• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Crowded Kitchen
MENUMENU
  • Recipes
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Sign Up
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • About Us
  • Recipe Index
  • Contact
×

Home » Recipes » Quick and Easy

Lima Bean Soup

Published: Apr 4, 2021 by Lexi

315 shares
Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

This flavorful Lima Bean Soup is packed with plenty of vegetables, like buttery baby potatoes, corn, greens and fresh herbs. It's vegan, but easy to adapt with your favorite protein for a fuller meal. It's also quick and easy to make and ready in just over 30 minutes!

overhead view of bowl of vegan lima bean soup with potatoes and corn.

Why we love this recipe

  • Quick and easy: this lima bean soup is perfect for a weeknight dinner with minimal prep and just about 30 minutes of cook time.
  • Meal prep friendly: this soup also stores well as leftovers for up to 5 days, or can be frozen for several months.
  • Vegan: this soup is naturally vegan, but you can customize in any way you'd like!
  • Vegetable-heavy: great way to get in a few servings of vegetables, and surprisingly filling.

Ingredients

Here are the key ingredients you'll need for this vegan lima bean soup:

overhead view of ingredients for lima bean soup in small prep bowls.

Ingredient Notes

  • Lima beans: we use frozen baby lima beans in this recipe, which are very easy to find and available at pretty much any grocery store. If you want to use dried lima beans, you'll want to cook them before adding to this soup. Check out this post for a cooking tutorial.
  • Potatoes: we love using baby red or yellow potatoes (aka new potatoes) in this soup. They're very small, so you only have to halve them for this soup. They also have a thin, delicate skin and a tender, creamy flesh, making them the perfect hearty addition to this soup.
    • If you can't find any baby potatoes, the next best substitute would be yukon gold potatoes – you'll just have to dice them a bit smaller. Fingerling potatoes would work, too.
  • Corn: frozen is easiest to use, but feel free to use fresh corn if it's in season! You can also use fire roasted corn for more flavor.
  • Greens: we used spinach in this lima bean soup, but you can sub with another leafy green of choice like kale or swiss chard.
side view of bowl of vegan lima bean soup with potatoes and corn.

Step-by-step instructions

(1) Melt 3 tablespoon of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add 1 diced onion and sauté for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

(2) Stir in 3 teaspoon minced garlic and 1 ½ cups celery and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes.

before and after adding celery to sautéed onions and garlic in large pot.

(3) Add 1 lb. halved baby potatoes, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper and stir well.

(4) Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring, until potatoes start to soften slightly.

adding in baby potatoes to lima bean soup base in large pot.

(5 & 6) Add in 6 cups vegetable broth, 1 ½ tablespoon lemon juice and 2 bay leaves. Bring soup to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to a simmer for 10 minutes. 

pouring vegetable broth and adding bay leaves to lima bean soup on stovetop.

(7 & 8) After 10 minutes, stir in 2 cups lima beans, 1 cup corn, 3 cups chopped spinach, ⅓ cup parsley, and 2 tablespoon thyme.

adding in frozen lima beans and chopped spinach and herbs to lima bean soup on stovetop.

Cook for an additional 20 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender. Stir in remaining tablespoon of butter. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as desired. 

overhead view of vegan lima bean soup with potatoes and corn in a large pot.

Expert Tips & FAQs

  • If you or family members are not vegan, you can also consider adding shredded rotisserie chicken, spicy or sweet chicken sausage, or even ham (which is common with lima bean soup). If you want to keep it vegan but would like to add more protein, try this poultry-seasoned tofu "chicken"!
  • Storage: let soup cool to room temperature, then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for 5 days. Reheat in a small pot over medium heat.
  • Freezer storage: Let the soup cool completely before transferring to an airtight, freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 6 months. To reheat, defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then heat over medium in a pot.
overhead view of bowl of vegan lima bean soup with potatoes and corn.

Related recipes

  • overhead view of white bean spinach soup topped with vegan parmesan in black soup bowl.
    White Bean Spinach Soup
  • close up overhead view of vegan bean soup in a bowl on white linen surface.
    Three-Bean Vegetable Soup
  • overhead view of vegan wild rice mushroom soup in a bowl on wood table.
    Wild Rice Mushroom Soup
  • Vegan Minestrone Soup

Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also stay in touch with us through social media by following us on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or by subscribing to our newsletter.

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
overhead view of bowl of vegan lima bean soup with potatoes and corn.

