Fresh lima beans — also known as young or baby butter beans — are harvested before the seeds fully mature, giving them a bright green colour, tender texture, and sweeter, more delicate flavour than their dried counterparts.
They’re commonly available frozen in Australia and make a quick-cooking side dish or addition to soups, risottos, and succotash. Their soft, creamy texture when cooked pairs well with butter, herbs, and lighter seasonings.
Fresh or frozen lima beans cook in just minutes and don’t require soaking, making them far more convenient than the dried version. They have a gentler, more vegetal flavour that works in spring and summer dishes where dried beans would feel too heavy.
Safety
- › Toxicity: Contains phytohaemagglutinin. Requires preparation.
How it's made
Nutrition (per 100g)
1 cup is about 156 g — roughly 180 kcal of this.
What it costs the planet (per kilo)
≈ Estimated — worked out from a category-typical value further up its supply chain. Where this comes from →
Where it comes from
In the kitchen
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Where this data comes from
USDA
SR Legacy
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Where to next
Your household's take
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