Lima Bean and Porcini Soup Recipe (2024)

The beans, bones and barley will throw some scum so it's helpful to add those, bring to the boil and skim before adding the herbs and mushrooms.

I look forward to making this soup every year, and I have made it numerous times, as my supermarket always seems to have lamb and beef bones on clearance. I used pinto beans today, as that was what I had on hand, and I always use leftover broth from cooking usually dried chickpeas, flavored only with bay leaves, instead of water to add depth of flavor and nutrition. Do try to use porcini mushrooms if you can find them, as they add a lovely smokiness. Wonderful to smell them simmering.

Delicious. Made it vegan. Added some fresh mushrooms and scallions and Trader Joe’s umami powder. Finished w drops of sherry vinegar.

Made with what I had on hand, black-eyed peas instead of limas, fresh plus dried mushrooms, and extra meat, this was rich and wonderful. I did brown the meat before combining everything and had a super dinner plus extra for the freezer.

I've looked hard but can't find lamb bones in my neck of the woods. Can someone recommend a substitution or should this only be made if I find the bones?

I riffed on the recipe a bit, as I mostly do lately because of our choice to eat less meat. I used mushroom base (concentrated) in place of the bones. But honestly, the dried mushrooms really heighten the depth of flavor in this soup. Served with turmeric couscous instead of barley.

I have used everything from leftover duck bones, to lamb bones, to a beef short rib for the meat. I use the Costco dried-mushroom mix, which includes porcinis as well as other types of mushrooms. I also add fresh mushrooms -- white, portabello, whatever. We like this extra-mushroomy, and also extra barley-ey.

Very good, but the timing is a bit off. Lima beans are big and hence take a long time to cook, even soaked. Give them at least an hour head start. Any veggies used for broth with lose their flavor so I added some scraps to my freezer for the first hour then added the veggies that would actually be eaten in the soup later on.

Tasty soup. I used a combo of lima and navy beans (the limas were very old and took a very, very long time to soften); added mushrooms stems to the veggies; a bison bone stock that I had precooked and skimmed; and a TBSP of beef-flavored Better than Bouillon. Next time I would soak the dried mushrooms, chop the mushrooms, and add the strained broth.

Made this vegetarian by omitting lamb and doubling limas. Also subbed wild rice for barley. Delicious.

I felt this came out a little on the bland side. Using beef bones I still needed to add tons of salt and pepper until it seemed edible. Timing it seemed tricky and I wound up with overcooked barley and undercooked beans. Next time I'd start boiling the beans maybe an hour ahead of time.

I felt this needed a stock base. It was missing enough flavour.

I made this with Rancho Gordo's Christmas Lima Beans, which are a beautiful and delicious red-speckled bean. I used some beef short ribs, and couldn't get dried porcini so I used some dried sliced sh*take that I had. It was delicious!

I didn’t have any mushrooms and I forgot to add the parsley but despite that, this was delicious! Lima beans are good on their own, having them with barley provided a very nice texture. I’ll definitely be making this soup regularly, especially since we’re eating beans more often nowadays for our health and to save money on groceries.

Cook the beans before adding.

Cooked for 20 minutes in Instant Pot after browning a lamb shank. Flavor was wonderful! I started with dried lima beans soaked overnight - the beans ended up being overcooked but it was still good. Used fennel instead of onion, no garlic, added a sprig of fresh rosemary. I'd definitely make this again.

This recipe does not call for soaking and rinsing the porcinis, which can be sandy/dirty. I soaked the mushrooms (drained, filtered, and saved soaking water and added in place of some of the water), then rinsed and chopped the mushrooms before adding them to the soup. Excellent soup.

Delicious. Made it vegan. Added some fresh mushrooms and scallions and Trader Joe’s umami powder. Finished w drops of sherry vinegar.

I used oxtail in place of the lamb neck and hulled barley in place of pearled. The oxtail was a decadent and more meaty addition and I like the extra nutrient kick from getting less processed barley :)

Farro, beef (not just bones), porcini dust

Farro subs well for the barley.

Very good, but the timing is a bit off. Lima beans are big and hence take a long time to cook, even soaked. Give them at least an hour head start. Any veggies used for broth with lose their flavor so I added some scraps to my freezer for the first hour then added the veggies that would actually be eaten in the soup later on.

This recipe was exquisite!