I once ate baked lima beans, made the Greek way, at a Mediterranean restaurant in Baltimore city. It came as a “mezze,” an appetizer, served at a restaurant of the same name. I was hooked. Although I tend not to love anything drowning in a tomato sauce, this dish was different. The creaminess of the lima beans was the perfect foil to the tangy tomatoes, reduced in the oven to a rich, mellow sweetness.
I have since made this dish many times, and although I can’t claim that it is a rip-off of the original, I daresay it is pretty good.
Limas are among my favorite beans to cook in a hurry because they get tender on the stovetop in no time at all– unlike most other beans that require hours, or, if you have a pressure cooker, at least a few dozen minutes. These lima beans are cooked to perfect doneness in no more than 25 minutes on the stovetop, without any soaking time. Now beat that.
There are also only just a bare minimum of ingredients in this recipe, and nearly everything comes out of a can or a jar, making it perfect winter food. I needed a can of tomatoes, a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste, an onion, a few cloves of garlic, and a couple of jarred herbs– I used oregano and thyme, although dill features quite often in other recipes for this dish which is called Gigantes in Greece.
I have once again been having email troubles, and I am apologizing again for those of you who are not getting the alerts when I post a new recipe. I am working on it and I think I have it resolved now, but meanwhile, I hope you will check in on the blog for new recipes.
Bye now!
A delicious side dish of Greek style lima beans. The creamy beans are baked in a bubbly, tangy-sweet tomato sauce with herbs.
- 1 pound dry lima beans
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 heaping tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp dry thyme
- 1 tsp dry oregano
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Place the dry lima beans in a large pot and cover with an inch of water. Bring the water to a boil, cover, and let the beans simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the beans are tender, but not mushy. Drain and set aside
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In the same pot used to cook the beans, heat the oil and add the onions and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Saute for 3-4 minutes until the onions soften but don't brown.
Add the thyme and oregano, stir to mix, and add the tomatoes and tomato paste with 1/2 cup water. Stir well to mix and bring to a boil.
Add the lima beans, mix, and add more salt and ground black pepper if needed.
Pour out the lima bean-tomato mixture in a large baking dish and spread in an even layer.
Bake, uncovered, for 60-75 minutes or until the top is slightly crusty.
Garnish, if desired, with some fresh parsley and serve.
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More lima bean recipes from the archives:
I like the idea of this recipe with some crusty bread on the side for a simple dinner. If I push the beans into the pressure cooker, the onion-tomato part can be cooked simultaneously.
I have a question about the tomato paste. All the recipes I see use so little of it, the smallest can I buy has a ton leftover. How do you store the leftover paste? Does it keep well for long?
Also, I love the new servings slider! Makes it easy to figure out how to scale it back for one person!
Hi Krithika, I store the leftover tomato paste in an airtight jar in the freezer — it keeps for ages. Thaw before use or pop into the microwave. Glad you like the servings slider feature! 🙂 When cooking the limas in a pressure cooker make sure you don’t overcook– limas fall apart very easily.
You can also put the leftover paste into an ice cube tray, freeze and pop out and store in a plastic bag or Tupperware container. Just use one or two cubes. Very handy.
Love this tip. Thanks, Judy.
The recipe says start with dry lima beans. You don’t soak them overnight in water and then cook them?
Put the jar in the fridge upside down. It stops it going mouldy. I don,t know how but it works.
Hi there hi wondering if leftovers of this dish can be frozen?
I trying the Greek style baked lima beans as I write this post. OK, more emphasis should be made in the directions that the required time for simmering beans until soft is well over an hour. I’ve made large Limas for years as a meat-eater with some kind of pork or smoked turkey for seasoning on the stove-top. I knew it took at least an hour of boiling to get these beans soft. I dont know why it seemed sensible to me to “let the beans simmer for 20-25 minutes.” Yes the outside was softer, but the core was still hard. Luckily, I had an extra bag of Limas and another can of diced tomatoes. I’m boiling these beans like I know (1 to 1.5 hours) this time. THEN, I’ll drain and add to the mix.
The 20-25 minutes, I think, is really for your tomato base to set with the beans. It is is no way meant to cook your beans to softness, which is my goal.
Thanks for the recipe though, Trial and error.
Hi. I like to know what I can serve with the Greek Lima Bean Bake.
Thanks, Daniele
Hi Daniele, a crusty bread and salad!
Hi for the recipes can I use real tomatoes instead of canned?
Yes!
Excited to try this recipe but I can only find canned lima beans (19 fl oz / 540 ml) in my area. How would I adjust the recipe to use those instead of dry beans? Thanks kindly. 🙂
Hi Evelyn, use 7 cups of canned lima beans– drain them first.
Thank you for responding so quickly!
I made this for dinner tonight; it was wonderful! I wish i could show you a picture. It looked just like your photo above. Thanks so much for a great recipe.