Butter Beans vs. Lima Beans: Here’s the Difference

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Beans are divisive—people love ’em or hate ’em. If you’re part of the group that loves beans and you’ll eat anything from bright green fava beans to hearty black bean recipes, then you probably also love butter beans. Or are they lima beans? Let’s settle the debate between butter beans vs. lima beans and make grocery shopping a little less confusing.

Is there a difference between butter beans and lima beans?

Butter beans are a common moniker for the group of beans known as lima. You might think lima beans are those green monsters from childhood dinners with a bad rap, but lima beans cover a whole range of colors along the beige and pale green spectrum. Scientifically known as Phaseolus lunatus, which literally translates to “moon-shaped bean,” their size range includes everything from the diminutive black-eyed pole lima to the gigantes.

Lima beans were first recorded in the Americas, both North and South. In fact, lima beans are so ingrained in Peruvian culture, they date back to the 15th century! They can be seen as a motif on local pottery and predate cultivated corn, a mainstay of Peruvian cuisine.

Lima beans are seen historically on most continents, having been grown by Native people in America and brought back to Europe by colonizers in the 16th century. They’re still popular in the American South, where butter beans are part of any reputable succotash. The larger gigantes variation is famous across Greece and Italy in Mediterranean recipes and of course in Peru, too.

What do butter beans and lima beans taste like?

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While butter and lima beans cover a swath of varieties from pole beans to bush beans, and can be speckled or monochrome, they generally share some traits in terms of taste. Their skins tend to become thicker as they get larger, though still remain thin compared to some other types of beans. The interiors are creamy and luxuriously silky, perfect for mashes and blended bean dips. While the taste of lima beans or butter beans has been described as vegetal, that might do the variety a disservice. The taste ranges from mildly creamy to slightly herby, and the beans do a wonderful job adopting the flavors of the dish they’re in.

How to Cook Lima Beans or Butter Beans

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Beans can take on many times their weight in liquid, and in fact need to in order to be cooked. When they take on that liquid too quickly, they tend to split and pucker, so when you’re using dried beans, overnight soaking is recommended. The overnight soak allows the beans to slowly absorb liquid at their own pace. This will also cut down on cooking time when you are ready to get them on the stove.

To soak butter beans or lima beans, rinse the beans and pick out any with spots or that immediately float. Cover the beans with room temperature water by at least a few inches and then leave them out overnight.

If you cook the beans without presoaking, they’ll still turn out delicious, but they may split and will take longer to become tender. People often buy limas in cans, precooked, but using dry beans gives you more choices for which variety of lima beans to buy.

There are all sorts of recipes for butter beans or lima beans—but the most basic butte bean or lima bean recipe would be to simply simmer them in well-salted water with a splash of olive oil until they are fork tender, which should take 60 to 90 minutes. To add more flavors, cook the beans in citrus and herbs like this lemon garlic lima bean recipe, or toss them with canned tomatoes, wine or stock to create more liquid for the beans to absorb.

Once cooked, lima beans or butter beans can be marinated in oil, sauteed, blended into a hummus-like dip, or used in our favorite Mediterranean recipes. Beans take on spices excellently, so use plenty of salt, pepper and fresh or dried spices.