Gigantes (Greek Lima Beans)

WOW... This was such a great and tasty recipe... much better than expected... I love dill and that's why I made it plus I'm a vegetarian, so this was perfect for me. The flavor was REALLY good. Even my husband who doesn't like beans that much loved this recipe!!! The only changes I made were the following: * I cooked the beans for about 35 minutes instead of 20. * I used 1/4 cup of olive oil instead of 1 cup * I used 1 28-Ounce can of Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Crushed Tomato, and 4 garlic cloves instead of 2 (because I love garlic) THIS was sooooooooo YUMMY!!!!! I will be making this very often, even for parties!!! Thanks for posting!!

I LOVE this recipe and can't seem to get enough of it. My husband and I had beans like this in Greece and I've been looking for a recipe for them ever since. This one is fabulous! I don't use nearly as much olive oil though--just a splash over the top, it really doesn't need it. Also, I usually just use canned beans because it's easier. Thanks so much for the recipe!

So tasty. I was trying to cut fat/calories, so I used chicken broth instead of olive oil. I know if it was exact I would give it 5 stars, so that's what I rate it. The chicken broth version was still great to me. It was such a lovely flavor combination.

When I went to the store, I bought an extra can of green lima beans because I thought the 16 oz. bag of dried lima beans didn't look like it would be enough to fill a 9x13 pan, but it was. I added a chicken boullion cube to the water when I was simmering the beans to give them a little more flavor, and I only added about 1/3 cup olive oil to reduce the fat. I used about 1 Tbsp fresh parsely instead of the dill. I baked them uncovered for 1 hr 30 min at 375, and did not need to add any extra liquid. I sprinkled feta cheese on top when I took them out of the oven. Everyone thought these were a good alternative to baked beans at the picnic I took them to. I like the recipe because it's really easy and does not involve much prep work.

Make it all the time. We love it. I use oregano along with the dill. And feta sprinkled on top is delicious. We like it with crusty bread to wipe up the last bits. Nice with grilled Greek or Italian sausages for a hefty winter-time comfort meal.

My husband really liked this recipe. I cooked the beans longer before adding the rest of the ingredients.

AWESOME! I HATE LIMA BEANS AND LOVED THIS RECIPE! I LEFT OUT THE OLIVE OIL. DESERVES 10 STARS!

Followed recipe as advertised but added some oregano. Instead of baking in the oven I put the lima beans into a crock pot on low heat for about 4hrs.

This is a really great recipe. It is such a winner that it overshadows the main dish! The beans that were on the top were a bit crunchy even after I added a little more water...

Flavor is great, but have trouble getting beans the right consistency. Lots of floating skins after an all night soak; tend fall apart and get mushy after cooking for full length of time-- end up absorbing the liquid and not coming out as individual beans in a sauce, as I remember having them in Greece.

Fanastic--made just like recipe next time i might add a little more dill.

I was extremely surprised that my 11-year-old loved this soup! I used the slow cooker and omitted the olive oil.

Perhaps I don't have the palate that other reviewers seem to have, but I found this recipe bland and oily.

Very Good!!! I only used 1/3 cup of oil.

Just made this and it is so tasty!! I read some reviews that say it came out oily or the beans were still hard..I think it should be added that that beans need to be stirred a couple of times as the oil is more evenly absorbed and the drier beans on top get stirred into the oil better. Excellent dish and great if feta and greek olives sprinkled on top.

No one in our house likes lima beans, but this pretty much changed that for all 3 of us. This went well with "feta and sun-dried tomato stuffed chicken" on this site. I whipped up some couscous to add some starch to the meal and everyone loved it. The lima beans was certainly the highlight of the meal

Definitely a keeper. I followed the basic recipe but added oregano instead of dill/parsley and four cloves of garlic. Everybody enjoyed it, including my meat-centric fiance.

This is an easy but remarkably delicious recipe! You'd be surprised how amazing lima beans can taste! This is a real keeper! Do cut down on the amount of oil, you don't really need that much and use some vegetable or chicken broth instead.

My family doesn't eat beans generally so I made a creamy 'tomato' soup. I replaced the oil with chicken stock and added some tomato sauce for extra liquid, mixed it all together and baked at 350 in my convection oven. Once it was baked and cooled a bit I added extra water, seasonings and spaghetti sauce then pureed it in my high speed blender.

Made as directed except for decreasing oil by half. Found the taste of tomatoes and oil totally overwhelming. Family agreed -we will not make again.

I grated three large cloves garlic added can of venia sausage and some fried mushrooms

Great great recipe. I eat mine with a spinach/feta orzo. These are terrific.

I love this recipe. I could eat the entire dish myself. Sometimes I make a Greek dinner just to have an excuse to make these. Addendum: I never remember to soak my beans overnight so I tried pressure cooking them for 30 minutes rather than soaking and then cooking them. It was perfect! Now I can make these anytime I want.

