Butter Bean Soup
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This nourishing butter bean soup is packed with tender butter beans (aka lima beans), veggies, and wonderful herbs and spices. It’s super cozy and creamy!
So delicious with a side of crusty bread or black pepper focaccia.
Have you been looking for cozy recipes as we are approaching the end of summer? Perfect, this wonderful butter bean soup is here to hug you!
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This is truly the perfect recipe for soup season.
It’s soul warming, healthy, full of protein and incredibly easy to make with pantry staples, dried herbs and spices.
You’ll love the “creamy” broth (without cream!), and how the fluffy beans absorb the flavour. It’s the best of both worlds: creamy thanks to a pureed bean base, and chunky with tender butter beans and veggies.
Seriously. What’s not to love?!
You may want to serve it with crunchy croutons for a textural contrast, or freshly shaved parmesan grated right on top with its delicious sharp flavor.
Make sure you cook a big batch and freeze some for later, or serve it up and watch the entire family devour it.
This butter bean soup makes a wonderful vegan meal that is economical, filling, and keeps well for days.
Enjoy. x
List of the ingredients
- Canned butter beans (aka lima beans)
- Onion, garlic, celery, carrots
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Smoked paprika, cayenne pepper
- Italian herbs, thyme, bay leaf
- Vegetable broth
- Salt & pepper
How to make butter bean soup
(Note: this is a quick description with step-by-step photos, the full recipe is at the bottom of the page)
- Saute’ the diced onion in olive oil until soft and translucent.
- Stir in herbs, garlic, and spices and cook until fragrant.
- Add diced carrots and celery, toss to combine.
- Add 1 ½ cup of drained beans + 1 cup of water to a blender and pulse until smooth. This is an extra step that adds body and creamy texture to the broth.
- Add pureed beans, whole beans, broth, bay leaf, salt and pepper to the pot.
- Cook for about 25 minutes or until beans and veggies are tender.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
- Serve the butter bean soup with freshly ground black pepper, a drizzle of olive oil and wonderful soup dunkers like crispy panini bread, warm focaccia, golden croutons, garlic pesto bread, garlic crostini or super tasty black pepper focaccia. Yum!
Recipe notes
Butter bean soup ingredients
Beans: Dried beans taste better than canned, but for a soup ready in less than 30 minutes I opted for convenient canned butter beans (so called in the UK). But butter beans and lima beans are exactly the same, so my American readers are welcome to use lima beans, and also cannellini or great northern beans if they wish.
Veggies: Garlic and onion make a flavorful base, while carrots and celery bring nutrition and another layer of texture.
Herbs: I used convenient dried thyme and Italian herb seasoning, plus a bay leaf that you can skip if you don’t have it on hand.
Spices: I love a touch of smoked paprika and cayenne pepper to deepen the flavor and for some heat. You can use chilli flakes/red pepper flakes instead of cayenne pepper, or skip the chilli altogether if spicy is not your thing.
Olive oil: for flavor. A final drizzle of extra virgin olive oil is also great to finish the soup.
Broth: low-sodium vegetable broth, as usual as I prefer to keep most of my soups vegan. But you’re welcome to use chicken broth if you wish.
Salt & pepper: taste before serving and make sure you’re happy with the seasoning.
How to store soup leftovers?
Butter bean soup leftovers taste great and keep well in the fridge for about 3-4 days. They freeze beautifully too.
I suggest dividing the soup into single portions, cooling completely in the refrigerator over night, then transferring to the freezer. I use these glass containers, they don’t get stained with use.
More bean soup recipes you’ll love!
- The best white bean soup
- Cannellini bean soup
- Italian white bean soup
- Butter bean soup
- White bean and kale soup
- Lima bean soup
- Pinto bean soup
For all the bean lovers out there, don’t forget to check out my best bean recipes and cannellini bean recipes.
Lastly, If you make this butter bean soup, or if you have any questions, let me know! Leave a comment, send me a message, or rate it. I would love to hear from you!
