How To Prepare Delicious Spinach Butter Beans Stew

Bean stew easily fills you up and is a healthy dish. This bean stew recipe is nutritious and exciting as it delivers protein and texture.

Tips for cooking butter beans stew

Soaking the butterbeans is necessary since it speeds up cooking, lessens bloating, and enhances digestion.

Stews cook more flavorfully when cooked slowly in a heavy bottom pot.

The tomatoes are caramelized in the pot to create an interesting tomato sauce with a smoky flavor.

You may get creative and incorporate your favorite spices, herbs, vegetables, and /or protein into the stew to get a diverse and flavorful taste. You could add the courgette, carrots, mushrooms, eggplant or even sweetcorn.

Fresh ingredients, especially fresh herbs, are what give this stew its flavor.

Adding spinach at the end gives the butter beans a touch of green vegetables.

Substitutions and variations

Rehydrated beans can be substituted with canned butter beans. Although the cooking time may be shorter and the beans’ flavor may change.

Yellow beans or even cannellini beans can be used in place of butterbeans but the cooking time may change.

Baby spinach or chard can be used in place of spinach.

This recipe is a straightforward bean stew; if you'd like, you may add fresh chilies to make it spicy.

Ingredients

1 cup dried butter beans, soaked overnight

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 onion, chopped into quarters

4 garlic cloves, crushed

2 bay leaves

4 cups of vegetable broth

1 bunch of spinach leaves

Salt

Red pepper flakes

Procedure

In a sizable pot, combine the beans, onion, garlic, and bay leaves then add some cold water enough to cover the beans.

Bring the beans to a simmer on medium heat after adding several pinches of salt.

Cook beans at a low simmer for a further 35 to 45 minutes until they are creamy but still maintain their shape.

Remove bay leaves, drain the excess water if any then set the beans aside and allow them to cool.

In another pot, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil on medium-high then add tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and some salt then cook for about 5 minutes.

Allow the tomatoes to cook completely and scrap the bottom of the pot. Simmer the tomatoes until they are completely caramelized. Then, place them aside on a plate.

In the same pan, heat the remaining cooking oil on medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the edges begin to brown.

Stir in the vinegar and tomatoes and scrape away any browned bits then add the beans and the vegetable broth.

Add salt if needed and boil until tender. Cook for 30 to 45 minutes to let flavors blend.

Chop the spinach and add to the pot right before serving then cook until wilted.

Serve with chapati or rice. Enjoy

Conclusion

This vegetarian and gluten-free meal of butter beans in a smoky tomato sauce. Butter beans, often referred to as lima beans, are larger than most other beans and earn their name from the creamy, buttery quality they have when cooked.

Additionally, butter beans are very nourishing and contain both soluble and insoluble fiber which can help you feel fuller for longer. This beans stew dish is a fantastic source of vegan fiber, folate, iron, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and zinc.