If you are looking for the ultimate island style comfort food then you most try this Caribbean curried butter beans. Who doesn’t love this delicious vegan, low carb Island style fragrant curry, slowly cooked until tender with an assortment of hearty vegetables.
I’m a huge fan of butter beans aka lima beans, to me that are creamy, fibrous and delicious. You can also do so much with them in terms of preparation.
Today I’m going to show you to make this Caribbean styled curried butter beans aka butter bean curry.
It’s low in carb with a moderate amount of protein and tons of flavour and great for those who want a budget friendly meal that’s nutritious and enough to feed a large family (or simple freeze any leftovers).
What is chayote/cho cho/christophine
Let’s talk about one of the vegetables which features in this Caribbean curried butter beans dish. No doubt some of you have probably skipped the written material and reading through the ingredients list like “What is a cho cho”.
Cho cho is the Jamaican terminology for a pear shaped vegetable which comes from the gourd family. It’s also known as chayote or christophine in some Caribbean islands.
Growing up we added cho cho to stews or soups and because it’s a water soluble vegetable so there isn’t much flavour to it and its low in carb/fat which is why I specifically included it in this recipe.
How to cook butter beans
Butter beans can be cooked either on the stove top, pressure cooker or slow cooker. In order for them to retain their shape, as a generally rule of thumb its best to either slow cook them for several hours at low temperate or cook for a short period of time at a high temperature.
I like using dried beans for slow cooker recipes because they are cheaper and cook thoroughly over a course of several hours.
Dried beans do require soaking for at least 5 hours or overnight which is my preferred method. A cup of beans will swell to twice it’s size so make sure the beans are in a deep enough bowl with plenty of water. You don’t want to use the water that the beans have soaked in because of the indigestible sugars, so rinse them.
Reasons to cook this Caribbean dish
- Contains moderate fats that are good for the body
- A great way to introduce to a new vegetable (cho cho) if you’re not the Caribbean or the tropic
- Low in Carbohydrate
- Contains no roots vegetables making it suitable for those what island flavours but trying to loose weight
- Freezer friendly and makes BIG batch that you can eat for lunch or dinner if you lead a busy lifestyle or hate being in the kitchen for too long.
How to cook Caribbean curried butter beans
- Rinse the dried butter beans several times before placing them in a large bowl (see picture 1)
- Pour enough water to completely cover the beans and soak for several hours or overnight. As pictured the beans will swell while they soak and absorb a lot of the water. (see picture 2)
- Discard the water and rinse off the beans one more time and set aside
- Have all of your vegetables chopped and ready to go. You want your vegetables to be chopped quite small, not diced but small cubes is what you should aim for (see picture 3)
- Saute the onion, scallion and garlic until soft and translucent. (See picture 4)
- Transfer the onions into your slow cooker unit (my unit is removable so I don’t need to do this) Then add the beans first so they absorb most of the liquid (see picture 5)
- Add the curry powder, ginger, paprika, bay leaves, black pepper, thyme, pink salt, cho cho, bell peppers, tomatoes and carrots to the unit. (See picture 6 and 7)
- Then add the water and coconut milk, stir, cover with lid and set your slow cooker to low for 6-8 hours. (see picture 8)
- A hour before completion feel free to add a scotch bonnet for mild heat and flavour.
- Discard the thyme stems and bay leaves
- Serve accordingly
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I have the recipe for your homemade curry powder?
Sure! my Jamaican curry powder is right here.
Can I cook this on high in my slow cooker?
No, the beans take several hours to breakdown into a thick stew. I tried cooking this on high for 4 hours but it was still watery. 6 hours is the minimum for optimal results.
Do you have a quick/stove top version of this recipe?
Not yet. I will update the recipe with a fast track version once I manage to make it but for now it’s a slow version.
I don’t have a slow cook, can I make this on my stove top instead for 6 hours?
I’ve personally never done a 6 hour stove top slow cooker dish but it’s doable. I don’t know if less time might be needed since a stove works different from a slow cooker but it’s worth a try. I can’t confidently offer cooking guidance for that cooking method.
Where can I buy cho cho/christophine?
Any ethnic grocery store or market. You need to venture to where there’s a sizeable Black/Asian population and where ever there’s a market for this demographic group you should find it.
I made the recipe but there is excess liquid left in the slow cooker?
Each slow cooker operates differently and this can sometimes happen depending on the unit. If this happens to you. Remove the lid, switch the unit to “high” to evaporate the excess liquid.
You can also, mash some of the beans to make a thick sauce or add a tablespoon of starch mixed with 2 tbsp of water.
Notes and tips
- Use dried beans because they are cheaper and work best in a slow cooker recipe. Cooked beans won’t work for this recipe as they will turn to mash far too soon and ruin the dish.
