Middle Eastern white beans with meat is a warming traditional dish, usually made during the winter. White beans with meat are cooked in tomato sauce and served with white rice. Easy, hearty and delicious!
Middle Eastern White Beans With Meat
In the Middle East, we call this Fasoolya bil lahmeh which literally translates beans with meat. It’s a traditional recipe that’s cooked in every household in the Middle East. I grew in Jordan having this dish at least once a month.
White beans (cannellini beans) are cooked along with beef chops or mutton cubes if making a stew to perfection and served with white rice. The soup with the beans and the meat are usually served in a separate bowl than the recipe, and then once you eat the dish using a spoon you add a spoonful of soup with beans and meat to the rice and eat it together.
This recipe is perfect for slow cookers, Instant Pots or any other pressure cookers, and to cook over the stovetop!
White beans are considered superfoods, as they are rich with minerals, vitamins, proteins and fiber. Moreover, they are rich in antioxidants and therefore have anticancer properties. So we try to incorporate them as much as possible in our diet, and this dish goes in our rotation menu all the time.
For more great Middle Eastern recipes, check out my Middle Eastern category page.
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Middle Eastern White Beans with Meat
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 small yellow onions diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lb (450g) (1 lbs) diced beef or mutton or lamb chops
- 5 cups hot water
- 2 ½ cups dry white beans soaked in warm water overnight with 1 teaspoon of baking of soda
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ tablespoon baharat or all spice
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar optional
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large pot heat oil and saute onions until soft and translucent, then add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the beef and continue cooking until the meat is no longer pink.
- Add salt, pepper, spices, rosemary, sugar, tomato paste. Add hot water and cook until the meat is tender.
- Rinse and drain the beans. Add the beans to the pot and cook stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Cover and simmer until the beans are fully cooked and tender.
- Adjust the seasonings to your preference. Serve with cooked white rice on the side.
Notes:
- Do not skip the ground cumin, it adds a signature flavor to the dish.
- Meat can be substituted with chicken or sausage.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Sarita Anand says
Fantastic
Little Sunny Kitchen says
Thank you.