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This easy Butter Bean Stew is a great way to take canned beans and turn them into an amazing meal. It's ready in 30 minutes, it's an easy dinner that will give you leftover for the next day or so!
Hey Internet, We've got another tasty stew for you today. Soups and stews are just so amazing. Most of them are one pot, just need a few chopped veggies, and maybe a few plucked fresh herbs. Then you just chuck them into your pot and in no time you have a tasty meal.
This stew that we've made uses creamy butter beans as the protein. Butter beans are currently having a moment in cooking right now. And after we made our Crispy Butter Beans and this recipe, it is well deserved.
They are much bigger than most other white beans; they are about 4 times bigger than cannellini beans or great northern beans. This gives them a bit of a morsel feeling when you bite down on them. These large white beans make for a great meat substitute!
As such, it was really easy to make this as another one of our vegan stews, joining the ranks of our other popular ones like our Vegan Stew with Dumplings and Vegan Beef Stew.
To add more richness and cream, we made a cashew cream to keep everything plant-based. It's super easy to make! We really like the flavor, plus cashew have a really long shelf life, so its really nice add to any great recipe that needs cream.
We really love bean stews because it makes for a heartier meal.
Why You'll Love This Vegan Butter Bean Stew
- Butter Beans, the Best Bean: Large, with a little chew, and with a creamy texture, butter beans are great for a filling stew recipe.
- Tons of Flavor: Fresh garlic, onions, tomatoes, herbs and cashew cream all come together to make an awesome meal!
- Warming: This cozy and lovely dish has some of the best flavor that will keep you warm, full, and happy.
- Easy to Store: This recipe is great to store in a fridge and use as meal prep.
Ingredients
Pick up these simple ingredients the next time you're at a grocery store. See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full ingredients, instructions, and accurate nutritional information (to the best of my ability; please consult your physician or healthcare professional if you have specific dietary needs or need to meet a certain daily value of any nutrient). I give substitutions for the ingredients in the section below this one, so most people can still make this recipe!
- 2-3 Cans of Butter Beans: You may want more or less butter beans depending on how thick you want your butterbean stew. You'll be adding these more towards the end, so you can stir the pot to get a sense of how the stew is forming and add more as needed.
- 2.5 - 3.5 Cups Vegetable Broth: We like to use Better than Bullion paste to make our veggie broth. They have a classic veggie flavor and a vegan chicken broth which are great for this recipe.
- 2 Carrots, Peeled and Sliced Into Rounds
- 1 Medium Sweet or Yellow Onion, Diced
- 1-2 cans Diced Fire-Roasted Tomatoes: Going with fire-roasted tomatoes adds another layer of flavor that makes this recipe even better.
- 6 Cloves Garlic: This is about 2 tablespoons minced garlic if you don't want to mince all that... but I highly recommend using fresh garlic cloves for the best quality stew (and best flavor).
- 1 Teaspoon Italian Seasonings
- 1 Bay Leaf: Make sure to remove it once you're done cooking!
- 1 Cup of our Cashew Cream; 1 Cup Cashew, Soaked in Just-Boiled Water + ¾ Water: Cashew cream is such an easy way to add creaminess to our butter bean stew. Soak 1 cup cashews in just-boiled water for at least 15 minutes (or better yet, an hour for a really smooth sauce) and then strain them. Then blend them with ¾ cup water and you'll have an easy cream sauce!
- 1 Cup Baby Spinach
- 1 Tablespoon White Wine Vinegar
- 1-2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil: We are using this to cook down the carrots, onions and garlic. You'll especially need it if you don't have a non-stick pan. Add a little oil to coat the bottom of your pot.
- Salt, to Taste
- Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
Substitutions
- Butter Beans: This recipe makes for a great general white bean stew. Cannellini or great norther beans are excellent choices.
- Sweet or Yellow Onion: These are the best onions for soups, but red onion can work nicely too. It's spicy when raw, but sweet when cooked. White onions remain a bit spicy, so I wouldn't necessarily recommend them here.
- Diced Roasted Tomatoes: Lightly blending up some fresh tomatoes or canned tomatoes with some sea salt, keeping it a bit chunky, makes for a great replacement. You could also try tomato puree or tomato passata, tomato paste, cooked cherry tomatoes, or sun-dried tomatoes.
- Italian Seasonings: Fresh herbs are great if you have them on hand! Instead of cooking them with the garlic, add them at the end with the baby spinach and vinegar. You could use chopped parsley, fresh thyme, basil, rosemary, and oregano to get the same flavors of dried Italian seasonings.
- Cashew Cream: Can't have cashews? Try our sunflower seed cream or a can of full fat coconut milk.
- White Wine Vinegar: A squeeze of lemon juice is another great way to get some brightness into this dish. Add it at the same time as before as the flavor can still easily cook off. If you use fresh lemons, consider adding in a little lemon zest too!
- Other Possible Additions: If you'd like to increase the veggie count, try adding diced bell peppers, finely diced sweet potato, roughly chopped mushrooms, artichoke hearts, or even small florets of broccoli or cauliflower. You could also add fresh parsley, chilli flakes, a pinch of nutritional yeast, or even white or brown rice (you may need to increase the amount of vegetable stock you use in order to cook the rice).
How to Make This Delicious Butter Bean Stew
- Sauté the Carrots and Onions: Start a pot on medium-high heat on your stove. Add the oil to coat the bottom of your pot (if oil-free, use a splash of water to cook your carrots and onions, adding more if needed). Add the carrots and onions to the pot and then cook until the carrots are soft and the onions are translucent.
