Fasolia (pronounced FA-SOOL-YA) is a white bean stew made with large lima beans (also known as butter beans) and lamb stewed in sautéed onions, crushed tomatoes, and allspice. This is a Lebanese recipe I ate frequently as a child. It's what I think of when I think of comfort food.
This lamb and lima bean stew can be made in a variety of ways: on the stovetop, in an Instant Pot, and in a slow cooker.
What I Love About This Recipe
Fasolia, lamb and lima bean stew, is incredibly simple and satisfying. The portion size for this recipe is rather large, making it suitable for a large family or a meal prep recipe. Over the years, I've made this recipe with all types of cuts of lamb and beef. My favorite meat to use is lamb with the bone, cut into large chunks. This hearty stew is slow-cooked for several hours making the flavors infuse beautifully.
Ingredients You'll Need:
- Dried Lima Beans: I recommend using large dried lima beans for this recipe because they make this stew really thick and hearty. If you can only find small lima beans, those will work too. I have never made this recipe with canned lima beans, so I don't recommend using the canned stuff. Butter beans are the same thing as lima beans, so dried butter beans are acceptable as well.
- Lamb: Any cut of lamb will work for this recipe. I recommend cutting the lamb into large chunks, so it will cook easily. If lamb is unavailable, beef is a great substitute. Also, the amount of lamb or beef can be adjusted to your dietary preference.
- Onions: I use white onions, brown onions, or sweet onions for this recipe. I chop the onions into small pieces. Since onion size varies dramatically, I recommend measuring the chopped onions.
- Canned Tomatoes: Any type of canned crushed tomato is suitable.
- Ground Allspice: Ground allspice is important for this dish. It's easy to find in the spice section of any grocery store. If you don't have any allspice, you can add half the amount of cinnamon.
- Olive Oil: Any type of good quality olive oil is suitable for this recipe. Butter or ghee can be substituted if needed.
- Salt and pepper:
- Chopped cilantro (optional): In the Northern part of Lebanon, chopped cilantro is added to this stew. I really like the chopped cilantro, so I'd recommend using it.
You will also need:
- Very large stovetop pot
- Nonstick skillet
- Spatula
- Chefs knife and cutting board
- Can opener
- Larger bowl to soak the beans
How To Make Fasolia
Caramelize the lamb in a large pot on medium-high heat with olive oil. Caramelize all sides of the lamb.
Saute the onions in the same skillet as the lamb. Add the chopped onions directly to the same skillet used for caramelizing the lamb. This gets all of the lamb flavor infused into the onions.
Add the soaked lima beans, water, caramelized lamb, crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, and allspice. Reduce the heat to medium and cover. Cook for about 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours on medium heat with a lid. The water will reduce and the stew will thicken up. Add about 1 cup to 2 cups more water to the stew. Cook for another 1 hour on low heat covered. The total cook time for this stew is about 3 hours.
Keep an eye on the beans. Make sure the beans are not burning on the bottom of the pot while cooking this recipe. I stir the pot about every 30 minutes to make sure there is adequate liquid.
The lamb and lima bean stew is finished once the lima beans are extremely tender and the liquid in the pot is thickened up.
Tips and Tricks
- Soak the lima beans (butter beans) the night before. Since we are using dried butter beans for this recipe, we need to soak the beans ahead of time. I recommend doing this the night before. However, if you are short on time, you can soak the beans for a minimum of 3 hours.
- Add enough water when soaking the butter beans. I add about 3 inches (7.5 cm) of water above the dried butter beans. They will really expand while soaking. Rinse the water and drain prior to making the recipe.
- Use allspice. This spice makes a large part of the flavor. If you have never cooked with allspice, now is the time! If you don't have any allspice on hand, then substitute half the amount of ground cinnamon or 7 spice.
- The lamb meat and lima bean cooking times are about the same if the lima beans have been soaked overnight. I cook the lamb and beans together so that the flavors infuse. The beans take longer to cook than the lamb, especially if using large lima beans.
- Complete the 3 hour cooking time. Fasolia gets better and better the longer it is cooked. Don't take short cuts for the cook time. If you try to cook this stew faster by turning up the heat, you will run the risk of burning the bottom of the pot. Cook for 2 hours on medium heat, then 1 hour on low heat.
Two Alternative Ways to Cook This Stew
I normally cook fasolia on the stovetop, however, there are a few other options for making this recipe quick and easy.
