A classic vegetarian Lebanese side dish recipe, green beans are slowly simmered in tomatoes and warm spices including cinnamon and allspice.
Comfort food means different things to different people. For me and my family, the most comforting dishes are the Lebanese recipes of my childhood, passed down over the generations.
While Lebanese stewed green beans are typically made with beef and served over rice pilaf, we also enjoy eating them as a vegetarian side dish topped with a dollop of plain yogurt or cucumber laban.
The star of the dish is the rich tomato sauce seasoned with warm Lebanese spices including cinnamon and allspice. For a Greek twist, you could also try adding fresh dill.
Frequently asked questions:
Lebanese green beans would be delicious with Chicken Tawook, Beef Kafta, or my Hummus with Ground Lamb. Serve with a Middle Eastern Syrian Salad dressed in lemon and garlic and dinner is done.
For our international readers, tomato sauce in the US is basically pureed tomatoes.
Using your own spice blend:
If looking to do your own spice blend I would suggest doing 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg and pinch ground allspice plus salt.
Your fork is waiting.
📖 Recipe
Lebanese Green Beans with Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon clarified butter or olive oil ghee
- 1 medium onion diced
- 4 cups green beans – cut in 2 inch pieces fresh or frozen
- 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 15 ounce can tomato sauce
- 2 servings All Purpose Lebanese Spice Blend
Instructions
- Heat clarified butter over medium high heat and saute onion until translucent, about 7-9 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Stir in green beans, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and Lebanese spices. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low. Simmer until beans are tender, about 20-30 minutes or longer if you wish.
Chef’s Notes
What is tomato sauce?
Tomato sauce in the US is basically pureed tomatoes.If I want to use my own spice blend what do you suggest?
I would do 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg and pinch ground allspice plus salt.Nutrition
Want more delicious Lebanese recipes? Check out my Pinterest board!
Rose
Hi,
How many teaspoons of the spice blend are needed in this recipe?
Thank you!
Liz DellaCroce
2 teaspoons is good! You can add more to taste :)
Robyn Tapia
I would love to know the Lebanese names for these dishes! My mother’s parents both immigrated from Lebanon so I grew up eating many of these foods and they are my absolute favorites, but I don’t know the words that were used for them. I wish they were still here to ask.
If it isn’t too much trouble, would you or anyone who knows, please add these Lebanese names to the recipes? Thank you so much for considering.
Liz DellaCroce
Lubee is the name of this one!
Amber
This dish is cooked fasolia (beans) khadra (green). As they are Arabic word into English, there’s different spelling
:-)
Liz DellaCroce
I love that!!! Thank you Amber!!!!
Victoria
Hi Liz! Would this dish freeze well after cooked if I’m using previously frozen green beans! Prepping freezer before baby :)
Liz DellaCroce
Oh yes absolutely!
De Reiger
This beans in tomatoes sauce is one of my favorite,my recipe list has been increased since you took part in it.Thank you so much for sharing.
Liz DellaCroce
I’m so glad! I love it too!
christiann
These days it’s so much easier googling a recipe than it is to pull out my cookbooks! I suddenly had an appetite for this green bean dish! I actually I was reminded of it again when I recently went to 2 Middle Eastern food fares ,one being at my sisters church. I grew up on all this food and even though I’ve prepared many of these recipes it has been a while! My father was from Lebanon and my mother’s parents from Syria, I have best of both worlds with my taste bud genes! As you can imagine my childhood home always smelled wonderful with all the food my mother made. I even have made Syrian bread and now this is getting me back to making these foods again!
Liz DellaCroce
Oh this makes me so so so happy!!!! I bet your house smells incredible. You might love my family’s recipes which I’ve put together in a Syrian Cookbook. https://gumroad.com/l/cahid
I hope you love it!
Adrienne
Hi my mom made something similar with sliced onions that you could eat cold with Syrian bread it was delicious she also made it with lamb miss my mom’s cooking! Nobody cooks like your mom!
Liz DellaCroce
Oh my goodness that sounds so good!!!
Antony
Hi there.
How many tea spoons is one serving of Lebanese Spice?
I’m trying to do the beans in tomatoes
Liz DellaCroce
Three teaspoons!
Lori
I don’t even need to try this to know this is the RIGHT way to make these Lebanese style! I recently had rice and beans and the sauce was super thick, red, tomato-y, and just not right!
I went to the store the next day and bought all the ingredients and tonight we’re having lamb chops, beans and rice (I use lamb in my sauce), kibbee and Syrian (flat) bread. I have to show my husband what it was SUPPOSED to taste like! lol
Would love to hear your recipes for stuffed koosa, kibbee, grape and cabbage leaves if you have them… and for the bread!!! My grandma made the BEST bread ever and that is what I miss the most. I can’t replicate it. I’ve done pretty well with zlebe (fried bread) but don’t have the right oven to make flat bread :(
Liz DellaCroce
Hi Lori! So glad you found my website!! You can find all of my Lebanese recipes here: http://thelemonbowl.com/middle-eastern/
Don’t miss my grape leaves (http://thelemonbowl.com/meat-stuffed-grape-leaves/) and kibbee! (http://thelemonbowl.com/baked-kibbeh/)
Have you tried Sfeehas? (The meat pies?) http://thelemonbowl.com/lebanese-meat-pies-sfeehas/
You might also like my Syrian eCookbook – it’s just $2.99 :)
http://thelemonbowl.com/cookbook/
ArabicJo87
This was AMAZING. I am half Lebanese and Syrian and I have to admit, it’s better than my mom’s recipe!