Delicious! These beans are just so creamy and satisfying. I used fresh tomatoes, canned beans, and fresh thyme instead of dill. I also added some chopped kale at the end, which melds very nicely with the sweet rich beans. I skimmed some of the olive oil off the top, since I used extra-virgin, which made it just too olive-y for my taste.

I thought this was very good. I added end pieces of bacon( husband is a meat hound). Had this as the main meal.It cooked up nice in the crock pot. Will make again.

Must give a big thumbs up. I did modify a little Texas style: used roasted garlic and a can of Rotel Hot (too much salt boo). Turned me into a Lima bean lover.

I wanted to like this. Really I did. I thought with all the positive reviews from people that don't like limas that I would. But I did not care for this recipe. The lima beans were crunchy - even with following all the directions. It did make my house smell really good though!

I thought this was a really nice way to eat lima beans, but the wife was thoroughly unimpressed . . . repulsed even . . .

YUM! YUM! YUM! I added sauteed onions to the baking dish. Upon serving we topped the limas with feta cheese.

Lima beans are among the few foods I dislike, so maybe that's why I was so impressed that this recipe made them not only edible, but also tasty. We bought dried lima beans for my stepson, who eats canned limas almost every day, but it became apparent that he wasn't interested in the soak-overnight-and-cook-for-two-hours variety. Not wanting to waste them, I tried this recipe hoping to disguise the beans. Between the seasoning and long cooking time--I had to cook them a lot longer than called for, but that might be the fault of our decrepit oven--all that usual lima bean "dirt" taste was cooked right out.

I was very susprised how good this recipe was. My husband even liked it. will definitely do again.

I've never had Lima beans this good.

Every once in awhile I find a perfectly seasoned and exceptional recipe that uses every day ingredients and this is one such rarity. I added a little oregano and crushed red pepper to an already perfect recipe with fabulous results. Have made this recipe a dozen times for company with rave reviews and frequent requests for the "secret recipe". A real treasure!

4 stars just because of the changes I made. Really yummy base though! I just drizzled olive oil on top, maybe used a quarter cup total. No need for a whole cup, and this is coming from a true blue Maltese. I added extra garlic too and a little oregano, and used dried dill since that was all I had on hand. It was super easy to make and the beans were super creamy and delicious. I froze 3/4 of the mix and thawed them in the fridge for a day or so before eating again. This is a great go-to for quick, cheap, yummy food for this vegan.

One word...YUMMMMM! I've had greek lima beans with dill before and loved them, but this is a really nice variation! I, too, cut the olive oil down and replaced half with chicken stock. I'm afraid to admit I didn't use fresh lima beans (didn't have on hand) and wondered how they would turn out using frozen, which I happened to have. I thawed out about 90% and started the recipe from there. I don't know if they turned out as good as if I had used dried lima beans, but I loved them and so did my husband! This is a definite do again! Thanks for the recipe!

I loved this recipe, however, I automatically cut the amount of oil to 1/3 c. I also added more garlic. Made a whole pyrex dish and it was gone in a day!

WOW!!!! great recipe. I am not a lima bean eater but I will be now. I used 1/2 the olive oil.

Great recipe. Very easy to make. The Gigantes tasted just like so many that I had while in Greece.

These beans are fabulous and a staple in my house. I use a good quality Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes and one can (drained) Aylmer Garlic & Olive Oil Tomatoes. After soaking beans over night, boil on medium to high heat for about 50 minutes. Skim off the foam and make sure there's enough water to cover while boiling. Drain and keep at least 2 cups of your boiled water to be used later. I use at least 1/4 cup of dill or more and at least 1/4 to 1/3 cup chopped garlic. Bake in preheated oven at 350 for one hour. If your beans seem to be going dry, add some of your water that you kept. The starch in the bean water will thicken the tomato sauce in your beans. I have never gone wrong with this dish. :)

If you can get the beans from a Greek store you are pretty much guaranteed success. I ended up buying Goya large Lima beans and they were a close second. Stirring the beans a couple of times while baking and if you notice them getting to dry, adding some water helps to keep them moist. Very good recipe and close to what is served in Greece and Greek restaurants. Best to soak beans overnight. Then drain and fill the pot with fresh water. Bring to fast boil and then simmer 45-50 minutes till soft. Over cooking will result in skins separating. I gave recipe 4 stars only because I felt the liquid was not enough to keep the beans moist.

Absolutely loved this! We are trying to do some veggie/plant based meals in the week for health and savings. My critiques: Boil the beans for longer than 20 minutes after soaking. She says 20 minutes in the recipe but I would do 40 minutes to get a luxurious, velvety, texture to the beans. Also, add more dill. I added a tablespoon in place of a teaspoon. Same for the garlic. I added 4-5 cloves. Awesome recipe! Thank you!!

I followed the recipe exactly (but soaked the beans for almost 24 hours) and was left with oily beans that were hard as a rock. They are stilll in my oven, have been baking for over 6 hours and they're still hard. I suggest you boil them for a lot longer than 20 minutes prior to baking if you want to make this. I would also add sauteed onions and cut the oil in half.

