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Last Updated on June 10, 2022
Lebanese Beef and Kidney Bean Stew
Winter is knocking on the door, and it’s time for some nice Lebanese-style stew like Lebanese Beef and Kidney Bean Stew. Fasolia (Phaseolus vulgaris) is the typical name given to different varieties of red haricot or kidney beans in Lebanon. And apparently, in other countries in the Middle East such as Egypt and Turkey (Fasulye), Fasolia can refer to green beans as well.
Fasolia w Riz Recipe
In its basic form, the dish “Fasolia w Riz” which stands for Fasolia beans and rice is a simple yet succulent beef stew made with red kidney beans, beef, tomato paste and subtle Middle Eastern spices. It is served as a soup with a side of rice with vermicelli. Fasolia can also be made with goat meat, or with chunks of meat with the bones left on.
There is a vegan version of the Fasolia stew, called Fasolia bi zeit (beans with olive oil). Check it out: Vegetarian Fasolia Beans Stew.
Dried Haricot Beans
Soak then boil the haricot beans until soft
Sautee the Beef Before Adding the Boiled Beans
Lightly Sautee the Vermicelli Then Add to Rice Cooker
Lebanese Rice with Vermicelli
Lebanese Fasolia Recipe - Beef and Kidney Bean Stew With Rice
This is a recipe for a traditional Lebanese Beef and Beans Stew, aka Fasolia w Riz.
5 from 3 votes
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Cook Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr 35 minutes mins
Course Dinner, entree, Main Course
Servings 6
Ingredients
Fasolia Beef Stew Ingredients
- 1 lb beef stew meat, cut into cubes
- 2 cups red beans haricot
- 6 teaspoons tomato paste
- 10 cloves garlic
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Lebanese 7 spices
- 1/3 teaspoon black pepper
- 1.5 teaspoon cinnamon ground
- 4 cinnamon sticks optional
- 1 teaspoon cilantro leaves dried or green
Rice Ingredients
- 3 cups rice
- 1/4 cup vermicelli
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Cooking the Fasolia Beans
Soak the beans in water for 6 hours or overnight to help soften them.
When ready to cook, rinse the beans then add to a cooking pot with 6-7 cups of fresh water on high heat.
Once boiling, Lower heat to simmer and cook for 40-60 minutes or until the beans soften and are easy to smash.
Sautee the Beef
As the beans are about to finish their simmer, in a separate deep cooking pot, add 1 finely chopped onion and lightly fry it with 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat while stirring.
Cut meat into small cubes (1 inch) and add to the pot along with the 7-spices, black pepper, cinnamon, salt and stir well for a few minutes until the meat turns light brown.
Add the minced garlic and cilantro leaves, and sauté for a couple of minutes more.
Add 3 cups ofwarmwater to the meat pot, stir well and bring to a boil.
Combining the Stew
Pour the cooked beans with their water on top of the meat pot.
Add the tomato paste, stir well, and let simmer on low heat for another 20 minutes while stirring occasionally. The stew is now ready.
Making the Vermicelli Rice
Chop the vermicelli into 1 inch pieces then lightly fry them with a bit of butter.
Add the vermicelli in a pot with 3 cups of rice, 6 cups of water, and a dash of salt.
Heat the rice on medium heat until it reaches a boil, at which point lower the heat , cover the pot and simmer for 15 minutes.
Serve the beef bean stew hot in a deep plate with a side of vermicelli rice.
Notes
- You can alternatively use beef cuts with bones and fat for a more hearty and healthy stew.
- Goat or lamb meat also tastes great with this recipe.
Nutrition Facts
Lebanese Fasolia Recipe - Beef and Kidney Bean Stew With Rice
Serving Size
1 bowl
Amount per Serving
Calories
827
% Daily Value*
Fat
52
%
Saturated Fat
9
g
56
%
Trans Fat
1
g
Polyunsaturated Fat
3
g
Monounsaturated Fat
20
g
Cholesterol
54
mg
18
%
Sodium
512
mg
22
%
Potassium
673
mg
19
%
Carbohydrates
102
g
34
%
Fiber
8
g
33
%
Protein
26
g
52
%
Vitamin A
102
IU
2
%
Vitamin C
5
mg
6
%
Calcium
103
mg
10
%
Iron
5
mg
28
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Keyword Fasolia, Fasolia Recipe, Fasolia w Riz
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
22 Responses to Lebanese Beef and Kidney Bean Stew with Rice: Fasolia w Riz Recipe
Grace
I am not very familiar with Lebanese food, but I selected this dish to make for an assignment because it looked good, and it turned out amazing.
I’m a poor college kid and I haven’t had a good home cooked meal in a while but this one brought me near tears. Thank you for this 🙂Reply
Edgard
Thank you for the feedback Grace and glad you liked the Beef stew.
