Step into spring and whip up this dish of creamy butter beans with mushrooms and leeks. It’s luxurious spring comfort food and is ever so easy to make. The recipe is quick too, making it an ideal midweek dinner. Use wild greens, if you can find them, but spinach or collard greens if not.
Whilst wild garlic is still worth picking, nettles have really come into their own now. We’ve been eating lots of both. This recipe is a great way to use them and they add a healthy element to what might otherwise feel like an indulgence.
Dive Right In
- Why Make Creamy Butter Beans With Mushrooms?
- Creamy Butter Beans With Mushrooms And Leeks
- Ingredients
- How To Make Creamy Butter Beans
- Soft Greens And How To Prepare Them
- Other Butter Bean Recipes You Might Like
- Keep In Touch
- The Recipe
Why Make Creamy Butter Beans With Mushrooms?
Creamy butter beans are one of my favourite meals at this time of year. It’s a quick and easy dish to make and despite the cream, it’s quite healthy.
Here are a few reasons you might like to make it too.
- Budget-Friendly – Creamy butter beans is a delicious budget-friendly meal. There is a little bit of butter and cream, but the main ingredients are cheap and if you forage for your greens the dish become even more thrifty.
- Delicious and Comforting – The combination of creamy butter beans, earthy mushrooms, aromatic leeks and vibrant greens blended with garlic and cream gives a rich and satisfying flavour profile. This recipe offers a unique and delicious taste that’s both comforting and nourishing.
- Nutritious – Butter beans are packed with protein and fibre, while mushrooms are low in calories but rich in nutrients such as vitamin D and antioxidants. The addition of leeks and greens adds vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, which makes this dish a wholesome and nutritious choice.
- Quick and Easy Preparation – It’s a quick and easy recipe to make, so is especially good for busy weeknights or a relaxing weekend meal. You can get this dish on the table within twenty minutes, though what you choose to serve it with may take longer.
- Seasonal Appeal – Seasonal ingredients like wild garlic, nettles and collard greens makes this an ideal dish for spring.
- Varied Greens – Whilst wild garlic and nettles are great if you’re able to forage for them, you can swap them for any soft greens that are in season. Spinach, for example, is a perfect substitute. This means you can in fact make this recipe all year-round.
- Vegetarian and Vegan-Friendly – This recipe is inherently vegetarian, but if you’re after a vegan dish, just use plant-based substitutes for the dairy components.
Creamy Butter Beans With Mushrooms And Leeks
This creamy butter bean recipe is perfect comfort food at this in-between time of year, when the temperatures are still cool, but you need a burst of spring freshness. It’s particularly useful in early spring when wild nettles and garlic abound but leeks are still in season.
However, you don’t have to forage or be confined to spring. This is because any soft greens work well in this dish. I’ve given a few suggestions further down this post.
I like this recipe best served on top of baked potatoes. The potatoes soaks up the sauce which turns it into a rich, savoury, velvety mash. However, it’s also good served over polenta, alongside rice or enjoyed as a luxurious version of beans on toast. Or simply eat it in a bowl with a spoon and a chunk of crusty bread.
Despite the cream, this is not a heavy dish. The sauce is quite zippy as it’s tempered with a good amount of lemon juice. And the greens lift it up and turn it into a nutritious powerhouse.
Ingredients
This dish of creamy butter beans, mushrooms and leeks is all about delicious comfort food. And you don’t need a lot of fancy ingredients to make it.
Beans
Butter beans work really well in this dish. They almost have a buttery and creamy consistency all on their own. I prefer to use jarred beans than tinned, though boiled from dried are probably the best.
Jarred beans are more expensive, but they taste so much better than tinned. They’re also generally salted, so if you use those you might not need to add more than a pinch of salt to the dish. Taste test at the end and adjust accordingly.
Dairy
Double cream and butter make this dish particularly rich and unctuous. However, the amounts are relatively small, so not something to worry too much about.
To make these creamy butter beans vegan, just swap the dairy for plant-based alternatives.
Flavour Bombs
You can’t have a bean and mushroom dish without garlic. It’s an essential component unless you’re using wild garlic, in which case omit it. If black garlic is your thing, use that instead of, or as well as, fresh garlic.
Lemon juice adds zip and freshness to the bean dish and stops it from becoming overly rich and cloying.
