Mashed Butter Beans is one of our favourite healthy dips to enjoy as a snack, light lunch, potluck or party.
Our creamy homemade Butter Bean Mash recipe is quick and easy to make, ready to serve in under 30 minutes.
You’ll love spooning through a bowl of Mashed Butter Beans featuring flavourful garlic, lemon, olive oil, onion, rosemary, thyme, chile, dijon mustard, anchovy, dill and Korean pepper flakes.
This simple recipe is prepared in a food processor or blender and is dairy-free and gluten-free. You can make vegan or vegetarian Mashed Butter Beans by omitting the anchovies.
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What Are Butter Beans?
Butter Beans are known to horticulturalists as Phaseolus lunatus. The legume is also commonly referred to as lima beans, sieva beans, or Madagascar beans.
Phaseolus lunatus was originally found in South America. Two gene pools of cultivated lima beans point to historic domestication events. The Mesoamerican lima bean is distributed in tropical lowlands while the other is found in the western Andes. They were initially discovered in Peru.
The small-seeded (sieva) type is distributed from Mexico to Argentina, while the large-seeded wild form (lima type) is found in the north of Peru.
During the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru, lima beans were exported to the rest of the Americas and Europe, and since the boxes had their place of origin labeled Lima, Peru, the beans got named as such. Despite the origin of the name, when referring to the bean, the word “lima” is generally pronounced differently from Peru’s capital.
As a general rule, America and Canada refer to them as lima beans, while the United Kingdom refers to them as butter beans.
The term “butter bean” is also widely used in North and South Carolina for a large, flat and yellow/white variety of lima bean. In the United States sieva-type beans are traditionally called butter beans, also otherwise known as the Dixie or Henderson type. In that particular region, lima beans and butter beans are seen as two distinct types of beans, although scientifically they are the same.
In India, they’re called Double Beans and are often soaked overnight and pressure-cooked as a nutrient-dense ingredient in curries.
Today we’re showing you how to make an easy and healthy gluten free Mashed Butter Beans recipe that you can prepare in your food processor and serve as a dip any day of the week!
My Family Loves Healthy Mashed Butter Beans
My family had a tradition of eating soup, salad and healthy dips at lunch on Sunday’s after getting home from church. It’s such a simple and brainless meal to serve a busy family with kids.
We’d often pair our light lunch with sandwiches, pickles, gourmet crackers, artisanal cheese, sourdough bread and other homemade dips.
Butter beans, garlic, lemons, herbs and spices are available in abundance year round in Canada but we especially love to serve this healthy Mashed Butter Beans recipe at our cottage in Muskoka during the summer. It’s an easy and yummy snack to eat on the dock while sipping craft beer or local wine.
We’ve flavoured these Mashed Butter Beans with fresh herbs like rosemary, dill and thyme, spicy green chile and Korean gochugaru, and a umami kick by adding anchovy fillets.
If you want to make a vegan or vegetarian Butter Bean Mash feel free to omit the anchovies. Instead add a few shakes of soy sauce to give the dish that savoury umami taste we crave.
The finished dip features a creamy and smooth component as well as whole butter beans, which give the recipe a delightfully chunky eating experience.
If you don’t have a food processor or prefer a thicker dip texture feel free to mash the butter beans by hand using the tines of a fork.
Health Benefits
Our easy Mashed Butter Beans recipe is packed full of healthy ingredients!
It is only recently that scientists have begun to identify the components responsible for garlic’s myriad health benefits. Rich in phytochemicals and potassium, garlic helps boost your immune system, fight cancer and protect your heart.
Onions are a humble vegetable packed with vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. Regular consumption of onions can help boost digestive health and reduce the risk of developing heart disease.
Beans are rich in cancer-fighting vitamin C, energy-boosting B vitamins, and gut-healthy fibre.
A rich source of phytochemicals and vitamin C, lemons help boost your immune system and neutralize free radicals that cause disease and skin aging. Lemons also protect against heart disease and help improve blood flow to the brain.
Rosemary provides blood-healthy iron, as well as phytochemicals that may help protect against cognitive decline, slow the growth of cancer, and protect your eyes.
Rich in energy-boosting manganese and anti-inflammatory phytochemicals, thyme may help keep your blood and immune system healthy.
Chili has been proven to help reduce the duration of sickness, prevent heart disease, and promote weight loss.
Dill is packed with micronutrients such as Vitamin A and C, responsible for healthy vision, skin and immune function.
Seafood is a high-protein food that is low in calories, total fat, and saturated fat. High in vitamins and minerals, seafood has been shown to have numerous health benefits including decreasing the risk of heart attack, stroke, obesity, and hypertension.
Olive Oil is ranked as one of the healthiest fats and is a staple in the Mediterranean diet. It contains vitamins E and K and plenty of beneficial fatty acids and antioxidants.
