Lima Beans and Corn Succotash recipe is a simple but filling stew of corn, lima beans and other vegetables that can be served as a side dish or the main course.
Succotash is a simple vegetable side dish with many variations. It’s easy to switch it up as the basis is corn and lima beans–which pair well with so many other vegetables including onions, squash, sweet bell peppers and tomatoes.
It’s an easy side dish with a rich history in the U.S. and its simplicity is what has made it so popular for hundreds of years.
Recipe Origins
Succotash is a dish made popular by the Narragansett tribe of Native Americans in the 17th century. When Europeans colonized America they were introduced to ingredients that natives grew including fresh sweet corn, beans and squash. These staples were combined into a stew for struggling explorers, unfamiliar with the new land.
The name comes from a combination of native words like msickquatash, “simmering pot of corn” or sohquttahhash, which means “broken corn kernels.”
The popularity of this dish really took off during the Great Depression because these ingredients were affordable and filling. Around this time the succotash was sometimes covered with a crust to make a succotash casserole. Variations can be found all across the country, but it’s particularly popular in Southern states in America.
Over time this simple recipe has evolved and the dish itself has become more of a side dish than the main meal it once was. It’s sometimes served cold, as a salad but is traditionally more of a hot stew.
You may have, at some point in your life, been subjected to a canned succotash that was less than desirable (perhaps the reason Sylvester the cat from the Looney Tunes coined the phrase “sufferin’ succotash”). But I promise with the right seasoning and fresh vegetables, succotash is a perfectly delightful addition to any meal.
Why Make this Recipe
- Healthy: The fresh produce in this corn Succotash recipe (detailed below) is incredibly healthy, and the delicious flavors combined with tender lima beans make for a delightfully nutritious meal!
- Quick: This simple dish takes all of 8 minutes to throw together, and can be a complete meal or a great side dish depending on your desires. It’s a great recipe to make when you’re short on time.
- Inexpensive: This meal was made popular by struggling immigrants and the ingredients used to make it are still widely available and affordable today.
What Do I Need to Make This Recipe?
Ingredients
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
- Canned Ingredients: Lima beans are sometimes considered a superfood. They are a great source of iron. Using canned lima beans and corn makes this recipe particularly convenient and fast. You can also use fresh corn or frozen corn if that is what you have on hand.
- Vegetables: Onion, tomatoes, and garlic bring really great flavor to this dish. I love to use cherry tomatoes during the summer months but a larger diced tomato works too. Feel free to add any additional vegetables you’d like.
- Herbs: Thyme and fresh basil are easy to find and really make this dish taste fresh and light.
- Seasonings: I use garlic powder, onion powder, cumin and paprika in my recipe but you could also add coarse salt, black pepper or fresh oregano.
- Dairy: I like to cook my onions in some butter to give them a little more flavor but you could make this dish vegan by substituting olive oil.
Tools
- Large Pan: This recipe all comes together in one pan. You’ll need one with a lid to cover while cooking.
- Stovetop: This Lima Beans and Corn Succotash is such a quick dish to make. It really only takes a few minutes to cook over medium heat.
How to Make this Recipe
Step 1: Cook the Onions
In a large pan, melt butter on the stove over medium-high heat. Once melted, add the onion and the garlic into the pan.
Cook, stirring with a slotted spoon, until fragrant or until the onions begin to turn translucent.
Step 2: Cook the Succotash
Once the onions are cooked, add the rest of the ingredients into the pan. Cover and allow to cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
When everything is warm and the tomatoes are beginning to release juice, cook for another 2 minutes. Then serve! Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Cumin and paprika are not traditional to this recipe but they do add good flavor if you want to add them!
- After making this recipe, I used the leftovers to make a delicious breakfast. I mixed the succotash with scrambled eggs and my 2-Minute Healthy Veggie Dip for a delicious and nutritious breakfast!
