Savory Butter Beans are simmered in a creamy Tuscan style sauce filled with tangy sun-dried tomatoes, fresh basil leaves, and baby spinach. This budget friendly recipe cooks in one pan in under 30 minutes, perfect for any weeknight dinner.
This recipe is a budget meal, inspired by the very popular Marry Me Chicken recipe that has made its round on social media and gone viral most recently on TiK-Tok.
This dish has been amazingly popular touting a sauce so fantastic it might encourage a marriage proposal.
This was inspired by my other Italian recipes on this site, and pairs well with this Italian Sub Salad.
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Ingredients
- Canned Butter Beans- These delicious beans are large, creamy, and full of filling fiber.
- Shallot- These lean on the sweet side and have a delicate flavor that is perfect for dishes with cream sauce.
- Garlic- Adding a touch of mild spice, garlic is essential to this dish.
- Tomato Paste-The cooked down flavor of tomato enriches the broth and gives a slow cooked flavor to a quickly prepared recipe.
- Sun-dried Tomatoes-Another hit of rich tomato flavor, sun dried tomatoes add sweetness, texture, and acidity to the creamy beans.
- Baby Spinach- Adds beautiful color, texture, and much needed greens.
- Basil Leaves- These add sweet, herbaceous flavor and that classic Italian taste.
- Chicken or Vegetable Broth- Creates a full flavors liquid base for our butter beans to simmer in.
- Heavy Cream- Adds velvety texture and richness to the broth.
- Parmesan Cheese- Helps thicken the sauce as well as adding nutty flavor overall.
- Flour- Flour is mixed with the olive oil to build a light roux. A roux serves as a thickening agent that gives the dish body, but also holds up the cream and melted parmesan so they can be fully integrated into the sauce.
- Olive Oil-This is our fat for sautéing and making a roux.
- Red Chili Flakes- This Marry Me Butter Beans dish is simply seasoned with salt, black pepper, and chili flakes. The hint of heat from the crushed red chili gives the hint of spice that rounds out the creamy sauce and beans.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
- Step 1: Sweat finely diced shallot in olive oil. Then, add minced garlic, tomato paste, and seasonings. Cook until the tomato paste is gently warmed through.
- Step 2: Add all purpose flour to the mixture. Stir until the flour is fully absorbed and a thick roux is formed.
- Step 3: Slowly add broth to the roux and stir until well combined and free of lumps. Bring to a low simmer.
- Step 4: Add drained and rinsed lima beans and julienne sun-dried tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes to let the beans absorb the flavor of the broth.
Diana's Tips for Success
Top Tip
Turn down the heat, and wait until near the end to add cream to this dish. Extremely high heat can cause your cream to split in the broth. Adding the cream and grated parmesan cheese at the end will turn your flavorful but thin broth into a velvety delight that makes this dish especially rich and comforting.
Hint: Add the spinach last! It will only take 1-2 minutes on low heat to cook the spinach. Cooking it for a short time will ensure a nice bright color and beautiful texture.
Substitutions
- Other Beans: This dish is wonderful with large creamy Butter Beans, but other white beans can be used as well. Cannellini Beans and Navy Beans are delicious substitutes if you find yourself short of Butter Beans.
- Vegetarian: This dish can easily be made vegetarian by replacing chicken broth with vegetable broth.
Storage and Reheating
Store Marry Me Butter Beans in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
To reheat, simply place your desired serving in a microwave safe bowl and warm 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between until the entire portion is hot.
Reheat on the stove by placing your portion into a small pot and heating a low temperature, stirring occasionally until it reaches a low simmer or 135°F.
FAQ
Butter Beans are just lima beans. While we commonly refer to these beans as Lima Beans in the United States, they are often marketed as Butter Beans when sold in canned form. Butter Beans is the commonly used name in the United Kingdom.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
- Sun-dried Tomato Pesto Rosso
- Spinach Pesto Pasta
- Lemon Pesto Pasta
- Split Pea and Pearl Barley Soup
- 30-Minute Tomato Basil Bisque
- Penne Napoli
- 15-Minute Creamy Tomato Pasta
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📖 Recipe
Tuscan Butter Beans
Equipment
- Large Sauté Pan, Rondeau Pan, or Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Shallot finely diced
- 2 Cloves Garlic minced
- 1 Tablespoon Tomato Paste
- 1 Teaspoon Coarse Salt
- ½ Teaspoon Black Pepper
- ¼ Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes optional
- 1 Tablespoon All Purpose Flour
- 2 Cups Chicken Broth
- 2 Cans Butter Beans drained and rinsed
- 8 ounce Jar Sundried Tomatoes drained and julienne
- ¼ Cup Heavy Cream
- ¼ Parmesan Cheese grated
- 4 Cups Baby Spinach
- ¼ Cup Basil Leaves
Instructions
- Heat a large sauté pan on medium-low heat. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil in the pan and add finely diced shallots.
- Sweat the shallots on a low heat until they turn translucent. Once, the shallots are cooked, add minced garlic, salt, pepper, pepper flakes, and tomato paste. Warm through.
- Add all purpose flour to the pan and let it get absorbed by the oil and tomato paste to form a thick roux.
- Next, slowly add broth and stir to absorb the roux.
- Bring the cooking liquid to a low simmer and add the drained butter beans and julienne sun-dried tomatoes.
- Allow to simmer for approximately 5 minutes.
- Turn the heat down to low and add cream and parmesan cheese. Stir until you have an even sauce.
- Finally, add the baby spinach and basil leaves. Let them wilt into the dish on low heat for 1-2 minutes or until no raw leaves are sitting on top.
Notes
- Turn down the heat, and wait until near the end to add cream to this dish. Extremely high heat can cause your cream to split in the broth. Adding the cream and grated parmesan cheese at the end will turn your flavorful but thin broth into a velvety delight that makes this dish especially rich and comforting.
- Add the spinach last! It will only take 1-2 minutes on low heat to cook the spinach. Cooking it for a short time will ensure a nice bright color and beautiful texture.
- Store Marry Me Butter Beans in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- To reheat in the microwave, simply place your desired serving in a microwave safe bowl and warm 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between until the entire portion is hot.
- Reheat on the stove by placing your portion into a small pot and heating a low temperature, stirring occasionally until it reaches a low simmer or 135°F.
Nutrition
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Diana Reis
Enjoy this budget friendly, one pot meal!