This recipe for spinach and butter beans is seriously good, you guys. Butter beans, lima beans, sieva beans, however you choose to call them, they’re delicious and healthy.
Broadly, the term “butter bean” is used for a large, flat, and white or yellow variation of lima bean.
Along with being a healthy carbohydrate and an excellent source for fiber and protein intake, butter beans are a great source of magnesium, iron and zinc. If you follow a meat-free diet, this makes them excellent alternative to meat. Butter beans are a great source of B vitamins, such as folate, thiamin and riboflavin. B vitamins are required when carbohydrates turn into energy.
100 grams (1/2 cup) of butter beans contains 17 grams of carbohydrates and 4 grams of fiber. They also contain only 77 calories per 100 grams and are a virtually fat-free source of high-quality protein.
Like many beans, raw butter beans are toxic if not boiled for at least 10-15 minutes. However, canned beans can be eaten without having to be boiled first. They are pre-cooked and safe to be directly consumed.
SPINACH WITH BUTTER BEANS
Ingredients
- 200/1 cup/8 oz raw spinach rinsed
- 250/4 cups/8.7 oz butter beans canned
- 1 yellow onion medium, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 10 cherry tomatoes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 100 ml/0.43 cups water
- 1 tsp za’atars spices or preferred herbs
- 1/2 lemon squeezed for juice
Instructions
- Heat up olive oil in a saute pan, over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add water to pan and leave to simmer until about half of the liquid evaporated.
- Add spinach, and butter beans, and tomatoes and cook on low-medium heat for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally and checking if more liquid is needed.
- Season with salt, pepper and optionally za’atar or preferred herbs. Thyme also works great.
- Serve with fresh lemon juice to taste.
