This lemony butter bean stew is vibrant, hearty, and healthy. With a fragrant citrus zing, it's a delicious dinner option that's both vegan and gluten-free.
The lemon zest does an incredible job of lifting the flavour of the tomatoes and veg, which themselves combine to deliver an explosion of colour. All in all, it's a winning butter bean recipe that I continue to make regularly at home.
If you're wanting even more legumes in your life, check out my recipes for easy chana masala and lemony butter bean dip.
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Can you add lemon to stew?
If you've never tried adding lemon zest to a tomato-based stew before, you're in for a treat. It's absolutely delicious together with the subtle smokiness from the smoked paprika here.
Note: I would only use the yellow zest of the lemon, not the white pith or the juice. The zest is the part that holds the lemon's essential oil, adding a fragrant citrus zing to the stew.
Lemon juice has a tart, acidic flavour, and I think it's a bit much in a dish like this. Feel free to add in some juice if you like, but maybe go easy on it to start with.
Personally, I'd rather save it for vegan cheesy pasta sauce.
Are butter beans healthy?
Butter beans – or lima beans – offer a very low-fat source of plant-based protein. They're also full of fibre, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, and vitamin B6.
Butter beans are renowned for their soft, creamy texture, and are delicious in soups, salads, dips, and stews just like this one.
Want to learn more about the wonderful world of beans, lentils, and chickpeas? Check out my Beginner’s Guide to Pulses.
What you'll need
This butter bean stew combines various colours and textures for a healthy recipe that's full of flavour:
- Butter beans as the star of the show
- Lemon zest for those citrus notes
- Mixed peppers and spinach to pack in the nutrients
- Seasoning in the form of thyme and smoked paprika
How to make lemony butter bean stew
Start by frying the sliced red onions, followed by the sliced peppers and chopped garlic (1).
Next, add the tomato puree and tinned tomatoes, breaking these up with a spoon. Once the tomatoes have broken apart, add in the vegan stock, smoked paprika, and bay leaves.
After cooking these together, stir in the drained butter beans, thyme, and grated lemon zest and simmer for a further 10-15 minutes (2).
With five minutes to go, add the spinach leaves and mix these through the stew. It'll look like a lot at first, but these will soon wilt (3).
Once the spinach leaves have wilted down, adjust the seasoning to taste and serve.
Serving suggestions
- Basmati/white/brown rice
- Cajun-spiced potato wedges
- Quinoa
- Ultimate vegan mashed potatoes
- Cous cous
- Roasted cauliflower
- Freshly chopped parsley
- Or simply enjoy as it is!
Recipe FAQ
Butter beans work very well here, but you could make this dish with any legumes you like – beans, lentils, or chickpeas. You'll just want to make sure these are canned or pre-cooked.
To make this dish (and others) even cheaper, you can use dried beans. These will need to be soaked and cooked in advance, with times varying depending on the type.
If you need to ensure that this recipe is 100% gluten-free, use a vegan stock that is certified or labelled as such.
Store this butter bean stew in the fridge for up to four days. Simply reheat in the microwave or in a pan with a splash of water to loosen it up.
You can freeze this butter bean stew in sealed containers or resealable bags for up to six months. Defrost before reheating in the microwave or in a pan with a splash of water.
Variations and tips for butter bean stew
- Quantity: You can easily make this stew stretch further with an extra tin of tomatoes and/or beans.
- Add more veg: Add carrots, mushrooms, courgette, kale, aubergine, sweet potato, or anything else you fancy (or want to use up). You can also include chopped fresh chillies for a bit of extra heat.
- Make it a one-pot meal: Thicken the stew with quinoa or bulgur wheat to make it a true one-pot meal.
See recipe notes for more details.
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More vegan recipe ideas
If you liked this recipe, you may also enjoy:
- Butter Bean Dip with Lemon & Garlic
- Smoky Butter Bean Soup
- Vegan Sausage Casserole
- Smoky Jackfruit Chilli
- Vegan Stovies (Potato & Red Lentil Stew)
- Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chilli
- Easy Vegan Chana Masala
- Creamy Black Bean Curry
You can also check out my full list of vegan mains.