How To Make Fasolia In A CrockPot
One of the hacks for fasolia is stewing the meat, beans, crushed tomatoes, and sautéed onions in a crockpot. This recipe makes a massive quantity, so make sure the crockpot you have is large enough. You might need to cut this recipe in half if using a small crockpot.
- Chop the onions.
- In a large nonstick skillet, add the olive oil. Caramelize the meat on all sides. Set the meat aside.
- Add the chopped onions to the same pan. Sautee the onions until they are a light brown color.
- Add the water, soaked lima beans, crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, allspice, caramelized meat, and sautéed onions to the crock pot.
- Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
- Serve with rice.
How To Make Fasolia In An Instant Pot
If you are short on time, an instant pot can shave off almost an hour of cook time. To make this recipe in an instant pot, follow the same instructions as the crockpot however adjust the cooking time for the instant pot. I recommend cooking this butter beans stew for 1 hour and 15 minutes on high in the instant pot.
FAQs
Butter beans are large lima beans. Lima beans come in a few different sizes.
Rice! The best side dish for this butter beans stew with lamb is some Lebanese vermicelli rice.
Soak the lima beans first overnight. Boil the lima beans for about 1.5 hours with water until tender. Depending on the size of the lima beans, the cook time can vary.
In Arabic, fasolia means lima beans.
Some Other Mediterranean Comfort Food Recipes
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Fasolia Lebanese Lamb and Lima Bean Stew
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 8 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This Lebanese lamb and lima bean stew, known as fasolia, is a white bean slow-cooked stew made with lima beans, caramelized lamb, sautéed onions, crushed tomatoes, and allspice.
Ingredients
- 1 lb (0.5 kg) of boneless lamb or 2 lbs (1 kg) of lamb with bone
- 2 lbs (1 kg) dried lima beans
- 2 cans of crushed tomatoes (14.5 ounces or 400 grams in each can)
- 4 cups of chopped onions (about 3 medium onions or 2 large onions)
- 12 cups of water (initially) + 1 to 2 cups more for the last hour of cooking
- 3 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp allspice
- salt to taste
- 1 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
Instructions
- Soak the dried lima beans the night before or at a minimum of 3 hours.
- In a large pot on medium-high heat, add the olive oil. Caramelize the lamb meat on each side.
- Add the chopped onions to the same pan that the meat was cooked. Sautee the onions on medium-high heat until cooked through (about 8 minutes).
- Add the soaked lima beans, 12 cups of water, canned tomatoes, caramelize lamb meat, salt, pepper, and allspice. Turn the stove to medium heat and cover. Cook for about 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours, or until the lamb is tender. Stir every 30 minutes.
- Add 1 cup to 2 cups of water. Cook for another 1 hour on low heat covered.
- Serve with rice.
Notes
- If using a crockpot, add the crushed tomatoes, beans, water, allspice, salt, pepper, sauteed onions, and caramelized lamb to the crockpot. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
- If using a pressure cooker, add the crushed tomatoes, beans, water, allspice, salt, pepper, sauteed onions, and caramelized lamb to the instant pot. Cook on high for 1 hour.
- The nutrition facts do not include rice.
- Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Store in the freezer in a freezer-friendly container for up to 3 months.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Lebanese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 cups
- Calories: 374 calories
- Sugar: 11 g
- Sodium: 400 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 62 g
- Fiber: 18 g
- Protein: 32 g
- Cholesterol: 43 mg
Keywords: large lima beans recipe, fassoulia, butter beans recipe, butter beans stew, dried lima beans stew, fasolia, fasolya, lamb and lima bean stew, lebanese fasolia
Lina M says
This is a hearty and filling stew. Turned out good
★★★★★
Novellian says
Love all that you make! Hover, I have question about the type of meat to be used for this dish.. how about using beef short ribs instead of the one you’re using?
Lily says
Thank you for the comment! I've never tried fassoulia with beef short ribs, but I would imagine it would be delicious. Let us know how it turns out!
Elizabeth says
I have this cooking right now. It smells delicious! Can't wait. I was wondering with stove top cooking is the pot covered?
Lily says
I hope you like it! Yes, I recommend covering the pot once all of the ingredients have been added together. If you notice there is too much liquid towards the end, you can leave it uncovered for the last 30 minutes.
Keep an eye out to make sure that there is enough liquid in the pot. It's very easy for the beans to burn if the cooking temperature is too high or the liquid has evaporated. Also, if you use smaller lima beans, the cooking time might be a tad less.