Easy Roasted Butter Beans You Can Make in 25 Minutes

Crispy chickpeas get all the attention, but roasted butter beans deserve a spot in your weeknight rotation, too. They roast up creamy, savory, and lightly crisp around the edges, and you only need 2 ingredients and about 25 minutes to make them. Whether you want a high-fiber plant-based protein for grain bowls, salads, or an easy side dish, these roasted butter beans are one of the simplest pantry recipes you can keep on repeat.

Why This Recipe for Roasted Butter Beans?

This recipe for roasted butter beans is super easy. It takes only two ingredients and a few items that you probably already have in your kitchen.

Roasted butter beans make a great side dish all on their own. They also go well with a rice or quinoa bowl, in a salad, or in a wrap.

Equipment Needed for This Roasted Butter Beans Recipe

You really only need a few things for this roasted butter beans recipe:

• Baking sheet
• Parchment paper
• Colander
• Spatula

…And that’s pretty much it. Looks really simple already, doesn’t it?

Key Ingredient Roles

Although these ingredients aren’t complicated, it won’t surprise us if butter beans are sorta new to you. So here’s the quick rundown:

Butter Beans

1 1/2 cup butter beans (15-ounce can, drained and rinsed)

Butter beans are basically the mature version of lima beans. They’re called butter beans because they have a mild, creamy flavor, and the color resembles the natural color of butter.

(Butter is naturally a creamy white. If it looks pale yellow, it probably had some form of food coloring added.)

Despite the name, butter beans are naturally dairy-free, so no worries there.

Garlic Salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

Just as it sounds, the garlic salt combines the flavors of garlic and salt to give the butter beans some simple seasoning.

How to Make Easy Roasted Butter Beans

Let’s jump right into it so we can see how easy making these roasted butter beans really is!

Step One: Preheat Oven

Because these beans don’t take long to get ready to stick in the oven, I start by preheating the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (218 degrees Celsius).

Step Two: Prepare 9X13 Baking Sheet

Line a 9X13 baking sheet with parchment paper. Alternatively, you can lightly spray the baking sheet with cooking spray.

Step Three: Drain and Rinse Beans

Drain and rinse the beans. I like to use the colander for this to make it easier. Shake off as much water as you can, and then pat dry with paper towels.

Step Four: Transfer to Baking Sheet

Transfer the butter beans to the baking sheet and spread them out so they form a single layer.

Step Five: Season with Garlic Salt

Evenly sprinkle the garlic salt over the butter beans.

Step Six: Bake the Butter Beans

Place the butter beans in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. Stir with the spatula after 10 minutes.

Step Seven: Let Cool Slightly

Let the beans cool a little on the baking sheet before serving.

Serving Roasted Butter Beans

I like to serve these butter beans as a side dish with tasty, healthy main dishes like miso salmon and chicken marsala. Of course, they can also go quite well with primarily vegetarian dishes, or even as a quick snack when served with a little ranch dressing or avocado dip.

Of course, the important thing is that roasted butter beans are a healthy dish that is super easy to make. That makes it one of my favorite side dishes to make for dinner when I’m pretty occupied with making the main dish.

Substitutions for Roasted Butter Beans

As I mentioned above, the butter beans started out as a substitute for garbanzo beans. So you can use them pretty interchangeably if you like. You can also use lima beans, though they have a more starchy, mealy flavor.

If you’re following a low-salt diet, plain garlic powder should work. If you just don’t have any garlic salt, a mix of 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon table salt makes an adequate substitute in a pinch.

(You can also experiment a little with seasonings if you like, but I like to keep it simple by sticking to garlic salt.)

Variations for Roasted Butter Beans

Want to try a different flavor? I’ve had some luck with a light sprinkling of ranch seasoning instead of garlic salt. Whatever you end up trying as a seasoning, the important thing is not to get too heavy-handed with it. Usually, half a teaspoon is about enough.

Alternatively, try doubling or tripling the recipe and serving with a few dipping sauces. They disappear fast once people have gotten curious enough to try them!

Frequently Asked Questions About Roasted Butter Beans

While this recipe is pretty straightforward, we do sometimes get some good questions! I answered some of the most common questions here. If you think of one I haven’t answered yet, feel free to ask in the comments section, and we’ll try to answer it.

If I try roasting them, should they get crispy?

Butter beans may get lightly crispy on the outside when roasted. Don’t expect them to get too crispy, though.

Why didn’t my roasted butter beans get crispy?

Roasted butter beans usually get lightly crisp on the outside while staying soft inside. For the best texture, dry them well after rinsing, spread them in a single layer, and avoid overcrowding the pan.

Can I use dried butter beans for this recipe?

I did use canned beans for this recipe because they’ve already been fully cooked. If you use dried beans, simmer them for 45 to 90 minutes until they are tender before you roast them.

How long do roasted butter beans last?

I like to eat them the same day I make them. However, they can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 3-4 days. Reheat them in the oven or an air fryer.

Can I serve them in a way that’s not just plain?

Sure, you can! They go well in salads, grain bowls, wraps, and several pasta dishes. I mostly just use them as a plain side dish when I want to keep things simple.

What even are butter beans?

Butter beans also go under the alias name of lima beans! Lima beans are actually the slightly younger version, which makes them a little greener than the fully mature butter bean. Both versions come from the Phaseolus lunatus plant, which is mostly grown around Lima, Peru. That explains why so much of the world calls them lima beans.

What people commonly call this bean can vary depending on the region of the United States or the part of the world you live in. If you live in the Southern United States or the United Kingdom, you are probably more familiar with the name butter beans. For the rest of us, lima beans and baby lima beans are a more common household name.

This bean is mildly flavored and can range in color from pea-green (baby lima beans) to off-white (butter beans). Lima beans typically have a more starchy and mealy flavor. Cooked butter beans without seasoning typically have a mild, creamy flavor similar to butter. Their color also resembles the natural color of butter.

Fun fact: The plant that produces both butter beans and lima beans has likely been cultivated for a long time in South and Central America. Some scholars say it was separately domesticated at least twice, once in the Andean region and again in Mesoamerica.

Are butter beans healthy?

Despite these beans having the name ‘butter’ in them, they contain no dairy! They get that name due to their creamy white appearance and their mild yet rich taste profile.

According to the USDA’s FoodData Central database, 100 grams of butter beans contain just 80 calories. That includes 4.8 grams of protein, 0 grams of fat, 15.2 grams of carbohydrates, and 4 grams of dietary fiber.

Butter beans are considered a low-energy-dense food, which means that these beans have a low calorie count when compared to their serving size. Consuming more low-energy-dense foods can aid in maintaining a healthy weight and help you stay full longer!

Can I grow butter beans in my garden?

If you want to try it yourself, it may be possible if you have the right climate and soil. In this video, some experienced homesteaders show you how:

So, as you can see, it may be possible to grow them in your garden!

Did You Make These Roasted Butter Beans?

I would love to know if you make these easy roasted butter beans! If you have a favorite way to use them, feel free to let us know in the comments section.