The warm, sweet, bitter and spicy notes of fresh nutmeg work well with dairy and generally add depth of flavour. A little grating is all that’s needed. Too much nutmeg can overwhelm a dish.
Although you don’t need a great deal, fresh parsley sprinkled over the top lightens, brightens and generally enhances the dish. It also adds a nice pop of colour.
Tamari gives an umami boost and prevents the sauce from being bland. You can use your favourite soy sauce instead, but tamari is the king and worth the extra cost.
Leeks
Leeks have a lovely mild oniony flavour and thus combine well with this relatively mild and creamy dish. One medium to large leek is ideal.
In the images you can see here, I used two of our homegrown Babington leeks (Allium ampeloprasum babingtonii) as they were a bit on the small side.
Mushrooms
You can use any mushrooms you like in this recipe. I tend to go with the ubiquitous and relatively cheap white or chestnut mushrooms. This dish isn’t really about the mushrooms, it’s about the overall comforting texture and flavour.
Spring Greens
Ideally, I like to use a mix of wild garlic and nettles for this dish. You can, however, use any soft greens you like. I’ve made some suggestions further down this post. Don’t worry too much about the quantity, a bit more or a bit less isn’t going to matter.
In the images you can see here, I used only wild garlic. If you’re worried about lots of wild garlic overwhelming the flavours of everything else, don’t. Its pungency, mellows considerably as it cooks.
How To Make Creamy Butter Beans With Mushrooms
Creamy butter beans with mushrooms and leeks is one of the quickest and easiest meals you can make. Unless, that is, you cook the butter beans from dried.
Please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full instructions, timings and quantities of ingredients used.
Step 1. Prepare Leeks
Wash the leek well as dirt often gets trapped in the upper leaves. I cut the white end off and give it a quick rinse, but the green end requires more care.
Cut the leek crossways into slices.
Place a medium sized saucepan over a moderate heat and add the oil. Once hot, add the leeks and fry for a couple of minutes until they’ve started to soften. Give an occasional stir to avoid them catching. You don’t want the leeks to burn or go brown.
Step 2. Add Mushrooms
Wipe the mushroom tops with a clean cloth or use a mushroom brush. I have to confess that I find it easiest to clean them under a tap, though this is generally frowned upon. As long as you don’t get the undersides wet, I don’t find it matters.
Trim any dirty parts from the stalk, then roughly chop the mushrooms.
Add the butter to the pan of leeks followed by the mushrooms. Give a quick stir to coat the mushrooms in the butter. Peel and finely chop the garlic (if using). Add to the pan along with a pinch of salt.
Fry for three minutes or until the mushrooms have cooked through. Again, give an occasional stir to stop anything catching on the bottom.
Step 3. Prepare Beans And Greens
If using tinned beans, drain them first through a sieve then give them a quick rinse under the tap. With jarred beans I just spoon them straight out of the jar. It doesn’t matter if some of the liquid goes in to the leek and mushroom pan.
Likewise, if cooking beans from dried, drain the liquid, but you don’t need to be too thorough. There’s no need to rinse them.
Wash the greens well in clean water. Place in a colander and give a good shake. Then chop them roughly into pieces.
Add the butter beans to the leeks and mushrooms and stir through. You may need a splash of water if using tinned beans and everything’s looking a bit dry.
Add the tamari and greens, place the lid on the pan and allow the greens to wilt. This usually takes about three minutes.
Step 4. Final Touches
Add the cream, give a good stir and place the lid back on the pan. Allow the mixture to bubble for a minute or two, then take the pan off the heat.
Grate in the nutmeg and stir in the lemon juice.
Pour the contents of the pan into a dish and scatter the parsley over the top.
Serve with crusty bread or as a topping for baked potatoes, rice, pasta, polenta or toast.
Top Tips
To make these creamy butter beans vegan, just swap the dairy elements in the recipe for plant-based ones.
If I make this dish with greens other than wild garlic, I’ll often add two teaspoons of wild garlic pesto instead of the garlic cloves. If I use wild garlic, then I also don’t add the garlic cloves.
Soft Greens And How To Prepare Them
There are a number of soft-leaved greens you can use in this creamy butter bean dish. It’s best to add them towards the end of cooking to preserve their flavour. Cabbage and kale are both a bit too tough.
