This easy vegan butter bean is made with creamy butter beans, umami-rich miso, cabbage and lemon. Ready in around 35 minutes, it's a simple, budget-friendly soup with 13g of fibre per serve and plenty of plant protein. Inspired by Alison Roman's Dilly Bean Stew, this vegan soup recipe is quick, simple and perfect to make ahead.
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Why You'll Love This Budget-Friendly Butter Bean Soup
Reader Review. "Absolutely delicious. Such a nice soup with great balanced flavor 10/10." (Adriana) ★★★★★
Ingredients & Substitutions
Butter beans. No surprises here. You can use dried butter beans (you'll need to cook them first - see the recipe card notes for instructions) or canned. I like the larger size and surface area of butter beans but you can use any white bean really.
Garlic adds aromatic depth to the soup's base.
Miso paste. White miso works best for this soup. You can go for a heavier red variety but I like the subtleness of the white and it isn't too salty. The miso isn't strong here, it just adds depth to the soup.
Bay leaf. This soup is really simple so we are using a bay leaf and garlic to create a more complex flavour.
Lemon. Just the juice here to lift the soup with a little acidity.
Wombok cabbage / Napa cabbage. Wombok (Napa) cooks really quickly and adds body to the soup, as well as a good amount of fibre. You can use other cabbage varieties, but you'll need to cook them a little longer. Kale will work too - again, adjust the cooking time as needed.
Nutritionist's note: This soup is a wonderful source of fibre, delivering around 13g per bowl, more than 40% of the general 30g-a-day fibre target for adults.
How To Make A Creamy Butter Bean Soup
You'll find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Step 1. Cook the onions.
Begin by heating vegan butter and olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until soft and beginning to colour. If the onions are cooking too quickly in sections, turn the heat down and cook for longer.
Step 2. Add garlic and miso
Add the garlic and cook for another minute before stirring in the miso
Step 3. Cook and smash the beans
Go ahead and add the beans and, using a large spoon or spatula, smash some of them into the pot. Breaking them will release their starchy centre and this will help thicken the soup. When I say I some, squash a little over a third of the beans. We are looking for whole, tender beans doing backstroke in a creamy broth.
Step 4. Add stock, bay leaf and simmer
Now add the stock and bay leaf and bring the mixture up to a simmer. Continue to simmer - stirring every once in a while - until the texture thickens to your liking, 15-20 minutes or so.
Step 5. Stir in cabbage and lemon juice
Add the Wombok/Napa cabbage and lemon juice and stir until the cabbage wilts. Simmer for another 5-7 minutes or until all the flavours have infused and are working together. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the parsley to serve.
What to Serve with Butter Bean Soup
How to Store Butter Bean Soup
In the refrigerator: To store in the fridge, cool the butter bean soup before transferring it to a sealed container. Store it in the fridge for 4-5 days.
In the freezer: Butter bean soup may be frozen because the beans are large and starchy and will maintain their shape, making it ideal for batch-cooking. Cool the soup and transfer it to a freezer-proof, sealed container. You can freeze in portion sizes too. Pop in the freezer for up to 2 months. To defrost, either transfer to the fridge for 24 hours or at room temperature for a few hours on the kitchen counter. Gently re-heat in a saucepan, adding a touch of water to adjust the consistency after defrosting and taste to season.
FAQs
Yes, butter beans and lima beans are the same. In the US, they are known as lima beans but here in Australia we call them butter beans.
Butter beans provide around 7-8g of protein per 100g serving. They're a useful source of plant protein, particularly when combined with other protein-rich foods throughout the day. This soup provides around 14g of protein per serve.
Yes, if you can't get butter beans, any creamy, white bean will work. Look for cannellini beans or Great Northern beans.
Yes, you can, but you'll need to cook them first. If you are using dried beans (around 350g), soak them in plenty of cold water with a teaspoon of baking soda overnight. Drain the beans and put them in a saucepan and cover with fresh cold water. Bring to a steady boil over medium heat, skimming off sediment as it rises to the surface. Cover and cook for 45 minutes - 1½ hrs until tender, then drain. The time will depend on how old your dried beans are. No judgment - I have jars of dried beans in my pantry that might be older than my daughter.
