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Tuscan butter beans with spinach and sun-dried tomato is versatile, convenient and gorgeously saucy. Fat with smooth white beans, sprinkled with nutritious spinach, studded with chewy sun-dried tomatoes, and splashed with cream, this Tuscan recipe is a main meal or side dish made from common kitchen ingredients and ready in around 20 minutes. Serve with a crisp white wine for dreamy Italian holiday vibes.
If you prefer your sun-dried tomato recipes with more muscle, my easy chicken in sun-dried tomato sauce shares this creamy butter bean recipe’s ingredients and some! Or for another similar meaty dish with a little kick, Marry Me chicken is a slightly spicier version with bonus romance?
What are butter beans?
You cannot beat a bean. I won’t go into the merits of their nutritional value, that is well-known! But with the collective conscience reconsidering the amount of meat, and grocery prices at an all time high, it makes sense to eat more budget-friendly beans.
OK, I’m no Doomsday Prepper, but I’ll admit there are a lot of different kinds of beans, dried and tinned, in my stores. Baked beans, black beans, black-eyed beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, adzuki beans, butter beans, lima beans- you name it, I got it!
Wait. Butter beans and lima beans are the same.
The same? Larger than your average bean, smooth-skinned and ivory-coloured, butter beans and lima beans are unmistakeably the same. As you would expect, once cooked they are almost spreadably soft like butter and have a uniquely creamy, buttery flavour.
The difference in the name depends on geography. They’re known as butter beans in the UK and in the American South, however, in North America and including Canada, they’re called lima beans. Which seems a little counter-intuitive to me as they originated in Peru (hence ‘lima’ after the capital). Go figure!
Recipe tips and notes
- I’ve used both sun-dried tomatoes and sun-blushed (semi-dried) tomatoes in this recipe. Sun-dried are intense and salty, sun-blushed are sweet and moist.
- If you can’t source sun-blushed, you can halve a couple of cherry tomatoes and throw them in instead.
- One regular onion can be substituted for shallots.
- The oil the sun-dried tomatoes were packed in is rich and flavour filled. Don’t even think about discarding it! Use it in this recipe to sauté the shallots and garlic and any other Italian recipe that involves sautéing onions.
- Apple cider vinegar adds a flash of acidity, a welcome balance to this dish’s full-on creaminess. White wine vinegar could also be used if that’s what you have.
- Pre-grated Parmesan will result in a grainy, unpleasantly textured sauce. Freshly grated Parmesan from a block will melt seamlessly in for a thick and velvety consistency. So, which are you using?
- As the butter beans break down and thicken the sauce sufficiently there is no need for thickeners like flour or double (heavy) cream. Single (light) cream is just right.
- These beautiful beans are entirely main course-worthy but also make for a stunningly decadent side.
Serving suggestions
This creamy butter bean recipe is super quick to pull together making it a dreamy weeknight meal. So, I tend to keep it simple by serving it with pasta, homemade pasta if I have any that needs using up, and either a green salad or lemon garlic green beans, and some crusty bread.
However, they are a deliciously impressive supporting act in an Italian-inspired blowout meal. Tuscan beans and a traditional meat dish like Italian beef stew or pork osso buco will ensure full bellies. Or serve as a Sunday side with a pork roast stuffed with herbs and garlic or a good old roast chicken, try my air fryer version to keep things quick and easy.
Storage and leftovers
Italian beans can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. This is one of those fine recipes that becomes more intense and deeply flavoured after a short rest, so don’t throw those leftovers out! Warm through and serve on a slice of sourdough for a fancy beans on toast.
More Italian recipes to try
- Tuscan Tortellini Sauce
- Creamy Orzo Pasta Primavera
- Chicken Risotto with Mushroom and Thyme
- Italian Rosemary Chicken Stew
Tuscan Butter Beans with Spinach and Sun-dried Tomato
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp oil from sun-dried tomatoes jar
- 1 shallot , chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 4-5 sun-dried tomatoes or sun-blushed tomatoes (I mixed both)
- 400g / 14 oz butter beans, drained or cannellini beans
- 1/2 tsp This is an affiliate link.smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 250ml / 1 cup This is an affiliate link.vegetable stock
- 4 basil leaves, sliced or 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 125ml / 1/2 cup single / light cream
- 1/2 cup This is an affiliate link.Parmesan cheese, grated
- 30g / 1 cup fresh spinach
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil (taken from the sun-dried tomato jar) in a pan, then add the chopped shallot and saute over low heat for 2 minutes, then add the minced garlic and sun-dried tomatoes and stir fry for about 30 seconds.
- Bring in the drained butter beans with a pinch of salt, paprika and stir to combine, then deglaze the pan with the apply cider vinegar and let it reduce, which will take just a few seconds. Pour in the vegetable stock, add the basil leaves and bring to a simmer, let it simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add in the double cream and Parmesan cheese, stir to combine and allow the cheese to melt into the sauce, then stir in the fresh spinach and let it wilt for a few of minutes (you may cover it with a lid to speed up the process), add salt to taste and take it off the heat.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is easily one of my favorite meals to make. It’s fairly simple and so delicious! If you like butter beans this is dish you should absolutely make.
This was absolutely delicious. Tastes like something from a fine italian restaurant. I would never have thought beans could be so tasty! I was searching for recipes to get more fiber in my diet and I’m glad i found this one. Thanks.
Beans are having a comeback and I am so glad to see such an enthusiastic response to this recipe! 🙂
Made this tonite with a few changes. I doubled the beans and used 2-3 cups of Kale. Still came out wonderfully saucy. I didn’t have parmesan on hand so used smoke mozzarella. AMAZING!!!
A friend made this for us tonight. It was incredible!! Only substituted kale for spinach which held up way better. Came together so quickly. Served with a soft sliced baguette fresh baked.
Please suggest a non dairy substitute for the cream. Maybe canned coconut milk?
I wouldn’t use coconut milk as it has so much flavour of its own, which is all wrong for this Mediterranean style dish. Soy cream or oat cream are the best plant based substitutes, Connie.
I loved this recipe! I didn’t add the garlic because I’m intolerant and added some extra spinach because I had it. It will be one that I will make often and I very seldom make anything as a regular.
This was fabulous!!! So easy to make and didn’t have to run to the store for anything. I made my own vegetable stock for it (so easy), substituted an onion, didn’t have light cream so I mixed milk with melted butter…wonderful!! I didn’t have a block of Parmesan so used pre-grated, your note was spot on about being a bit grainy but it was still awesome nonetheless. Will use fresh next time though. My husband said this needs to be on my “make again” list. Thank you for a great dish!
So glad it was a hit, Karen!
I chose to make this for 2 reasons. one is that I needed something to eat that was soft and easy to chew due to a family member having dental surgery and two, ingredients I had on hand.
This was fantastic!! The flavors so yummy ( I think it’s because of the apple cider vinegar). I also added 4 large mushrooms cut up into bite sized pieces which added an additional meatier texture. The whole thing was served over rice. I have already shared this recipe with 3 other people and I will 100% make it again!! Perfect for vegetarians and anyone following the Mediterranean diet.
I am so happy to hear you enjoyed it, Sue! I love beans and am always looking for opportunities to incorporate them into my meals in delicious ways.