- Chop your vegetables ahead of time. If you plan to leave your slow cooker on while running errands or not at home then make it easier by chopping and weighing up everything the night before.
- Butter beans are also known as lima beans
- If you cannot get hold of cho cho/chayote/christophine another water soluble vegetable such as zucchini will work too
- If using zucchini make sure to add to bowl and sprinkle 1tsp of pink salt over it. Leave it to extract its own juices for 10-15 minutes and rinse off. This is to eliminate the bitter taste that can sometimes occur with zucchini.
- Zucchini is known as courgette in the UK
- To deepen the flavour I recommend cooking for at least 6 hours that is the sweet spot for optimal thickness
- Use low fat coconut milk if you want to scrimp down more on fat content, although a diluted version of coconut milk may result in a loss in flavour.
- Don’t forgot to discard the bay leaves, scotch bonnet (if using) and thyme stems prior to serving.
Serving suggestions
Callaloo
Spinach
Kale
Other vegan Caribbean recipes you may like
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Caribbean Curried Butter Beans
Ingredients
- 2 cups of dried butter beans lima beans (340g)
- 1 can of coconut milk 400ml/8 oz/ 2 cups
- 2 cups of water 400ml /8 oz
- 1 large carrot chopped
- 1 cho cho christophine, mirliton, chayote, peel and chopped or use a zucchini/courgette
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 inch of ginger grated
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 garlic cloves chopped
- 2 small scallion sliced
- 3 bell peppers chopped
- 1 large tomato chopped
- 6 sprigs of thyme
- 1 tsp of coriander cilantro
- 1 tbsp of curry powder
- 1 tsp of black pepper
- ½ tsp of paprika
- 1 tsp of himalayan pink salt or more to taste
- 1 scotch bonnet optional
Instructions
- Rinse the dried butter beans several times before placing them in a large bowl with enough water to completely cover the beans and soak for several hours or overnight. The beans will swell the longer then soak and absorb some of the water.
- Discard the water and rinse off the beans one more time and set aside
- Saute the onion, scallion and garlic until soft and translucent.
- Transfer the onions, scallion and garlic into your slow cooker unit (my unit is removable so I don’t need to do this) add the curry powder, paprika, ginger, bay leaves, black pepper, thyme, pink salt, cho cho, bell peppers, tomatoes and carrots to the unit.
- Then add the water and coconut milk, stir, cover with lid and set your slow cooker to low for 6-8 hours.
- A hour before completion feel free to add a scotch bonnet for mild heat and flavour.
- Discard the thyme stems, scotch bonnet and bay leaves before serving accordingly
Notes
- Use dried beans because they are cheaper and work best in a slow cooker recipe. Cooked beans won't work for this recipe as they will turn to mash far too soon and ruin the dish.
- Chop your vegetables ahead of time. If you plan to leave your slow cooker on while running errands or not at home then make it easier by chopping and weighing up everything the night before.
- Butter beans are also known as lima beans
- If you cannot get hold of cho cho/chayote/christophine another water soluble vegetable such as zucchini will work too
- If using zucchini make sure to add to bowl and sprinkle 1tsp of pink salt over it. Leave it to extract its own juices for 10-15 minutes and rinse off. This is to eliminate the bitter taste that can sometimes occur with zucchini.
- Zucchini is known as courgette in the UK
- To deepen the flavour I recommend cooking for at least 6 hours that is the sweet spot for optimal thickness
- Use low fat coconut milk if you want to scrimp down more on fat content, although a diluted version of coconut milk may result in a loss in flavour.
- Don't forgot to discard the bay leaves, scotch bonnet (if using) and thyme stems prior to serving.
I just cannot replicate this recipe’s color with only one tablepoon of curry powder.
The bright hue is due to the photography studio lighting. You could add more curry if you wish, but depending on the brand of curry powder (if not using my own recipe) this may compromise the taste. I’ve had no complaints about the overall taste with the amount of curry powder listed.
Had a few friends over the weekend I was stuck for ideas as they are fussy eaters but love butter beans, really wish i’d found this earlier. Had no idea you could do this with butter beans. It actually tasted as good as it looks
Thank you Tanesha
Made this on the weekend as a treat for my husband . We loved it — next time I’m going to double the recipe. Thanks for a wonderful treat.
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe
You list tomatoes but don’t include it in the direction for cooking. Help I’m new to Caribbean cooking so need clear instructions
My apologies Marlene. The tomatoes are added to the slow cooker along with the rest of the vegetables. It’s also included in picture 7 for your reference too. Thanks for pointing that out and if there’s anything else that you are unsure of please touch base with me. I’m happy to assist you further!