looking for a bowl of comfort? try these creamy sauce butter beans with polenta! they are in a creamy-veggie filled sauce and pair so well with soft, delicious polenta.
the inspiration
I love butter beans and creamy sauce. So, I figured it would be best to combine the two. The butter beans when paired with the polenta make a complete meal that is filling and nourishing. These creamy saucy butter beans with polenta truly hit the spot on a cold night.
While the days are getting a bit brighter now we are still facing a lot of cold weather and snow, so I still want warming dinners. These creamy, saucy butter beans truly feel like a hug in a bowl.
The creamy sauce is made from a bunch of blended up vegetables to sneak in some extra nutrition and fiber too! Trust me, you are going to love these creamy saucy butter beans with polenta.
the ingredients
- Butter Beans: of course the star of our creamy saucy butter beans are butter beans! You should be able to easily find butter beans however, if you can’t feel free to swap the for chickpeas, cannellini beans, or even navy beans.
- Cashews: the cashews help to add creaminess to our sauce. If you can’t have nuts you can swap in a small piece of tofu of equal weight to the cashews or you can omit this part all together.
- Tomato Puree: I like to use Mutti tomato passata. You can use any tomato puree or you can also use jarred sauce.
- Bell Pepper: the bell pepper adds in tons of flavor, sweetness, and when blended helps to make the sauce thicker.
- Onion: the onion of course also adds in lots of delicious flavor. You can use any onion you want, I just had a red onion to use up so that is what I went with.
- Garlic: obviously, garlic is always a necessity. Just a few cloves kept whole can be thrown into the pan.
- Non-Dairy Milk: feel free to use any non-dairy milk as long as it is unsweetened and unflavored. This will help to add creaminess to our sauce.
- Polenta: the side dish of this recipe! Polenta is a delicious just cornmeal, so it is great if you are gluten free.
- Salt: to add saltiness to our dish.
making the sauce
For this recipe the sauce is easy to make but just requires a bit of time. To start it off you will sauté the onion, garlic, and bell pepper in oil for a few minutes. Then, you will add in the tomato passata, a little water, and the cashews.
Now, you will need to let this all cook over a low heat for about 20 minutes. This allows the flavors to develop and the cashews to soften. If you find that as the sauce cooks it becomes too dry you can always add in an extra splash of water.
Once everything has cooked and become sauce it will be time to blend. This is truly where the magic happens for making our creamy saucy butter beans! Blend the ingredients with some non-dairy milk for a delicious sauce.
what are butter beans?
Butter beans have really been having their time in the spotlight and to be honest, I love that for them. Butter beans are so delicious. They are large, beige, flat beans. Their taste is very neutral and the skin is soft and they almost melt in your mouth (hence the butter name).
Some people do have this question: are lima beans and butter beans the same thing?
So, you may be more familiar with lima beans and if you have ever seen them they look similar in shape and size however, lima beans are green. Butter beans are actually technically lima beans they are just picked much later in the maturation stage. So yes, butter beans are lima beans but they are older lima beans.
cooking the butter beans
Because we are using canned butter beans the process for cooking them is very easy! You will drain and rinse the butter beans. In the same pan you originally cooked the sauce you will add the butter beans right back in there!
Then, you will cover with the blended up sauce. I like to add in a little salt, nutritional yeast, and red pepper flakes. However, you can add in whatever you like but I do definitely recommend adding in salt.
I also like to fill my blender with a little bit of water (about ½ cup) swirl it around to get any remaining sauce from the blender. Pour it back into the pan and allow the beans to cook for 10 to 15 minutes over a medium low heat. This helps to soften the beans a bit more and make them flavorful.
what is polenta?
Polenta is one of my favorite things. I have shared quite a few polenta recipes over the years but it had been a little while since we’ve done something with polenta. So, I knew that polenta would be the perfect side dish for this recipe.
Polenta is an Italian dish that is made of boiled cornmeal (similar to grits). I like to use instant polenta (paid link), it will cook up very fast in about 5 minutes. Polenta is delicious and it is grain free so great if you can’t have gluten.
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why you’ll love this recipe
These creamy sauce butter beans with polenta is truly a meal that is full of comfort while being wholesome. Beans are so good for us, so if you are looking to up your fiber and micronutrients this recipe is great for that.
I also think if you have picky eaters who don’t love to know they are eating vegetables this is a great way to sneak some extra ones in. You will also have plenty of leftovers from this meal and it tastes just as delicious the second day.
creamy saucy butter beans with polenta faq
- Is this recipe soy free? Yes.
