Creamy Butter Beans with Leeks
When you need something warm, comforting, and a little bit luxurious (but don’t fancy spending hours in the kitchen), these creamy butter beans with leeks are just the ticket. This stovetop recipe is quick to make but still feels like proper, hearty food that’s packed with goodness.
(oh, and it’s smothered with cream too, which is definitely good for the soul, right?)
This dish has everything – buttery leeks, garlic and fresh rosemary, topped off with tender butter beans, a splash of cream and some finely grated cheese… you end up with a rich, silky sauce that coats everything beautifully. It’s simple, wholesome, and ridiculously satisfying — comfort food without the faff.
⭐️ How to Serve these Creamy Butter Beans?
These creamy butter beans work brilliantly as a protein-rich side dish, but honestly, I think they’re good enough to take centre stage. I served them simply with some garlic bread (to mop up the last drips of sauce from the bowl!), but they’d go equally well with some crusty bread, roasted veggies, or even just a simple salad.
A cosy, fuss-free dinner that’s ready in under half an hour – you can’t get much better than that.
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🥗 Ingredients and Substitutions
Here’s what you’ll need to make these creamy butter beans. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.
- butter beans – I used canned beans, because they’re so quick and convenient to use. If you prefer, you can cook dried beans from scratch, then follow the recipe as written.
- leek (one of my favourite vegetables ever)
- garlic – I used minced garlic from a jar, again because it’s just so convenient. Mince fresh garlic if you prefer.
- fresh rosemary
- cream
- vegetarian parmesan-style cheese – ‘real’ parmesan is not vegetarian as it contains animal rennet, but there are lots of very similar cheeses which are veggie-friendly, and function in the same way. This time I used pecorino, but there are other kinds available (including a more generic ‘Italian hard cheese’, which you can find in most supermarkets and is usually vegetarian).
You could very easily add additional ingredients to this recipe, if you want to, or switch things up to suit your tastes. Here are a few ideas:
- Sliced mushrooms would be amazing cooked up in butter with the leeks.
- You can swap the leek for shallots or thinly sliced red onion, if you like.
- If you don’t like rosemary, any other woody herb would work, like thyme, oregano or sage.
- You could add a dollop of green pesto to the cream sauce to bring an extra layer of flavour.
Becca’s Top Tip
I love adding tons of black pepper to cream sauces. They can also soak up quite a lot of salt to really help bring out the flavours.
🖨️ Printable Instructions
Creamy Butter Beans with Leeks
If you’ve cooked this recipe, don’t forget to leave a star rating!
Print Pin Comment(if you suffer from allergies, please double check all ingredients before eating)
Ingredients
- 1 large leek
- 1/2 Tablespoon butter
- 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 x 400g tins butter beans, drained (480g, or ~ 2 1/2 cups, in total when drained)
- 175 ml (~ 2/3 cup) vegetable stock
- Few sprigs fresh rosemary
- 75 ml (~ 1/4 cup) single cream
- 50 g (~ 1/2 cup) grated vegetarian parmesan-style cheese (I used pecorino)
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Trim and thoroughly wash the leek, then cut it in half lengthwise, and slice.
- Warm the butter and olive oil in a large frying pan, and add the sliced leek. Cook over a medium heat, stirring regularly, for 5 minutes, until softened. Add the minced garlic, and cook for a couple more minutes.
- Add the 2 cans of butter beans, along with the vegetable stock, and a few whole sprigs of rosemary. Cover the pan with a lid, and leave to simmer for around 10 minutes, until the beans are hot and soft.
- Add the cream, grated pecorino cheese, and a generous amount of black pepper. If you used low salt stock, you may also need to salt to taste. Mix to combine, and simmer gently for a few more minutes, until the cheese has melted and everything is well mixed. You can add an extra splash of water if you’d like your beans more saucy.
- Remove the sprigs of rosemary (don’t worry if a few of the leaves fall off), and serve warm.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
💭 Recipe FAQs
Yes – it will store nicely in the fridge (in an airtight container) for up to 3 days, so it’s great for cooking in advance.
Leftovers should be reheated thoroughly before serving. I like to reheat in the microwave, because it’s convenient and stops the sauce from drying out. You could also reheat in a saucepan on the stovetop, but you may need to add a splash of water to rehydrate the mixture.
use Cream but not real cheese?
I’m not sure what you mean, I did use real cheese! I used pecorino :)
So easy and delicious!
Thanks Pauline!
Lovely way to cook butter beans a delicious accompaniment.Simple ingredients and easy to do.I grow rosemary and it was nice to be able to use it for a change.As I didn’t have parmesan I used strong Cheddar but the dish still had a good cheesy taste. Will definitely be cooking this again.
Thanks for the lovely feedback Julia! :)
Absolutely loved this, so tasty and so easy, I’m sure it will become a regular in our house.
Absolutely loved this recipe, so easy and so tasty, it will definitely become a regular in our house.
Thanks Kinlay! Glad you enjoyed it :)
Made last night it was soooo good, will make again. Tweaked only a little –added cheddar to the cheese (I love Cheddar, I add it to almost everything) very tasty.
Thanks Wini! Glad you liked it! :)
Hi Becca, I love your recipes, so I’m looking forward to trying this as I love beans. I have everything I need except for the cream so
I’ll get some tomorrow & make it for our dinner. I’ll let you know how it turns out. 😉. Thank you.
Thanks June! Hope you enjoyed it :)