Butter Beans with Lemon and Garlic
An incredibly comforting dish of creamy soft butter beans cooked with plenty of garlic and lemon, this can be made with cooked dried beans or canned beans. Serve with crusty, buttered toast and extra greens.
Servings: 4
Calories: 227kcal
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp olive oil plus extra to serve
- 1 shallot peeled and finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic peeled and finely minced
- 3 cups cooked butter beans plus cooking liquid, see notes
- 1 lemon large, zested and juiced
- 3 cups spinach 90g
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes optional
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt or to taste, it will vary a lot depending on how well your beans were salted after cooking
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a wide-bottomed pan or skillet. Add the shallot and garlic and cook over medium low heat until both are soft and just beginning to turn golden at the edges.3 Tbsp olive oil, 1 shallot, 3 cloves garlic
- Add the beans and about a cup of cooking liquid to the pan, and cook for a few minutes to heat the beans through. Squash some of the beans to thicken everything up and make the dish really creamy. If it looks a bit too thick, you can add more of the cooking liquid to get a texture you're happy with - we're aiming for creamy and saucy but not soupy.3 cups cooked butter beans
- Add the lemon zest and juice, spinach, red pepper flakes, pepper and salt to the pan and cook until the spinach has wilted. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary, then remove the beans from the heat.1 lemon, 3 cups spinach, 1 tsp red pepper flakes, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, 1/4 tsp salt
- Serve the beans hot, with extra olive oil drizzled over the top. Buttered toast and extra wilted spinach are optional but very welcome!
Video
Notes
- Beans: if you can't find or don't like butter beans, cannellini or haricot beans are a great substitute in this dish. If you're cooking your beans especially for this dish, you should cook 1 cup (170g) dried beans. If you want to use canned beans, you'll need 2 x 15oz cans plus about a can's worth of the bean liquid.
- Cooking liquid: it's critical to keep the cooking liquid from your beans (or the can liquid, if you're using canned). Adding some of the liquid to the dish is what will make it creamy and silky. You could use stock or water, or even cream, but it won't have the same texture as the bean liquid.
- Variations and additions: you can really take this dish in all kinds of directions! Add a small spoonful of white miso paste to the pan for extra depth. Or, if you don't need it to be vegan, melt a couple of minced anchovies in with the shallot and garlic at the start of cooking. The dish won't be fishy, just deeply savory. Want it to be more protein packed? Fry or poach an egg and add it on top of your beans! Or, make the beans a side dish superstar rather than the main event: they're brilliant with grilled fish or meat of just about any type.
Nutrition
Calories: 227kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Sodium: 647mg | Potassium: 516mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 2266IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 4mg
