Gigantes beans substitutes
Gigantes beans substitutes — 6 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Large dried lima beans or butter beans
Same amount by dry weight as the gigantes beans
Large dried lima beans, also sold as butter beans, are the closest substitute for gigantes at 1:1 and are the swap most Greek cooks abroad actually use. Italian corona beans are an even better match if your shop has them. Cannellini beans work but are much smaller, so a gigantes plaki made with them reads as a bean stew rather than a plate of big creamy beans.
- Verdict —
- Works
- Best for —
- gigantes plaki
Updated 19 Aug 2026 · no sponsored swaps
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of gigantes beans | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Large dried lima beans or butter beansgigantes plaki | Same amount by dry weightWorks | Works |
| 2 | Corona beans (fagioli corona)gigantes plaki | Same amount by dry weightWorks | Works |
| 3 | Canned butter beans or canned large lima beansweeknight gigantes plaki | Two 15-ounce cans, drained per 1 cup dried gigantesTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Cannellini beansbaked bean dishes | Same amount by dry weightTweak it | Tweak it |
| 5 | Great northern beanssoups | Same amount by dry weightYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 6 | Chickpeasstews | Same amount by dry weightYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
Large dried lima beans or butter beans
similar taste and texture
Big flat white beans that are botanically different from gigantes but behave almost identically in the pot.
- Best for
- gigantes plaki, baked bean dishes, bean salads, stews, soups
The everyday answer, and a good one. They are slightly more mealy and taste a little more vegetal and beany than gigantes, which are cleaner and creamier, so the finished dish is a touch earthier. Buy the largest ones you can find. Small baby limas turn to mush in a long bake.
Corona beans (fagioli corona)
similar taste and texture
Large flat white Italian beans that are essentially the same bean under a different name.
- Best for
- gigantes plaki, baked bean dishes, bean salads, braises
If you can get them, stop looking. Same size, same thin skin, same creamy interior, and they take the same cooking time. Practically indistinguishable in a tomato-baked dish, and the closest thing to a true one-for-one replacement.
Canned butter beans or canned large lima beans
similar taste, different texture
The shortcut that saves you an overnight soak and an hour of simmering.
- Best for
- weeknight gigantes plaki, quick bakes, salads, dips
The trap here is timing, not flavour. Canned beans are already fully cooked, so if you bake them for the usual hour they collapse into a puree. Make the tomato sauce first, fold the drained beans in, and bake only twenty-five to thirty minutes to marry the flavours. Rinse them well, as the canning liquid tastes tinny, and hold back on salt.
Cannellini beans
similar taste, different texture
Medium white kidney-shaped beans that are creamy inside and hold their shape reliably.
- Best for
- baked bean dishes, soups, salads, stews
They taste right and stay intact, but they are roughly a third the size of gigantes, so you lose the whole point of the dish, which is a big spoon-sized bean with a soft creamy middle. Their skins are also thicker and slightly chewier. Good food, just not the same experience.
Great northern beans
different taste and texture
Small to medium white beans that are widely available and firmer than cannellini.
- Best for
- soups, baked beans, stews, salads
The most available option in an ordinary supermarket. They stay firm and separate rather than going creamy, so the dish comes out looking and eating like baked beans in tomato sauce. Fine as dinner, noticeably not gigantes. Cook them a little longer than the packet says to soften them up.
Chickpeas
different taste and texture
A last resort when white beans are simply not available.
- Best for
- stews, tomato-baked dishes, salads
Do not expect a similar dish. Chickpeas stay firm and nutty and never go creamy, so the tomato sauce sits around them instead of being thickened by their starch. If you go this route, add a splash of water and mash a few of them against the side of the pan to give the sauce some body.
Questions
5 questionsAre gigantes beans the same as butter beans or lima beans?
Not botanically. Gigantes are runner beans, Phaseolus coccineus, while lima and butter beans are Phaseolus lunatus. In the kitchen they are close enough that large dried limas are the standard substitute, though gigantes are usually a bit bigger, thinner-skinned and creamier.
Can I use canned beans for gigantes plaki?
Yes, and it works well if you cut the baking time. Use two drained 15-ounce cans of butter beans per cup of dried gigantes, fold them into a sauce you have already cooked, and bake only twenty-five to thirty minutes. Bake them the full hour and they will fall apart.
Why are my beans still hard after two hours?
Either they are old, or you added acid or salt too early. Tomato, vinegar and wine all halt the softening process. Cook the beans to fully tender in plain water first, then build the sauce around them. Very old dried beans sometimes never soften properly at all.
Can I leave gigantes out of a Greek bean dish?
Not really, since in gigantes plaki the beans are the dish itself. What you can do is substitute freely among large white beans, because the tomato, olive oil, onion, garlic and dill are what make it taste Greek. Any big creamy white bean will get you most of the way there.
How much do dried gigantes yield when cooked?
Roughly two and a half to three times their dry volume, so one cup of dried beans gives you about two and a half to three cups cooked, which is enough for a family-sized tray of gigantes plaki serving four to six as a main.
Tips for substituting gigantes beans
6 tips- Gigantes are doing two things in a dish like gigantes plaki: they are the substance you eat, and their starch thickens the tomato sauce into something that clings. A firmer substitute gives you a thinner sauce, which you can fix by mashing a few beans into it.
- Cook the beans fully tender in plain unsalted water before they go anywhere near tomato, wine or vinegar. Acid stops beans softening, so beans that are still firm when the tomato sauce goes on will stay firm for hours no matter how long you bake them.
- Bring dried beans to a hard rolling boil for at least ten minutes at the start of cooking, uncovered, rather than only ever simmering them or cooking them from raw in a slow cooker. This is standard practice for large dried beans, including limas and runner beans.
- Salt near the end of the initial cooking, not at the beginning. Salted water slows the skins softening on big thin-skinned beans and you get burst beans with hard centres.
- Soak overnight in plenty of cold water, and if your beans are old and stubborn, add an eighth of a teaspoon of baking soda to the soaking water. Skip the hard boil later at your peril, and change the water before cooking.
- Keep the pot at a bare, lazy simmer once the initial boil is done. A vigorous boil bursts the skins off gigantes and limas and you end up with a pan of loose jackets.