If you love the sound of leeks, bacon, garlic, white wine and butter then you will love this Butter Bean Casserole. Made in just 30 minutes, this quick and easy dinner recipe is a delicious mid-week life saver. The creamy texture of the butter beans pairs beautifully with the flavoursome garlic and leek, savoury bacon and melted butter.
I absolutely love eating this casserole dish straight from the bowl, scooped up with fresh bread. This simple recipe is filled to the brim with flavour and is so wholesome, even my most picky eater loved it!
If you love this quick and easy dinner recipe then you might also like to try my Mediterranean Tray Bake Pasta Sauce.
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Why You'll Love This Butter Bean Stew
- my Butter Bean Casserole is serious comfort food.
- serve in a bowl as a complete meal with a side of crusty white bread, or serve as a side dish.
- this one pot wonder is a family favourite! Eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
- creamy butter beans are a fantastic source of plant-based protein.
- serve among other side dishes as a holiday meal or serve as the main event.
Ingredients Notes and Substitutions
This delicious meal is made using easy to find, simple ingredients. Below I'll list any ingredients notes and possible ingredient substitutions that can be made. I always recommend sticking to the original recipe where possible as the recipe hasn't been tested with the below substitutions. This is really just to give you an idea of ingredients you can change if you can't find the ingredients listed in the recipe.
- butter beans - butter beans are a large white bean, if you have trouble finding them you can swap for other white beans like pinto or cannellini beans. Butter beans and Lima Beans are the same thing. You could also use baby lima beans. I've used tinned beans, not dried beans, to cut down the cooking time.
- fresh garlic cloves - you could also use minced garlic from the jar - just use one teaspoon per clove of garlic called for in the recipe. I wouldn't recommend using garlic powder in this recipe.
- leek - I've used the white ends of the leek in this recipe. Hold onto the green tops and use them to make a vegetable broth.
- bacon - I've used bacon rashers cut into thin strips, with the rind removed. You could also use speck in this recipe.
- chicken stock - you can also use vegetable stock or chicken or vegetable broth in this recipe.
- white wine - I find a dry white wine works best for this butter bean recipe.
- butter - if you are dairy free or prefer not to use butter then the best substitute is extra virgin olive oil.
- sun dried tomatoes - thinly slice the sun dried tomatoes. You can also use semi dried tomatoes.
- thyme - you could also use fresh parsley (flat leaf or curly) or even rosemary.
- kale - thinly chopped kale can be swapped for baby spinach.
How to Make Butter Bean Casserole
It's meals like these that I love so much because of how simple yet satisfying they are to make. Cooking this meal will have your kitchen smelling incredible! Here's how to make this delicious casserole.
First, place either a large saucepan or dutch oven onto the stovetop and bring to a medium heat. Melt the butter and add in the bacon pieces. Fry until they begin to brown.
At this point, move the bacon to one side of the pan and add in the thinly sliced leeks. Saute the leeks until soft and then add the garlic. Continue to sauté until they begin to caramelise.
Next, deglaze the pan by pouring in the white wine and using the spatula to dissolve all of the brown bits on the bottom of the pan into the liquid. Simmer rapidly until the wine begins to reduce. Now pour in the stock, add the butter beans and the sun dried tomatoes. Add in the sprigs of thyme and stir to combine.
Simmer on a medium heat until the liquid reduces by about half. Season with salt and pepper and serve hot with your favourite crusty bread.
Variations
- Spicy - top with red chilli flakes / red pepper flakes.
- Zesty - add lemon zest to the dish while it cooks.
- Vegetarian - omit the bacon and season with a little extra salt (to taste).
📖 Recipe
Equipment
- Dutch oven or large saucepan
- Chopping Board
- Sharp knife
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 50 grams butter
- 250 g rashers bacon rind removed, diced
- 1 leek cleaned and thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup white wine
- 2 tins butter beans
- 2 cups stock
- ¼ cup sundried tomatoes finely sliced
- 1 cup kale finely chopped
Instructions
- Bring a large casserole pan to a medium heat. Melt the butter in the pan and add the bacon. Fry until the fat is translucent.
- Add the leek and sauté until tender, before adding the garlic. Stir and sauté until the garlic is fragrant and the leek and garlic are beginning to turn a caramel colour.
- Add the white wine to deglaze the pan, stirring up all of the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add the stock, butter beans and sun dried tomatoes and stir to combine. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for ten minutes.
- After ten minutes, add the kale and stir through. Simmer until the kale has wilted.
- Serve warm with crusty bread.
Notes
Serving Suggestions
- serve on toast for breakfast.
- serve as a main meal in a bowl with a side of sourdough.
- can be served as a side dish.
Lori Kauppinen
Yummy. My husband and I loved this. Healthy, filling and flavourful!
Sarah Bell
I'm so glad you loved it!
Tricia
This was excellent! I used leftover ham instead of bacon and spinach for the kale and we ate the whole recipe just the two of us. So quick too.
Sarah Bell
I'm so glad you loved it! It's one of my favourite dishes.