Green beans, tomatoes, almonds and chickpeas are simmered up in a lightly spiced tomato base to make this cozy and flavorful Lebanese-inspired green bean stew. It's comforting, healthy and delicious!
Sometimes the simplest recipes are the best. This green bean stew is a perfect example of that.
The recipe was inspired by loubieh, an absolutely delicious Lebanese dish that I first tried at a restaurant a few years ago. I loved it so much and asked the server what was in it. It turned out to be not that much! Green beans, tomatoes, and some simple seasonings — that's it! This really shouldn't have been a surprise — green beans are the star of so many of my favorite dishes, like green bean curry, vegan green bean casserole, and stir-fried green beans and tofu.
I felt compelled to create my own version of loubeih, and it's been a household favorite ever since. We love this stuff, especially during the summer when fresh green beans from the garden are abundant. I've served this stew as a side as well as as a main dish, paired up with accompaniments like roasted garlic hummus and pita bread, turmeric rice, or salad.
I made a few changes from traditional loubieh in this recipe, namely with the inclusion of chickpeas and almonds, mainly for some extra texture and to bulk up the dish so it's substantial enough to serve as a main course. You can absolutely leave them out if you're a purist though.
However you make it, I think you'll be amazed at the deliciousness of this easy stew!
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Olive oil. Olive oil really adds to the flavor of this dish. I don't recommend substituting another type of oil.
- Onion.
- Garlic.
- Ground cumin.
- Vegetable broth. I'm a big fan of Better Than Bouillon in seasoned vegetable flavor, but feel free to use your favorite.
- Diced tomatoes.
- Tomato paste.
- Fresh green beans. Other types of garden beans with a similar texture and flavor to green beans can absolutely be used here. I love growing an heirloom variety known as Dragon Tongue Beans, and they work great in this stew! Some types of beans cook quicker of slower than basic green beans, so adjust the simmer time if needed.
- Chickpeas. We're using canned chickpeas to make things easy. Feel free to cook your chickpeas from scratch if that's your preference.
- Slivered almonds. Prefer a different variety of nut? Go for it! I think pine nuts or hazelnuts would be delicious.
- Salt and pepper.
- Fresh parsley.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Start by browning diced onion in olive oil. Cook the onion over medium low heat, stirring occasionally until it just starts to caramelize. Keep a close eye on it to avoid burning.
Once the onion has just started to brown, raise the heat a bit and add minced garlic and ground cumin. Cook the mixture briefly, making sure to stir it constantly.
Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, green beans, chickpeas and almonds to the pot.
Give everything a stir, raise the heat, and bring the liquid to a boil.
Lower the heat and cover the pot. Let the stew simmer with the lid on for about 10 minutes. This will speed up the beans cooking, which can otherwise take forever.
Remove the lid from the pot and let it continue simmering uncovered, until the beans are as tender as you'd like them and the sauce is thick. Add a splash of water at any point if it gets too thick.
Take you green bean stew off of heat and season it with some salt and pepper to taste. Top it with a sprinkle of fresh parsley and it's ready to enjoy!
Prep-Ahead Tips
Save time on the day of serving your stew by doing any of the following steps in advance:
- Dice the onion and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for a day or two.
- Cut the green beans into 2-inch pieces a day or two in advance, then store them in an airtight container in the fridge.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftovers of this stew keep really well. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
More Vegetable Stew Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Lebanese-Inspired Green Bean Stew
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 ½ cups vegetable broth
- 1 (14 ounce/400 gram) can diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 12 ounces fresh green beans, cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1 cup canned chickpeas drained and rinsed
- ½ cup slivered almonds
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Fresh parsley, finely chopped, for serving
Instructions
- Coat the bottom of a medium pot with the oil and place it over medium-low heat.
- When the oil is hot, add the onion. Cook the onion for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it just begins to brown and caramelize.
- Raise the heat to medium, then add the garlic and cumin to the pot. Cook the garlic and cumin with the onion for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes very fragrant.
- Stir in the broth, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, green beans, chickpeas and almonds. Raise the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil.
- Lower the heat until the mixture is at a low simmer. Cover the pot and allow everything to simmer for about 10 minutes, just until the green beans begin to soften.
- Uncover the pot and let the stew continue simmering for 20 to 30 minutes, until the beans are tender and the sauce has thickened up (see Note). You can add water during simmering if it thickens too much.
- Remove the pot from heat and season the stew with salt and pepper to taste.
- Divide into bowls and garnish with parsley. Serve.
Notes
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By far the MOST delicious meal we had this week! Somehow the flavors are more than the sum of its parts. Served with pan-fried gnocchi for a very satisfying meal.
Holy crap this was good! Even better than I thought it was going to be.
I’m making this right now, but I’m using 2 lamb shanks, 4-spice Lebanese spice mix. My mother in law used it…1 tsp.nutmeg, 1/2 tsp.ground cloves,1tsp. Ginger, 1 Tbsp. Pepper. This mix makes enough for 2-3 recipes. Very good on lamb meat, or beef. I’ll serve with rice. Never tried the chick peas with it, but I’m putting them in this time!
Very good! It also works with other veggies, like sliced okra.
Love this recipe but unfortunately need to avoid highly spicy foods. Could you leave out the tomato paste?
You can, but the tomato paste shouldn't add much heat - it's just concentrated tomato puree. If you do leave it out the stew will be a bit more watery, but still delicious!
I liked the recipe in general, but I think the green beans need to be cut shorter -- about an inch -- because it's hard to eat this with a conventional soup spoon! Otherwise, it's terrific: Tasty, easy to make, and cheap!
Minus the almonds but with potatoes this is a dish I grew up on. We’re Italian and it was served on Fridays back when you didn’t eat meat that one day of the week. Served with Italian bread and followed with a lettuce salad, it made a satisfying (and cheap) meal. It’s even better with the almonds!
Would a dash of allspice in this recipe pair well?
Hmmmm...I can't say for sure without trying, but I have a feeling it would! I'd love to hear how it turns out if you try it!
Just seeing the vermicelli and rice tip now that all is cooking, but I’m proud that I cooked rice at least! This will be our first Lebanese dish and can’t wait to try it. Using my pressure cooker to reduce cooking time.
Great idea! I hope you enjoy it!!
I grew up eating this but instead of cumin we would use a dash of cinnamon and a little fresh mint. I would also serve it over rice. That’s the Lebanese way!
That sounds delicious! I'll have to give it a try!
Made this for dinner last night - excellent!
Yay!! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
This looks delicious - and I have all the ingredients on hand! Yay! Thank you so much for your recipes, beautiful photos and wonderful writing! I love following you on Facebook!
This is one of my favorite dishes from back home! But we serve it up with rice instead. If you can find vermicelle in a specialty store, you should fry some at the bottom of a pot then add your rice and water. You end up with an amazing lebanese style rice to serve up with your stew.
Ooooohhh... that's a new one for me too, and it sounds delicious! I just googled it and found a few recipes - definitely making that on the side next time. Thanks Lena! :)
How have I not heard of this? I love Middle Eastern food. This sounds cozy and fantastic. .
That's what I said when I first saw it on the restaurant menu! Totally new one for me!