Lima Bean Soup


★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

  • Author: Lexi
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
  • Diet: Vegan
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe

Description

This flavorful Lima Bean Soup is packed with plenty of vegetables, like buttery baby potatoes, corn, greens and fresh herbs. It's vegan, but easy to adapt with your favorite protein for a fuller meal. It's also quick and easy to make and ready in just over 30 minutes!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 tbsp butter, divided (we used vegan)
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced (~1 ½ cups)
  • 2-3 teaspoon finely minced fresh garlic (2-3 cloves)
  • 1 ½ cups thinly sliced celery 
  • 1 lb. baby yellow or red potatoes, halved or quartered
  • 1 tsp fine kosher salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 6 cups vegetable broth 
  • 1 ½ tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 large bay leaves
  • 2 cups frozen baby lima beans
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • 3 cups chopped spinach, kale or chard
  • ⅓ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme

Instructions

  1. Melt 3 tablespoon of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  2. Stir in garlic and celery and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes. Add potatoes, salt and pepper and stir well. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring, until potatoes start to soften slightly.
  3. Add in broth, lemon juice and bay leaves. Bring soup to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to a simmer for 10 minutes. 
  4. After 10 minutes, stir in lima beans, corn, chopped greens, parsley, and thyme. Cook for an additional 20 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender. Stir in remaining tablespoon of butter. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as desired. 
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 35 minutes
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 bowl
  • Calories: 215
  • Sugar: 9.4 g
  • Sodium: 1218.1 mg
  • Fat: 12.5 g
  • Carbohydrates: 24.5 g
  • Fiber: 5.7 g
  • Protein: 4.3 g

Keywords: lima bean soup

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @crowded_kitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #crowdedkitchen

More Quick and Easy Recipes

  • Finished sumac dressing in a glass bottle.
    Sumac Dressing
  • Overhead of the finished vegan lemon pasta in a skillet.
    Vegan Lemon Pasta
  • Close up of the finished chocolate acai bowls with fresh fruit on top.
    Chocolate Acai Bowl
  • Overhead of the finished spinach chickpea salad in a white bowl.
    Spinach Chickpea Salad

Reader Interactions

Comments

    Let us know what you think! Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

  1. Jan dunham

    November 13, 2022 at 10:03 pm

    First time to try this but looks like it will be good…..in the crock pot now 😊. I put carrots in it too and used dried limas and fresh garlic. Like that it is good for up to 5 days.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Lexi

      November 17, 2022 at 11:09 am

      Hope you enjoyed!

      Reply
  2. Kalei.

    July 06, 2022 at 11:49 pm

    I couldn't get very far with the recipe. I am vegan and do not eat dairy/butter

    Reply
    • Lexi

      July 13, 2022 at 10:22 am

      As noted in the recipe, you can use vegan butter! Or sub with oil if preferred 🙂

      Reply
  3. Susan hattendorf

    May 04, 2022 at 1:58 pm

    I just made this recipe and it was delicious thank you so much! I did as some chopped carrots to it but that’s the only change I made!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Lexi

      May 04, 2022 at 4:59 pm

      So glad you enjoyed!

      Reply

Primary Sidebar

Lexi and Beth toasting with wine.

Hi, we're Lexi and Beth, a mother-daughter team from Michigan. The recipes you'll find here are a reflection of how we bring our family together around the dinner table despite various dietary differences.

More about us →

Featured in:

Featured in Buzzfeed, yahoo, Men's Journal, Huffpost, MSN, Food & Wine, Country Living, yummly, and Parade.

Spring recipes

  • The Ultimate Bloody Mary Bar
  • Super Green Vegetable Soup
  • Vegan Pasta Bake
  • Overhead view of spaghetti squash soup in a bowl.
    Spaghetti Squash Soup
  • overhead view of vegan mediterranean sheet pan dinner with tofu, chickpeas, vegetables and tahini yogurt drizzle.
    Mediterranean Sheet Pan Dinner
  • overhead view of vegan creamy beet pasta in large pot.
    Creamy Beet Pasta

Most popular recipes

  • How to make Infused Liquors (5 Ways)
  • close up overhead view of vegan bean soup in a bowl on white linen surface.
    Three-Bean Vegetable Soup
  • close up view of a passion fruit martini in a glass with dark backdrop.
    Passion Fruit Martini
  • overhead view of vegan mac and cheese in pot
    The Best Vegan Mac and Cheese
  • Two tequila mule cocktails in copper mugs with lime and mint garnish on antique blue table.
    Tequila Mule
  • side view of limoncello spritz cocktail garnished with fresh mint.
    Limoncello Spritz

See more-->

Footer

Back to top ↑

About

  • Learn About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility Statement
  • See our Portfolio

Newsletter

  • Sign up for weekly emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact Us
  • Work With Us
  • As Seen In

Copyright © 2022 Crowded Kitchen