These Lebanese green beans, loubieh bi zeit, are simmered gently in a simple sauce of tomatoes, garlic, allspice and oregano until tender and full of flavor. Serve the green beans with pita bread or as a side with any entree. This is a vegan, soy-free, nut-free and gluten-free recipe.
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Lebanese style green beans
When green beans and tomatoes meet, they make some sort of flavor alchemy happen. Add a few simple herbs and spices and you have the delicious loubieh bi zeit, a Lebanese green beans stew that will make you fall in love.
I learned of this dish, which translates from Arabic to "green beans in oil," from my Armenian friend Margo, who grew up in Lebanon. Margo, like many Middle Eastern cooks, has a knack for putting together vegetables with a few simple ingredients to make delicious-tasting sides that never fail to wow me.
For this Loubieh Bi Zeit recipe, I stuck largely with a traditional tomato sauce with garlic, onions and olive oil, but I added a few touches that I thought made it even more delicious: a little oregano, some thyme, allspice and tomato paste (for umami).
You need just eight ingredients for this recipe and you can add any or all of four other optional ingredients if you want to. It is also a one-pot recipe and needs very little prep if you buy green beans that are already trimmed. If they are not, you will need to take off the tips and any strings.
Although they have a distinct Mediterranean origin, these Lebanese green beans are very versatile and can be served as a side with nearly any entree of your choice. You can even make them the main meal with pita bread.
If you want to make prep easier, you can leave the beans whole (after trimming), as Lebanese cooks often do. I like the beans bite-sized, so I cut them into 1-inch pieces.
Love Mediterranean food? You might also like these recipes for Lebanese chickpea stew, the Lebanese flatbread manakish and Greek lima beans.
Recipe card
Lebanese Green Beans (Loubieh Bi Zeit)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 8 cloves garlic (minced or put through a garlic press)
- 1 large onion (thinly sliced, then cut crosswise to make 1-inch slivers)
- 2 heaping tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons fresh oregano (finely chopped, or use 2 teaspoon dried oregano)
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice (use ground cinnamon for a variation)
- 1 teaspoon paprika (optional)
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 4 medium tomatoes (finely chopped)
- 1½ pounds green beans (trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces. You can leave the beans whole, if you prefer them that way.)
- 8-10 sprigs thyme (optional. I like the freshness and flavor they add at the end of cooking, but you can leave them out. There is already plenty of flavor here from the other ingredients. You can also substitute the fresh thyme with a teaspoon of dried thyme.)
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons parsley (chopped, optional)
Instructions
- Heat olive oil with garlic over medium heat until garlic is aromatic. This should take two to three minutes.
- Add the onions, salt and ground black pepper to taste. Mix and cook until onions are soft, about five minutes.
- Add tomato paste and oregano to the pan and mix well. Stir in the allspice and optional paprika and the optional red pepper flakes. Add the tomatoes to the pan and mix.
- Cover and let the green beans cook in the tomato juices for 30 minutes or until the beans are very tender. Stir a few times and maintain the sauce at a simmer. If you prefer the beans al dente, you can stop cooking sooner, or cook longer if you want the beans even softer. When the beans are tender, add the optional thyme if using.
- Check for salt and ground black pepper and add more if needed. Add the optional thyme if using and mix it in. Use only the leaves and discard tough stems. If you leave the sprigs whole, as I did, fish them out before serving.
- Add the optional parsley as a garnish to the serving bowl.
Notes
Ingredient notes
- Green beans: Choose any green beans or haricot verts (French green beans) that are firm and green, with no bruises or dark spots. Fresh beans should not look dry and rubbery - they should snap easily. I used an assortment of romano beans and string beans from my garden cut in 1-inch pieces.
- Onions: Use yellow, white or red onions. I like slicing the onions thin for this recipe and then cutting them in half, so I have 1-inch slices: the same size as the green beans.
- Garlic: I like lots of garlic in this recipe but you can always use less if that's what you prefer.
Nutrition Information
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How to make Lebanese green beans
Heat olive oil with garlic over medium heat until garlic is aromatic. This should take two to three minutes.
Add the onions, salt and ground black pepper to taste. Mix and cook until onions are soft, about five minutes.
Add tomato paste and oregano to the pan and mix well.
Stir in the allspice, followed by the optional paprika and optional red pepper flakes.
Add the green beans to the pot and mix well. Stir in the diced tomatoes and mix.
Cover and let the green beans cook in the tomato juices for 30 minutes or until the beans are very tender. Stir a few times and maintain the sauce at a simmer. If you prefer the beans al dente, you can stop cooking sooner. When the green beans are tender, add the optional thyme if using. Add the optional parsley as a garnish to the serving bowl.
Top tip
Never add water to green beans as they are cooking: green beans quickly lose flavor when you add water to help them braise. In this recipe there is enough juice from the tomatoes to help the beans stew to melt-in-the-mouth tenderness. The tomatoes give the beans so much flavor and form a delicious sauce.
Loubieh Bi Zeit FAQs
Yes, I haven't used frozen green beans to make loubieh bi zeit but I think that they would work very well in this recipe.
Because tomatoes are a key flavor ingredient in these Lebanese green beans, I would not recommend canned tomatoes, which tend to be acidic. If possible use fresh tomatoes because their sweet-tangy flavor is perfect in this recipe. Only use canned tomatoes as a last option.
Eat loubieh bi zeit warm or at room temperature with pita bread for the main course. I would also recommend vegan naan or any puffy flatbread. But you don't have to stop at that. When I made them this time, I served the beans as a side with my green tomato dal and basmati rice. They were delicious together! I can also see them served alongside burgers or any western-style entree.
Store leftovers in the fridge for up to three days. Freeze them for up to three months in a freezer-safe container. Thaw and reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
JT McGuire says
This is a very flavorful dish. I did not have allspice, so I used 5 Spice instead. I cooked the green beans al dente for some crunch and added baby portobello for protein. I did not have enough fresh tomatoes, so I used Pomi crushed tomatoes instead.
This dish had tons of flavor, but my version was a little like marinara so I will use fresh tomatoes next time.
My version did not impact the flavor, however. What a mouth-watering meal!
Sonya says
This was just perfect. I’ve had this dish before at the home of a Lebanese friend and this was spot on. Thank you.