Lemony Butter Bean Stew (Vegan + Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium red onions, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 red pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced
- 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced
- 1 green pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree
- 3x 14 oz (400 g) tins plum tomatoes
- 1 cup (240 ml) vegan stock
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 4 bay leaves
- 2x 14 oz (400 g) tins butter beans, drained
- 5-6 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 5 oz (150 g) fresh spinach (approx. 4-5 cups)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh parsley, to serve
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pan and add the sliced onions. Fry for 4-5 minutes, stirring regularly, before adding the sliced peppers. Turn up the heat slightly to get these going, and reduce to medium again after a few minutes.
- Once the onions and peppers have started to soften, add the chopped garlic and fry for another 2-3 minutes.
- Next, add the tomato puree and tinned tomatoes, breaking these up with a spoon. Once the tomatoes have broken apart, add in the vegan stock, smoked paprika, and bay leaves. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- After 10-15 minutes, stir in the drained butter beans, thyme, and grated lemon zest. Simmer for a further 10-15 minutes.
- With 5 minutes to go, add the spinach leaves and mix these through the stew. It'll look like a lot at first, but these will soon wilt.
- Adjust the seasoning to taste, before serving with basmati rice and chopped fresh parsley.
Notes
- Butter Bean Dip with Lemon & Garlic
- Quinoa Stew with Sweet Potato, Broccoli & Lime
- Vegan Sausage Casserole
- Smoky Jackfruit Chilli
- Vegan Stovies (Potato & Red Lentil Stew)
- Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chilli
- Easy Vegan Chana Masala
- Creamy Black Bean Curry
Nutrition
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Love this! Never knew that lemon works so well in stew 🙂
It's one of the zest things I've come across 🍋🌱
I love this recipe! I just made it and it came out so delicious!!! I posted it on my Instagram and tagged you. I am powered_up_by_plants (Cat B.)
So glad you enjoyed it Cathy - cheers for the tag and shout-out!
Made this last night. It was sooo tasty & Mr F was mightily impressed it tasted so good. Even better that it is so healthy & nutritious too 👍🏻
Glad you both enjoyed!
Made this last night. It was sooo tasty & Mr F was mightily impressed it tasted so good. Even better that it is so healthy & nutritious too 👍🏻
🌱🌱🌱
This recipe was so delicious! The lemon and smoky paprika went together so well, thank you! 🌱🍋
So glad you enjoyed, thanks for the feedback!
Hi fellow Scot!
I've just made and eaten this and it is fantastically tasty! The flavours are so good together, I added some onion powder, onion grains and having had a chickpea meal last night I added the rest of the tin in with the butter beans....Alistair, you're onto a winner here - looking forward to giving your other recipes a go.
Stay safe. Sent with kindness.
Hi Barbara! So glad it went down well - thanks for taking the time to get in touch and leave feedback. If you're Scottish and into vegan recipes then I can guarantee there are quite a few more things of interest in the pipeline 🙂
Tasty & easy to make, lots of flavour! Good summer or winter dish as you can change what you have alongside it - we had it with some garlic bread one evening and rice the next day ... 😋😋😋😋😋😋
Agreed - I've probably made it around 5-6 times this year so the seasons definitely don't matter! Thanks for the review!
I was surprised at how well all these flavours blended to make a delicious whole
I love this recipe, we make it every couple of months or so - thanks for the review!
Absolutely delicious! Just the right amount of lemon and the veggies had just the right crunch. This could also work with great northern beans or navy beans if you can’t find butter beans.
Great to hear, thanks for leaving a comment!
This is one of my favourites that I always return to, made it yesterday- Thank you for your lovely recipes.
Great to hear it's become a regular fixture, thanks very much for the review!
So tasty and healthy! We made this during the week for dinner and it was great - so quick and easy to make, filling but not heavy. Also had plenty leftover for lunches 🙂 will definitely be trying out more!
Glad to hear you enjoyed, thanks for the review!
Made this tonight - but half recipe - as I'd cooked up some dried butterbeans yesterday and was googling some ideas to use them up. Didn't have red onions or bay leaves - but the recipe didn't seem to lack for using brown onions instead. I also put in some blitzed lemon with the zest - tasty with basmati rice and parsley. It's a thumbs up from us!
Sounds good, you've inspired me to make it again in the coming weeks - thanks for the review!