Succotash

$5.46 recipe / $0.55 serving
by Beth - Budget Bytes
5 from 3 votes
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If you’re looking for a simple, hearty, and inexpensive side dish that you pair with just about any meal, you’ve got to try succotash. This colorful mix of corn, lima beans, and tomatoes has a natural subtle sweetness balanced with savory broth, herbs, and a creamy butter finish. It’s one of those combinations that is so simple, but you won’t be able to stop shoveling it into your mouth, forkful after forkful.

Succotash in a skillet with a wooden spoon, garnished with parsley.

What is Succotash?

Succotash is a simple dish of stewed corn and beans that originated with the Narragansett people in what is now the New England region of the U.S. The Narragansett called the dish sahquttahhash, or “broken corn kernels”, and introduced it to colonists in the 17th century when it likely took on its current name. Over the centuries the dish has taken many forms and has become part of classic southern cuisine in the U.S. The version you’ll find below is simple, delicious, and most importantly budget-friendly!

What’s in Succotash?

Succotash can take many forms, but the common thread between most versions is a combination of corn and lima beans stewed together with other vegetables, herbs, and sometimes a fatty meat. My version is very simple with corn, lima beans, tomatoes, and onions, all stewed together in a little bit of chicken broth and finished with a little creamy butter.

Some people love to add a little bacon or salt pork to their succotash to give it an extra flavor punch. Other vegetables that can be commonly found in succotash include red bell pepper, okra, squash, and garlic.

What to Serve with Succotash

Succotash is a very versatile side dish and can be served alongside any grilled meat, baked fish, or pork chops. Succotash would also be great to add to a bowl meal, or just it as a bed on your plate for some Garlic Butter Shrimp. YUM!

Overhead view of a bowl of succotash with a black spoon.
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Succotash

5 from 3 votes
Succotash is a simple and colorful side dish made with corn and lima beans that is savory, subtly sweet, and full of delicious flavor.
Overhead view of a skillet full of soccotash.
Servings 10 ½ cup each
Prep 5 minutes
Cook 25 minutes
Total 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 yellow onion ($0.38)
  • 4 Tbsp butter, divided ($0.50)
  • 1 12oz. bag frozen lima beans ($1.69)
  • 1 12oz. bag frozen sweet corn ($1.25)
  • 1 cup chicken broth* ($0.13)
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme ($0.05)
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper ($0.02)
  • 1 tsp salt, divided ($0.05)
  • 1 large tomato ($1.29)
  • 1 Tbsp chopped parsley ($0.10)

Instructions 

  • Dice the yellow onion and add it to a skillet with 2 Tbsp butter. Sauté the onion in the butter over medium heat until the onion has softened.
  • Add the lima beans, corn, broth, thyme, pepper, and ½ tsp salt to the skillet. Stir to combine and allow the broth to come up to a simmer. Let the corn and beans simmer in the broth, without a lid, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
  • While the corn and lima beans are simmering, dice the tomato. Add the diced tomato to the skillet and simmer for an additional five minutes.
  • Give the mixture a taste and add more salt to your liking (I added an extra ½ tsp salt). Add the remaining 2 Tbsp butter and stir until they are melted in.
  • Top the succotash with chopped fresh parsley and another pinch of black pepper. Enjoy hot!

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Notes

*Make this recipe vegetarian by substituting vegetable broth.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5cupCalories: 128kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 4gFat: 5gSodium: 377mgFiber: 3g
Read our full nutrition disclaimer here.
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A spoonful of succotash held close to the camera.

How to Make Succotash – Step by Step Photos

Sautéed onions in a skillet.

Begin by dicing one yellow onion. Add the onion and 2 Tbsp butter to a large skillet and sauté over medium heat until the onions are softened.

Corn, lima beans, spices, and broth being poured into the skillet.

Add one 12oz. bag of frozen lima beans, one 12oz. bag of frozen sweet corn, ½ tsp dried thyme, ¼ tsp black pepper, ½ tsp salt, and 1 cup chicken broth. Stir to combine. Allow the broth to come up to a simmer, then simmer the corn and beans in the broth, without a lid, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Diced tomatoes being stirred into the skillet.

While the corn and beans are simmering, dice one large tomato (or 2 small tomatoes). Stir the diced tomatoes into the skillet then continue to simmer, without a lid and stirring occasionally, for an additional 5 minutes.

More butter added to the skillet.

Taste the mixture and add more salt to taste (I added another ½ tsp). Finally, add two more tablespoons of butter and stir them in until melted.

Finished succotash topped with parsley and pepper.

Garnish the finished succotash with fresh chopped parsley and a little more freshly cracked pepper.

Side view of a bowl of succotash with a spoon.

Enjoy hot!

Try These Other Easy Veggie Side Dishes

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  1. Is the broth supposed to have cooked off by the end, or is there supposed to be some left at the end?

  2. This is the recipe that turned me on to succotash! I highly recommend tomatoes from your garden or the farmers market, rather than the grocery store. The difference in flavor is substantial.

  3. I live in the Sonoran desert of central Arizona and in another month our Foothill Palo Verde trees will be bursting with tasty seed pods. These seeds are delicious eaten right from the tree – similar to edamame. I will try them in this recipe and I believe it’s going to be delicious.

  4. Yuuuuum. So simple, so good. Made exactly as recipe called for and served with baked potatoes. Will definitely make again. Thanks Beth 👍

    1. It does! You should freeze in individual portions, as you should only thaw it once. XOXO -Monti

  5. I grew up in the Northeast, where succotash is made with fresh sweetcorn, raw or boiled– (cut the kernels off the cob, then go back and scrape the back of a knife down the ears to get the extra “milk” and bits into your pan!) Considering how inexpensive fresh corn is during high summer (5 ears for a dollar last month for me!), it’s still a budget meal, lower in sodium and extra-delicious! Try it!

  6. Love succotash, and it’s been on my Thanksgiving table since I was a child, due to it’s historical traditions. I make mine like yours with onion and thyme, but haven’t used tomato which sounds like a wonderful addition to me. And I have made it with edamame from time to time. I was in SD during my mother’s last months and made Thanksgiving dinner–my sister’s family and some of my mother’s friends were invited. When my niece saw the succotash on the table, there was a howl of dismay–“who ruined the corn?”

  7. When I saw the picture I thought this was a recipe using Edamame and got excited as that is what I have in my freezer right now… I think I’m still gonna try it with that as a substitute for the lima beans unless there is a reason why it wouldn’t come out well? Seems like the combination of ingredients would still be pretty tasty, just not a classic Succotash anymore.

    1. I have made succotashes with frozen edamame (or heirloom New England beans) and they come out delicious. Highly reccomend if you’re not a lima bean person.