The Best Hillbilly Baby Lima Beans

The Best Hillbilly Baby Lima Beans

The Best Hillbilly Baby Lima Beans are part of my heritage. I grew up eating lots of beans. And, these luscious beans are chicly elevated!

Butter Beans

Buttery lima beans with moked seasoned with ham, yes, you’ve died and gone to bean heaven! Eat ’em with a big spoon to get the creamy sauce!

Are butter beans and lima beans different? Not really lima beans are precisely the same thing. Southerners use the term butter beans, but I grew up calling them lima beans. Yes, I grew up in southern West Virginia, but I had to move further South to learn that my beloved limas are called butter beans. 

Lima Beans Nutrition

What are the world’s healthiest foods? Well, according to WHFoods one of them is buttery lima beans. And, if you take it step further and add spinach or chard, you make them even healthier!

Besides being a natural cholesterol lowing food, lima beans give you lots of fiber and protein. They’re great for folks with diabetes, insulin resistance and hypoglycemia. These buttery lima beans and spinach are stick-to-the-ribs comfort food. They keep you going long and strong for hours.

This energy you get from eating a bowl of these beans is because you’re getting energy while stabilizing blood sugar. It’s what we call ‘slow burning energy’. You’re not dealing with the spikes. Ups and downs. Things that you eat that after 30 minutes, you get the jitters.

You can add even more nutrition in this recipe with the spinach. The vibrant green of the spinach leaves will be mighty pretty making this a bowl meal! 

Dried Lima Beans Recipe

Dried lima beans are considered ‘mature’ and as such they’re a beige almost while hue. If you get frozen lima beans, they’re more immature in their stage of development, so they’re fresher and green. I love both frozen, green, and mature dried lima beans. This recipe is for the dried lima beans! 

Now you can buy dry baby limas or large limas. I love the large ones because they’re heartier and seem to have a buttery taste to me. Plus, you can almost eat them with a fork! My Mom would make lima beans often when I was growing up in West Virginia. It was a filling cheap dinner. One that we kids ate regardless of whether we liked them or not (which I LOVED them!).

How to Use Nutritional Yeast

You may be wondering ‘why is Ally using nutritional yeast?’ Well, rather than explain, here’s a quick video I prepared for you! 

Lima Beans

If you think they’re just a ‘soup’ to be eaten in a bowl, look at these other ideas from WHFoods for lima beans:

A FEW QUICK SERVING IDEAS
  • If you can find whole lima beans in the market, you can serve them as an appetizer sprinkled with seasoning just like edamame (whole soy bean pods).
  • Mix puréed lima beans with chopped garlic and your favorite fresh herbs. Use this spread as a sandwich filling or a dip for crudité.
  • The heartiness of lima beans make them a great soup bean, especially when added to a soup that features root vegetables such as carrots, turnips, beets, and/or rutabagas.
  • For a twist on the traditional native American dish succotash, make lima bean burritos. Fill corn tortillas with lima beans and corn kernels, and then top with chopped tomatoes, avocado and scallions.
  • Blend cooked lima beans and sweet potatoes together. Serve this tasty dish on a plate accompanied by your favorite grain and fresh vegetable.

The Best Hillbilly Baby Lima Beans

The Best Hillbilly Baby Lima Beans

The Best Hillbilly Baby Lima Beans

Yield: Feeds: About 8 folks

Ingredients

  • 3 cups dried baby lima beans, wash and rinse several times
  • 1 sweet onion, small dice
  • 1 smoked ham hock
  • 2 Tbl. nutritional yeast
  • 2 tsp. sea salt
  • 2 tsp. smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp. coarse black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp. red chili flakes
  • 1 cup green pepper, diced
  • 1 cup carrots, diced
  • 1 cup celery with leaves, sliced

Instructions

  1. Put the beans in a large stock pot (5.5 quarts+). Add the ham hock and diced onions. Cover with water. Water should be about 4-5 inches above beans.
  2. Turn blaze to high. Bring to roaring bowl, lid slightly askew on top of pot and cook for about 30 minutes.
  3. Reduce heat to medium, still a gentle boil. Add more water if needed to be at least 3 inches above the beans. Place lid slightly askew (to let steam escape). Cook another 20-30 minutes. Always check to see if you need to add more liquid.
  4. Remove ham hock. When cool, tear off meat, shred and set side. Discard fat and bone of ham hock.
  5. Add the seasoning mixture consisting of the nutritional yeast, salt, paprika, pepper, chili flakes, to the beans, blend. Cover with lid completely. Simmer boil about 20 minutes.
  6. Add the vegetables and shredded ham hock meat, simmer boil another about 15 to 20 minutes or until veggies are tender. Beans should be thicker and creamier. If you prefer more 'soupy' beans, add chicken, vegetable stock or water.

Notes

Keep a 2 cup measure cup of water near the beans and add as needed to pot.

The beans will thicken as they cook.

Beans are better on days two and three. If too thick, just add water or chicken or vegetable stock.

Another great addition to this bean soup, baby spinach! Or you could use chopped chard or kale!

Your sharing is GOLDEN! Thank you!

Your sharing and comments help me stay in business! Share a photo if you make the recipe #allyskitchen Thank you! xo Ally

The Best Hillbilly Baby Lima Beans

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6 Comments

  1. Hi, thank you for the recipe, I just have one question. In the instructions it said to add the ‘seasoning mixture’ but there isn’t any in the ingredients, because the spices are then mentioned in the instructions, or are they the seasoning mixture? Thank you 😊

    1. Hi Sandra! These beans are fabulous! The ‘seasoning mixture’ are listed individually in the ingredients. So sorry for confusion! HOpe you try they! xoxx ally
      2 Tbl. nutritional yeast
      2 tsp. sea salt
      2 tsp. smoked paprika
      1 tsp. coarse black pepper
      1/2 tsp. red chili flakes

  2. Thank you for all these bean recipes! I knew they were nutrition power houses good for cholesterol and insulin resistance, but really didn’t know how to incorporate them into meal planning. The variety of recipes you offer are great. Something for everyone. Thank you!!! Keep em’ coming!

    1. Sandra! You must have WV blood in your! Thank you! And, you bet, I’ll keep ’em coming b/c I believe beans are awesome! xoxx ally

  3. Desiree Mandic says:

    This was wonderful. I found an old bag of baby limas in my pantry recently. Had no idea what to do with them. I found two recipes that sounded easy and good. I’m glad I settled on yours. Even my picky husband liked them, which I was not expecting. I will makes this regularly, especially in these days of skyrocketing groceries. Thank you!

    1. Desiree!!! You have NO idea what your comment means to me! Thank you thank you! And, please give your hubby a big ol’ hug from Mama Ally. Lima beans are one of my favorite beans, and I’m absolutely thrilled that these Hillbilly beans made the cut from your final two. Feels like a Miss America moment. Yes! Easy is important to me. But, easy w/flavor packed into the dish. Yes, prices are off the charts. Let’s eat more beans which are so very nutritious, and, boy do I have more recipes. Thanks again, luv and hope to see more of you! xoxx ally

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