenic compounds, which reduces to cyanide in the body. Cooking well reduces these compounds. Varieties grown in the USA are selected for low cyanide content, so be sure to choose beans grown in the United States (1).
Related
Looking for more pressure cooker recipes? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Greek gigante beans:
📖 Recipe
Greek Gigante Beans {Pressure Cooker Recipe}
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Dry Gigante Beans or Large Lima Beans
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 medium Onion diced
- 1 large Carrot diced
- 1 rib Celery diced
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- ¼ cup Dry White Wine
- 1 ½ tablespoon Tomato Paste
- 1 ½ cups Homemade vegetable broth, or no added salt vegetable broth
- 1 large Tomato chopped
- 2 Lemons juiced
- ¼ cup Fresh Dill chopped (or 2 Tablespoons Dried Dill)
- ¼ cup Fresh Parsley chopped (or 2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley)
- 2 teaspoon Oregano
- ¼ teaspoon Salt optional
Instructions
- Place the beans in a large bowl, and fill with cool water, several inches above the beans. Soak overnight, at least 12 hours.
- When you're ready to make the dish, drain and rinse the beans, and set aside.
- Set the pressure cooker to saute (or similar setting), and heat the oil.
- When the oil is hot, add the diced onion, carrots, celery, and garlic, and saute about 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent.
- Pour in the wine, and continue to cook until the liquid has evaporated.
- Add the tomato paste, and cook, stirring constantly, for one minute.
- Now add the rest of the ingredients, and stir until combined.
- Put on the lid, lock it, close the pressure valve, and set the pressure cooker to cook on "high" for 20 minutes.
- When the cook time ends, allow the unit to naturally release pressure for at least 20 minutes. If the pressure indicator is still up after this time, manually release any remaining pressure.
- Stir, and serve immediately with lemon slices and pita or crusty bread.
Nutrition
*Nutrition information is an estimate, and will change based on the brand and individual ingredients and amounts you use. This is provided for your convenience only.
Food safety
Safety is our top priority in the kitchen! Always keep these tips in mind.
- Wash hands before touching food, and after touching raw meat, your hair, face, pets, etc.
- Make sure all needed utensils and equipment are clean
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Be sure the pressure cooker has depressurized completely before trying to open the lid
- Always open the lid of cooking pots away from your face to avoid scalding burns, including pressure cooker lids
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