- Is this recipe nut free? No, it does use cashews. However, you can leave them out or sub in a small piece of tofu.
- Is this recipe gluten free? Yes.
- How long does this recipe last? Up to 4 days in the fridge. I would recommend storing the polenta and butter beans in separate containers.
- Can I freeze the leftovers? I wouldn’t.
- Can I add in more veggies? Of course! Peeled zucchini, carrots, and eggplant could be some fun additions. When they are all blended you don’t even realize how many vegetables are in there.
- Is this a whole meal? I think it is. Of course everyones appetites are different so if you want some extra veggies on the side or some crusty bread for dipping that would be delicious.
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Creamy Butter Beans with Polenta
Equipment
- High Power Blender paid link
Ingredients
- 1 (around 7.5 ounces) bell pepper roughly chopped
- ½ (around 3 ounces) onion , roughly chopped, can be red, yellow, or white
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves whole
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- ⅔ cup tomato passata (tomato puree)
- ¼ cup cashews
- ½ cup non-dairy milk unsweetened and unflavored
- 2 (15 ounce cans) butter beans drained and rinsed, (paid link)
- 1 cup dry polenta
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- In a pan saute ½ (around 3 ounces) onion, 3 to 4 garlic cloves, and 1 (around 7.5 ounces) bell pepper in ½ tablespoon olive oil over medium low heat for 5 minutes. Once fragrant add in the ⅔ cup tomato passata (puree), ⅓ cup (80ml) of water, and ¼ cup cashews. Continue to cook over a low heat for 20 minutes. If during this process you feel too much liquid has been cooked out you can add in an extra tablespoon of water.
- Once everything is cooked down and soft transfer it to a blender and add in ½ cup non-dairy milk. Blend for 60 seconds or until creamy and smooth.
- Pour the sauce into the pan along with 2 (15 ounce cans) butter beans. Fill the blender with about ½ cup (120ml) of water and swirl it around to get the remaining sauce out. Add in about ½ teaspoon salt and if desired 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. You can also feel free to add in any additional seasonings you like. Cook the beans in the sauce for 10 to 15 minutes, until the sauce thickens.
- Meanwhile, prepare 1 cup dry polenta according to package directions. You should need to bring 4 cups (960ml) water to a boil, then pour in the polenta, and whisk until it turns thick and cooked.
- Scoop some polenta into a bowl and then top with the creamy saucy butter beans. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired and enjoy.
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Notes
Nutrition
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hey there!
Hey, I’m Francesca!
Thank you for checking out my recipe! I am happy to have you here and hope you explore more delicious vegan recipes.
This recipe is bullet proof. It came out light and creamy. Somehow, I couldn’t have made more mistakes, and yet it was beyond yummy and everyone had seconds. I doubled the recipe, and made a minor modification. I used silken tofu instead of the milk and cashews. I also added a zucchini and some mushrooms as suggested in an earlier review. Somehow, this came out AWESOME. I only have one serving left (3 people ate and I doubled the recipe!). Well worth the effort!
Hi Karen! yay I am so glad o hear you enjoyed it. Thank you so much for trying it and taking the time to leave a comment and review. So happy to hear everyone enjoyed it yay!!
so good
Hi Natalya! So glad you enjoyed it!
This sauce is easy, delicious and versatile! I used it on spinach ravioli and green beans. Thank you 😊
Hi Heather, yay! Yes it is one of my favorite type of sauces to make! so glad you enjoyed it
I did this recipe in two instant pots. One Instant pot for the butter beans sauce and one instant pot for the polenta.
Polenta is 1 cup polenta to 4 cups water for 9 min with quick release.
Instead of the olive oil I cooked the onions and bell peppers in white wine and then added the garlic. Used the blender and put it all back in the instant pot with the beans. Cooked for 8 minutes.
I loved this recipe it came out so tasty.
So easy and so good. Serve to company.
Hi Marsha, I am so happy to hear how much you enjoyed this. Thank you for sharing how you made it in the instant pot! i appreciate the comment and review!!
Leftovers? What leftovers?
This was so delicious!
I love how creamy the sauce turned out.
I did not have tomato puree on hand so I used tomato sauce and loved how it came out.
I used prepared polenta to save time, but next time will make it from scratch.
I’m exploring a more plant based diet and with recipes this tasty I am definitely heading toward the vegan side.
Haha!!! Yay I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe Kathy. Thank you so much for trying it out and taking the time to leave a comment/review. So glad the recipe can help yay!!