This recipe is great. It may seem like this is a lot of olive oil but try it following the directions exactly the first time you make it. You won't be sorry. This is delicious and won't seem to oily when it's finished. The only change I make to the directions is to leave out the dill because I usually don't have any. I've found that even when I do use the dill, the other flavors overpower it so it doesn't really make a difference to the recipe one way or the other.

I reduced the oil to 1/3 c. and increased the dill. 1 1/2 hours in the oven was plenty of time and this turned out delicious. I served it with feta cheese and kalamata olives.

I added a sliced cheddar sausage link. Too much oil. May make again with less oil.

I liked this, but the beans need to be cooked longer that the recipe says to get them done all the way before you put them in the oven. I have also made it using canned giant butter beans and I think that way is much better and takes a lot less time.

This was...good. I was looking for great, though. I love the gigantes beans in tomato sauce from Trader Joe's, but due to the high sodium content, wanted to try to replicate it myself. This was my first attempt at that. First of all, maybe it was the beans I used (Corona, purchased from a local shop), but even after soaking overnight and simmering on the stove for 30 minutes, it still took over 6 HOURS to bake in the oven in the tomato sauce, and the batch I made was a HALF batch. The instructions did not say whether to cover or not, and after 2 fruitless hours of baking uncovered, I covered with aluminum foil and continued baking until the beans were of a palatable consistency. I found that the seasoning was a bit lacking as written, and recommend adding additional garlic, oregano, and black pepper. Next time I would also add some sauteed onions. I used canned crushed tomatoes and found that I had to add water about every 30 minutes. I think next time I would just do this in a slow cooker, since it takes that long to cook anyway, and it will save my glass pan from having to scrub away the baked-on residue from the sauce.

I read the comments and used 1/2 cup of oil - wished I had used a full one as some were crunchy and dry. Ate the 2nd half tonight after warming in the microwave with a touch of water and incredible! They got even better with feta cheese on them! excellent recipe

These were delicious! Previously made them with onions and parsley, but I prefer this recipe. Will definitely make them again!

Extremely tasty! We have made this often over the last few years, and I have substituted different varieties of canned tomatoes; every batch still seems to come out very tasty. I've even used pizza sauce the last few times- still delicious! Thank you for this recipe; I now have a go-to recipe for lima beans!

good

Fantastic blend of flavors! Due to time constraints- I used two cans of butter beans.

I used to work at a Greek restaurant and have been craving all of the food lately. I figured gigantes would be the easiest way to go. Followed the recipe accordingly except I added about a teaspoon extra fresh dill. I also occasionally added chicken broth to give it more moisture while it was in the oven. 1 1/2 hours is all that is needed, if not a tad too long. Came out incredible! Better than the gigantes at the Greek restaurant. Defiantly making this regularly from now.

Simply Great.

I was looking for a way to make lima beans interesting and I only had 20 mins to make them. I cooked frozen beans on the stovetop in boiling water (per the package instructions) then stuck them in the oven with chopped fresh tomatoes, minced garlic, dill, olive oil, and added feta cheese afterward like someone in the comments suggested. They did not look like the picture at all because I did not cook them long but the flavor was great and my family loved them. Thanks for making lima beans tasty! I'll try the long recipe next time.

I'm making this again today. I've made it several times, as per the recipe instructions. This is always amazing and oh so easy.

I followed this exactly the first time, but it was oily and needed more flavour. The next time, I used only a scant 1/4 cup of oil and added more garlic, pepper and mixed herbs. A drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette when serving made it perfect - just like they serve on the continent.

This dish was a huge favorite with family and guests. Two of my kids are vegans, and they couldn't stop raving. Making it again this weekend for company. Yum.

Simple yet tasty

Meh. It was really bland.

I love this recipe, one of my favorites. I substitute grape seed oil for olive oil. It's better for you!

I have made this recipe numerous times and love it every time. So do my husband and children. I use only 1/3 cup oil because a full cup is too much. I have added water a couple of times during baking to make sure the beans don't get too crispy. Love, love, love this recipe, especially with feta cheese melted on top (after it bakes).

The simple ingredients blended to have a taste that was a surprise. It’s a keeper.

Delicious and so simple. I've made this twice using frozen lima beans to avoid soaking the beans for a fast dinner. One cup of oil seemed excessive, so I've reduced the amount to approx. 4 tablespoons rather than one cup. The dill is the key to this dish that makes it taste authentically Greek. Yum!

Great...just too much oil

So simple yet so tasty! We loved it. I was tempted to add other ingredients to the recipe but decided to try the simple version first and was very surprised at how delicious it was. We love garlic so I just added a bit of garlic powder along with the 3 cloves. I think the feta on top is essential to move this dish from the level of good to GREAT.

Made this dish for the second time last night. I added a can of squid to the recipe, slicing them into small rings. It was one of the best dishes I have ever made according to my family.