Butter Bean Curry

I am so excited to share today's vegan Butter Bean Curry recipe with you guys. It's no secret that curry is one of my favorite dishes. It's easy and flavorful. What's not to love!

What Are Butter Beans?

I have recently become a huge fan of butter beans. Well, I guess you could say I've been a fan for quite awhile. I say this because recently I was shocked to my very core to discover that butter beans are the same thing as lima beans. I wish I knew that before I went searching up and down for butter beans at the grocery store.

Even though lima beans and butter beans are the same bean, they are not always identical. They're not always identical, because you can find them for sale at different stages of maturity.

There's the baby lima beans which are much more starchy texture. Do not use these for this butter bean curry recipe. My favorite butter beans are the Jack's Quality Beans. They're buttery and pre made!

What Makes This Vegan Butter Bean Curry So Healthy?

This curry is the perfect easy healthy recipe, because it is made using simple clean ingredients. This recipe is:

• WHOLE FOODS PLANT BASED
• OIL-FREE
• GLUTEN-FREE
• VEGAN
• DAIRY-FREE
• HIGH PROTEIN
• HIGH FIBER
• REFINED SUGAR-FREE

Choosing The best Type Of Potato For Curry:

When I was developing this recipe it was important that I made sure to include a variety of vegetables. This honestly goes for all of my recipes, but I make a special note of it when I am working with calorie dense ingredients like coconut milk.

Since this butter bean curry recipe uses coconut milk for the base, I knew that I wanted to include lots of vegetables in it to ensure that the overall meal would be balanced! This is why this recipe contains two types of potatoes: sweet potatoes and russet potatoes.

I find that these potatoes work best for curries, because they are firm and will hold their shape as you cook them, and not turn into a mush. If you are not a fan of sweet potatoes you can simple omit and double the russet potatoes, or vice versa.

I went with one of each to include more plant based diversity in this butter bean curry. Plant based diversity is one of the best ways to improve your gut health. Therefore I love recipes like this one that contain lots of spices and vegetable varieties!

What's The Difference Between Caribbean Curry, Indian Curry, and Asian Curry?

Indian Curries:

If are just beginning to explore different cuisines, you may be confused by curry. Curry is a very broad category that is a familiar dish in many nationalities. If you're American (like me) you probably didn't grow up eating this food. I sure wish I did though!

Curry is so fascinating to me, because the varieties are all very unique, but equally as delicious! Probably the most popular type of curry is Indian Curry. Indian curry is typically prepared with vegetables, lentils and plenty of spice. These spices include: Coriander, Turmeric, Cumin, Fenugreek, Chili Pepper, Black Pepper, and Bay Leaves. This type of curry is similar to this butter bean curry.

Caribbean Curries:

Caribbean Curry is the type of curry this vegan butter bean curry was inspired by. It is similar to Indian curry because of its history. After receiving spices from the East India Trading Company, many islands began making their own curries with similar spices. Therefore many of the spices used are the same as Indian curry.

Caribbean curries typically have a more mild flavor with a slight sweetness (they are my personal favorite!). This curry spice typically contains: coriander, garlic, turmeric, mace, coriander leaf, nutmeg, allspice, black pepper, cumin, fenugreek, cardamon, cinnamon, and ginger.

Asian Curries:

Last, but not least is Asian Curries. Asian Curries have a much different flavor that other curries. Asian curry is typically made with more fresh ingredients. Therefore you find Asian curries in a paste form.

There are two main types of Asian curries are green curry and red curry. These curries typically contain: lemongrass, kaffir limes, onion, coriander, chillies, and garlic.

*I want to note that there's slight differences between regions in these places, and they are all very special to the culture. I am not an expert, I simply wanted to give a brief general overview!

Related Vegan Curry Recipes:

• Simple Chickpea Curry
• Red Curry Peanut Kelp Noodle Salad
• Thai Green Curry With Crispy Tofu
• Thai Green Curry Ramen

Ingredients For This Butter Bean Curry:

For The Butter Bean Curry:

• Jamaican Style Curry Powder
• Full Fat Coconut Milk
• Paprika
• Cumin
• Cinnamon
• Turmeric
• Coconut Aminos
• Onion
• Garlic
• Sweet Potato
• Russet Potato
• Red Bell Pepper
• Spinach
• Lime juice
• Butter Beans

Additional Ingredients:

• Cilantro
• Rice
• Bread - I love serving this butter bean curry with some type of bread. You can use pita bread, or my personal favorite this delicious Italian Artisan Bread.

How To Make Butter Beans In Curry:

One of the main reasons I love this butter bean curry recipe is because it is so simple! This Caribbean dish can be made in one pot, and only takes about 30 minutes to make. This makes it the perfect healthy vegan weeknight meal!

Begin by washing your produce thoroughly. Next, Dice the onion, sweet potato, and russet potato. Mince the garlic. Add to a sauté pan with the coconut aminos and about ¼-1/2 cup water or vegetable broth (the key to oil-free cooking!). Cook until potatoes begin to soften.

Slice the bell pepper into strips. Add to the pan along with the coconut milk, spices, and butter beans. Cook for about 10 minutes on medium heat. Add the spinach and cook for about 2 more minutes (you want the spinach to wilt slightly).

Pour over rice and top with cilantro and black pepper. Serve with pita bread and enjoy!

Butter Bean Curry Variations:

There are endless ways to enjoy butter bean curry. Here are some delicious variations to try the next time you make it.

• Satay Sweet Potato Curry - You can make this sweet potato curry for a delicious peanut butter curry variation.
• Spicy - You can add extra red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper for the perfect spicy kick.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Are Butter Beans Good For You?

Butter beans are an incredibly healthy legume. These special beans are creamy, low-calorie, and high fiber. Butter beans also provide almost half your daily requirements of magnesium, and are proven to promote heart health.

Just like most beans, butter beans are high in protein. This makes them the perfect addition to this vegan butter bean curry recipe. This recipe is sure to keep you full for hours.

Do Butter Beans Go In Curry?

I make curry quite often. However I normally stick to chickpeas, or lentils when making a curry recipe. However butter beans in curry might just be my new favorite. This creamy and buttery texture of the butter beans compliments the coconut milk perfectly.

Not only do the butter beans make this recipe delicious and nutritious, but they're also budget friendly! Curries are one of my go-to vegan budget friendly meals, because they are dirt cheap to make and full of healthy ingredients! If you love curry I highly recommend buying things like spices, beans, and rice in bulk!

Can I Make This Plant Based Curry Recipe In An Instant Pot?

This recipe is super easy to make in an Instant Pot/Pressure cooker/Ninja Foodi. If you're in a time crunch pressure cooking can be the ultimate time saver! I've made this recipe before in my Ninja Foodi. It came out absolutely perfectly!

To make this butter bean curry in a pressure cooker, you simply have to add all ingredients except the spinach and cilantro together in the pot along with 1 cup of water. Pressure cook for 15 minutes and let sit for 5 before letting out the steam. Then you should be good to go! Mix in the spinach once you've released the pressure, and top with cilantro and black pepper.

Personally I prefer to use my Ninja Foodi to cook the rice in while I make the butter bean curry on the stove, because let's face it rice is a pain to cook! However if you cook the rice with a pressure cooker it cooks super quickly with no effort.