Butter beans calories come to 216 for one cup (188 g) of boiled large limas, or 115 per 100 g. What stands out is how little fat rides along: 0.4 g per 100 g. Nearly every calorie comes from starch and protein, and one cup adds 13.2 g of fiber and 14.7 g of protein.
216kcal
1 cup · 188 g, large limas, boiled, unsalted
26%protein
14.7 gProtein
39 gCarbs
0.7 gFat
How to burn off 216 kcal
—Walking, brisk
—Jogging
—Cycling, moderate
—Swimming
Skip the math. BodyPal counts these calories from your steps and workouts automatically.
Nutrition facts
Large limas, boiled, unsalted · per 188 g
Calories
216 kcal
Protein
14.7 g
Carbohydrate
39 g
Fat
0.7 g
Saturated fat
0.2 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
4 mg
Potassium
955 mg
Iron
4.5 mg
Source: USDA FoodData Central
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Verified nutrition data
Numbers on this page come from USDA FoodData Central, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food composition database, and from manufacturer labels where a branded product is named. Last verified September 2026. How we verify our data →
Butter beans: calories, protein and sodium by serving
Percent of daily value uses the FDA reference of 2,000 kcal a day.
Serving
kcal
Protein
Carbs
Fat
Sodium
% DV kcal
1 cup (188 g)
216
14.7 g
39.3 g
0.7 g
4 mg
11%
Canned, 1/2 cup (124 g)
88
5 g
16.5 g
0.4 g
312 mg
4%
100 g
115
7.8 g
20.9 g
0.4 g
2 mg
6%
3 × 1 cup (188 g)
649
44 g
11 mg
5 × 1 cup (188 g)
1,081
73.3 g
19 mg
One cup is 216 calories, two cups are 432
The standard serving is one cup of boiled butter beans, 188 g, for 216 calories. That is 11% of a 2000-calorie daily value, a moderate share for a side dish that also covers 29% of the daily protein value. A 100 g scoop, closer to half a cup, lands at 115 calories.
Beans scale fast once they become the main event. Two cups (376 g) reach 432 calories and 29.3 g of protein. Three cups (564 g) climb to 649 calories with 44 g of protein, which is the territory of a big pot of succotash or a bean stew eaten as a full meal.
If you portion straight from the pot, use a measuring cup the first few times. A ladle of thick butter bean stew can hold well over a cup, and the difference between one and two servings is a full 216 calories. BodyPal can also log a bowl from a photo if you would rather not measure.
Carbs supply 71% of the calories, protein 26%
Per 100 g, boiled butter beans carry 20.9 g of carbohydrate, 7.8 g of protein and only 0.4 g of fat. In calorie terms that splits into 71% from carbs, 26% from protein and just 3% from fat. Saturated fat is 0.1 g and cholesterol is 0.
The carbohydrate side is mostly starch and fiber, not sugar. Sugars sit at 2.9 g per 100 g, while fiber reaches 7 g. One cup brings 13.2 g of fiber, nearly half of the 28 g daily value, plus 5.5 g of sugars.
That profile makes butter beans a starchy food first and a protein food second. They can stand in for rice or potatoes on the plate and add a solid amount of protein along the way, but they are not a lean protein in the way chicken breast or egg whites are.
Canned butter beans carry the sodium
Beans cooked from dry without salt are almost sodium-free: 2 mg per 100 g and 4 mg in a full cup, which rounds to 0% of the daily value. Even five cups (940 g) only add up to 19 mg.
Canned is a different story. Half a cup of canned butter beans (124 g) holds 312 mg of sodium, 14% of the 2300 mg daily value, for 88 calories. The canning liquid is where most of that salt sits, so the label on brands like Del Monte or Golden Plate is worth a glance.
If you watch sodium, cook dried limas yourself or drain and rinse canned ones before using them. The calorie count barely moves between the two forms; sodium is the number that changes.
Fiber and potassium make them a filling side
Butter beans bring 508 mg of potassium per 100 g alongside their fiber, and both come with very little fat. That combination gives a bowl real bulk for 115 calories per 100 g.
Because fat is so low, the calorie total of a butter bean dish depends mostly on what you cook them with. Ham hock, bacon, butter or cream can easily outweigh the beans themselves. Tomatoes, onions, greens and herbs keep the dish close to the bean numbers.
On a plate, they pair well with a lean protein and a vegetable, or with rice and greens for a classic Southern meal. If you swap them in for a starch, you trade some calories from refined carbs for extra fiber and protein.
How does butter beans compare?
Here is how butter beans stack up against black, white and pinto beans, per 100 g and per usual one-cup serving.
Verdict: Butter beans are the lightest of the four at 115 calories per 100 g and 216 per cup, against 249 for white beans and 245 for pinto beans. If you want the most protein per bite pick white beans at 9.7 g per 100 g; if you are counting calories butter beans are the better pick.
Most popular butter beans brands in the United States
Ranked by popularity in the BodyPal database
# Productkcal / 100 g
1Giant Eagle Green Lima Beans1/2 cup · 125 g72 kcal
2Del Monte Green Lima Beans1/2 cup · 126 g79 kcal
3Allens Green and White Lima Beans1/2 cup · 128 g86 kcal
4Food Lion Baby Lima Beans1/2 cup · 83 g108 kcal
5Food Lion Small Lima Beans1/2 cup · 130 g85 kcal
6Food Lion Large Lima Beans1/4 cup · 46 g261 kcal
7Golden Plate Butter Beans1/2 cup · 130 g115 kcal
Canned beans are labeled with their packing liquid and read lower than the cooked numbers above, while dry beans such as the large limas are labeled per dry weight and read much higher. Source: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Butter beans FAQs
How many calories are in butter beans?
A cup of cooked butter beans (188 g) has 216 calories, and 100 g has 115 calories.
Are butter beans good for weight loss?
A 188 g cup has 216 calories with 13.2 g of fiber, 14.7 g of protein and 0.7 g of fat.
Butter beans vs black beans: which has more calories?
Cooked butter beans have 115 calories per 100 g, black beans 132 calories per 100 g.
How much protein is in butter beans?
Cooked butter beans have 7.8 g of protein per 100 g, so a 188 g cup gives 14.7 g.
Are butter beans high in calories?
Not especially: boiled butter beans have 115 calories per 100 g and 216 per cup. That is the lowest of the beans on our compare list, and fat is only 0.4 g per 100 g.
What are the nutrition facts for butter beans per 100 g?
Per 100 g, boiled butter beans have 115 calories, 7.8 g of protein, 20.9 g of carbs, 0.4 g of fat, 7 g of fiber, 2.9 g of sugars, 2 mg of sodium and 508 mg of potassium.
How many calories are in canned butter beans?
Half a cup of canned butter beans (124 g) has 88 calories, with 5 g of protein and 4.5 g of fiber. It also carries 312 mg of sodium, or 14% of the daily value.
How much fiber is in a cup of butter beans?
One cup of boiled butter beans contains 13.2 g of fiber, nearly half of the 28 g daily value. Per 100 g, the figure is 7 g.
Which has more protein, butter beans or white beans?
White beans have slightly more, 9.7 g of protein per 100 g against 7.8 g for butter beans. They also cost more calories: 139 per 100 g versus 115.