Reply
Ella
How many cans red kidney beans should I used for this recipe please?
Reply
Samia Hairsine
Can you please tell me process of using tinned red kidney beans as they are already in liquid in the tin. Do I still need to boil twice and then simmer for 40-80 mins?
Reply
Edgard
Samia if you use canned red kidney bins you don’t need to boil as much as they’re usually pre-boiled.
Reply
Jennifer
Great dish my family really love it and I’ve made it quite often.
Reply
Rose
I’ve just tried this and am a bit disappointed. While it is quite tasty, it is extremely liquid. Far too much so for my taste. I prefer my dishes more solid. I wonder if it would help just to reduce the liquid for the beans? I made this in the slow cooker after browning the beef and pre-cooking the beans a bit.
Reply
Edgard
Hi Rose – what I found to help in making the soup a bit thicker is to have more beans and cook them for a longer time. Another thing you could add as well is some sort of Guar Gum (emulsifier) but that’d be going far away from the original recipe.
Reply
Rose
Thanks for the suggestion. I think I’ll go with more beans. I really don’t want to add anything else.
debbie
Also when you cook them longer, you have less gas problems lol. I suffer with gastric so I can’t eat beans so my ex fiance had recommended to boil them for an hour and a half, drain them put them in the refrigertor and then slowly take what you want and warm them up and you would have no gas at all. As for the liquid, they used a lot of olive oil like my aunt does and you think your having soup. cut down on the olive oil portion provided and a little of the paste. 😀
Steve B.
Not the world’s best or most experienced cook, here, but I’m an inveterate recipe hound, YouTube food channel surfer, and cookbook collector. That said, maybe taking out a half- to one- cup of the cooked beans, mashing them (well), then adding them back to the beef would thicken the dish somewhat and wouldn’t “go far away from the original recipe”. Just a thought. Enjoy. I may try this sometime this Winter–if I can tear myself away from my ‘puter and cookbook browsing!
Monica
I don’t understand why this is called a ‘chilli beef stew’ when there’s no spice at all
Reply
Debbie Ziadeh
I am Italian descent, my husband is Lebanese. We visit his homeland as often as we can. My mother in law is one of the best cooks and she has taught me many things, however, not everything. I would love to be able to make megliabeeya, any sugestions? Hope I spelled it correctly and thanking you in advance. Can you also share the dough recipe for meatpies and minoushee or zhaatar pie?
Reply
Edgard
Hi Debbie – could you please describe the megliabeeya a bit, I don’t recognize it upfront. regarding the meatpies and Man’oosh recipe, check out this recipe in order to make the Zaatar mix for Man’oosh, https://www.mamaslebanesekitchen.com/dips/zaatar-recipe-wild-thyme-herb-mix/ and this one for the dough https://www.mamaslebanesekitchen.com/meats/lebanese-meat-pie-recipe-sfeeha-lahm-bi-ajeen/
Reply
LeLa
She meant mhallabiyye
yvonne, my halal kitchen
It’s so interesting that even in Italian we call it something similar, fa*gioli. Looks delicious. thank you for sharing.
Reply
tasteofbeirut
I have tried twice to post a comment on FB but it won’t let me; oh well, this is a hearty and mouthwatering dish I could picture feeding some ravenous appetites on a cold winter day. YUM
Reply
edgard
Tell me about it Joumana I could have Fasolia w riz every day. I LOVE Lebanese Tabikh, that, like dad says, is “real” food 🙂
Reply
Heba @ midEATS
It’s a great idea to pair beef with fasolia! And you’re right – in Egypt we do call green beans “fasolia”, and to make a distinction between that and the cannellini bean “fasolia beida” (or ‘white bean’). The kidney bean you highlight here isn’t used as frequently in Egyptian cooking, and I’m not really sure what it’s called in Arabic. In any case, thanks for sharing! It is indeed a good recipe for the cold winter months.
Reply
edgard
Hi Heba – I don’t remember ever trying the white bean in Lebanese cuisine. What type of dishes is it used for in Egyptian cuisine? it’d be interesting to try it out sometime.
Reply
Heba @ midEATS
It can be boiled with a simple dressing of olive oil and lemon juice, but it’s traditionally cooked in red sauce. Like typical Egyptian tabeekh, the onion is chopped and sauteed in ghee (samna) and then tomato paste (either mixed with homemade chicken broth, or for a vegetarian dish, mixed with water) is added. The cannellini beans (fasolia beida) has to be soaked overnight, then boiled separately. When fully cooked, it’s added to the red sauce with onion mixture and left to boil for a bit to absorb the flavor. It’s really very good and filling – one of my favorite legume dishes!
Edgard
Thanks Heba that sounds pretty good actually! And it reminds me a bit of our “vegetarian” version of the red fasolia which has similar components, minus the lemon juice, plus the garlic.
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