A humble but flavorful Lebanese classic, this vegetarian side dish of Lebanese Green Beans with Tomatoes is made with 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 Green Beans with Tomatoes are typically made with beef and served over rice pilaf, we also enjoy eating them as a vegetarian side dish.
Ingredients
- Clarified butter: Also known as ghee, it is slightly nuttier tasting than regular butter.
- Onion: I use a white onion which is mild in flavor but caramelizes beautifully.
- Green beans: Also called French beans or string beans, they are a great source of Vitamin K as well as calcium and other nutrients.
- Diced tomatoes: Canned tomatoes that are slightly soupy and already diced into easy to eat pieces, they are an easy and affordable ingredient used in lots of stews and roasts.
- Tomato sauce: Tomatoes that have been cooked down and mixed with a blend of olive oil and spices.
- Lebanese spice blend: A delicious and warm blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.
How to Make Lebanese Green Beans with Tomatoes
Start your Lebanese Green Beans with Tomatoes by dicing your onion and cutting your green beans (if using fresh).
Then in a large pot, melt down the ghee and add the diced onion.
Sauté the onions until they are slightly caramelized and translucent.
Then add your green beans to the pot.
Followed by the Lebanese spice blend.
Then add the can of diced tomatoes and the tomato sauce.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer uncovered for about a half an hour.
Serve garnished with fresh parsley if desired, and enjoy your Lebanese Green Beans with Tomatoes!
Frequently asked questions:
What pairs well with green beans and tomatoes?
Lebanese green beans would be delicious with Chicken Tawook or Beef Kafta. Serve with a Middle Eastern Syrian Salad dressed in lemon and garlic and dinner is done.
Should I blanche my green beans before I cook them?
Blanching green beans is beneficial if you plan to sauté them, but is not necessary when you plan on slow-cooking or stewing them.
Can I make my own Lebanese spice blend?
Yes you can! I would suggest using about 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg, and a pinch of ground allspice and salt.
More Lebanese Food
- Lebanese Rice Pilaf with Vermicelli
- Grilled Chicken Shawarma
- Roasted Garlic Hummus
- Lebanese Stuffed Kousa Squash
- Grilled Eggplant with Tahini Sauce
Eat It, Like It, Share It!
Did you try this Lebanese recipe? The next time you make it, snap a picture and share it to your socials! Tag @thelemonbowl and #thelemonbowl so we can admire and share your dish.
Delicious, comforting, and warm, you’ll enjoy these Lebanese Green Beans with Tomatoes even if you didn’t grow up eating them.
Your fork is waiting.
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.
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.
Lubee is the name of this one!
This dish is cooked fasolia (beans) khadra (green). As they are Arabic word into English, there’s different spelling
:-)
I love that!!! Thank you Amber!!!!
Hi Liz! Would this dish freeze well after cooked if I’m using previously frozen green beans! Prepping freezer before baby :)
Oh yes absolutely!
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.
I’m so glad! I love it too!
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!
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!
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!
Oh my goodness that sounds so good!!!
Hi there.
How many tea spoons is one serving of Lebanese Spice?
I’m trying to do the beans in tomatoes
Three teaspoons!
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 :(
Hi Lori! So glad you found my website!! You can find all of my Lebanese recipes here: https://thelemonbowl.com/middle-eastern/
Don’t miss my grape leaves (https://thelemonbowl.com/meat-stuffed-grape-leaves/) and kibbee! (https://thelemonbowl.com/baked-kibbeh/)
Have you tried Sfeehas? (The meat pies?) https://thelemonbowl.com/lebanese-meat-pies-sfeehas/
You might also like my Syrian eCookbook – it’s just $2.99 :)
https://thelemonbowl.com/cookbook/
This was AMAZING. I am half Lebanese and Syrian and I have to admit, it’s better than my mom’s recipe!
Ahh you just made my day!!!
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!
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!!
I had the same question. Would it be clearer to say “1 teaspoon” of spice blend?
That’s a thought!
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
4 teaspoons!
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?
Tomato sauce in the US is basically pureed tomatoes. Do you have tomato puree? :)
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.
I’m so glad to hear it!!!
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
Oh I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!!! I’m Irish too!! :)
Hello for the spices when you say 2 servings. How many tsp is that if I am using my own spice blends.
I would do 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg and pinch ground allspice plus salt.
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?
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: https://thelemonbowl.com/all-purpose-lebanese-spice-blend/
It looks so yummy. I can’t eat it. beacause it is beautifull.
haha I hope you do!
Can’t wait to surprise my Lebanese boyfriend with this recipe! Thank you!
I hope he loves it!!
This recipe is absolutely gorgeous! I feel like I can just taste the richness of that tomato sauce from here…YUM!!
So good and so easy!
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
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!
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!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!! Love the mint idea! We don’t but we put mint in almost everything!! :) especially salad!
Thanks for these healthy and yummy recipe.
Enjoy!
For sure!
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!
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? :)
Yes, thank you so much.
OH. MY. GOODNESS. Pass me a big ass bowl. YUM!!
So damn good!