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
Instructions
- 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!
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. 🙂
I’m go to try it. looks good.
Thank you! I hope you enjoyed it!
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!
That makes my day! I’m so very happy you enjoyed it. Thanks so much for taking the time to share! 🙂
I made this today. I had a bag of baby lima beans I cooked. Then followed the recipe. Mine also was very soupy. I strained the beans and poured back some of the liquid. Then I froze the rest of the liquid for future use. Very tasty.
Love this recipe – so easy and quick and tasty! I freeze portions to have for lunches at work with a pitta bread. I’ve found a quick blast of the hand blender makes the consistency nice and thick (I use Bold Beans Queen Butter Beans which are big so need some help!).
I’m so very happy to hear it! Thanks so much for taking the time to share here. 🙂
Lovely recipe which I will definitely make again.
As others have said mine was rather soupy so I needed two jars of queen butterbeans.
Always happy to have extra for further meals so no problem.
Thank you.
Hello! Thanks for the delicious recipe. It came out very nicely. I used canellini beans because that’s what I had. The spices plus lemon juice and coconut milk are a perfect balance. I added sliced roasted fennel bulbs to the mix (needed using) and served over quinoa. Thanks again!
I’m so very happy to hear it! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Maybe the best butterbeans I have ever had, and I live in the South. Mine were a little soupy, but a second can of butterbeans easily fixed that.
I’m so very happy to hear that! Thank you for taking the time to share here!
This is a 10/10. lazy, tasty dinner. Will definitely run thinner with store brand beans!!! But what great opportunity to use some crusty bread to soak up the goodness. Canned coconut milk, not the coconut milk in a carton for drinks by the almond milk.
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!
I’m so very happy to hear it!! Thanks so much for sharing. 🙂
This dish is so good! The beans are so creamy and flavorful, and the spices give them a nice zesty kick. I also love that this recipe is so easy to make, it’s definitely a weeknight keeper!
I love a bit of heat and these Zesty Butter Beans are my new favorite! Will be making this again as my holiday side dish!
I adore butter beans! Sometimes they’re harder to find so I swap out cannellini beans but nothing compares to the smooth and creamy texture of butter beans. This recipe is a gem for making a vegetarian dish taste so good even my meat loving husband enjoys them!
Wow – I really wish my mother had found this recipe when I was a kid. Totally new respect for butter beans now! Love the kick of the spices. Made it for my teens yesterday and they didn’t even complain!
Made this for dinner and love it! So easy for a night when you don’t feel like cooking a lot but want a flavorful and nutritional meal.
It’s a good recipe. The sauce will take longer than 5 minutes to thicken. I let mine cook till it was the right consistency.
These are fantastic! Since some people thought it was soupy and I was concerned about calories, I only used about half the can of coconut milk. But wow! Thanks!
I’m looking at the calories in a can of full-fat coconut milk, a can of beans, two tablespoons of olive oil and an onion. I don’t think the calorie math on this recipe can be correct. Milk: 668, beans: 419, oil: 238, onion: 46 = 1371 calories / 4 servings = 343 per serving
I’m not trying to correct your math. I just want to be sure I am using coconut milk. NOT coconut cream, NOT coconut water. The recipe looks right, but the calorie count makes me think something is off. I’m making it tonight with coconut milk and trying it over oatmeal! Really looking forward to this dish.
Hi, Mel! Thank you for letting me know. I don’t actually calculate these myself. The recipe card I use (and nearly every food blog you will find) automatically calculates the nutritional information based upon the ingredients and amounts I input. Unfortunately, once in a while, it can be inaccurate. I will try to fix this, and will keep this in mind when sharing recipes with coconut milk! And yes, coconut milk is correct. I hope you enjoy the recipe and I appreciate you stopping by.:)
I am eating these right now over wild rice and really like the flavor. I did add cornstarch because they were soupy. Will surely make again!
So happy to hear it! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Slap your mama good!!! All the reviews don’t lie. I used 3 cans of butter beans. They were pre seasoned and when i drained and rinsed them, it didn’t seem like there were many there. .I will definitely make again with just regular canned butter beans. Thanks for this recipe.
I’m so very happy to hear! 🙂 I really appreciate you taking the time to share here. Thank you!!
yummy!!!! I thought it was very saucy so I added another can of beans. This would be great for a meatless meal!!
I’m so happy to hear it! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I served these as part of a meal for my sons girlfriend and her parents. They are vegan and I was a bit lost at what to make them as we are big meat eaters.
I made a chicken stew for the meat eaters and then these beans for the vegan guests, I served it all with rice and some asparagus.
They went down well. Thank you 🙂
These butter beans are delicious! I served them over a nead of quinoa. So good!
These are incredibly flavorful, creamy, and just plain delicious! I’ll be making these a ton. Thanks for the recipe!
These buttery beans were such a fun side dish! My family enjoyed this with our BBQ dinner.
Served these buttered beans over dinner last night and everyone liked them! This recipe is a great way to end the Lenten season. Worth saving!
So these are definitely the best butter beans I’ve ever had. We always have canned beans but they are never this special! Just delicious. Thank you!
This seems similar to what my grandma made ages ago and I forgot how much I love butter beans. I wanted to try this because of the coconut milk and loved the flavor of that ingredient. Great recipe.
These butter beans were such a delicious side dish! So easy and flavorful too!
I forgot how much I love butter beans! I’m a vegetarian so I’m always looking for new ways to eat beans. These were so good!
These beans are amazing! I had a can to use up and found this recipe and OMG I had no idea beans could be so good! Amazing!