I tend to focus on early spring and foraged wild garlic and nettles, but here are a few other suggestions you can use at different times of the year.
- Baby spinach – leave as is
- Beetroot tops – roughly chop
- Fat hen – remove stalks and roughly chop
- Nettles – use the tips only and snip with a pair of scissors
- Orach – roughly chop
- Rocket (arugula) – leave as is
- Spinach – roughly chop
- Spring greens (collard greens) – shred finely
- Turnip tops (cime di rapa) – roughly chop
- Watercress – wash well and roughly chop, if needed
- Wild garlic – roughly chop
It goes without saying that you should wash any greens before using. However, if you’ve hand harvested greens from your garden, the allotment or the wild, make sure you’re particularly thorough.
Other Butter Bean Recipes You Might Like
Most white bean recipes are interchangeable. If you want to use butter beans, just swap them for whatever the suggested bean is. Here are a few recipes in which you can use butter beans.
- Bunny chow: bean curry in a bread bowl
- Chunky vegetable soup
- Greek butter beans in tomato sauce
- Homemade white bean burgers
- Squash & butter bean stew
- White bean salad: Spanish style
Keep in Touch
Thank you for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this creamy butter bean with mushrooms dish, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Do you have any recommendations or advice for using butter beans?
Please rate the recipe. If you post pictures of your creations on social media, use the hashtag #tinandthyme so I can see them.
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If you’d like more recipes made with pulses, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.
Choclette x
Creamy Butter Beans With Mushrooms. PIN IT.
Creamy Butter Beans With Mushrooms And Spring Greens
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 leek or use 2 small ones – sliced
- 15 g unsalted butter
- 150 g mushrooms of your choice roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped – omit if using wild garlic
- ½ tsp sea or rock salt you may not need this, depending on how salty your your butter beans are
- 225 g cooked butter beans (lima beans) or white beans of your choice (I used jarred)*
- 1 tsp tamari (affiliate link) or swap for your favourite soy sauce
- 50 g nettle tops or wild garlic or spinach or tender spring greens or soft-leaved greens of choice
- 75 ml double cream (heavy cream)
- ¼ tsp fresh nutmeg grated
- good grinding of black pepper
- ½ lemon juiced
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Place a medium sized pan over a moderate heat and add the oil. Once hot, add the leek slices and fry for a couple of minutes until softened. Give an occasional stir to avoid them catching. You don't want the leeks to go brown.1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 leek
- Add the butter followed by the mushrooms, garlic (if using) and a pinch of salt. Fry for three minutes or until the mushrooms have cooked through. Again, give an occasional stir.15 g unsalted butter, 150 g mushrooms of your choice, 2 cloves garlic, ½ tsp sea or rock salt
- Add the butter beans and stir through. You may need a splash of water if everything’s looking a bit dry.225 g cooked butter beans (lima beans)
- Add the tamari and greens, place the lid on the pan and allow the greens to wilt. This usually takes about three minutes.1 tsp tamari (affiliate link), 50 g nettle tops
- Add the cream, give a good stir and place the lid back on the pan. Allow the mixture to bubble for a minute or two, then take the pan off the heat.75 ml double cream (heavy cream)
- Grate in the nutmeg, grind in the pepper and stir in the lemon juice. Taste test and add the rest of the salt if needed.¼ tsp fresh nutmeg, good grinding of black pepper, ½ lemon
- Pour the contents of the pan into a dish and scatter the parsley over the top.1 tbsp fresh parsley
Annette says
I make a mushroom and black eyed bean stroganoff which is very similar but this sounds a great idea to use some Greek Gigantes that I have in the freezer.and adding greens just adds to the colour and nutrition. as always your recipes are a great inspiration Choclette!
Choclette says
Thank you Annette. Mushrooms and black eyed bean stoganoff sounds delicious. Beans are just so versatile. We tried goring some Greek Gigantes at the allotment last year, but the weather was so awful, they didn’t really come to much.
Pauline McNee says
I am looking forward to making this very healthy meal, we don’t have nettles here, but baby spinach is plentiful. it looks loaded with delicious
flavours. Just lovely.
Pauline @Happy Retirees Kitchen
Choclette says
Thank you Pauline. I hope you enjoy it. We never seem to tire of this one and the bonus is, it’s quick and easy to make.