Lebanese green bean stew

Name: Lebanese green bean stew
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients: 4 cups green beans, frozen; 14 wt. oz smoked tofu; 2 1/2 cups chickpea, from a can, drained; 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 1 medium onion, chopped; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 tbsp paprika; 1 tsp ground coriander; 1 tsp chili flakes; 1/4 cup soy sauce; 1 tsp caster sugar; 1 tbsp vinegar

A delicious and aromatic stew made with green beans for a hearty and satisfying dish

by Cory Varga

Updated 14 November 2024

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Lebanese green bean stew is a delicious, easy to make dish that is suitable for vegans and veggie lovers. This stew is my own version of the otherwise authentic Loubye Bzeit, which is normally served as an appetizer.

There are so many Lebanese dishes that are suitable for vegetarians and vegans. And the Lebanese green bean stew is my own twist to an otherwise appetizer that has green beans in oil and added tomato paste. I like this to be more stew-like, with a lot more ingredients so I can eat it for lunch or dinner. My variant is very filling and incredibly delicious.

You are going to love this dish because it's healthy, easy to make, aromatic and so very delicious. It's the ideal vegan dish that everyone will eat and enjoy

Two bowls of Lebanese bean stew

Ingredients for the Lebanese green bean stew

I'm going to tell you about the most important ingredients in this dish: the beans, the smoked tofu and the chickpeas and canned tomato sauce.

Green Bean - You can use Italian flat beans for this or French green beans. Both work so well for this dish. I prefer using French beans simply because they are easier to find frozen, at my local supermarket. If you want to use fresh beans, you can also do that!

Smoked Tofu - I cannot tell you enough how important it is to use smoked tofu! Not only it's a lot more delicious than the normal tofu, but it replaces that meaty taste in your stew. You can replace it with normal, firm tofu, but I do recommend smoked tofu instead.

bowl of lebanese green dish

Chickpeas - Use chickpeas from a can or cook your chickpeas in advance for this dish. I prefer using them from a can as it's much easier and convenient plus I get to use the aquafaba for other dishes (like this delicious walnut bread)

Tomato sauce - Use passata or tomato sauce. I like to use passata from a can because it's much easier. You can make your own pasta sauce from fresh tomatoes if you prefer.

The rest of the ingredients are things you very likely have in your pantry. A notable thing I do in this recipe is to replace salt with soy sauce. I like the way the tofu absorbs the excess soy sauce and keeps the salty taste. Generally, because it's fermented, soy adds to the flavour of this dish which I very much enjoy. If you don't have soy sauce you can use simple salt.

How to eat this green bean stew

I know that Loubye Bzeit (green beans in oil) is usually served as an appetizer but my stew is meant to be the main dish for lunch or dinner. I recommend serving it warm, with wholegrain bread on the side. You can make it ahead of time and reheat it on the hob or in the microwave. The stew keeps well for up to 5 days in the fridge.

So how do you make this amazing Lebanese green bean stew? It's super easy, let me tell you how. Gather all your ingredients. Bring some water to a boil and start cooking your green beans. It normally takes about 15 minutes, so they will be ready just on time to add them to the stew.

In the meantime, heat up a little olive oil in a deep large pan. Add onion and fry it for 3-5 minutes until nice and translucent. Add the garlic and fry for another minute. The kitchen should start smelling like someone is cooking really good food.

Ready to eat Lebanese green stew

Add the spices: paprika, coriander and chili flakes. Fry a little longer mixing well so the onion and garlic are now coated in this fragrant delight. Can you smell that? I bet you're getting hungry!

Add your cubed smoked tofu and mix well. Now the tofu will be getting coated in spices, onion and garlic. Fry it for another few minutes and make sure to mix it often. Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar and sugar. Mix well and fry for another 3 minutes mixing often.

Add the chickpeas and mix well. Add the green beans and the tomato sauce. Bring everything to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat. Allow the stew to simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, mixing often so it doesn't stick.

Serve with wholegrain bread and enjoy! Nice and simple!

This recipe has been developed entirely by Yuzu Bakes. Any resemblance with other recipes is purely coincidental.