Southern-Style Butter Beans (Lima Beans)
This is how they're meant to be enjoyed.
Lima beans — or Butter Beans if you’re referring to the larger, more mature version of the bean — often get a bad rap. They have somehow come to be know as the stereotypical thing that kids hate to eat, but the reality is that when they’re cooked low and slow with bacon and aromatics, they are nothing but tender and delicious. If you haven’t tried them, you definitely should, and you should try them like this.
Butter beans? Lima beans? Which one is it?
They’re the same thing. Well, mostly. Lima beans often refer to the small green beans that you find frozen or canned. Butter beans usually refer to the larger, more mature, cream-colored beans. It’s the same bean, just in different stages. They are more commonly referred to as Butter Beans in the south and other regions, though!
What Ingredients Do You Need for Southern-style Butter Beans?
You’ll need:
- Dried lima beans or butter beans.
- Thick bacon.
- Onion and garlic.
- Carrots.
- Thyme, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- Bay leaves.
- Butter.
- Chicken broth.
How Do You Make Southern-style Butter Beans?
It takes some time but the process is very easy. The first step is to prepare your beans:
You’ll want to rinse them and pick out any discolored ones or rocks you might find and then you have two options. You can soak them overnight, or you can cover them by about an inch of water in a large pot, bring them to a boil, then let them sit off the heat for about an hour to soften.
Once the beans have soaked, you’re ready to start cooking them in earnest. That starts with bacon.
In a large pot, cook your bacon until it’s nice and crisp, then add the onion, carrots, garlic, thyme, garlic powder, and onion powder in with the grease and bacon and cook it down until it’s nice and soft.
At that point, the soaked beans can hop in too, along with some bay leaves, chicken stock, and a stick of butter. (They are butter beans after all.) If the stock doesn’t cover the beans, top it off with enough water to cover them, then bring it all to a simmer.
Simmer it until it’s all tender and the liquid has reduced quite a bit, about an hour to an hour and a half. Who knew beans could be so delicious!
Southern-Style Butter Beans (Lima Beans)
Allergens: Milk
Diet: Gluten-Free
Ingredients
- 1 lb dried lima beans
- 4 slices thick bacon, chopped
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1/2 cup carrots, shredded
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
- 4 cups chicken broth
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Preparation
- If desired, soak beans in cold water overnight and drain. If you soak beans overnight, skip to step 4.
- In a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, cover beans by 1 inch with water. Bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, remove from heat, cover, and let rest 1 hour. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- Add bacon and cook over medium-high heat until crisp.
- Add onion, carrots, garlic, thyme, garlic powder, and onion powder, and season with salt and pepper. Saute until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in beans, bay leaves, butter, and chicken stock. Add enough water so that beans are covered. Reduce heat so that beans are simmering but not boiling, and continue simmering until beans are soft and liquid has thickened and reduced, 1 hour to 90 minutes.
- Make sure to check the liquid level occasionally throughout the cooking time and add more water or broth as needed.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Spiced Blog.