Lima Beans Recipe (with Bacon)

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword lima-beans-recipes, southern-lima-beans

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 45

Total Time 55

Servings servings (may vary)

Calories 215kcal

In a large heavy bottomed 4 quart pot or Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium- high heat. Cook for 5-8 minutes or just until bacon has rendered and browned.
Remove bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate or platter and chop reserving drippings in the pot.
Add diced onion to drippings, cook for 3-4 minutes over medium-high heat or until softened and beginning to brown.
Meanwhile, stir to dissolve chicken base in water. Add to the pot with lima beans, black pepper, granulated garlic and onion powder. Mix to combine.
Bring to a boil then immediately lower heat to low and simmer covered for 35-45 minutes. (Add additional water if needed to completely cover beans.)
At 35 minutes, uncover and check to see of the beans are tender. Cook uncovered for 5-10 minutes over medium heat or just until the cooking liquid has reduced and thickened slightly. (fresh beans may take longer.)
Just before serving, add chopped bacon back to the pot and serve.

Salt: Chicken base will have ample salt for the entire dish. You can use 4 cups of chicken stock adding 1-2 teaspoons of salt in place of water and chicken base, if desired.
Liquid: When covering the beans with water, the amount can vary slightly depending on the size of the pot used. Rule of thumb is, the beans should be covered with 1/2-1 inch of liquid for cooking.
Beans: You can use fresh shelled lima beans or frozen lima beans for this recipe. There's no need to thaw frozen lima beans prior to adding them to the pot. Should you choose to go with a larger butter bean, they will naturally swell more than a small baby lima bean so adjust the amount of liquid to accommodate.
Herbes: You can add fresh parsley, thyme or chives to change the flavor profile.
Protein: You can add 4 ounces of cubed ham to the pot in place of bacon or in addition to the bacon. If you have a small ham bone, smoked chicken wings, smoked turkey or any smoked meat, would add flavor to the sauce as well.
Uses: You could turn any leftovers into Easy Southern Succotash with corn, tomatoes and okra.