Recipes Fruits and Vegetables Beans and Peas Lima Beans Southern Butter Beans 4.0 (4) 4 Reviews 1 Photo Southern butter beans are made with bacon and ham hock and are slow-simmered over 3 hours to develop their full flavor. By Craig Ruff Craig Ruff Craig Ruff is a dedicated cook and lover of food science. His culinary background comes from culinary school and his time working in restaurants. Allrecipes' editorial guidelines Published on May 3, 2024 Tested by Julia Levy Tested by Julia Levy Julia Levy is an experienced cook with a demonstrated history of working in the publishing industry. She is skilled in catering, food & beverage, event planning, and menu development. She tests and develops recipes in the DotDash Meredith Test Kitchen for Southern Living. Meet the Allrecipes Test Kitchen Save Rate Print Share Close Add Photo Prep Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs 45 mins Total Time: 2 hrs 50 mins Jump to Nutrition Facts Jump to recipe This recipe is chock-full of everything you’d want in Southern butter beans. Bacon, ham hock, chicken stock, aromatics like bay leaves and thyme, and a little sherry vinegar for good measure. And the best part about this recipe is that you don’t need to soak the beans (but if you do want to soak the beans overnight, the texture of the bean will likely improve and you won’t need to cook the butter beans as long). But for a no-soak bean recipe, it is full of flavor and finishes in 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The right way to cook this recipe is low and slow. The butter beans will take on a thick, creamy texture with tons of umami and meatiness from the ham hock and bacon. “Bean quality is actually quite important here,” says recipe developer Craig Ruff. “I found that large limas that were broken or missing parts of the skin just turned to mush during cooking. Use as fresh as possible, and look for beans that are intact with their skin.” When preparing butter beans, a gentle stir, rather than a vigorous stir, prevents the beans from turning to mush. And if you don’t have the time to wait around for the beans to finish, adding a tablespoon of baking soda to your beans will make them tender much quicker, reducing the cooking time. Editorial Contributions by Keaton Larson Cook Mode (Keep screen awake) Ingredients 1x 2x 4x Oops! Something went wrong. Our team is working on it. 3 thick-cut slices bacon, chopped 1 yellow onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, sliced 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 6 cups lower-sodium chicken stock, plus more as needed 1 pound dried large lima beans 1 (14 ounce) smoked ham hock 2 fresh or dried bay leaves 2 thyme sprigs 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar thyme leaves, for garnish Directions Gather all ingredients. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios Place bacon in a large Dutch oven or large pot, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crispy, about 8 minutes. Add onion, garlic, and pepper; cook, stirring often, until onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios Add chicken stock, beans, ham hock, bay leaves, thyme sprigs, and salt; bring to a boil over medium-high. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until beans are tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours, adding stock or water as needed to keep beans covered by about 1/4 inch. Stop adding liquid during last 30 minutes of cooking so beans aren’t too brothy. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios Remove ham hock; pick meat, discard hock, and stir meat into beans. Remove and discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Stir in sherry vinegar. Divide beans evenly among bowls. Garnish with thyme leaves and additional pepper. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios I Made It Print Nutrition Facts (per serving) 1815 Calories 42g Fat 203g Carbs 159g Protein Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label Nutrition Facts Calories 1815 % Daily Value * Total Fat 42g 53% Saturated Fat 13g 65% Cholesterol 166mg 55% Sodium 6885mg 299% Total Carbohydrate 203g 74% Dietary Fiber 36g 129% Total Sugars 47g Protein 159g 318% Vitamin C 24mg 26% Calcium 238mg 18% Iron 17mg 96% Potassium 5112mg 109% * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. ** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data. (-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.