Butter Bean Mash Recipe Tips
This healthy homemade butter bean recipe is quick and easy to make at home. We’ve included a few tips for first time dip makers!
- We suggest using a food processor or heavy duty Vitamix to create a smooth butter bean mash.
- We suggest using a high quality rubber spatula so it’s easy to scrape the dip into a bowl.
- We’ve added 1 green chile to this recipe for a bit of heat but if you like spicy food feel free to add additional chopped serranos.
- We’ve used a Spanish cooking onion in this recipe but you can substitute for white onion or sweet Vidalia onion.
- You can make Vegan or Vegetarian Butter Bean Mash by omitting the anchovies. The tiny fish fillets give the dip a kick of umami so substitute with a few shakes of savoury soy sauce.
- We’ve garnished the Butter Bean Mash with Korean Gochugaru but you can substitue with sumac.
What To Serve with Mashed Butter Beans
Whether you’re cooking for one (that’s me!) or prepping meals for a larger family, our easy Butter Bean Mash will always be a hit.
You can serve the Mashed Butter Beans as an afternoon snack with sourdough bread, pita, nachos or naan for dipping. It also tastes great at brunch with a few fried eggs.
You can also serve the creamy dip as part of a Middle Eastern mezze platter or as a side dish at a healthy dinner party. If you love butter beans try our Vegan Keto Za’atar Butter Bean Dip!
If you’re hosting a large dinner party you might want to serve Mashed Butter Beans as an appetizer before serving heartier mains.
Whenever we bake homemade sourdough bread we love to slather this dip on a fresh slice. Sprinkle with pine nuts and chopped dill for a healthy solo snack.
After dinner why not dazzle your guests with one of our popular desserts such as Oat Flour Cookies with Chocolate Chips, Dark Chocolate Lindt Lindor Cookies, Maraschino Cherry Cupcakes, Fresh Fig Frangipane Pistachio Tartlets, Caribbean Coconut Rum Banana Bread Bundt Cake, Mahalabia Middle Eastern Rose Pistachio Milk Pudding or Sweet Lebanese Sesame Tahini Rolls.
Storing Dip
If you have leftover butter bean mash you can store it in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-4 days. We suggest storing leftovers in Pyrex containers that have a snug lid so there’s no spilling.
You May Also Enjoy These Dip Recipes…
- Mutabbal Vegan Middle Eastern Eggplant Dip
- Mihlama Kuymak Turkish Melted Cheese and Cornmeal
- Lebanese Toum Kebab Shop Garlic Sauce
- Healthy Vegan Keto Za’atar Butter Bean Dip
- Keto Spinach Artichoke Dip
- Vegan Melitzanosalata Greek Eggplant Dip
- How To Make Velveeta Cheese Dip
- Easy Marshmallow Fluff Fruit Dip
- “Venezuelan Guacamole” Guasacaca
- Healthy Vegan Tomato Chutney For Dosa
How To Make Healthy Mashed Butter Beans Dip
Mashed Butter Beans Dip
Equipment
- Small Pot
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- Food Processor or Blender
- Nonstick Skillet
Ingredients
- 19 oz Canned Butter Beans drained
- 1 Spanish Onion chopped
- 10 Garlic Cloves peeled
- 2 Rosemary Sprigs
- 3 Thyme Sprigs
- 1 Green Chile cut lengthwise
- 3/4 cup Olive Oil plus 3 tablespoons
- 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
- 2 Anchovy Fillets chopped
- 6 tbsp Lemon Juice
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup Dill chopped
- 1/2 tsp Korean Gochugaru Hot Pepper Flakes
Instructions
- In a large skillet add onions and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Saute over medium heat until soft and translucent. Drain butter beans and add to the onions, stirring to incorporate.
- Put the garlic, rosemary, thyme, green chile and 3/4 cup olive oil into a small saucepan. Place on low heat, cover and cook for 10-15 minutes, until the garlic has softened and is beginning to colour. Leaving the lid on, remove from the heat and set aside for 10 minutes to let cool. Strain through a sieve set over a bowl and reserve the oil. Pick out the garlic, herbs and chile and set aside.
- Put the cooked garlic into a food processor along with 1/2 cup of cooked beans, the mustard, anchovies, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 5 tablespoons of garlic oil, 1 tablespoon of water and salt and pepper to taste. Blitz to a mayonnaise consistency and set aside.
- Combine 1 cup of the cooked beans in a small bowl with 4 teaspoons of lemon juice, 3 tablespoons of garlic oil, chopped dill and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
- Put the remaining cooked beans and onion into a food processor along with remaining lemon juice, 3 tablespoons of garlic oil and salt and pepper to taste. Blitz to a thick, smooth mash, about 1 minute, then transfer to a shallow bowl and spread to create a well in the centre. Fill with dressed beans. Finish with hot pepper flakes, reserved chile, rosemary and thyme.
Nutrition
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