If you prefer your sun-dried tomato recipes with more muscle, my easy chicken in sun-dried tomato sauce shares this creamy butter bean recipe’s ingredients and some! Or for another similar meaty dish with a little kick, Marry Me chicken is a slightly spicier version with bonus romance?
What are butter beans?
You cannot beat a bean. I won’t go into the merits of their nutritional value, that is well-known! But with the collective conscience reconsidering the amount of meat, and grocery prices at an all time high, it makes sense to eat more budget-friendly beans. OK, I’m no Doomsday Prepper, but I’ll admit there are a lot of different kinds of beans, dried and tinned, in my stores. Baked beans, black beans, black-eyed beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, adzuki beans, butter beans, lima beans- you name it, I got it! Wait. Butter beans and lima beans are the same. The same? Larger than your average bean, smooth-skinned and ivory-coloured, butter beans and lima beans are unmistakeably the same. As you would expect, once cooked they are almost spreadably soft like butter and have a uniquely creamy, buttery flavour. The difference in the name depends on geography. They’re known as butter beans in the UK and in the American South, however, in North America and including Canada, they’re called lima beans. Which seems a little counter-intuitive to me as they originated in Peru (hence ‘lima’ after the capital). Go figure!
Serving suggestions
This creamy butter bean recipe is super quick to pull together making it a dreamy weeknight meal. So, I tend to keep it simple by serving it with pasta, homemade pasta if I have any that needs using up, and either a green salad or lemon garlic green beans, and some crusty bread. However, they are a deliciously impressive supporting act in an Italian-inspired blowout meal. Tuscan beans and a traditional meat dish like Italian beef stew or pork osso buco will ensure full bellies. Or serve as a Sunday side with a pork roast stuffed with herbs and garlic or a good old roast chicken, try my air fryer version to keep things quick and easy.
Storage and leftovers
Italian beans can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. This is one of those fine recipes that becomes more intense and deeply flavoured after a short rest, so don’t throw those leftovers out! Warm through and serve on a slice of sourdough for a fancy beans on toast.
More Italian recipes to try
Tuscan Tortellini Sauce Creamy Orzo Pasta Primavera Chicken Risotto with Mushroom and Thyme Italian Rosemary Chicken Stew