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Make This Recipe
Simple Butter Bean Soup
Equipment
- Medium pot
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter
- 1 large onion halved and sliced
- 3 garlic cloves peeled and minced
- 1½ tablespoon white miso paste
- 720 g butter beans cooked (3 x 400g (14oz) cans, drained)
- 4 cups / 1L vegetable stock
- 1 bay leaf
- juice of a lemon more to taste
- 3 cups Wombok cabbage Napa cabbage, core removed and the leaves roughly chopped
- salt to taste
- cracked pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley chopped
Instructions
- Heat the vegan butter and olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until soft and beginning to colour. If the onions are cooking too quickly around the edges, turn the heat down and cook for longer. No worries.
- Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
- Now add the miso paste and give it a quick stir.
- Add the beans and, using a large spoon or spatula, smash some of the beans into the pot. Breaking them will release their starchy centre and this will thicken Squash a little over a third of the beans.
- Go ahead and add the stock and bay leaf and bring the mixture up to a simmer. Continue to simmer - stirring every once in a while - until the texture thickens to your liking, 15-20 minutes or so. Â
- Add the cabbage and lemon juice and stir until the cabbage wilts. Simmer for another 5-7 minutes or until all the flavours have infused and are working together. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the parsley to serve.
Notes
Nutritional Disclaimer
The nutritional information is an estimate only and is automatically calculated using online tools. For accurate results, we recommend calculating the nutritional information based on the ingredients and brands you use.
Sharon Williams says
I decided to make this soup for my family for dinner tonight. I was quite excited to try this recipe as there were a couple of ingredients I have never tried before. Well it went down a treat , everyone loved it and all had seconds !! My husband commented saying I would definitely like that again for dinner....... thank you so much for this wonderful morish, nutritious and comforting soup. 10 out of 10 🙂
Amanda says
Oh, Sharon. Thank you for the lovely message and I am thrilled you and your family enjoyed the soup. I am chuffed 🙂
Lexi says
Good morning
I am going to make this for dinner tonight - was wondering do you think kale could work instead of cabbage as I have a lot of leftover kale that I need to use? I’ll let you know how I go.
Lexi X
Amanda says
Hi Lexi,
Full disclosure, I have only ever used cabbage in this recipe but you could, in theory, swap it out for kale. Kale is a lot chewier than cabbage, however, and it doesn't cook down as much, so maybe pop in a cup or two of finely sliced kale and let it cook down until it's tender enough to eat with the buttery beans. It will have more bite but I think it will be equally delicious.
I'd love to hear how it goes! Take care, Lexi x
Shannon says
What a warming, cozy soup for fall! I pretty much followed the exact recipe (which was so simple), except that I subbed navies in place of butter beans, and it came out well-balanced and satisfying. Serious yum.
Amanda says
Oh, thanks Shannon. That's fantastic to hear. I am so glad you enjoyed it. x
Sophie says
I made this for dinner last night for myself and my mum and we absolutely loved it! It was the perfect meal on a rainy evening in Sydney. Will definitely be making it again!
Amanda says
Hello from Melbourne! Usually it's us with the rainy weather. Thanks so much for commenting, Sophie, I appreciate it. I am thrilled you and your Mum enjoyed the soup. It's such a simple bowl, but so flavourful. One of my favourites. 🙂
Anders Lindstrom says
I had a feeling this would be a good one when I read the recipe. It didn’t disappoint! It’s simple, delicious and so satisfying. I will definitely be making this again. 10/10 from me too.
Amanda says
You've made my day, Anders. Thank you. I am so glad you enjoyed the soup. Butter beans are the best - I made a Middle Eastern inspired butter bean stew today that I am excited to share. They are so lovely. Thanks again. A.
Steph says
Absolutely delicious, but I realized I never added the miso as it isn't in the instructions to add it.
Amanda says
Oh Steph! I am so glad you liked the soup even without the miso. It is in the instructions to add it in Step 2 - "Add the garlic and cook for another minute before stirring in the miso paste." However, I will re-write it and add it as an additional step to make it clearer - I am always happy to improve how I communicate the recipes. So, thank you! Have a great day and thanks for taking the time to write 🙂
Amanda says
Note - I've added the miso as an extra step. x
Adriana says
Absolutely delicious. Such a nice soup with great balanced flavor 10/10
Amanda says
I am so happy you liked it, Adriana! I love this soup too - it's simple but tasty. Thank you for leaving your feedback, I appreciate it.