This Greek style dish of gigantes plaki, buttery lima beans baked in a tomato sauce, can be served as a mezze (an appetizer) or as a tasty side dish. It's a simple recipe loaded with so much alluring Mediterranean flavor and it's so easy to make!
The simplest of foods can often be the yummiest, and this easy but classic Greek dish of gigantes, or giant beans, is a perfect example of that. Creamy lima beans are drowned in a tangy, herb-seasoned tomato sauce and the result is nothing short of spectacular -- and extraordinarily delicious.
The gigantes beans, also called butter beans for a good reason, become soft and creamy in the oven and the tomato sauce mellows into a rich, alluring sweetness. And all this using only pantry ingredients.
I shared this recipe with you a few years back and it's since garnered more than 130 five-star reviews from readers. I am updating the old post with new photos of the final dish and more step-by-step instructions and photos to clarify the process of making these gigantes. If you are still sitting on the fence, I hope this will make you go for it!
Table of Contents
Why you will love this recipe
- There's so much flavor packed in this simple recipe. Lima beans (also called butter beans) are among my favorites to cook with because they cook so quickly! I adore them in recipes like this lima bean curry and this creamy butter beans recipe. In this gigantes recipe the creamy beans with the tangy-sweet tomatoes are amazing!
- You need just eight ingredients. There are a few additional ingredients that are completely optional. And everything used in this recipe comes from the pantry.
- It's a simple dish. Putting this dish together is so easy and it is suited even to beginner cooks, so long as you follow instructions.
- It's a versatile dish. You can serve these Greek beans as an appetizer or a side. Or you can make a meal of it by serving them with a crusty slice of bread drizzled with olive oil.
- It's a stunning dish. I love the deep red of this dish and it never fails to wow.
- It's suited to all diets. Vegan, soy-free, nut-free, gluten-free--we've got you covered!
Ingredients
- Giant lima beans. You can use canned large or giant lima beans, or regular lima beans, in this recipe. I cook mine from scratch and because limas cook so quickly you don't need to soak the beans overnight. You will need a pound of giant or large lima beans.
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Aromatics: Onions and garlic.
- Tomatoes: You will need two kinds in this recipe--canned diced tomatoes (pureed tomatoes will do) and tomato paste. If using canned plum tomatoes crush them with your fingers before adding to the pan.
- Herbs: Dried thyme and dried oregano.
- Salt and ground black pepper.
Optional ingredients:
- Paprika: I use this mainly for color. You can skip it with no noticeable loss of flavor.
- Celery. I use it just as often as I don't. You can skip it if you don't have it and you will still get great results.
- Fresh herbs: Use chopped parsley or oregano, if desired, for garnish.
How to make Greek Gigantes
1. Place dried large lima beans and water in the Instant Pot liner. Add a teaspoon of salt and, if you want, a bay leaf. See FAQs below for stovetop instructions.
2. Cook the beans for 25 minutes and allow pressure to release naturally. If short on time, force release 10 minutes after cooking has ended. Strain the beans and set aside.
3. Heat olive oil in a skillet or large saucepan with the garlic. Once the garlic takes on a light golden color add the onions and celery, if using. Season with salt and ground black pepper. Saute five minutes or until onions have softened.
4. Add the dried oregano and dried thyme. Mix.
5. Stir in the diced tomatoes or tomato puree and the tomato paste. Add paprika, if using.
6. Add two cups of water or vegetable stock. Mix well and bring to a boil.
7. Add the cooked lima beans to the pot and gently stir them in. Don't mash the beans, you want them whole in the final dish.
8. Bring the lima beans to a boil. Check seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed. Turn off the stove.
9. Pour the lima beans mixture into a 4-quart or larger baking dish
10. Place in a preheated 350 degree Fahrenheit oven and bake 60-70 minutes or until the top is crusty. Garnish with fresh parsley or oregano, if desired, and serve hot, warm or at room temperature.
Recipe FAQs
To cook the lima beans on the stove, place the lima beans in a lare pot or saucepan. Cover with two inches of water, season with salt and add a bay leaf if desired. Bring to a boil, cover and cook 30 minutes over medium low heat or until the beans are tender. Add more water if the pot dries up at any point. Drain the beans before using.
Giant lima beans are traditional for this recipe but if you can't find them you can use regular lima beans.
Yes, assuming they are cooked, you can add them directly to the pot. If not, cook them in boiling water until they are tender before adding.
Storage instructions
- Refrigerate: Store the baked beans in the fridge for up to four days.
- Freeze: Place the gigantes in a freezer safe container or airtight container and freeze for up to three months.
