Butter Bean Hummus
This creamy butter bean hummus is unbelievably smooth, rich, and flavorful, the kind of hummus you can whip up in minutes and use for everything from snacking to sandwiches to grain bowls. Butter beans blend into a silky texture that tastes luxurious without any extra work, and once you try it, you may never go back to chickpeas.
I’ve made countless hummus variations over the years, chickpea, lentil, cauliflower, carrot, you name it, and this butter bean version stands out every single time. It blends up creamier than anything I’ve made with chickpeas, requires zero peeling, and always gets rave reviews from friends and clients. If you want a hummus that’s consistently smooth, easy, and restaurant-quality, this is the recipe to bookmark.
If you love hummus as much as I do, be sure to check out this everything bagel lentil hummus or this creamy cilantro jalapeno hummus (which is bean free).
Key Ingredient spotlight
This is not a full list of ingredients, but a few I thought would be worth highlighting. See the recipe card for the full list of ingredients.
- Butter beans – butter beans (otherwise known as lima beans) are large, broad white beans that are creamy and almost buttery on the inside. You can find canned butter beans in most grocery stores, or you can find dried large lima beans to make butter beans as home.
- Tahini – tahini is a paste made from ground sesame seeds. Tahini is a traditional ingredient in hummus and helps to give it a creamy texture and a nutty undertone of flavor.
- Lemon juice – lemon juice give the recipe a bright, fresh flavor. You could also use lime juice, red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar.
How to make butter bean hummus
Add drained and rinsed butter beans, tahini, lemon juice, salt, garlic powder, cumin and fresh parsley to a food processor. Blend on high until smooth. You may need to add 1-4 tablespoons of water (depending on the beans).
Top tips
- Be sure to use white butter beans/lima beans, either canned or cooked from dried. These are very different from the small green lima beans typically sold frozen, which won’t create the same creamy texture.
- You can easily double the recipe for meal prep or serving at parties, picnics or bbq’s.
Creamy Butter Bean Hummus (No Chickpeas)
Guided Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups butter beans
- 1 medium lemon, juiced
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
- 1-4 tablespoons water (optional)
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients (except the water) to the food processor.1.5 cups butter beans, 1 medium lemon, juiced, 2 tablespoons tahini, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
- Blend on high 2-3 minutes. Stop and scrape down the food processor 1-2 times to ensure it's completely smooth.
- Optional: add water 1 tablespoon at a time until the hummus reaches your desired consistency.1-4 tablespoons water (optional)
- Serve immediately or store in the fridge up to 4 days.
Equipment
Recipe Notes
Tips for success
- Blend the hummus for 2–3 minutes to ensure it gets ultra-creamy. Butter bean skins need time to fully break down.
- Stop and scrape down the sides of the food processor once or twice so everything blends smoothly.
- Add water slowly, 1–2 tablespoons at a time. The hummus can go from thick to watery quickly if too much liquid is added at once.
Storing leftover lima bean hummus
- Fridge: Store in the fridge for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
- Freezer: Freeze up to 3 months in a freezer safe bag or container. You can freeze an entire recipe of hummus at once or you can freeze it in individual 2 tablespoon servings (using Soupercubes). Defrost in the fridge and stir well after defrosting.
Nutrition Information
Other flavors
- Everything bagel – add 1 tablespoon everything but the bagel seasoning
- Smoky – add 1 teaspoon smoked paprika and increase the cumin to 1 teaspoon
- Pesto – omit the cumin and add 1/4 cup pesto before blending.
- Roasted Red Pepper – add 1 whole roasted red pepper (no liquid)
- Sundried tomatoes – omit the cumin and add 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes in oil.
- Spinach artichoke – omit the cumin, add 1 handful spinach and 1/2 can drained artichoke hearts.
- Mediterranean – add kalamata olives (about 7 olives), 1-2 tablespoons of capers and 1-2 cloves fresh garlic.
- Caramelized Onion – blend in 1/2 cup caramelized onions (and add some to the top as well)
How to serve lima bean hummus
- Dip for veggies, crackers, chips or pita bread
- Spread for sandwiches, wraps or burgers
- As part of a Mediterranean inspired grain bowl
- Pasta sauce! Add a few tablespoons of the pasta water to thin out the hummus.
- On Sweet Potato Toast with sliced cucumbers and tomatoes
Common questions
Are butter beans and lima beans the same?
Yes. Butter beans and lima beans are technically the same thing. However, the green lima beans you see frozen in the grocery store are picked when the beans are still green and not what I recommend for this recipe. The beans I’m referring to are the large white variety of beans.
Regardless of what you call them, these large white beans get their names from being creamy and “buttery” texture (hence the name butter beans).
Can I use dried butter beans?
Cook the butter beans first. I do this in the instant pot. 1 pound of butter beans + 6 cups of water. High pressure for 31 minutes, allow to naturally release pressure.
Be sure to drain the liquid the beans were cooked in. I find that draining the beans from this cooking liquid helps to make them more digestible.
Can I make butter bean hummus without tahini?
Yes, if you do not have tahini or cannot have sesame seeds, replace the tahini with olive oil. You won’t get that same nutty flavor but it will still be thick, creamy and perfect for dipping.
Can I use other white beans to make hummus?
Yes! This recipe would work well with cannellini beans in place of the butter beans in this hummus, as they have similar texture when blended.
Made this recipe a week ago – just made it again. Love the butter beans in this recipe. I chop up veggies and take for my lunch. Yummy. Thank you.
Donna thank you for letting me know how much you enjoy this recipe – the butter beans are NEXT level when it comes to hummus. So glad you love it too! Happy cooking – Sam
Absolutely delicious!