One of my favourite canned butter bean recipes is this Easy Butter Bean Stew. I start off by sauteeing some vegetables, then add the butter beans along with smoked sausage and sun-dried tomatoes to add extra layers of flavour.
When is comes to easy mid week dinners, my braised butter beans appear frequently on the family dinner plan as I am rarely without a selection of canned beans of some variety in my larder.
The butter bean recipe takes only 15 minutes to prepare and then you can leave it to simmer away for a further 30 minutes to let the vegetables and beans soften a little.
Butter bean and vegetable stew with smoked sausage is a great make ahead dish, in fact like most stewed dishes, it tastes even better the next day when the flavours have had a chance to develop and intensify.
Table of contents
Why you'll love this recipe
- Hands on prep time is minimal only 15 minutes to pull the dish together, then leave it on the stove to bubble away.
- Make ahead the day before, as with all stews it will taste even better the next day when the flavours have had a chance to meld together.
- Feed a crowd as this recipe is easy to double up.
- Gluten free and dairy free so suitable for Coeliacs and those following a dairy free diet.
Recipe ingredients & substitutions
- Oil - as I'm sauteeing veg, I use regular olive oil. Don't use extra virgin olive oil as it has too low a burn temperature.
- Base vegetables - I use a combination of red onion, leek, celery, garlic and red chilli to form the base flavours in this bean stew.
- Sausage - use any variety of smoked sausage.
- Tomatoes - I prefer sun blush tomatoes, rather than sun dried tomatoes, as they are softer. However, both will work in this dish.
- Beans - for ease and speed of cook, I've used canned butter beans.
- Stock (broth) - I've used chicken stock, but vegetable broth would work in this dish too.
- Seasoning - I've kept the seasoning simple with some sea salt and black pepper.
- Fresh herbs - I like to stir through some freshly chopped parsley before serving, but this is entirely optional and you can leave the parsley out if you prefer.
How to make butter bean stew
- Place a large non stick frying pan or skillet over a medium high heat, and pour in the olive oil.
- Add the onion and leek to the pan, along with a pinch of salt, and saute for 5 minutes until softened.
- Now add the celery, garlic and red chilli and saute for a further 5 minutes.
- Next add the smoked sausage and saute for 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Finally add in all the remaining ingredients, stir to combine and reduce the heat to medium low and braise the butter beans for 15 minutes.
- Remove the butter bean stew from the stove, and stir through the freshly chopped parsley if using.
- Divide between 2 bowls and serve hot.
Recipe variations
This recipe is easily adapted to suit your own tastes:
- Swap the butter beans for any other variety of canned bean.
- I've used a pre-cooked smoked sausage, but you can use any variety of smoked sausage. Chorizo would be a great additional, or swap the sausage for some smoked bacon.
- Remove the meat altogether and add in a variety of extra veggies like bell peppers, courgette (zucchini), aubergine (eggplant), squash, sweet potato, carrot, sweetcorn.
- For a spicy butter bean stew add in extra fresh chillies, or chilli flakes.
Serving suggestions
This is a hearty and healthy bowl of food, so I keep any side dishes on the light side. My Lettuce & Herb Salad is perfect, and some crusty bread for those who want it.
Useful hints and tips
- Butter bean stew can be easily frozen. Once cooked, simply cool and place in a large tub ready for the freezer. You may decide to split into individual sized portions. Simply remove from the freezer and allow to defrost overnight in the fridge. When ready to eat, ensure you heat the stew thoroughly and serve hot.
- Don't waste the oil from the sun blush tomatoes as it's packed with flavour, and in some cases dried herbs. Instead add this to the stew.
- To make this dish suitable for vegetarian and vegan diners, remove the smoked sausage and swap the chicken stock for vegetable stock.
- For gluten free diners use a gluten free chicken stock.
- Allergy advice: gluten free, dairy free, egg free, soya free and nut free. For comprehensive and detailed allergy advice go to Allergy UK.
FAQs
Yes, butter beans are a great store cupboard ingredient, they are low in fat but high in protein, fibre, folate and iron. I always have a variety of canned beans in my store at home.
If using dried butter beans rather than canned you will need to cook them first. I recommend soaking them in cold water for a least 8 hours or overnight.
Yes, if you are using canned beans they are already cooked, but still great at taking on lots of flavour.
Yes you can! As the beans are already cooked, only cook them for a maximum of 40 minutes, otherwise they will start to become mushy and disintigrate.
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Additional recipe suggestions
If you like this recipe then try some of my favorite bean based recipes:
- Chorizo Bean Stew
- Bean Chilli
- Easy Bean Salad
- Bean & Vegetable soup
- Cannellini Bean Stew with Bacon and Roast Chicken
Looking for other ideas to feed the family, check out my Easy Family Dinners post, full of recipe ideas and helpful hints.
Easy Butter Bean Stew with Smoked Sausage
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 red onion (sliced)
- 1 leek (sliced)
- 2 sticks celery (diced)
- 3 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 1 red chilli (finely sliced)
- 160 g smoked sausage (sliced)
- 150 g sun blush tomatoes (chopped)
- 470 g canned butter beans (use 2 x 400 g cans, water drained off)
- 100 ml chicken stock (broth)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley (optional)
Instructions
- Place a large non stick frying pan or skillet over a medium high heat, and pour in the olive oil.
- Add the onion and leek to the pan, along with a pinch of salt, and saute for 5 minutes until softened.
- Now add the celery, garlic and red chilli and saute for a further 5 minutes.
- Next add the smoked sausage and saute for 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Finally add in all the remaining ingredients, stir to combine and reduce the heat to medium low and braise the butter beans for 15 minutes.
- Remove the butter bean stew from the stove, and stir through the freshly chopped parsley if using.
- Divide between 2 bowls and serve hot.
Notes
• Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only •
Cat says
This was a big bowl of comfort! Delicious and warming, perfect.
Lesley says
Thank you Cat, this really is the perfect bowl of comfort food.
Chloe says
This is delicious, I love beans and always have them in the pantry but I hadn't used them for ages until this. The smoked sausage was a genius addition, loved that!
Lesley says
Thank you Chloe, like you I always keep a variety of tinned beans in my stores, so handy for a quick dinner like this one.
Janice says
What a great meal this is. All in one pot and so tasty, I'll definitely be making it again.
Lesley says
Thank you Janice I'm glad you enjoyed it.