Lima beans

About the ingredient lima beans. Including 129 recipes with lima beans, nutrition data, and photos.

What are lima beans?

Fresh Lima Beans

Availability

Baby Limas or Fordhook Limas are available all year round with a peak crop from June to September. Source in the US are New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Ohio and California.

Purchasing Guide

Choose clean, well filled, fresh dark-green pods. Usually shipped unshelled. Some markets shell and sell by weight as a service feature.

2 pounds in pods = about 2 ½ cups shelled

Storage

Shell when ready to cook. Store in the refrigerator unshelled, in a moisture proof container.

Refrigerator shelf, in pod, raw: 3 to 5 days

Refrigerator shelf, cooked and covered: 1 to 4 days

Refrigerator freezer, prepare for freezing: 1 month

Deep freezer, prepared for freezing: 10 months

Nutritive Food Values

Higher in protein than most vegetables, fair amounts of Vitamin C and A.

3 ½ ounces raw = 123 calories

1 cup, cook and drained = 190 calories

Basic Preparation

Cut thing strips from the inner edge of the pods with scissors or snap the pods open with your fingers. Remove beans.

Cook in a small amount of salted boiling water for 20 to 25 minutes, or until tender. Drain, add seasonings and butter, and serve.

Nutrition

Food group

Lima beans are a member of the Vegetables and Vegetable Products US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.

How much do lima beans weigh?

Related

Vegetables and Vegetable Products

Recipes using lima beans

There are 129 recipes that contain this ingredient.

Aunt Em's Hearty Soup

Ground beef browns with onions, then simmers all day in the slow cooker with kidney beans, lima beans, stewed tomatoes, and creamed corn spiked with chili powder for a stick-to-your-ribs winter soup.

Spicy Winter Vegetable Chowder

A warming chowder of turnips, mushrooms, lima beans, and tomatoes seasoned with cumin, fennel seeds, and chili powder in turkey stock. Hearty cold-weather comfort in a bowl.

Favourite Three Bean Salad with Bacon

Three bean salad with bacon piles baked, lima and green beans with crispy bacon, mushrooms and peppers in a honey-Dijon lemon dressing. A hearty, make-ahead party salad that feeds a crowd.

Minnestrone Soup

Hearty ground beef minestrone soup with kidney beans, carrots, green beans, lima beans, and pasta shells in a beefy tomato broth seasoned with Italian herbs.

Yummy Tuna Mounds With Curry Mushroom Sauce

Yummy tuna mounds with curry mushroom sauce shapes tuna into breadcrumb-bound baked patties surrounded by a curried cream-of-mushroom gravy. Mid-century pantry comfort with a warm spice lift.

Savory Vegetable Soup

Savory vegetable soup simmered low and slow with tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, beans, corn and mushrooms in a rich bouillon broth. A fat-free, pantry-friendly pot that tastes better the next day.

Lamb Carnitas

Lamb carnitas braised in milk with coriander, savory, and bay leaves until fall-apart tender. Served in tortillas with broiled onions, tomatoes, sour cream, and salsa.

Lima Bean, Leek & Corn Chowder

Lima bean, leek, and corn chowder simmered in homemade corn-cob stock with rosemary. Dairy-free, vegan, and deeply creamy from the beans alone.

Ham & Chicken Chowder (Crock Pot)

Chow down on this savory dish that is so easy to make, you can use your crockpot!

Marie's Baked Bean Soup

Marie's baked bean soup: three-bean slow cooker soup with bacon, stewed tomatoes, and pineapple. Sweet-savory comfort food that cooks itself in 6 hours.

Sour Butter Beans

Creamy blended butter beans meet tangy soy yogurt and fresh vegetables in this hearty vegan stew. Ready in 40 minutes, loaded with broccoli, zucchini, tomatoes, and corn.

Brunswick Stew with Corn Dumplings

An absolutely tasty dumpling stew is perfect in a cold winter day to warm up your entire family.

Lima Bean & Leek Soup

Hearty lima bean and leek soup with lentils, wild rice, and a meaty broth built from disintegrated lentils. Easily made vegan and packed with plant protein.

Bean'N' Burger Pockets

Sloppy joe meets three-bean chili, stuffed into pita pockets with melted cheddar. Ground beef simmered with tomatoes, herbs, and brown sugar for a thick, scoopable filling.

Cheesy Butter Beans.

A simple vegetarian pasta dish with butter beans (lima beans) in a light, creamy sauce. Quick, budget-friendly, and ready in 40 minutes with pantry staples.

Lima Beans Smitane

Lima beans smitane tossed with sour cream, diced pimento, chives, and garlic powder. A creamy, Eastern European-inspired side dish made from frozen limas in under 30 minutes.

Best Vegan Gumbo

Slow cooker vegan gumbo loaded with okra, lima beans, corn, and tomatoes in a clove and allspice-spiked vegetable broth. No roux, no oil, no fuss.

Chowing's Tavern Brunswick Stew

Chowning's Tavern Brunswick stew: a Colonial Williamsburg classic with stewing hen, lima beans, corn, okra, tomatoes, and potatoes slow-simmered into Southern comfort.

Mixed Bean, Tomato & Ham Soup

Mixed bean soup with kidney beans, lima beans, chickpeas, lean ham, tomatoes, and a finishing splash of lemon juice. Hearty enough for a full meal in a bowl.

Spicy Tofu Salad

Spicy tofu salad with julienned vegetables, chopped peanuts, and a chili-soy-rice vinegar dressing. Thai-inspired, loaded with crunch, and completely plant-based.

Bean Soup Ii

Lima bean soup simmered low and slow with smoky ham hocks, ham bone, celery, and green onions. Classic Southern bean soup served with Mexican cornbread.

Crunchy Beans with Turnips

Crunchy beans with turnips bakes a curried lima bean puree with steamed turnips, walnuts, and soybean sprouts. A plant-based side with Indian-inspired spice.

Lima Beans with Grilled Stuffed Vine Leaves

Lima beans with grilled stuffed grape leaves: vegetarian dolmas packed with spinach, zucchini, and summer squash, skewered and grilled, served over simmered lima beans with tomato and jalapeno.

Grilled Anchovies with Christmas Limas, Mint & Chili Oil

Grilled Anchovies with Christmas Limas, Mint & Chili Oil recipe

Cheesy Popcorn

Italian-style cheesy popcorn tossed with grated Parmesan, basil, oregano, and black pepper. A low-calorie savory snack with big flavor.

All 129 recipes