Baby Lima Bean Soup

Baby Lima Bean Soup ~ My Sicilian husband loves his lima beans, so I flavored his favorite lima bean soup with fresh vegetables and pancetta and gave it a burst more flavor to his favorite soup.  Loaded with veggies, and a flavorful broth including baby lima beans, this soup is so hearty and delicious tasting!  It makes a great meal!

 

Baby Lima Bean Soup is loaded with carrots, celery, onions, pancetta (Italian-style bacon), and baby lima beans, and simmered with some chicken broth, tomato sauce, and water until the broth is reduced and thickens.

This is an old recipe, but a goodie!  I posted this one year ago and thought to revive it especially since we have cold temperatures here in Charleston today, and frigid temperatures up the east coast.

These temperatures in most of the country and here in Charleston, are keeping everyone home to stay warm!

So what else do we do when we’re home?  Cook up a storm – of course!  And thankfully I was able to get new photos to replace some of the old ones in this post.

Getting back to my Baby Lima Bean Soup.

We love adding pancetta (and even prosciutto) into our soups because it adds wonderful aroma flavors to them; and especially in this one, since lima beans alone have no flavor whatsoever!

Nowadays, you can find pancetta already cubed in easy-to-find packages in your deli section at the local supermarket.  Which is a great find!

Baby Lima Beans…

This is a great soup to make any day of the week, either on the stove-top, in your slow-cooker, or Instant pot.

• You will need some time to prepare the lima beans, either soaking them overnight or boiling them before incorporating them into the soup.
• When making lima bean soup, I used the entire bag (1 pound, 16-ounces) of the dried baby lima beans.

 

 

 

 

How To Prepare for this Baby Lima Bean Soup….

1.  All you need to do is rinse, boil and then soak them for 1 hour before using the beans in this recipe.

2.  Then you slow cook them with the rest of the ingredients, requiring a low simmer about for 1 and 1/2 hours.  It’s definitely all worth it.

These baby lima beans become tender and luscious, making an amazingly hearty soup that is not only light and comforting but also very satisfying.

Loaded with nutrients, they’re even high in protein along with fiber, folate, and magnesium.

Best of all – this baby lima bean soup is big on flavor!  Hands Down!

Even the leftovers are never a problem since this soup freezes very well for future quick meals when you need them.  Be sure to allow the soup to cool completely before freezing.

A healthy soup is pure comfort food, especially on these cold winter nights.

ENJOY!!

Here’s a Great Tip:

Adding some marinara sauce adds some sweetness to this soup and other recipes.  But if you don’t have any on hand, you can add some tomato paste (about 1/4 cup) and sauté the paste with the beans before adding the broth.

HOW TO MAKE BABY LIMA BEAN SOUP?

*You can follow along below or jump down to the bottom of this post for our full recipe card.

Ingredients Needed for this Baby Lima Bean Soup:

• 1 pound dry Baby Lima Beans

• 8 cups of boiling water

• 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 large sweet onion – chopped

• 4 small carrots-chopped

• 2 stalks celery – chopped

• 2 ounces (about 6 Tbsp.) cubed pancetta

• 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth

• 2 cups of water

• salt and pepper to taste

• 1/2 cup Mom’s Quick Marinara Sauce

 

Directions:

1.  Rinse and sort the beans.  Add 1 pound of beans to a pot filled with 8 cups of hot water and on high heat, boil beans in a rapid boil for 3 to 5 minutes.  Remove from heat, cover with a lid, and set aside for 1 hour.  Drain soak water and rinse beans again in cold water.

2.  In a large heavy soup pot or a slow-cooked pot, sauté on medium heat the vegetables and pancetta in olive oil until the pancetta are cooked and onions and celery have softened about 5 minutes.

3.  Add lima beans and sauté for 2 minutes.  Add the broth, water, and cayenne pepper.  Cover and simmer the soup on low heat, for 1 + 1/2 hours.  Lima beans should be softened and tender to the bite.

4.  Turn off heat.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in 1/2 cup of cooked marinara sauce.
Serve warm.

Yields: about 2 quarts

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Looking for more hearty soup recipes?  You may enjoy these comforting soups:

• 15 Bean Soup with Pancetta and Basil
• Split Pea and Thyme Soup
• Black Bean and Quinoa Soup
• Easy Pasta Fagioli Soup
• Classic Italian Minestrone Soup
• Roasted Garlic, Parsnip, White Bean Soup
• Potato Broccoli & Cheddar Soup
• Potato Cauliflower Soup 
• Lentil Spinach Soup
• Spicy Carrot Soup
• Brothy White Beans Soup

  And on the lighter side, try our 4 ingredient Celery Soup! 

Yield: 2 quarts

Baby Lima Bean Soup

Print

Baby Lima Bean Soup is one satisfying meal that bursts with flavor! This recipe makes enough to feed a crowd, and even makes enough leftovers for the week.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pound dry Baby Lima Beans
• 8 cups of boiling water
• 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large sweet onion - chopped
• 4 small carrots-chopped
• 2 stalks celery -chopped
• 2 ounces (about 6 Tbsp.) cubed pancetta
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 2 cups of water
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup Mom's Quick Marinara Sauce or jar sauce is fine

Instructions

1. Rinse and sort beans. Add 1 pound of beans to a pot filled with 8 cups of hot water and on high heat, boil beans in a rapid boil for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover with a lid, and set aside for 1 hour. Drain water and rinse beans again in cold water.
2. In a large heavy soup pot or a slow-cooked pot, sauté on medium heat the vegetables and pancetta in olive oil until the pancetta are cooked and onions and celery have softened about 5 minutes.
3. Add lima beans and sauté for 2 minutes.
4. Add the broth, water, and cayenne pepper.
5. Cover and simmer the soup on low heat, for 1 + 1/2 hours.
6. Lima beans should be softened and tender to the bite. Turn off the heat.
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in 1/2 cup of marinara sauce.
8. Serve warm.
9. Yields: about 2 quarts

 

 

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Happy Cooking!  🙂

 xo Anna and Liz