This easy butter bean stew is warming and flavourful, yet it takes just 25 minutes to make. It's a naturally vegan recipe that's filling and tasty, just perfect for those super busy weeknights.
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email and I'll send it straight to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
A butter bean stew is the perfect cozy treat for a cold night when all you want is to dig into a bowl of goodness and scoop up those beans with your favourite crusty bread.
This butter bean and vegetable stew is ready in just 25 minutes, but there's absolutely no compromise on flavour.
In fact, the garlic and fresh rosemary infuse the stew with so much flavour, it will be quite difficult not to go for seconds.
It's no secret that I love beans and I cook everything with them, from delicious veggie soups to chilli and even pasta.
The secret to making all these delicious and nutritious meals quickly is canned beans. While I do love the taste of beans cooked from scratch, that's not an option most of the time.
If you love beans, but your schedule doesn't allow you to deal with soaking and boiling beans, canned beans are your friend. There's very little difference in taste if they're cooked right anyway.
And if you're looking for more easy vegan meal ideas, check out this collection of light vegan recipes.
Ingredients and substitutions
Olive oil — A good quality extra virgin olive oil is essential for this Mediterranean bean stew to truly elevate the flavours.
Red onion — Any kind of onion works well in this stew, but I prefer the flavour of red onions for the sauce.
Bell peppers — I like to use red peppers with butter beans in this stew, but you can use any color you may have at hand.
Garlic — Fresh garlic is a must in this recipe — don't use a paste or frozen garlic because you'll be missing out on so much flavour.
Fresh rosemary — if you don't have fresh rosemary, you can substitute it with 1 teaspoon dry rosemary. Alternatively, you can use oregano or an Italian seasoning mix.
Chopped tomatoes — Just like in the case of oil, try to use the best quality chopped tomatoes you can because it really makes a difference in the flavours.
Butter beans — When using butter beans from a can, all you have to do is rinse and drain them. If you're using butter beans that you've cooked from dried, you need to cook them before using them in the stew. A pressure cooker is always a good idea to speed up that process.
How do you make butter bean stew?
- Heat the olive oil in a large, deep pan that has a lid. Saute the red onion, carrot and red pepper for 3-5 minutes over medium heat until they soften.
- Next, stir in the garlic and fresh rosemary and continue to cook for another minute until fragrant.
- Stir in the tomato paste, vegetable stock, chopped tomatoes and butter beans. Bring to a simmer, cover the pan with a lid and simmer on low-medium heat for 10 minutes.
- Add the fresh parsley, season to taste, and serve with a salad or some crusty bread.
Recipe notes and tips
- You can make a big batch of this butter bean stew as it will keep well in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 5 days. Reheat it in the microwave or on the stove — you may need to add a dash of water if the sauce looks too thick.
- If you'd like the stew to have a bit of a kick, you can add a chopped red or green chilli with the garlic and rosemary.
- Simmering the stew for just 10 minutes is enough since the beans are already cooked. However, if you have more time and want to allow the flavours to develop more, you can simmer it for up to 30 minutes (you may need to add some extra water or stock).
If you liked this easy butter bean stew, you might also like some of my other easy vegan recipes:
- Coconut Curry Soup with Crispy Tofu
- Easy Barley Soup with Vegetables
- Greek Peas Stew with Potatoes (Arakas Lathers)
- Vegan Thai Red Curry with Cauliflower and Sweet Potatoes
- Kala Chana Masala (Black Chickpea Curry)
Looking for more delicious inspiration? Follow Skinny Spatula on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest!
Easy Butter Bean Stew
This easy butter bean stew is warming and flavourful, yet it takes just 25 minutes to make. It's a naturally vegan recipe that's filling and tasty, just perfect for those super busy weeknights.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large red onion, diced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 1 large red pepper, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 200 ml (1 cup) vegetable stock
- 1 x 400 g (14 oz) can chopped tomatoes
- 2 x 400 g (14 oz) cans butter beans, rinsed and drained
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large, deep pan that has a lid. Saute the red onion, carrot and red pepper for 3-5 minutes over medium heat until they soften.
- Next, stir in the garlic and fresh rosemary and continue to cook for another minute until fragrant.
- Stir in the tomato paste, vegetable stock, chopped tomatoes and butter beans. Bring to a simmer, cover the pan with a lid and simmer on low-medium heat for 10 minutes.
- Add the fresh parsley, season to taste, and serve with a salad or some crusty bread.
Recommended Products
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 316Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 162mgCarbohydrates: 54gFiber: 17gSugar: 12gProtein: 18g
Nutritional information is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator.
Patrick says
Made this for lunch today. Served over a bed of riced cauliflower, topped with a poached egg and a sprinkling of garam masala. Very tasty! It was a hit with my wife, too!
Happyrambler43 says
I made this for lunch when I was going to have beans on toast then realised that I had run out of baked beans! I didn't have a pepper but it still tasted really yummy. Much nicer than beans on toast!
Nat says
Loved it and it's so quick and easy! Will be making this recipe non stop this winter
Alice says
So happy you enjoyed the stew, Nat!
Bonnie says
This looks wonderful! Can it be portioned out and frozen?
Alice says
Thank you! Yes, it freezes well for 2-3 months.
Susan says
Can you use northern beans or baby lima beans , I know it sounds weird but my family doesn’t like the big beans
Alice says
Absolutely, should still taste great!