10-Minute, 7-ingredient Creamy Butter Beans made without butter or cream! Healthy, vegan, and tasty. Serve on toast for a quick budget-friendly lunch or dinner.
Let me show you how to make a healthy creamy sauce with just hummus, and the liquid from a can of beans instead of heavily processed vegan butters or creams. Butter beans, also called lima beans, are naturally creamy in texture. This easy sauce gets them even creamier, and you only need a handful of ingredients.
In addition, these Creamy Butter Beans are a complete meal. They're rich in plant-based protein and fiber, and low in calories. Plus, this dish is packed with vitamins, and antioxidants. There's lycopene from the tomatoes, vitamin C from the lemon juice, and iron from the greens.
Try my Easy Creamy Miso Beans on this site! This recipe was inspired by this quick and easy Chickpea Bowl with Oil-Free Dressing, as well as this 15-minute White Bean Avocado Sandwich.
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👩🏼🌾 Ingredients
- Butter beans are a type of legume, also known as lima beans, that are creamy white, and have a buttery texture and flavor. They are popular in Southern American cuisine and are often used in stews, casseroles, salads, and soups. They are rich in protein, fiber, and nutrients such as iron, magnesium, and potassium. They can be found in both fresh and canned forms. This recipe calls for canned butter beans for extra creaminess, but you can also use cooked fresh beans instead.
- Hummus is an easy and healthy way to add creaminess to a dish. Use store-bought or homemade hummus.
- Lemon zest contains aromatic oils that add a bright, tangy flavor. It adds a fresh and citrusy note that balances the other flavors in this dish. Lemon juice adds tang, and increases the absorption of the iron in the greens.
- Garlic adds flavor and health benefits to these Creamy Butter Beans. Garlic contains allicin, a sulfur-containing compound that is responsible for its pungent smell and many of its health benefits. Allicin may have antimicrobial, antiviral, and anti-fungal properties.
See the recipe card for quantities.
🌿 Substitutions
- Butter or lima beans - instead of butter beans, use any variety of white beans
- Canned beans - Use fresh lima beans instead as desired, and cook them beforehand. Substitute the can liquid in the recipe with vegetable broth. Note: This recipe calls for 1 ½ cups of cooked beans, which is about one-half cup of dry beans.
- Baby spinach - use baby kale, or chopped greens of your choice instead
- Crushed red pepper - omit for non-spicy
- Maple syrup - add a drizzle to balance the tang from the lemon
- Sun-dried tomatoes - chopped jarred sun-dried tomatoes would be a great addition to this dish
For more quick and easy bean recipes, visit my Vegan Bean Recipes page.
📖 Instructions
Drain the beans and reserve the liquid from the can. The beans are added at the end of the cooking process so they don't get mushy.
Step 1. Heat the oil in a medium skillet and cook the garlic for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, and crushed red pepper, and cook for 1 minute more. Add the bean liquid and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook for 3 minutes more, while smashing the tomatoes to release their juice. Add the hummus, and lemon juice, and stir to combine.
Step 2. Mix in the spinach and beans. Cook until the spinach is just wilted. Add water or vegetable broth as needed until the desired texture.
Step 3. Add lemon zest, and a drizzle of maple syrup, if using. Season with salt, and pepper, and adjust lemon juice to taste.
For serving: Serve Creamy Butter Beans with pasta, rice, farro, quinoa, millet, or on toast. Or add vegetable broth and make a cozy butter bean stew!
💡 Expert Tips
- When using lemon zest in a recipe, it is important to only grate the outermost layer of the lemon peel, avoiding the bitter white pith underneath. Use a microplane or fine grater for best results.
- For cooking dry lima beans: Rinse the beans before cooking. Place ½ cup beans in a large pot with 2 cups water and ½ teaspoon salt. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for about 1 hour, or until tender. Drain well. To reduce the cooking time, soak the beans overnight in 1 ½ cups water and ½ teaspoon salt.
- For serving: Serve Creamy Butter Beans over bread, rice, or a grain of your choice.
- Storage: Refrigerate any remaining Creamy Butter Beans in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Reheat in a saucepan or microwave, adding vegetable broth as needed for the desired consistency.
🙋🏽♀️ Recipe FAQs
There is no difference between lima beans and butter beans (and sieva beans). All three are the seeds of the plant Phaseolus lunatus. They are available fresh, frozen, or dried, and are sold in both younger and mature forms.
