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Lebanese Green Beans with Tomatoes

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LIZ DELLA CROCE

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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.

Liz scooping Lebanese green beans with tomatoes with a piece of pita bread.

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 Lebanese Rice Pilaf, we also enjoy eating them as a vegetarian side dish.

Why You’ll Love These Green Beans

  • It’s a naturally gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan dish, so you can serve it to just about anyone!
  • Seasoned with Lebanese spices, it is simple but rich in flavor.
  • Packed full of veggies, it’s a great healthy option full of vitamins and nutrients.

Ingredients

Labeled ingredients for Lebanese green beans with tomatoes on a white background.
  • 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

Liz dicing a white onion.

Step 1. Start by dicing your onion and cutting your green beans (if using fresh).

Melting ghee in the bottom of a large pot.

Step 2. In a large pot, melt the ghee and add the diced onion.

Sautéing onions in ghee in a pot.

Step 3. Sauté the onions until they are slightly caramelized and translucent.

Adding frozen green beans to a pot.

Step 4. Then add the fresh or frozen green beans to the pot.

Adding Lebanese spice blend to green beans in a pot.

Step 5. Next sprinkle in the Lebanese spice blend and add the diced tomatoes, along with salt and pepper to taste.

Pouring tomato sauce over green beans in large pot.

Step 6. Then add the tomato sauce, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes.

Lebanese green beans with tomatoes garnished with fresh parsley in a white bowl.

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.
An up close view of Lebanese green beans with tomatoes from the top in a white bowl.

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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

4.31 stars average
A twist on a classic main dish, this vegetarian side dish of Lebanese Green Beans with Tomatoes is made with warm spices including cinnamon and allspice.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Serves4
CourseMain Dish, Side Dish
Calories118

Ingredients
 
 

Instructions
 

  1. Heat clarified butter over medium high heat and saute onion until translucent, about 7-9 minutes, stirring frequently.
    1 tablespoon clarified butter or olive oil, 1 medium onion
  2. 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.
    4 cups green beans – cut in 2 inch pieces, 15 ounce can diced tomatoes, 15 ounce can tomato sauce, 2 servings All Purpose Lebanese Spice Blend

Nutrition

Calories: 118kcalCarbohydrates: 20.9gProtein: 3.8gFat: 3.9gSaturated Fat: 0.6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3.3gSodium: 1006mgFiber: 4.4gSugar: 6.9g

Have you tried this?

Let us know how it was!

4.31 from 82 votes (70 ratings without comment)

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62 responses to “Lebanese Green Beans with Tomatoes”

  1. Robyn Tapia Avatar
    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.

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      Lubee is the name of this one!

    2. Amber Avatar
      Amber

      This dish is cooked fasolia (beans) khadra (green). As they are Arabic word into English, there’s different spelling
      :-)

      1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
        Liz DellaCroce

        I love that!!! Thank you Amber!!!!

  2. Victoria Avatar
    Victoria

    Hi Liz! Would this dish freeze well after cooked if I’m using previously frozen green beans! Prepping freezer before baby :)

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      Oh yes absolutely!

  3. De Reiger Avatar
    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.

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      I’m so glad! I love it too!

  4. christiann Avatar
    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!

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      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!

  5. Adrienne Avatar
    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!

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      Oh my goodness that sounds so good!!!

  6. Antony Avatar
    Antony

    Hi there.

    How many tea spoons is one serving of Lebanese Spice?

    I’m trying to do the beans in tomatoes

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      Three teaspoons!

  7. Lori Avatar
    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 :(

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      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/

  8. ArabicJo87 Avatar
    ArabicJo87

    This was AMAZING. I am half Lebanese and Syrian and I have to admit, it’s better than my mom’s recipe!

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      Ahh you just made my day!!!

  9. Katie C Avatar
    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!

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      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!!

      1. Wayne Avatar
        Wayne

        I had the same question. Would it be clearer to say “1 teaspoon” of spice blend?

        1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
          Liz DellaCroce

          That’s a thought!

      2. Jessica Avatar
        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

        1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
          Liz DellaCroce

          4 teaspoons!

  10. Natalie Avatar
    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?

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      Tomato sauce in the US is basically pureed tomatoes. Do you have tomato puree? :)

      1. Ilana Avatar
        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.

        1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
          Liz DellaCroce

          I’m so glad to hear it!!!