- Add the Garlic and Italian Seasonings: Add the minced garlic and Italian seasonings to the pot and stir them in. Cook for about 1 minute to help release the flavors.
- Add the Tomatoes, Broth and Bay Leaf: Gently add the fire-roasted tomatoes and vegetable broth to avoid splashing. Then toss in your bay leaf. Stir everything and let it come to a boil.
- Add the Butter Beans: Turn the heat off your stove to a simmer. Add the butter beans and let cook for about 10 to 15 more minutes. If the butter bean stew is taking too long to cook, you can try increasing the stove to medium heat. We do that sometimes when we are impatient. But I will say, the longer you let the stew simmer, the more the flavors tend to deepen.
- Add the Cream, Vinegar and Spinach: Once your stew is cooked to your liking, remove bay leaf and add your cashew cream and baby spinach. Cook until the spinach wilts and then add the white wine vinegar.
- Serve: Add the stew to a bowl and salt and pepper as needed. You could also garnish with fresh parsley if you like. This stew would be great with vegan garlic bread or a big wedge of fresh crusty bread.
Storage Instructions
Let the soup cool before storing for about 30 minute to an hour. Add leftover butter bean stew to an airtight container. Store in a refrigerator for up to 4 days or freeze for 3-5 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, but you will need to make the dry beans ahead of time. Either you will need to cook them on a stovetop for a few hours or pressure cook them in an instant pot. Both take more time, but pressure cooking is usually faster. One upside to dried is that you can use broth instead straight water to infuse the beans with flavor!
Nope. I mean, they're the same bean with a different name, BUT they're sold at different stages of maturity. Baby lima beans are green, a little mealy, and a bit more of a dense food. Butter beans are larger, white, and have a a more fluffy texture. I actually personally do not like baby lima beans but I love butter beans.
You can use Great Northern beans or cannellini beans in place of butter beans.
You can easily add red pepper flakes or chili powder to the stew, if you want a bit of a kick! Cook them briefly with the garlic and Italian seasonings to release their flavor more.
Green onions are great to add to the top of the finished dish. You could also consider cooking some red bell pepper with the onions and carrots. Want more protein? Try adding some sliced vegan sausage (homemade or store bought!) for a white bean and sausage stew. You could even try it with our tofu sausage crumbles, vegan bacon bits, or soy curl bacon. Yum!
More Great Vegan Stews
- Vegan Chicken and Dumplings
- Jackfruit Stew
- Hearty Lentil Vegetable Potato Stew
- Vegan Stew with Dumplings
- Vegan Beef Stew
- Vegan Tuscan Butter Bean Ragout
Butter Bean Stew (Vegan)
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 5 Cups 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This easy Butter Bean Stew is a great way to take canned beans and turn them into an amazing meal. It's ready in 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- 2-3 Cans of Butter Beans, See Note 1
- 2.5 - 3.5 cups Vegetable Broth
- 2 Carrots, Peeled and Sliced Into Rounds
- 1 Medium Sweet or Yellow Onion, Diced
- 1-2 cans Diced Fire-Roasted Tomatoes
- 6 Cloves Garlic
- 1 Teaspoon Italian Seasonings
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 cup of our Cashew Cream, See Note 2
- 1 cup Baby Spinach
- 1 Tablespoon White Wine Vinegar
- 1-2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Salt, to Taste
- Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
Instructions
- Sauté the Carrots and Onions: Start a pot on medium-high heat on your stove. Add the oil to coat the bottom of your pot (if oil-free, use a splash of water to cook your carrots and onions, adding more if needed). Add the carrots and onions to the pot and then cook until the carrots are soft and the onions are translucent.
- Add the Garlic and Italian Seasonings: Add the minced garlic and Italian seasonings to the pot and stir them in. Cook for about 1 minute to help release the flavors.
- Add the Tomatoes, Broth and Bay Leaf: Gently add the fire-roasted tomatoes and vegetable broth to avoid splashing. Then toss in your bay leaf. Stir everything and let it come to a boil.
- Add the Butter Beans: Turn the heat off your stove to a simmer. Add the butter beans and let cook for about 10 to 15 more minutes. If the butter bean stew is taking too long to cook, you can try increasing the stove to medium heat. We do that sometimes when we are impatient. But I will say, the longer you let the stew simmer, the more the flavors tend to deepen.
- Add the Cream, Vinegar and Spinach: Once your stew is cooked to your liking, remove bay leaf and add your cashew cream and baby spinach. Cook until the spinach wilts and then add the white wine vinegar.
- Serve: Add the stew to a bowl and salt and pepper as needed. You could also garnish with fresh parsley if you like. This stew would be great with vegan garlic bread or a big wedge of fresh crusty bread.
Notes
- Note 1: You may want more or less butter beans depending on how thick you want your butterbean stew. You'll be adding these more towards the end, so you can stir the pot to get a sense of how the stew is forming and add more as needed.
- Note 2: Soak 1 cup cashews in just-boiled water for at least 15 minutes (or better yet, an hour for a really smooth sauce) and then strain them. Then blend them with ¾ cup water and you'll have an easy cream sauce! Can't have cashews? Try our sunflower seed cream or a can of full fat coconut milk or canned coconut cream.
- Note 3: If you want to used dried beans, either you will need to slow cook them or pressure cook them in an instant pot. Both take more time, but pressure cooking is usually faster. One upside to dried is that you can use broth instead straight water to infuse the beans with flavor!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Soups, Stews
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American, Italian
Keywords: Butter Bean Recipes, Vegan Soups and Stews, Vegan Stew Recipes, Vegan Soup Recipes, Vegan Butter Bean Recipes.
Susie
I love butter beans and this is a delicious recipe for them!
★★★★★