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
- Crispy roast potatoes
- 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:
- Smoky Butter Bean Soup
- Vegan Goulash (Hungarian Stew)
- Jackfruit and Potato Stew
- Vegan Sausage Casserole
- Smoky Jackfruit Chilli
- Chickpea and Vegetable Biryani
- Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chilli
- 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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Vicky Storey
Love this! Never knew that lemon works so well in stew 🙂
The Pesky Vegan
It's one of the zest things I've come across 🍋🌱
Cathy
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.)
The Pesky Vegan
So glad you enjoyed it Cathy - cheers for the tag and shout-out!
Avril
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 👍🏻
The Pesky Vegan
Glad you both enjoyed!
Avril
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 👍🏻
The Pesky Vegan
🌱🌱🌱
Pixie Kinnara
This recipe was so delicious! The lemon and smoky paprika went together so well, thank you! 🌱🍋
The Pesky Vegan
So glad you enjoyed, thanks for the feedback!
Barbara Anderton
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.
The Pesky Vegan
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 🙂
Amber
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 ... 😋😋😋😋😋😋
The Pesky Vegan
Agreed - I've probably made it around 5-6 times this year so the seasons definitely don't matter! Thanks for the review!
Sas Astro
I was surprised at how well all these flavours blended to make a delicious whole
The Pesky Vegan
I love this recipe, we make it every couple of months or so - thanks for the review!
Julie Worwa
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.
The Pesky Vegan
Great to hear, thanks for leaving a comment!
Barbara
This is one of my favourites that I always return to, made it yesterday- Thank you for your lovely recipes.
The Pesky Vegan
Great to hear it's become a regular fixture, thanks very much for the review!
Kirsten
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!
The Pesky Vegan
Glad to hear you enjoyed, thanks for the review!
Terri
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!
The Pesky Vegan
Sounds good, you've inspired me to make it again in the coming weeks - thanks for the review!
Wendy
The depth of flavour in this was delicious and a big hit with my meat-eating but vegan-friendly husband. I followed your recommendation and cooked the Cajun-spiced potato wedges to go with it; we loved the crispy texture and complementary spices. It also reheated well 48 hours later.
Thank you, this is going into my folder of family favourites!
The Pesky Vegan
Hi Wendy, that's great to hear! I have to admit this recipe is also on regular rotation in my own home, I really do love it. Thanks very much for the review and I hope you continue to enjoy the recipes!
Karen
I discovered this recipe when I had no fresh lemons but I'd pickled some lemons a while back - just quartered lemons and salt shut in a jar and left, great for Maroccan dishes. I used these and this dish zinged - divine! As I type my mouth is watering - guess what's for dinner? Thanks so much for your recipes.- I still haven't got over the haggis yet either... Another triumph
The Pesky Vegan
Thanks Karen, great to hear you're enjoying the recipes!
Lucy
This looks great, looking forward to making it. Butter beans, dried or in jars/tins aren't always easy to find here in France, where they're often called haricots de Judion and come from Spain in jars, or haricot de Soissons if they're dry. We're not vegan but I try to eat as much veggie food as I can, and though my husband's not always easy to feed on plant-based stuff he loves butter beans, as do I. What's more, I recently treated myself to a micro-plane and now it's lemon zest with everything - when you've got a new hammer, everything looks like a nail!
Found your blog and signed up recently, can't remember how, and am enjoying it very much!
The Pesky Vegan
Great to hear you're enjoying the blog - if it's a lemon zest recipe you're after, you've come to the right place!
Lucy
Made it last night, really delicious. I did the onions for quite a lot longer to begin with, so they were caramelised, before adding the other things as per the recipe, but used fresh tomatoes and some passata, not a big fan of tinned, though they can be useful in the winter. I kind of layered the seasonings, thyme etc, adding them bit by bit at different stages, including the lemon zest, with a final sprinkling of the latter at the end with the parsley, and it had a real depth of flavour. We had it with garlic bread, so good!
The Pesky Vegan
Sounds great - thanks for the review!
Kay
Oh my, this is just soooo delicious. I made it first for myself and my partner, and we loved it, then twice to different meat eaters, and they loved it, too. Now I make double and keep one lot in the freezer for unexpected drop-in friends. I increased the amount of thyme (it's winter here and the thyme in my garden is a bit sad) and put out some chopped up preserved lemon that I had left from another dish some time ago. This is a truly delicious meal, thank you!
The Pesky Vegan
Thanks for the feedback Kay, really glad to hear that you and those around you have been enjoying it!
Martha
Probably the best vegan recipe ever!! Tried this because I was getting tired of the same old lima beans. Absolutely fantastic!
I used frozen baby limas instead of canned and the doubled the spinach. BTW
The Pesky Vegan
Now that's what we like to hear - cheers and glad you've been enjoying it!