Butter Bean Curry (Vegan)

Our Butter Bean Curry is all about rich flavors and cozy vibes. This meal is packed with protein, satisfyingly creamy, and absolutely delicious. We discovered a totally new way to cook with Butter beans. Oh, and it's vegan and gluten-free too!

Jump to:

• Why you will love this recipe
• Our Butter Beans Curry is:
• How to make Butter Bean Curry
• Variations to our Vegan Butter Bean Curry Recipe
• Serving Suggestions
• Store and Reheat
• FAQ and Tips
• Butter Bean Curry
• More Curry recipes you will love:

Why you will love this recipe

Vegan and gluten-free. This recipe is ideal if you are following a plant-based diet, want to incorporate more plant-based food into your life, or simply enjoy eating delicious vegan meals. As well, it is 100% gluten-free, which makes it perfect if you are cooking for people with gluten intolerance, allergy, or dietary restrictions.

We make the cream using cashews. As much as we like coconut milk, we purely love our cashew cream for curries. Soaking cashews for a few minutes and blending them with water and a pinch of salt, results in a delicious plant-based cream that gives your dishes a creamy texture with a mouth-watering nutty flavor.

Easy, quick, and cheap. These are the three words I want to find when cooking a recipe for the whole family. Our Butter Bean Curry can be made using mostly pantry ingredients that we already have at home. The cooking method is really simple and the recipe comes together in about 30 minutes, as we use canned butter beans. As the sauce will be blended, we roughly chop the ingredients, making it faster to prepare.

Health Benefits of Butter Beans

If you are still not convinced, you need to have a look at some health benefits from this unique legume.

Lima beans or butter beans are high in protein, iron, fiber, and complex carbohydrates. Additionally, they contain essential vitamins and minerals such as iron, magnesium, and potassium.

These are low in fat, which makes them an ideal ingredient for those who are looking for a healthy and nutritious meal that is low in calories.

Our Butter Beans Curry is:

• Vegan
• Gluten-free
• Family-friendly
• Healthy
• A comfort meal
• A one-pot meal
• Indian-style recipe

How to make Butter Bean Curry

Ingredients

Butter beans. Butter beans or lima beans can be found dry or canned. For this recipe, we use canned butter beans as it makes the whole cooking process much easier and faster. You can find them in regular supermarkets, in the legumes section. Alternatively, you can make this dish using regular white beans, garbanzo beans, or another type of legume of your choice.

Cashews. You'll need pre-soaked cashews to make the cream for this bean curry. Leave the cashews soaking for 30 minutes in hot water before you blend them with cold water to make the cream. For this part, you need unsalted and raw cashews.

Onion, ginger, and garlic. These three ingredients make the perfect base to start many Indian-style dishes. For the garlic and ginger, we use a press to make a paste so the ingredients are combined better into the sauce. You can use any type of onion you have, but ideally, we recommend using yellow onion or shallots. If you don't have fresh ginger or garlic, you can use ginger or garlic powder.

Spice blend. For our butter bean curry, we use Garam Masala, turmeric powder, ground cumin or cumin seeds, ground coriander or coriander seeds, curry powder, cinnamon, salt, and black pepper. If you want to add a little kick, you can add some chili powder as well. If you don't have many spices at home, and you have to buy just for this recipe, we recommend getting Garam Masala.

Fresh tomatoes. As much as we can, we like using fresh tomatoes from our garden or farm markets. Otherwise, we use passata. As well, we like to add tomato paste to enhance the flavor.

Vegetable stock. For vegetable stock, we use a gluten-free brand. To reduce the amount of salt in this recipe, you can simply use water instead.

