I’m so glad my mom never taught me not to play with my food because it seems that’s all I do these days… But it’s so wonderful to have other friends on this playground with which to bounce ideas around. One of these good friends, Tammy, continues to be a great source of information and encouragement so when she sent me her version of these Southern Style Green Beans with Jicama THM-S, Low-Carb, recipe using one of my favorite appliances, the Instant Pot, I started right into the process testing and sharing it here.
This is not Tammy’s first appearance on this blog. She tirelessly helped me test and retest the Melt In Your Mouth Biscuits Using Biscuit Mix and she once sent me a recipe fully intact that became a Nana’s Little Kitchen blog favorite; Sugar-Free Chocolate Chip Skillet Cake. So I welcome her here again to share her thoughts on this fantastic new recipe for Southern Style Green Beans with Jicama.
Here’s Tammy; “We used to love some good ol’ homegrown green beans cooked with plenty of butter and bacon and … wait for it … white potatoes. GASP! Continuing down that white potato path was not going to benefit our journey to trim and health, so I removed the white potato from the pot when we started following the THM lifestyle. Not gonna lie. It was kinda sad. Yes. I’ve tried the radish and the turnip and the cauliflower faux-potato-like options with my green beans but to be honest, the smell of those veggies just threw us off of our green bean eating enjoyment game.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere came this white, potato-looking, neutral flavored, non-smelly, odd looking JICAMA root and my Southern Style Green Beans have been rebirthed into a wonderful low-carb side dish that even the non-THM’ers in your life will love. Joy be to the beautiful JICAMA for saving my green beans!”
Tammy’s Italian green beans. These flatter ones seem to have a shorter cooking time. And they are really beautiful beans.
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Please note that you can sub radishes, although they won’t need as much time to cook, and keep this dish in THM S, low carb mode or even add potatoes if you’re making it for those not wishing to lose weight. Only the jicama and use of an instant pot is new in this post because these green beans are a classic Southern style flavor sensation! ~ Nana
Southern Style Green Beans with Jicama
Southern Style Green Beans with Jicama are an incredibly tasty low carb alternative to this classic dish normally made with green beans and new potatoes.
Ingredients
- 1/2 large jicama peeled and cut into potato type slices (1/4 - 1/2" thickness will yield a softer texture)
- 1 cup water to precook the jicama
- 1 pound of fresh green beans snapped and washed*
- 4 pieces of bacon cut into pieces, browned and drained of grease
- 1 small onion or 1/2 large onion diced
- Olive oil to saute the onion or use the leftover bacon grease
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 - 3 teaspoons mineral salt(I used 3 but Tammy used quite a bit less)
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons natural white wine vinegar or natural red wine vinegar
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 4 tablespoons butter
Instructions
-
- Precook the jicama:
- Place the jicama slices on the trivet along with 1 cup of water
- Lock lid in place > Place valve on sealing > Press MANUAL > Adjust time to 15 minutes using the -/+ buttons
- Do Quick Pressure Release (QPR) and fork test the jicama for doneness. (The jicama will get additional pressure cooking time with the green beans so keep that in mind. Tammy's was firm but tender to their taste after just 15 minutes, but mine took 30 minutes. This variation might be due to the ripeness of the jicama, which is hard for us to determine because it is a new veggie to both of us.)
- Remove the trivet and jicama from the IP liner > Set aside > Drain the water
- Press CANCEL button to turn the IP off
- Prepare the other ingredients while the jicama is precooking:
- Snap and rinse the fresh green beans and set aside > Cut up the bacon into bite size pieces for browning
- Press the SAUTE button on the IP > Brown the bacon in the IP and set it aside > Use the bacon grease to saute the onion and minced garlic (or use olive oil)
- Press CANCEL button to turn the IP off
- Add the green beans, browned bacon, and precooked jicama into the pot with the sauteed onions and garlic > Season with salt and pepper plus the Tony's (optional) and vinegar (optional) > Pour the broth over all and stir well to get all of the flavors mixed throughout the liner > Place the 4 tablespoons of cut up butter around the top of the beans
- Lock lid in place > Place valve on sealing > Press MANUAL > Adjust time to 5 minutes using the -/+ buttons
- Do Quick Pressure Release (QPR) and fork test the green beans for doneness. (Tammy's was done in 5 minutes but I found that mine needed a total of 20 minutes to be done to our taste, apparently fresh bean types can vary so be sure you check yours after 5 minutes and then reset for another 10 or so if needed. So 20 minutes total for Tammy's jicama and beans and 50 minutes total for my jicama and beans to be basically tender.)
- Remember not to overfill your IP liner (two-thirds full is the maximum) but these beans will settle into the liner about 2-3" as they cook. The picture of the uncooked beans (above) shows how full the pressure bowl was originally.
Notes
* Stovetop instructions: Cut your jicama and boil it until translucent > Add green beans, sautéed onions, bacon, and butter and seasonings to cook like you normally would.
*Jicama is not a potato but when properly prepared it can really remind you of one.
* Tammy used the flat Italian green beans (pictured pre-cooked it the instant pot) and I used the regular kind in the finished pictures
*I added 1 tablespoon Tony's seasoned salt or DIY a healthier version* (optional) to Tammy's version because we love it. 🙂 But great beans either way.
*Frozen green beans have not been tested, but should work with whatever times you would normally use as long as you precook the jicama.
Would this be part of an S Meal ?
Hi Lynnita! I always mark my recipes in the caption of the feature photo and sometimes it also appears in other places in the post.