Creamy Butter Beans Recipe
10-Minute, 7-ingredient Creamy Butter Beans made without butter or cream! Healthy, vegan, and tasty. Serve on toast for a quick budget-friendly, protein-rich lunch or dinner.
Prep Time5 minutes mins
Cook Time10 minutes mins
Total Time15 minutes mins
Course: Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: Vegan
Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian
Servings: 3 people
Calories: 148kcal
- 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
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.
- 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.
Calories: 148kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Sodium: 65mg | Potassium: 803mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 2314IU | Vitamin C: 26mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 4mg