This zesty, creamy, and delicious butter bean recipe can be enjoyed as is stew-style or served over rice or quinoa for a filling meal. Naturally vegan and gluten-free!
A Note From Kristen
I love how quick and easy these butter beans are to make. There’s no soaking or long simmering, just rich, creamy comfort in minutes. They’re bursting with zesty, smoky, and savory flavor, with just a touch of spice that’s simply addictive! I often enjoy them as a hearty main stew or spooned over rice or quinoa, but they also make a perfect side dish. Like a good curry, they somehow taste even better the next day. And the best part? They’re naturally vegan, dairy-free, nut-free, soy-free, and gluten-free. Happy eating!
~Kristen
5-Stars From Our Readers
“Delicious! Made this as a meal prep for lunch and can confirm it freezes/defrosts/reheats very well. For me it made 2 portions (as a main meal) and I scooped it onto some garlic naans. Lovely warmth to the dish and I just LOVE butterbeans. Thanks for sharing – will make again!”
— Natalia
“These are incredibly flavorful, creamy, and just plain delicious! I’ll be making these a ton. Thanks for the recipe!”
— Genevieve
“I have made this several times now. Sooooo good! To be honest, I read the ingredients list and wasn’t sure if it went together so well, but I followed it to a tee and it was wonderful! Especially good with toasted Naan!”
— Tija
What are Butter Beans?
Butter beans are legumes with roots in Central and South America. They are more commonly known as lima beans (named after Lima, Peru) and also go by the name sieve beans. They are mild-tasting and creamy and buttery in texture. They are also remarkably versatile and the fresh beans can be served in salads, added to stews, casseroles, dip, you name it.
Ingredient Notes
Please keep in mind that this is just a quick overview. Visit the full recipe for amounts and instructions!
How To Make Butter Beans
- Sauté the onion and garlic in oil until softened.
- Add the remaining ingredients, then stir until all is well incorporated.
- Simmer for a few minutes, until thick and creamy.
- Serve and enjoy!
Serving Ideas
Frequently Asked Questions
Butter beans have a very mild, neutral flavor and are great on taking on the flavors of ingredients they are cooked with.
Yes. Butter beans are a rich source of protein, fiber, iron, and folate.
While they have some similarities, cannellini beans and butter beans are different beans entirely.
Cooked butter beans make excellent leftovers. Store butter beans in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week. Reheat on the stove until warm throughout.
More Delicious Bean Recipes You Might Love
Butter Beans Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil I like to use avocado or olive oil
- 1 red onion finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 13.4-ounce package or can pre-cooked butter beans drained and rinsed
- 1 13.5-ounce can full fat coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice fresh or bottled
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- optional garnishes red chili flakes, hemp seeds
Method
- In a small saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat, add the oil, onion and garlic. Saute for 5 minutes or until all has softened and is beginning to turn golden.
- Add the butter beans, coconut milk, lemon juice, turmeric, pepper, paprika, oregano and salt. Stir well.
- Let the butter beans simmer, while stirring frequently, until all has thickened a a litte and is nice and creamy, about 5 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated using a third-party calculator and is an estimate only.
I have admit I was dubious of the combination of flavours but I made the recipe as listed and I put it over some jasmine rice and it was delicious. I let the entire dish simmer for about 8 minutes while stirring often and it thickened up nicely.
Hi, Wendy! I’m so happy to hear it! I really appreciate you taking the time to share some feedback here. 🙂
These are so good! I had never had butterbeans before and now i am in love! I took the note of smashing a few beans and i let them simmer a little longer to reduce the liquid, they came out perfectly saucy to go over rice. these will defiantly be made again!
Hi, Tracy! Thank you for visiting. I’m so happy to hear it and I really appreciate you taking the time to share some feedback here. 🙂
This recipe is really very good. I made it exactly. Delicious. Thank you.
Hi, Deborah! I’m really happy you enjoyed this recipe and I really appreciate you stopping by to share! 🙂
I’ve not even eaten it yet but it looks and smells so good I know it’ll be a five star review! I doubled the recipe and used the juice and zest of a lime since that’s what I had to hand. Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi, Amy! Thanks so much! I really appreciate the visit and you taking the time to share some feedback here. I hope you enjoyed it! 🙂
This was good. I used 1 cup of oat milk instead after reading the comments. I also added more salt.
Hi, Melissa! Thanks for visiting. Good call on using just one cup of oat milk – it is significantly thinner than canned coconut milk (which helps thicken the sauce as written). I’m glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Looks great. Trying the tonight. However, the calories per serving are wrong. Should be 350 per serving (for 4 serving recipe) not 83.
Hi, Melissa! Thank you for visiting! The nutritional information is automatically calculated by the recipe card and isn’t always entirely accurate, hence the disclaimer. I appreciate you bringing this to my attention though, and I will try to find the discrepancy and manually edit. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
These are unreal good. I’d never tried butter beans before and I’m wondering why I waited so long. This recipe is going to be in my rotation. Because I wasn’t going to serve this as a main with bread or rice I did cut back the coconut milk to 6oz as I wanted this as a side to some chops. Curry and bagels is one of my favorite breakfast foods and this did not disappoint for that application either. Such a keeper of a recipe, thanks for sharing!
Hi! Thanks so much for visiting! This makes my day. I’m really so happy you enjoyed this recipe, and I really appreciate you taking the time to share some feedback here. 🙂
This was delicious! Doubled the beans , paprika, turmeric, oregano. Made garlic Naan bread. Quick dinner. Healthy. Yum
I’m so happy to hear it! I really appreciate you taking the time to stop by and share. 🙂
this was fabulous! I used 2 cans of beans and 1 can of coconut milk. it was still soupy, but the taste was on point. I served over spinach.
Hi, Cynthia! Thanks so much for sharing. I’m so happy you enjoyed it! 🙂
Instead of adding a second can of beans (after reading the comments) I simply reduced the amount of coconut milk. I will definitely add this recipe to my “butterbean” collection.
Hi, Sally! I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for stopping by and sharing. 🙂
It is very tasty. But it is soupy. I would add an additional can of butter beans with the same amount of other ingredients.
I will make again.
Hi! Thanks so much for visiting and sharing your feedback! I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
These Butter Beans are truly delicious! I did not have all the ingredients on hand, but I thought with a few substitutions they would turn out okay! I did not have coconut milk, so I substituted evaporated milk, and just about a 1/3 of a can, as I read the comment about them turning out soupy. I also did not have oregano, but I did have Italian seasoning and thought that would be similar enough. For the rest, I followed the recipe. I will make these beans again using the ingredients that I lacked this time, but in any case, they came out very, very good! Thank you, I am trying to find more vegetarian meals, and this is a keeper!
I’m so very happy to hear it! Thanks so much for taking the time to share. 🙂