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These Creamy Lemon Butterbeans are absolutely to die for! They are incredibly easy to make and full of ingredients you’re likely to have in your pantry or can easily find at the grocery store. They make for a great side dish or even a main dish.
Recipe Difficulty – Very Easy
Table of Contents
Why this recipe works
If you are a fan of southern recipes, this one is for you! This creamy butter beans recipe is a delicious and easy meal to make. The bright flavour of the lemon and the amazing seasonings meld perfectly together with the buttery flavor of the beans in this butterbean recipe.
This easy butter beans recipe is great served alongside some crusty bread or sourdough bread.
If you’ve been wondering how to cook butterbeans, this is a great place to start. Canned butter beans may not be great on their own, but this simple butter bean recipe brings these creamy beans to the next level!
Ingredients to make Creamy Butterbeans
- Canned Butter Beans – also known as lima beans, are the key ingredients. You can use small or large lima beans.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Neutral Oil – is used to fry up the onion and garlic.
- Onion – adds a great hearty flavour to the butterbeans.
- Garlic Cloves – give that classic umami flavour that is amazing in most main dishes.
- Paprika Powder – gives a bit of heat without getting too spicy.
- Italian Seasoning – is a mix of fabulous flavours.
- Mustard Powder – adds a great depth to these lemon garlic butter beans.
- Cream – I use a vegan cream, but any will work.
- Vegetable Stock – adds some flavour and sauciness to the dish.
- Nutritional Yeast – gives a nice cheesy taste and texture.
- Lemon Juice – is best from a fresh lemon.
- Lemon Zest – adds to the brightness in the lemon juice.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions
- Butterbeans – definitely give the best creamy texture, but you could also use cannellini beans or pinto beans.
- Garlic – If you don’t have fresh or minced garlic, you could use garlic powder.
- Vegetable Stock – can be replaced with chicken broth or stock if you aren’t vegan.
- Cream – A coconut cream would be great in this recipe. You could also use vegan butter.
- Nutritional Yeast – Another way to make the creamy sauce is with cream cheese.
Variations
- Spicy – For some spicier cooked beans, try adding black pepper, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, or chili flakes.
- Deluxe – Mix in some spinach at the end until wilted or top with some fresh basil or other fresh herbs. You could also mix in some fresh tomatoes.
- Kid friendly – serve alongside some bread for a good introduction to butterbeans.
How to make Creamy Butterbeans
Step 1: Firstly, dice the onions.
Step 2: Heat olive oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion to the pot, stirring for 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant.
Step 3: Next, add the drained butterbeans, paprika, Italian seasoning, mustard powder and vegetable stock and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
Step 4: Add the cream and nutritional yeast and stir.
Step 5: For the final step, add in the lemon juice, lemon zest and a pinch of salt and pepper and simmer until the sauce is thickened but not too thick.
Hint: If you want a thinner sauce, you can include the bean juice from the can of butter beans.
Leftovers
Leftover butterbeans can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
Recipe FAQs
They are exactly the same thing! The difference in names. They are called butterbeans in the Southern United States and the UK. In the rest of the US, they are referred to as lima beans.
Canned beans do not need to be soaked. Neither do frozen or fresh butter beans. If you are using dried butter beans, however, you’ll need to soak them overnight.
If your recipe calls to drain the butter beans, you should also rinse them. Some recipes call for them to remain in the liquid, in which case you don’t need to rinse them.
More Recipes Using Beans
- Spicy Butterbeans on Toast
- Sweet Potato & Black Bean Stew
- Vegan Pasta Bake
- Black Bean Quesadillas
- Vegan Meatballs
- Three Bean Salad
- Vegan Mushroom Pie
- Vegan Chili
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Creamy Butterbeans
Ingredients
- 2 cans butterbeans, drained and rinsed
- 1 tbsp olive oil, or neutral oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tsp paprika powder
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp mustard powder
- 1 cup cream, I used vegan
- ½ cup vegetable stock
- 2½ tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
Instructions
- Firstly, dice the onions.
- Heat olive oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion to the pot, stirring for 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Now add the drained butterbeans, paprika, Italian seasoning, mustard powder and vegetable stock and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the cream and nutritional yeast and stir.
- Finally, add in the lemon juice, lemon zest and a pinch of salt and pepper and simmer until the sauce is thickened but not too thick.
Creamy, delicious and comforting! Delicious served with bread.
Thank you Hattie 🙂