- You can add any other vegetables that you want into this Lima Beans and Corn Succotash to put your own spin on it. Corn, lima beans, and tomatoes are the essential ingredients in the succotash recipe, but you can add anything else from your farmer’s market haul.
- This is great as a side dish to meat, and would be delicious to serve at a summer cookout with some BBQ chicken or pork chops.
- Some southern versions of succotash like to add crispy bacon, pork belly, or cook the vegetables in bacon drippings.
Recipe FAQs
Feel free to add whatever vegetables you want into this dish. It’s popular with squash but I’ve also seen green beans, fresh okra and red bell pepper used often. I did something similar in my vegetable medley recipe called Batar Da’an.
You can also add different types of beans into the dish if you’d prefer something other than lima beans. From my research, this is the traditional way to make it.
As aforementioned in this article, you can eat succotash on its own, serve it with eggs (detailed above) or serve it as a side dish. It’s a very versatile dish!
Some people like to cook just the lima beans and corn and add the rest of the veggies cold to serve as a salad. I prefer it warm.
It would be delicious alongside a meat-heavy meal. Specifically with red meat or even fried chicken.
Store leftover succotash in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. It makes great leftovers.
Did you like this recipe for Corn Succotash? If so, check out these other recipes I picked out just for you:
- Vegetable Medley from East Timor
- Stuffed Pepper Casserole
- Roasted Vegetable Salad from Azerbaijan
- Homemade Creamed Corn Recipe
If you make this recipe at home, leave a review/comment on this post letting us know what you thought!
And don’t forget to share a photo of your finished product on Facebook and Instagram and tag @TheForeignFork and hashtag #TheForeignFork.
Lima Beans and Corn Succotash Recipe
Equipment
- Large Pan
- Stovetop
Ingredients
- 2-3 tbsp Butter, unsalted
- 1 Onion, chopped
- 1 tsp Garlic, chopped
- 1 can Lima Beans, drained
- 1 can Corn, drained
- 5-7 sprigs Thyme
- 2 tsp Basil
- 20 Cherry tomatoes
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp paprika
Instructions
- In a large pan, melt 2-3 tbsp butter on the stove over medium-high heat.
- Once melted, add the onion and 1 tsp garlic into the pan. Cook, stirring, until fragrant or until the onions begin to turn translucent.
- Once the onions are cooked, add the rest of the ingredients into the pan. Cover and allow to cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- When everything is warm and the tomatoes are beginning to release juice, cook for another 2 minutes. Then serve! Enjoy!
Notes
- Canned Ingredients: Lima beans are sometimes considered a superfood. They are a great source of iron. Using canned lima beans and corn makes this recipe particularly convenient and fast. You can also use fresh corn or frozen corn if that is what you have on hand.
- Vegetables: Onion, tomatoes, and garlic bring really great flavor to this dish. I love to use cherry tomatoes during the summer months but a larger diced tomato works too. Feel free to add any additional vegetables you’d like.
- Herbs: Thyme and fresh basil are easy to find and really make this dish taste fresh and light.
- Seasonings: I use garlic powder, onion powder, cumin and paprika in my recipe but you could also add coarse salt, black pepper or fresh oregano.
- Dairy: I like to cook my onions in some butter to give them a little more flavor but you could make this dish vegan by substituting olive oil.
- Cumin and paprika are not traditional to this recipe but they do add good flavor if you want to add them! After making this recipe, I used the leftovers to make a delicious breakfast. I mixed the succotash with scrambled eggs and my 2-Minute Healthy Veggie Dip for a delicious and nutritious breakfast!
- You can add any other vegetables that you want into this Lima Beans and Corn Succotash to put your own spin on it. Corn, lima beans, and tomatoes are the essential ingredients in the succotash recipe, but you can add anything else from your farmer’s market haul.
- This is great as a side dish to meat, and would be delicious to serve at a summer cookout with some BBQ chicken or pork chops.
- Some southern versions of succotash like to add crispy bacon, pork belly, or cook the vegetables in bacon drippings.
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