Protein in Butter Beans / Lima Beans: Protein, Calories, and Meal Ideas

Quick Answer

Cooked butter beans, also called lima beans, have about 7.8 g protein per 100 g. A practical 170 g cooked serving gives about 13.3 g protein and roughly 196 calories, making them a moderate-protein vegan legume and pulse.

• Protein class: moderate by weight because 7.8 g per 100 g falls in the 5-14.9 g range.
• Protein quality: partial plant protein, so butter beans pair well with grains, rice, wheat, corn, soy foods, seeds, or other legumes across the day.
• Best format for this guide: cooked beans from mature large lima beans. Canned, salted, dry, baby lima, and restaurant versions can differ.

Serving Sizes: 100 g, 170 g, and One Cup

Use cooked weight when comparing butter beans to other legumes. A 100 g cooked portion is useful for tracking apps, while a 170 g serving is closer to a generous bowl or about a cup of cooked beans depending on how they are prepared and drained.

• 100 g cooked butter beans / lima beans: about 7.8 g protein and 115 calories.
• 170 g cooked butter beans / lima beans: about 13.3 g protein and 196 calories.
• For a 25-30 g protein meal, pair butter beans with tofu, tempeh, seitan, edamame, eggs, Greek yogurt, fish, poultry, or a larger legume-and-grain plate.

Butter Beans vs Lima Beans

Butter beans and lima beans often refer to the same bean family. In many kitchens, butter beans means larger, creamy lima beans, while baby lima beans may be smaller and greener. Protein changes more by maturity, cooking method, and serving weight than by the name alone.

• Use mature cooked lima bean values for large creamy butter beans cooked from dry mature seeds.
• Use baby lima or immature lima entries when tracking smaller green lima beans.
• Use the product label for canned, salted, seasoned, frozen, or prepared versions.

Best Uses in Stews and Salads

Butter beans are especially useful in stews, soups, salads, and Mediterranean-style bowls because their creamy texture makes meals feel substantial. They add protein, fiber, carbohydrates, and meal volume without needing meat.

• Use them in tomato-based stews with vegetables, herbs, and a measured oil amount.
• Add them to salads with cucumber, tomato, onion, parsley, lemon, and vinegar.
• Pair with grains, whole-grain bread, quinoa, brown rice, or potatoes when the meal needs more energy.

Cooked, Canned, Dry, and Restaurant Beans

The main tracking mistake is mixing dry bean values with cooked bean values. Dry beans are more concentrated by weight, while cooked beans absorb water and weigh more. Canned beans also need drained-weight and label checks.

• Use cooked weight for home-cooked butter beans after boiling or simmering.
• Use drained weight for canned butter beans or canned lima beans.
• Track olive oil, butter, cream, cheese, bacon, sausage, bread, rice, pasta, and sauces separately.

Weight Loss and Muscle Gain Notes

Butter beans can support both weight-loss and muscle-gain diets, but they are not as protein-dense as tofu, seitan, lean meat, fish, eggs, or dairy. Treat them as a protein-and-carb legume base.

• For weight loss, use butter beans for fiber and fullness, but measure oil, bread, rice, and creamy sauces.
• For muscle gain, combine butter beans with rice, potatoes, bread, quinoa, tofu, tempeh, seitan, or another protein anchor.
• For vegan meal prep, rotate butter beans with lentils, chickpeas, black beans, fava beans, adzuki beans, tofu, and tempeh.

For Weight Loss or Calorie Control

Butter Beans / Lima Beans can work for weight loss or maintenance when the serving is measured and the rest of the plate is planned. The easiest approach is to decide the protein target first, then add carbs, fats, and sauces around that target. For this page's representative serving, 170 g cooked butter beans / lima beans gives about 13.3 g protein. If your meal target is 30 g protein, that is roughly 2.3 typical servings, or about 384.6 g by weight. This is why weighing the first few servings is useful: it turns a vague protein food into a repeatable meal component.

For Muscle Gain or Higher-Calorie Meals

Butter beans support muscle-gain meals as a carb-and-fiber legume, especially when paired with rice, potatoes, bread, tofu, tempeh, seitan, edamame, eggs, fish, poultry, or Greek yogurt. When using butter beans / lima beans for muscle gain, the question is not only whether it contains protein; it is whether the whole meal has enough total protein, carbohydrates, and calories to support training. If you need a leaner plant option, compare against tofu, seitan, tempeh, edamame, or pea protein powder. If you need more energy, nuts, seeds, peanut butter, pasta, oats, and quinoa can help. A practical muscle-gain plate is to keep the butter beans / lima beans portion consistent, then adjust rice, pasta, oats, potatoes, bread, beans, oil, nuts, or dairy up or down depending on your calorie target.

For Meal Prep and Repeatable Tracking

Butter Beans / Lima Beans is easiest to track when the serving method stays the same from week to week. Choose one default serving, log it with the matching raw, cooked, dry, drained, or label-based entry, and then build meals around that known number. Good repeatable options include Butter bean stew with tomatoes, herbs, and tofu, Lima bean salad with cucumber, tomato, parsley, and lemon, Butter beans with brown rice and roasted vegetables, and similar meals where the protein portion is measured before sauces and toppings are added.