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Butter Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
- 1 onion, diced (any color)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 medium-sized carrots, diced
- 2 medium-sized celery ribs, diced
- 2 cans (14oz/400 grams each) butter beans, drained
- 1 cup (240 ml) water
- 2 cups (480 ml) low sodium vegetable broth
- 1 bay leaf
- ¾ teaspoon fine salt, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to serve
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large heavy based pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in garlic, spices and herbs and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Finally, add diced carrots and celery, toss to combine.
- Meanwhile, add 1 ½ of beans and 1 cup of water to a blender or a food processor and blend until smooth, then transfer pureed beans and whole beans to the pot. Add broth, bay leaf, salt and pepper and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
- Reduce the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer, cover leaving the lid slightly ajar, and cook until the broth is flavorful and beans and vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes.
- Turn the hear off, taste and adjust the seasoning if needed and serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and freshly ground black pepper if desired. Enjoy with crusty bread or croutons.
easy to do all the stages in the microwave in a large plastic mixing bowl. Reduce timings appropriately
Thanks for sharing, Sadie! : )
Fairly easy to make and tasted so flavorful. I used both Lima and Butter beans, with chicken broth. Excellent option for a quick side dish. Thank you for the recipe!
You’re welcome, Debbie! I’m so glad you loved it – thanks for rating the recipe! : )
I have made this four or five times now and each time it’s been even better as I’ve perfected my technique. This last time it came out extra incredible and this is now easily my current #1 recipe. I make mine vegan with veg broth. At first I was just using an immersion blender at the end of cooking instead of blending beans and water but the blender method is MUCH better. This last time I blended all but 3/4 cup of the beans with 3/4 cup of water instead of 1 cup. I had to scrape down the sides of the Vitamix but it created a much thicker and creamier soup in the end. I also added 3 medium yellow potatoes (about 330 grams), cut into small enough pieces to cook in 25 min. The finished soup is so tasty. I top mine with Louisville Vegan Jerky brand “bacon” bits which lends some extra smokiness.
What a lovely feedback, Ashley. I’m very pleased you love this recipe, thanks for taking the time to share your feedback. x
Made tonight; delicious! I didn’t have veggie broth so subbed chicken broth; omitted cayenne but added more smoked paprika; also chopped onion, carrots and celery in food processor and sautéed all together to save time and effort. Turned out great!
That’s fantastic!! Thanks for sharing, Jean. xx
Can this be prepared with frozen uncooked beans?
Hi there! If you have frozen beans, it means that they have already been cooked, as dried beans are not sold frozen. You can definitely use them for your recipe, but the cooking time might be slightly longer if you use them frozen instead of thawed. : )
Our Mother, a FANTASTIC COOK…..always used a ham hock (smokey flavor!), & added: a fresh peeled potato, frozen white corn & a big can of stewed tomatoes to her ‘SOUTHERN’ BUTTER BEAN SOUP! THE BEST
That’s nice! You love your mum’s soup SO MUCH and SHOUT that out to the rest of the world. : )
your additions sound really good. If you want to make it vegan liquid smoke gives that meaty flavor without adding meat. I love the flavor tomatoes add to soup.
Wonderful, thanks for sharing your feedback and tip, Diane. : )
Hello, I was wondering if 1 1/4 serving is 1 cup and 1/4 of a cup just below 2 cups?
Thank you.
HI Rosana, that’s 1 cup + 1/4 cup – not just below 2 cups. : )
Hope you love the recipe. x
Really good recipe! Quick and easy. I omitted the cayenne just because of personal preference. But otherwise followed the recipe exactly. I love the mixture of the puréed beans with whole beans. If you’re cooking for a large family, don’t be afraid to double it (or if you want leftovers).
Wonderful! I’m very glad you loved the recipe. : )
Thanks so much for sharing. x
This soup really hit the spot on a cold night. Loved the addition of cayenne. I added a handful of kale at the end (because it was just sitting in my fridge and I didn’t want it to go bad). Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome, Christie!
I’m very glad you loved the recipe. Thanks for sharing. x