Step-by-Step Method

1. Leave the cashews soaking in hot water while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2. Heat some olive oil or coconut oil in a non-stick pan or pot, or a large saucepan to medium heat. Add chopped onion and leave cooking for a couple of minutes. Then, add pressed or finely chopped ginger and garlic, stir, and add the spices.
3. When fragrant, add the fresh tomatoes roughly chopped, cook for a couple of minutes, and add the vegetable stock. Leave simmering for about 12 minutes.
4. Drain the cashews, and add into a blender jug. Transfer the sauce to the same jug and blend together until the sauce is smooth and has no lumps.
5. If you are using canned beans, put them through a colander to remove the aquafava and rinse with fresh water. Pour the blended sauce into the pot, add the butter beans, and optionally some sweetener such as maple syrup or sugar. Combine.
6. Adjust with salt, pepper, garnish with sesame seeds and freshly choppedd coriander, and your curry will be ready to be served and enjoyed.

Variations to our Vegan Butter Bean Curry Recipe

• Use dry beans. For this recipe, we use canned butter beans or lime beans, but this recipe can be made as well using dried beans. Leave the dry butter beans soaking in water overnight and then cook them in fresh water until fork tender. You will need to adjust the amount of butter beans from our recipe card.
• Use different spices. The spices you use define the taste of the sauce, so you can try different combinations to make it slightly different every time. Some suggestions are mustard seeds, chilli powder, harissa, curry leaves, white pepper, star anise, or cardamon.
• Add veggies to the curry. We kept the recipe simple and easy to twist to your taste. You can, of course, add other veggies to make a great curry loaded with vegetables such as sweet potato, red pepper, green pepper, mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, peas, green beans, etc. You will need to cook them before adding the blended sauce back to the pot.
• Use another protein. Butter beans are the main protein for this recipe, but you can use other legumes such as garbanzo beans, lentils, and white beans, or even use another type of plant-based protein such as tofu, tempeh, or seitan.
• Use another type of plant-based cream. Cashew cream is the one we use for this recipe. Other plant-based options are coconut milk, soy cream, oat milk or cream, silken tofu, etc.

Serving Suggestions

This hearty and delicious bean curry is a perfect weeknight dinner. It's nutritious, easy to make, and great for the whole family. When it comes to serving Butter Bean Curry, there are a variety of options to choose from. Here are a few suggestions that we especially loved combining with this curry:

Garnish

Garnish the curry with freshly chopped coriander leaves, a squeeze of lime juice or fresh lemon juice, and some sesame seeds. If you enjoy spicy food, you can add some chili paste or chili oil.

Rice and Naan Bread

One classic way to serve this comforting dish is with a side of rice and naan bread. Basmati rice is the type of rice we normally use when cooking Indian-style curries but you could choose to use any other type of long-grain rice. If you are serving this dish for a hungry crowd, you can add some veggies and protein to the rice and make a delicious Tawa Pulao.

Naan bread is a traditional Indian flatbread that is perfect for soaking up the curry sauce. If you buy it already made, heat it up in the oven or on a skillet and serve it hot. You can as well, make your own Vegan Naan, following this recipe from Rainbow Plant Life.

Pickles and Chutneys

Another way to add some flavor and texture to your Butter Bean Curry is to serve it with pickles and chutneys. Garlic and mango pickle are our all-time favorites. You can also try adding some lime or lemon pickles for a sour kick.

Papadoms

Papadoms are the perfect side dish perfect for scooping up the curry or using it to dip in your chutneys. You can find them at most Indian grocery stores and they just take a few seconds to cook in the microwave.

Appetizers to go with this Vegan Bean Curry

If you are looking for some appetizers to serve with this Bean Curry, you should try our Onion Bhaji or this spicy Cauliflower Manchurian.

Store and Reheat

This is one of the meals that taste even better on the second day, so don't worry if you have some leftovers.

Store the Butter Bean Curry in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. To reheat, simply transfer it to a microwave-safe dish and microwave on high for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Alternatively, you can reheat it on the stovetop over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Add a splash of water or vegetable broth if it seems too thick.

FAQ and Tips

If you tried our recipe, please leave a comment or tag us on Instagram @Sixhungryfeet. We are always happy to see your creations!

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