Liz DellaCroce
Ahh you just made my day!!!
Katie C
Hi there.
I made your Lebanese spice blend, Above, it says ‘2 servings’ of Lebanese spice blend. How much is a serving? Thanks! This dish looks delicious!
Liz DellaCroce
Sorry for the confusion! It’s per serving of the spice blend which is listed in the spice blend recipe – a serving is 1 teaspoon. :) ENJOY!!
Wayne
I had the same question. Would it be clearer to say “1 teaspoon” of spice blend?
Liz DellaCroce
That’s a thought!
Jessica
I’m abit confused with the spice amount with this recipe.I’m making the 12 serves version, how many teaspoons should I use?
Thanks,
Jessica
Liz DellaCroce
4 teaspoons!
Natalie
Hi. Im an Aussie and just wanted to clarify what u mean by tomato sauce. In Australia, tomato sauce is ketchup. So do u mean like a tomato paste ie Like the kind you use on a pizza base? Or is it something more liquid than that?
Liz DellaCroce
Tomato sauce in the US is basically pureed tomatoes. Do you have tomato puree? :)
Ilana
I use this with your green been tomato recipe and I absolutely love it. One day I ran out of one ingredients and told myself that I will buy the most traditional Lebanese spice and have it just in case- not the same. The spice blend had cloves, cumin, ginger, rose bud and cardamom. It’s too harsh in my opinion. So I keep going back to this. It’s simple in terms of ingredients but so approachable and delightful.
Liz DellaCroce
I’m so glad to hear it!!!
Chuck
Hi Liz,
My Irish-Polish wife has a Ayrian cousin and my wife would rave about this Green Bean in Tomato sauce dish that she would have as a child. Well, I made this and we both loved it. The spices blend so well with the tomato sauce. I did serve it over rice and it was a fantastic stand-alone dinner! Thank you for adding to my repertoire! Hi
Liz DellaCroce
Oh I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!!! I’m Irish too!! :)
Dee
Hello for the spices when you say 2 servings. How many tsp is that if I am using my own spice blends.
Liz DellaCroce
I would do 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg and pinch ground allspice plus salt.
Tiffani
I think I’m confusing myself with another response. 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg and pinch of ground allspice is the amount needed for 2 servings?
Liz DellaCroce
This recipe is for four people and requires 2 servings of the spice blend so if you are only making 2 servings of green beans you only need one serving of the spice blend. :) The spice blend is 4 servings. Here’s the recipe: http://thelemonbowl.com/all-purpose-lebanese-spice-blend/
Clayborn
It looks so yummy. I can’t eat it. beacause it is beautifull.
Liz DellaCroce
haha I hope you do!
Amy
Can’t wait to surprise my Lebanese boyfriend with this recipe! Thank you!
Liz DellaCroce
I hope he loves it!!
Vernice
This recipe is absolutely gorgeous! I feel like I can just taste the richness of that tomato sauce from here…YUM!!
Liz DellaCroce
So good and so easy!
Kristen
Hi Liz,
As part Syrian, this has also been a staple meal in my family since my grandmother’s time. I usually make it as the main course, served over rice, but it can also be a side dish. Delicious and low calorie! The only thing I do differently is also add carrots.
As you mentioned, Greeks have a similar meal (that’s the other half of my ethnicity.)
Thanks!
-Kristen
Liz DellaCroce
Oh my gosh I am craving it again just reading your message!! Thanks Kristen – let me know if you try any other of my family’s recipes. We are Syrian too!
Anne Olson
These green beans and tomatoes were delicious! I made the spice blend and that along with bit of onions and tomatoes, and cooking the beans so they were soft made this excellent. My best friend is half Lebanese and makes a similar dish without the tomatoes. I love the addition of those. She also puts a bit of dried mint into her pasta sauces and they taste so good and a bit different. Do you do that?
Thank you for this delicious recipe!
Liz DellaCroce
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!! Love the mint idea! We don’t but we put mint in almost everything!! :) especially salad!
Find Your Fine
Thanks for these healthy and yummy recipe.
Liz DellaCroce
Enjoy!
Find Your Fine
For sure!
Jessica
Hi- Love your recipes! I wold love to make this dish but can you please clarify what “two servings of Lebanese spice blend” would be? Do i make two batches of the spice blend recipe or do I use half (since spice blend recipe says 4 servings)? Thank you for a response!
Liz DellaCroce
It’s two servings not batches so YES you would make one batch and use half of it (2 servings out of the 4 total.) Does that make sense? :)
Jessica
Yes, thank you so much.
lauren @ Climbing Grier Mountain
OH. MY. GOODNESS. Pass me a big ass bowl. YUM!!
Liz DellaCroce
So damn good!