Southern Speckled Butter Beans Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are speckled butter beans good for? ›

Speckled butter beans are a Southern dinner staple that creates added excitement at every meal. They are the perfect match for a piping hot pan of corn bread or a steaming bowl of rice. Cook some up and make it a new family favorite. Pictsweet Farms 100% All Natural Vegetables.

Other than what they're called and sometimes their color, butter beans and lima beans are exactly the same. Their species is called Phaseolus lunatus and the difference in their name is only a matter of geography. In the American South and the United Kingdom, they're butter beans.

Canned or frozen butter beans don't require any soaking or initial preparation beyond a quick rinse or thaw, but dried beans require a few extra steps. Soak the beans overnight (optional): If you choose to soak your beans to save cooking time, thoroughly wash, drain, and pick over beans for any debris.

They are often chosen as the star of many meals due to their firm skin and tender flesh. Compared to butter beans, cannellini beans have a nuttier flavor and sturdier makeup. Nutritionally, both butter and cannellini beans are high in protein and fiber and have very similar nutritional profiles.

Butter beans are rich in vitamins and minerals, which are important for overall health. A source of potassium, magnesium, folate, iron, and zinc, they also contain calcium and protein. Both plant-based foodies and meat-lovers can really benefit from adding butter beans to their diet.

Absolutely! The canning process cooks the beans so anything you get in a can is already “cooked”. Canned beans are convenient because cooking dry beans takes a lot of time. They are already cooked, so if you like cold beans, by all means eat them straight out of the can.

In the South, the small-seeded Sieva type is almost universally called a butter bean, sometimes a Dixie (green) or Henderson (speckled) butter bean after the two most widely grown cultivars. Sometimes it is called a baby lima, though it is not an immature Lima type.

The Red Speckled beans commonly known as the sugar bean is a legume. It is grown for its seed, which is eaten as a vegetable. It has high soluble fiber content. Soluble fiber absorbs water in the stomach forming a gel that slows down the absorption of the bean's carbohydrates.

Lima Beans

These beans are also referred to as butter beans. Lima beans are superfood for diabetics as it gives a good amount of protein and fiber. One cup of lima beans may fulfill nearly half of a person's daily iron consumption.

After soaked beans have been rinsed, add fresh water about two inches to cover. Bring to a boil, and then turn the heat down to just a simmer. If you boil them too rapidly, they will split and fall apart.

What happens if you don't rinse beans before cooking? ›

Canned beans are packed in a solution of water, salt, and starch. That solution can leave a glossy film on the beans, interfering with not only mouthfeel (slimy beans are a little off-putting), but also the ability of the beans to cling to other ingredients in the dish and absorb those flavors.

Fun Fact: Discarding the soaking water and rinsing beans can help make cooked beans more digestible. Some people choose to save the soaking liquid because some nutrients are leeched from the beans into the liquid during soaking. We prefer to drain our soaking liquid but you can decide what works best for you.

Butter beans, also called lima beans and sieva beans, are the seeds of the plant Phaseolus lunatus. They are available fresh, frozen, or dried, and are sold in both younger and mature forms.

Pictsweet Speckled Butter Beans (0.5 cup) contains 18g total carbs, 14g net carbs, 0g fat, 5g protein, and 100 calories.

To put it simply, yes, butter beans can be classed as a healthy and nutrient-dense food. If you're struggling for inspiration on how to get more of them into your diet, then we've added some tasty plant-based recipes at the bottom of this article.