- Reheat: Thaw, if frozen. Reheat in the oven or microwave.
More Greek inspired recipes
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Recipe card
Gigantes (Greek Lima Beans)
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried large lima beans
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic (minced or crushed through a garlic press)
- 1 medium onion (diced)
- 2 stalks celery (optional, diced)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 15 ounces diced tomatoes (can use pureed tomatoes)
- 2 heaping tbsp tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon paprika (optional)
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the dried large lima beans in plenty of water. Place the beans and five cups water in the Instant Pot liner. Add a teaspoon of salt and, if you want, a bay leaf. See recipe notes below for stovetop instructions.
- Cook the beans for 25 minutes and allow pressure to release naturally. If short on time, force release 10 minutes after cooking has ended. Strain the beans and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius.
- Heat olive oil in a skillet or large saucepan with the garlic. Once the garlic takes on a light golden color add the onions and celery, if using. Season with salt and ground black pepper. Saute five minutes or until onions have softened.
- Add the dried oregano and dried thyme. Mix.
- Stir in the diced tomatoes or tomato puree and the tomato paste. Add paprika, if using.
- Add two cups of water or vegetable stock. Mix well and bring to a boil.
- Add the cooked lima beans to the pot and gently stir them in. Don't mash the beans, you want them whole in the final dish.
- Bring the lima beans to a boil. Check seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed. Turn off the stove.
- Pour the lima beans mixture into a 4-quart or larger baking dish
- Place in a preheated 350 degree Fahrenheit oven and bake 60-70 minutes or until the top is crusty. Garnish with fresh parsley or oregano, if desired, and serve hot, warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition Information
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Sandy Lynn Stevens says
Very delicious - and like the author, I'm not fond of vegetables cooked in a tomato sauce. I used fresh lima beans bought at local farmers' market and followed the directions as if they were dry, being careful not to overcook in first step. Will definitely be making this again.
Vaishali says
Awesome, so happy you loved it!
Jana Martin says
I love big limas and when I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it. So easy and so fast. I highly recommend this dish. Will use this recipe time and again.
Vaishali says
So happy you liked it, Jana!
Krithika says
Is there a side you recommend with this? Would love to make it for dinner.
Vaishali says
Toasted crusty bread to pile these on and a fresh green salad on the side would make a delicious meal,
Suzanne says
Hi and thank you for this recipe. Does this freeze well?
Vaishali says
Yes! Thaw and reheat before serving. You can reheat in oven or microwave.
virginia says
I don't like butter beans. My husband does but doesn't eat many vegetables. I used canned butter beans for your answer to another person; followed your recipe to the T. And guess what? We both loved it. The flavor is very very good. I must tell you also that before I started it oh, I went out to the store and bought new bottles of thyme and oregano. It's just the two of us so we couldn't finish the whole casserole but I am having some of it for lunch today. Thank you so much.
Vaishali says
So happy to hear, Virginia. Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
Melissa Thomas says
I just tried this, my beans are new and I followed directions to the tee but my beans all split open:(( What went wrong?!?
Vaishali says
Not sure what you mean by they split open--can you explain with a little more detail? And at what stage did they split. You can expect some beans to open up as they cook--cooked beans won't look intact like dry beans would.
Courtney says
I think it would've been better if I had soaked them overnight. The beans were never fully cooked even though I boiled and baked longer. Next time, I think I'll get canned butter beans, but otherwise great recipe, thanks.
Tom Rees says
I made this recipe to serve hot with a cold vegan-meatloaf-birthday-cake. For the spices i used my "go to" jar of spices i bought in the latino section of our grocery store ( Sazon Completa) . This dish was very very delish!!!! Thank You. I had soaked the dried beans overnight (where they all split open- which was no problem) and cooked them for 12 min in my instant pot before putting them in the oven, but looking forward to trying this soon without pre soaking them.
Vaishali says
Tom, so happy you liked it. Thanks for the feedback!
Mirage says
Can I follow the same recipe using fresh Lima beans?
Vaishali says
I think so, if they are tender enough.
Jenny says
Can you use canned beans instead? If so, any modifications
Vaishali says
Yes, absolutely, just remember to drain the beans.
NAOMI MOSCHGAT says
The flavor is great. I found a bag of limes in pantry and made it. Unfortunately they were OLD and never softened. The flavor was so good we tried to eat them anyway. My 3rd batch is on the oven and we can't wait. SIMPLE AND DELICIOUS.
Karen says
I made this exactly as published. It’s very satisfying, filling and flavorful. I will definitely be making this again soon.
