Lima Bean Casserole is a cheesy Southern side dish: tender frozen limas stirred into a creamy celery sauce with onion, Worcestershire, pimentos and a cup of cheddar, then topped with more cheese and buttery crushed Ritz crackers and baked until bubbly. It serves 8 and is ready in 45 minutes.
How to make it: Cook the lima beans, soften the onion in butter, and mix both with the soup, milk, Worcestershire, pimentos, pepper and most of the cheese. Top with the rest of the cheese and the crackers, then bake at 350°F covered for 20 minutes and uncovered for 10.
Why You’ll Love It
- Easy holiday side: a bag of frozen limas and a can of soup do most of the work.
- Cheesy and crunchy: cheddar inside and on top, under a golden cracker crust.
- Make-ahead friendly: assemble it up to a day early.
- Feeds a crowd: 8 servings from one small casserole dish.
Ingredient Notes
Frozen lima beans: One 14-ounce bag, cooked by the package directions and drained first.
Cream of celery soup: One 10.75-ounce can of condensed soup, thinned with a quarter cup of milk. Cream of mushroom or cream of chicken works in its place.
Onion and butter: Half a medium onion, diced and cooked in a tablespoon of butter until soft.
Worcestershire and pimentos: Two teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce and a small 2-ounce jar of diced pimentos, drained, for flavor and a little color.
Cheddar: A cup and a half, shredded: one cup goes into the beans and half a cup on top.
Ritz crackers: Sixteen crackers, coarsely crushed, for the crunchy topping.
Ingredients
- 14 ounces frozen lima beans (1 bag)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 10.75 ounces condensed cream of celery soup (1 can)
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 ounces diced pimentos (1 jar), drained
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
- 16 Ritz crackers, coarsely crushed
How to Make Lima Bean Casserole
1. Heat the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 1 1/2- to 2-quart casserole dish.
2. Cook the beans. Cook the lima beans according to the package directions and drain.
3. Soften the onion. Cook the onion in the butter until soft.
4. Mix. In a large bowl, combine the lima beans, soup, milk, onion, Worcestershire sauce, pimentos, black pepper and 1 cup of the cheddar. Spread it in the casserole dish.
5. Top. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar and the crushed crackers over the top.
6. Bake. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes more, until bubbly, the crackers are golden and the center reaches 165°F.
What to Add to Lima Beans to Make Them Taste Better
Lima beans don’t have a whole lot of flavor on their own. That is exactly why this casserole works: everything around them brings the flavor.
Onion cooked in butter. Cook the diced onion in butter until soft before it goes into the beans.
Worcestershire and pimentos. A couple of teaspoons of Worcestershire and a small jar of pimentos season the whole dish and add flecks of red.
A whole bunch of cheddar. A cup goes into the beans and more melts on top.
Something smoky or spicy. Crumbled cooked bacon adds smoky flavor, and 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper adds a little heat.
A crunchy top. Crushed Ritz crackers, or 1/2 cup of French fried onions, over the cheese.
| Add | What it brings |
|---|---|
| Onion cooked in butter | In this recipe |
| Cheddar, inside and on top | In this recipe |
| Crumbled bacon | Smoky flavor |
| 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne | A little spice |
| Vinegar, brown sugar and dry mustard | A sweet-and-sour take |
| Tomatoes and bacon | A tomato-based casserole |
Tips for Success
Can I make it ahead?
Yes. Assemble the casserole up to 24 hours ahead, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it. Sprinkle on the cracker topping just before it goes into the oven.
Can I use a different soup?
Yes. Condensed cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup works in place of cream of celery.
Variations
- Bacon and cayenne: stir crumbled cooked bacon into the beans and add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne.
- French fried onion top: scatter 1/2 cup of French fried onions over the topping.
- Lima bean and tomato casserole: cook 1 1/2 cups of dry lima beans until tender. Cook 4 slices of bacon, then celery, onion, bell pepper and garlic in the drippings, stir in 2 tablespoons of flour and 1 1/2 cups of canned tomatoes, and pour it over the beans in a 1 1/2-quart dish. Cover and bake 1 hour at 300°F.
- Greek baked limas: simmer cooked large limas in a sauce of onion, carrot, garlic, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, thyme, dill and parsley, tuck pieces of feta into the dish, and bake at 400°F for about 30 minutes.
- Sweet and sour: layer drained canned limas with onion and celery fried in butter, pour over the bean liquid mixed with vinegar, brown sugar and dry mustard, and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.
Storage & Reheating
USDA FSIS says to refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in shallow, covered containers and eat them within 3 to 4 days, or freeze them for 3 to 4 months. Cream sauces don’t freeze well, so a frozen casserole may look a little different after thawing. Thaw it in the refrigerator. Reheat leftovers in a 325°F oven, which crisps the cracker topping again, until they reach 165°F.
What to Serve With It
It fits right in with a holiday meal. Round out the table with sweet potatoes with marshmallows, an easy creamy corn casserole and smothered green beans or Texas Roadhouse copycat green beans. For another cheesy vegetable bake, try a cheesy asparagus casserole. If you prefer your limas plain and brothy, there’s slow cooker Amish lima beans.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can I add to lima beans to make them taste better?
Onion cooked in butter, Worcestershire sauce, pimentos and plenty of cheddar, as in this casserole. Crumbled bacon or a pinch of cayenne adds more.
Do I cook the frozen lima beans first?
Yes. Cook them according to the package directions and drain them before mixing them with the sauce.
How do I keep the cracker topping crisp?
Add it just before baking, and bake the last 10 minutes uncovered. Reheat leftovers in a 325°F oven to crisp it back up.
What size dish do I need?
A lightly greased 1 1/2- to 2-quart casserole dish.
Final Notes
Crush the crackers while the beans cook so the topping is ready to go. If you make this, tell me in the comments how it turned out.
Lima Bean Casserole
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Ingredients
- 14 ounces frozen lima beans 1 bag
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 medium onion diced
- 10.75 ounces condensed cream of celery soup 1 can
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 ounces diced pimentos 1 jar, drained
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese shredded, divided
- 16 Ritz crackers coarsely crushed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 1 1/2- to 2-quart casserole dish.
- Cook the lima beans according to the package directions and drain.
- Cook the onion in the butter until soft.
- In a large bowl, combine the lima beans, soup, milk, onion, Worcestershire sauce, pimentos, black pepper and 1 cup of the cheddar. Spread it in the casserole dish.
- Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar and the crushed crackers over the top.
- Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes more, until bubbly, the crackers are golden and the center reaches 165°F.
