LIMA BEANS WITH HAM OVER RICE

Lima Beans, also known as Butter Beans, are delicious. This easy dish is comfort food at its best and a fantastic way to enjoy a hearty meal.

If you love this hearty dish, you will also love this delicious Pork Roast and White Beans. It’s one of our most popular crock pot dishes. Of course both require cornbread!

❤️WHY WE LOVE THIS RECIPE

We love easy recipes with lots of taste and won’t keep you in the kitchen for hours. This is one of those recipes, and it’s budget-friendly too. This Butter Bean recipe is perfect on a cold day and it reheats well too. This recipe can be made in the crock pot too!

ARE LIMA BEANS AND BUTTER BEANS THE SAME?

Yes, they are the same bean, but they are sometimes picked at different stages of maturity. They also go by different names depending on the region. In the South, they are known more as Butter Beans. (source)

🍴KEY INGREDIENTS

Bag of large dried lima beans
Ham hock with some meat still on the bone or 1 cup chopped ham of your choice
Onion, chopped
Minced garlic
Pepper
Salt
2 – 4 cups rice, cooked according to package directions depending on how many people you are serving (See Tip Section)

SWAPS

You could always use bacon as the meat source and add other seasonings your family likes. You can just eat these as soup beans and not serve them over rice, that is your decision.

🍽️HOW TO MAKE

This dish is very easy to make, the longest part of the process is soaking the beans, which we do overnight.

COOKING STEPS

Step 1
Rinse and sort beans and soak them overnight in a large pot of water. Next morning, drain the water and rinse the beans.

Step 2
Add six cups of fresh water, the chopped onion, garlic, pepper, and ham or ham hock. Simmer beans with lid tilted on pot for about 3 hours until tender, then add salt. (I always salt dried beans after they are done. They take longer to cook if you salt them during the cooking process.) If using a ham hock, remove it from pot and take the ham from the bone and add back to the beans. Serve over rice.

Step 3 – Crock Pot
These beans can be cooked in the crock pot as well. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for about seven hours until tender.

⭐TIP

When making rice, 1 cup of uncooked rice, will make 2 cups cooked. So remember that when making rice for this dish. If you want 2 cups of cooked rice for this dish, then you will only need to make 1 cup of rice.

RECIPE VARIATIONS – SOUTHERN BUTTER BEANS

You can add different seasonings if you are a fan of heat, then add some Cajun seasoning to the pot. Here is our recipe for cajun seasoning.
You can use any meat you like: bacon, smoked sausage, andouille sausage (for spice)
You could also add in some vegetables to make it more soup/stew like. Celery is always a good addition or carrots, etc.
You could also cook the beans in broth, beef or chicken for added flavor.

SERVE THIS WITH

❓FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Do you rinse the beans in hot or cold water?

You rinse them in cold water.

How do you know when the beans are done?

Some people like their beans really cooked and others like them with less mush. It’s really up to you to find what you like best.

STORING AND REHEATING

We store these in a big pot in the fridge and reheat on the stove. If we made them in the crock pot, we just put them back on low until they are warm.

💕MORE POPULAR RECIPES TO ENJOY

SERVING SIZE

This makes around 8 servings and you can always stretch this meal with the rice.

Anne Walkup

Lima Beans also known as Butter Beans are so easy to make and wonderful comfort food. This hearty dish can be made in the crock pot too. We love it over rice!

Prep Time 1 day

Cook Time 3 hours

Total Time 1 day 3 hours

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, southern

1 1 pound bag of large dried lima beans
1 large ham hock with some meat still on the bone or 1 cup chopped ham of your choice
1 medium onion chopped
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 – 4 cups rice cooked according to package directions depending on how many people you are serving

Rinse and sort beans, soak overnight in a large pot of water. Next morning, drain the water and rinse beans. Add six cups of fresh water, the chopped onion, garlic, pepper, and ham or ham hock.
Simmer beans with lid tilted on pot for about 3 hours until tender, then add salt. (I always salt dried beans after they are done. They take longer to cook if you salt them during the cooking process.)
If using a ham hock, remove it from pot and take the ham from the bone and add back to the beans. Serve over rice. These beans can be cooked in the crock pot as well. Cook on high for 4 hours or low about seven hours until tender.

Keyword Butter Beans, Lima Beans and Ham

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