Cheri says
If I use frozen lima beans would I cook them first or no? ( can't find dry lima beans in my local store)
Vaishali says
Add frozen beans directly to the pot.
Francie says
Made this several weeks ago and so eager to serve it again for the family tonight. My youngest asks for a bit more tomatoes so we opened a larger can of diced tomatoes and measured out 20 oz of diced tomatoes. Also heaped our 2 Tbsp of tomato paste. Thanks for this recipe! I am a fan of beans in general but not normally Lima beans. This is a great way for us to use the giant Lima beans in our dried bean subscription from Rancho Gordo. I was glad for the Instant Pot suggestion above, too. Since our dried beans are almost twice the normal size of Limas, I set the IP for 35 minutes to start.
Teri says
Just made this—it was wonderful. I used frozen limas, and also added sliced kalamata olives and some white mushrooms that I had on hand. If you are craving supreme pizza, this will take care of you!
Vaishali says
Awesome!
Charlene Patton says
Just made this and we loved it. I've been looking for a similar recipe for years; maybe I'd eaten it in a former life, who knows, but this fit the bill. It will for sure go on our repeat list.
Cris says
Fantastic recipe that was very easy! I cooked my beans in my Instant Pot on high for 25 minutes with a 10 minute natural release, then drained them and did the rest of the cooking in the Instant Pot. No need to dirty another pan for the stove top! I served it with a Greek salad and Gruyere chicken sausages for the carnivores in my house while I had mine with vegan meatballs. A great alternative to spaghetti that I will be making again.
Vaishali says
So great to hear! Thanks for the feedback and great idea to covert this to an IP.
Arlene says
Can this be frozen. Iv
If not how long can it be kept in frigerator?
Chris says
I will make this today with leek, celery and carrot added. Can’t wait to try it.
Elizabeth says
Can you use frozen Lima beans for this recipe ?
Babypillar says
I made this dish earlier, half-recipe, and it came out very well. I thought I’d know exactly how it was going to taste once out of the oven, but I got a nice surprise when it exceeded my expectations by quite a lot. I wanted a little more flavor in mine, so at the end of the stovetop part of cooking, I stirred in six slivered black oil-cured olives. I’m afraid I’m going to have to make it that way from now on 🙂 I’m so glad I found this recipe, and thank you so much for posting it, Vaishali!
Thea says
Good idea adding the olives. I’m making it today so will do same, might also add some carrots.
Jackie says
Do you drain the canned tomatoes?
Vaishali says
No, use the juices with the tomatoes.
Ben Rubens says
What is a servings slider mentioned by your fans??
Vaishali says
Hi Ben, if you hold the cursor over the number of servings in the recipe box (8 in this case) you will see a slider pop up. You can move it to adjust the amount of ingredients for fewer or more servings. 🙂
jen says
Yummo! This dish looks like an amazing way to eat lima beans!
Lauren says
When cooking the dry lima beans, do you only put an inch of water in the pot or cover all the beans with an extra inch on top? Thank you!!
Vaishali says
Cover the beans by an extra inch of water on top!
Jo says
Can I frezze the left overs?
Cheryl says
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.
Evelyn says
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. 🙂
Vaishali says
Hi Evelyn, use 7 cups of canned lima beans-- drain them first.
Anonymous says
Thank you for responding so quickly!
Drishtie says
Hi for the recipes can I use real tomatoes instead of canned?
Vaishali says
Yes!
Daniele Roy says
Hi. I like to know what I can serve with the Greek Lima Bean Bake.
Thanks, Daniele
Vaishali says
Hi Daniele, a crusty bread and salad!
Quinn says
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.
Meli says
Hi there hi wondering if leftovers of this dish can be frozen?
Krithika says
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!
Vaishali says
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.
judy lewin says
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.
Vaishali says
Love this tip. Thanks, Judy.
Anonymous says
Or.... scoop the paste into a sandwich bag and smooth it out flat so the air is gone. Freeze and crack off what you need!
Nancy says
The recipe says start with dry lima beans. You don't soak them overnight in water and then cook them?
Anonymous says
The article says 25 minutes, no soaking overnight.
linda says
Can I use frozen lima beans?
Vaishali says
Yes, but thaw them first.
Wendy says
Put the jar in the fridge upside down. It stops it going mouldy. I don,t know how but it works.
Trudi Louise Spork says
It stops air from getting into the jar and growing mold
Cheryl says
You can get tomato paste in a tube. I find it at Trader Joe’s and most grocery stores have it as wet. It’s perfectly handy!