An easy, budget-friendly way to thicken vegan sauces, and make beans creamier, is to use the starchy liquid from canned beans. The liquid's viscous, thick consistency simply comes from the starch that the beans release naturally. In addition, hummus acts as a secondary thickener in this deliciously creamy butter bean recipe.
Feel free to add arrowroot or cornstarch if you like it thicker.
To make Butter Bean Stew, simply add vegetable broth to this recipe, and more hummus as needed until the desired consistency. You can also add chopped sun-dried tomatoes to pack in more flavor.
🍽 Related Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Creamy Butter Beans Recipe
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Ingredients
- Drizzle of olive oil
- 3 large cloves garlic sliced
- ½ pint grape or cherry tomatoes
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or to taste
- 1 (15-ounce) can butter beans drained, reserving can liquid (or use ½ cup vegetable broth)
- 2 tablespoons hummus
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice plus more to taste
- 2 cups baby spinach or baby kale
- Zest of one-half lemon
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup or to taste (optional)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the aromatics: Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Cook the garlic for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the tomatoes, and crushed red pepper, and cook for 1 minute more, stirring constantly.
- Add ¼ cup bean liquid or vegetable broth and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook for 3 minutes more, while smashing the tomatoes to release their juice. Add more bean liquid or vegetable broth as needed until the desired consistency.
- Add the hummus, and lemon juice, and stir to combine.
- Mix in the spinach and beans. Cook until the spinach is just wilted. Add water or vegetable broth as needed until the desired texture.
- Add lemon zest, and maple syrup, if using. Season with salt, and pepper, and adjust lemon juice to taste.
Notes
- Drain the beans and reserve the liquid from the can. The beans are added at the end of the cooking process so they don't get mushy.
- Use fresh lima beans instead as desired, and cook them beforehand. Substitute the can liquid in the recipe with vegetable broth. Note: This recipe calls for 1 ½ cups cooked beans, which is about one-half cup dry beans.
- Storage: Refrigerate any remaining Creamy Butter Beans in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Reheat in a saucepan or microwave, adding vegetable broth as needed for the desired consistency.
Nutrition
This information is provided as a courtesy and is an ESTIMATE only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased can change the nutritional information in any given recipe.
Sabrina says
Delicious! A winter staple for us!
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
So happy to hear! Thank you!
Flora says
This is absolutely delicious - hearty and so flavorful!! Want to make it again and again!
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Awww yay! So glad.
Loretta Kratz says
This recipe was a total winner! It was quick to make, incredibly flavorful and so easy to put together. Thank you for this recipe!
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
So happy to hear. Thank you for commenting and letting me know. Have a great week.
Loretta Kratz says
This recipe was a total winner! It was quick to make, incredibly flavorful and so easy to put together.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
So glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for taking the time to comment. Have a great week.
Nancy says
Delicious! I’ve made this several times and we love it. I use white beans instead of butter beans. Just an easy, yummy dish!
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Awww thank you so much for letting me know. Have a great evening.
Wanda Barnett says
Thank you for the recipe! I loved it! I wasn’t sure how the maple syrup would fit in but it was absolutely necessary! I served mine over some leftover quinoa.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Love this dish with quinoa! Thank you!
Mandy says
Okay I really loved this! I used Pinto beans and eating it with crusty bread was the bomb!
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Yay! Yes, I love the different textures. Thank you!
Lorraine says
So delicious and so quick to pull together. No exotic ingredients. Also so satisfying and filling. Thank you!
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Thank you. So glad they were a hit!
Jana says
I enjoyed this very much! I have leftovers for tomorrow.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
I'm so glad you enjoyed these beans. Thank you.
Christina says
Love this recipe! It’s a new staple for our family. Thank you!
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Thank you so much for leaving a comment. I'm so glad it was a hit!
Kristina says
Coming back to say how much I love this recipe. I've made it a few times now and it'll stay on rotation for a while. Yum, yum, yum.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
I really appreciate you leaving this lovely comment. Thank you!
Gina McCloskey says
Excellent and so quick to put together.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Thank you for leaving a comment. I'm so glad it was a hit!
Marian Kathleen Malmberg says
I need to know what kind/brand this bread it 🙏🏼
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
I typically use Ezekiel!