This Classic Southern Butter Beans Recipe makes tender, flavorful lima beans with ham and bacon that are the perfect main course to fill your belly and dip your cornbread or to serve as a side with your favorite Southern dishes.
This creamy Butter Bean Recipe is made “southern-style” using the Cajun holy trinity – diced celery, green bell peppers, and onion – with the addition of some carrots – and of course, bacon.
These classic ingredients simmer in a rich broth with ham hocks to make such flavorful beans. Then the addition of butter and smoked meat while the beans cook makes the beans so perfectly silky. They are heavenly.
We love to eat these creamy beans as a main dish – it’s one of my favorite comfort foods. Serve them over some rice with cornbread and honey butter and some collard greens on the side – “cornbread and butterbeans and you across the table” – but these homemade lima beans are such a cozy dish, you can’t go wrong serving them as a side dish on your dinner table either!
🫘 What are Butter Beans?
Butter beans go by about ten different names, but they are really just mature, dried, large lima beans. Butterbeans, large lima beans, mule ears, dried lima beans, large limas, and even pocketbook beans are all the same bean – dried on the vine and saved to be cooked later on with delicious ham hocks. (I grew some Alabama Butter Beans this past summer – they are a cross between black-eyed peas and lima beans, and they are so cool! You just let the pods dry out on the vine, then shake bean maracas and shell your beans.)
❓Lima Beans or Butter Beans: What’s the Difference?
There really isn’t much difference between lima and butter beans, as they are technically the same bean.
Large Lima Beans, Butter Beans, or Butterbeans are the same delicious legume, no matter what you call them. Not only are there several different names for butter beans, but there are also nearly endless ways that they can be prepared and incorporated into dishes. Lima beans are as versatile as they are tasty!
Baby lima beans, however, are NOT butter beans. These are a different variety of small lima beans that are sweet (and delicious), but they cook up more like pinto beans or cannellini beans. Then there are fresh green lima beans that you can buy frozen. These are immature baby lima beans that are picked while the beans are young and tender and have not finished growing. These will usually be very sweet. Actual GREEN baby lima beans are another different variety of lima beans that are very tender once cooked.
So, TLDR; if you are looking for lima beans in the grocery store to make butterbeans, make sure to buy large lima beans.
I love this recipe so much – it took me about 3 years of trials to get it right, but I’m so happy with where we ended up.
🥘 Ingredients Needed
- Dried Large Lima Beans – Using dry beans makes such a huge difference when making this recipe because they absorb so much flavor as they cook and become “buttery” – they just melt in your mouth.
- Diced Bacon
- The Creole Holy Trinity – Diced Onion, Diced Green Bell Pepper, & Diced Celery
- Diced Carrot
- Tasso Ham – Tasso is a delicious Cajun seasoned ham that is sold around the South. It is slow-smoked and a little spicy, so it adds wonderful flavor to a big pot of butter beans. If you can’t find pork tasso in your local grocery store, you can order it online or substitute regular smoked ham or leftover holiday ham and add a little more Cajun seasoning.
- A Ham Hock – You want some kind of smoked ham with a bone, so you can also use a leftover ham bone from a Christmas ham. If your grocery store doesn’t sell ham hocks, you can also look for smoked ham shank pieces or smoked turkey necks, or turkey wings. (Remove the turkey pieces before adding the beans to the broth as they can splinter and get lost in the broth, but they will add wonderful flavor to the broth.)
- Chicken Broth or Chicken Stock – You can also use vegetable broth and leave out the meat products to make this vegetarian, though you will need to increase the seasoning to make up for the lack of ham flavor and bacon grease.
- Water
- Spices: Bay Leaves, Garlic Powder, Dried Thyme, Black Pepper, Kosher Salt, & Red Pepper Flakes
- Butter
- Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
🍽 Equipment Needed
- Two Large Pots or a Large Pot and a Dutch Oven (You want to make sure each pot has a lid.)
- Measuring Cups & Spoons
- A Cutting Board & A Sharp Knife
🥣 How to Make Creamy Butter Beans
Heat a large pot or Dutch oven to medium heat, then cook diced bacon until crispy. (Pictures 1 – 2)
Add the carrots, onion, green peppers, and celery and saute until the onions are translucent – about 5 minutes. (Pictures 3 – 4)
Add the tasso, and cook for a minute or two. (Pictures 5 – 6) If you don’t have tasso, you can just use ham.
Then add the ham hock, water, chicken broth, bay leaves, garlic powder, thyme, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. (Picture 7)
Bring the broth to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 1 hour. (Pictures 8 – 10)
Now, rinse and pick through the beans, discarding any damaged beans or rocks. Place the beans in a separate large pot that has a lid, and cover them with 1 inch of cold water. Bring the water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, place the lid on the pot and remove it from the heat. Let it sit for 30 minutes.
The beans should be ready to drain at the same time as the broth is done simmering.
Next, drain the beans, then add the softened beans to the chicken broth mixture. (If you used any kind of smoked poultry with splintery bones to flavor the broth, remove it before adding the beans.) (Picture 11)
Now add the butter and Creole seasoning and stir until the butter melts. (Picture 12 – 13)
Simmer for 60 to 90 minutes, stirring as needed. After about an hour, check the beans. If they are ready, they will just melt in your mouth. If not, keep cooking until most of the broth has been absorbed and the beans just about disintegrate when you bite into them. If the broth drops too low, feel free to add more broth or water – the beans should always be submerged until the very last little bit of cooking.
When the beans are ready, remove them from the heat and remove the ham hock from the pot. Let it cool a little, then take the meat off the bone and chop it up. Poke through to make sure you got all the bone pieces. Add the meat back to the pot and stir it up, but leave the bones out. You can also remove the bay leaf so that no one accidentally eats it! (Picture 14 – 15)
These creamy butter beans are a hearty meal on their own, so we like to serve them over rice for a main course with a little pepper vinegar, diced pepperoncini peppers, and some cornbread and collard greens on the side. I also like to put a sprinkle of Creole seasoning on top! You can even serve them as a side dish with a baked ham.
❓Can You Eat Undercooked Butterbeans?
No, dry butter beans must be cooked all the way through so that you don’t get sick. Raw lima beans have a compound in them called linamarin, which turns into cyanide when it is consumed. While commercially grown lima beans have lower levels of cyanide than wild lima beans, it is still recommended that lima beans are first heat soaked, then fully cooked by simmering in broth until they are nearly falling apart.
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Share with friends🙋♀️ Frequently Asked Questions
You can – if you soak the beans for too long, they won’t absorb as much of the delicious broth and will dissolve into the cooking liquid. I would err on the side of under-soaking them a little and letting them cook longer in the flavored broth for the best results.
The lima beans are ready when they are totally soft and just melt in your mouth. Almost all of the broth will have been absorbed by the beans, and you will end up with a thick starchy kind of butter bean stew – similar to Red Beans and Rice.
The beans should soften after the first soak. If your butterbeans are still hard and don’t soften at all, double-check the package that they came in to make sure that they are not really old. If the beans are fresh and are just not softening, you might just need to add more broth and cook them for longer. Covering the pot with a lid to prevent the broth from evaporating might help as well.
✏️ Helpful Tips
- Make sure to presoak the butterbeans before adding them to the broth – otherwise, it will take hours and hours for the beans to cook, and they will still be hard in the middle.
- Try not to use really old beans, or they will take a very long time to cook and will be difficult to soften.
🫙 How to Store Leftover Butterbeans
Once cooled, store leftover butterbeans in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also freeze leftover butterbeans.
🍚 What to Serve with Creamy Lima Beans
🫘 Looking for More Delicious Southern Bean Recipes?
- Red Beans and Rice
- Slow Cooker White Beans and Ham
- Hoppin’ John
- Pasta e Fagioli
- Crockpot Southern Green Beans
- Cowboy Caviar
Have You Tried This Recipe?
Please rate it and leave a comment below. I would love to hear what you think!
Southern Butter Beans Recipe (Lima Beans)
Ingredients
- 4 strips bacon , hickory smoked and thickly sliced
- 1 tablespoon bacon grease or butter
- 1 cup onion diced
- ½ cup celery diced
- ½ cup carrots diced
- 1 ½ cups Tasso ham Or regular ham – add an extra pinch of Creole seasoning.
- 1 smoked ham hock Or 2-3 sliced smoked ham shanks.
- 4 cups chicken broth 1 carton
- 4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1 pound large lima beans dried
- water to cover
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ½ – 1 teaspoon Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning use ½ if using Tasso, 1 if using plain ham.
Instructions
- Heat a large pot or Dutch oven to medium heat, then cook diced bacon until crispy.4 strips bacon
- Add the carrots, onion, green peppers, and celery and saute until the onions are translucent – about 5 minutes.1 tablespoon bacon grease, 1 cup onion, ½ cup celery, ½ cup carrots
- Add the tasso, and cook for a minute or two, then add the ham hock, water, chicken broth, bay leaves, garlic powder, thyme, black pepper, and red pepper flakes.1 ½ cups Tasso ham, 1 smoked ham hock, 4 cups chicken broth, 4 cups water, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon dried thyme, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 2 dried bay leaves, ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Bring the broth to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 1 hour.
- Now, rinse and pick through the beans, discarding any damaged beans or rocks. Place the beans in a separate large pot that has a lid, and cover them with 1 inch of cold water. Bring the water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, place the lid on the pot and remove it from the heat. Let it sit for 30 minutes.The beans should be ready to drain at the same time as the broth is done simmering.1 pound large lima beans, water
- When an hour passes, drain the beans, then add the softened beans to the chicken broth mixture. (If you used smoked poultry to flavor the broth, remove it before adding the beans to avoid splintered bones.)
- Now add the butter and Creole seasoning and stir until the butter melts.4 tablespoons butter, ½ – 1 teaspoon Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
- Simmer for 60 to 90 minutes, stirring as needed.
- After about an hour, check the beans. If they are ready, they will just melt in your mouth. If not, keep cooking until most of the broth has been absorbed and the beans just about disintegrate when you bite into them. If the broth level drops too low, feel free to add more broth or water – the beans should always be submerged until the very last little bit of cooking.
- When the beans are ready, remove them from the heat and remove the ham hock from the pot. Let it cool a little, then take the meat off the bone and chop it up. Poke through to make sure you got all the bone pieces. Add the meat back to the pot and stir it up, but leave the bones out. You can also remove the bay leaf so that no one accidentally eats it!
- Serve with rice, pepper vinegar, and Creole seasoning. Enjoy!
Notes
🫙 How to Store Leftover Butterbeans
Once cooled, store leftover butterbeans in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also freeze leftover butterbeans.Special Equipment Needeed
- 1 a 5 quart dutch oven or a large pot
Nutrition
Nutrition information is approximate and is automatically calculated, so should only be used as a guide.
