Bean Stew
on Oct 25, 2024, Updated Jan 20, 2025
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Every culture around the world has a version of bean stew: a humble meal, costing little to prepare, and transforming a pantry staple into a comforting meal. 🫘 This is my mom’s lazy bean stew, also known as “Bob Yahniya” in Bulgaria. 🇧🇬 Call up any Bulgarian you know, and ask them what they ate today. If they didn’t mention this bean stew, then they probably ate it yesterday. It’s that popular. 😆 This dish is a staple in almost every Balkan country, and it’s a beloved addition to every Christmas Eve dinner. 🎄 My mom’s version has all the characteristics of the classically long-cooked stew—fragrant, broth rich in flavor, tender beans—and it comes together in about 30 minutes. So now you can enjoy perfect Bulgarian bean stew, the easy way.
Why You’ll Love My Bean Stew
Warm, comforting, filling bean stew in 30 minutes? I got you! 👊 What makes this recipe “lazy” is the use of canned beans, which require nothing more than a can opener, instead of traditional dried beans, which need to be soaked overnight. This is a perfect meal, which happens to be vegetarian, but you can also bulk it up with sausage, kielbasa, pork chops, or ribs. 🍖 You’ll want to fully cook the meat first and then nestle it into the prepared stew, for serving.
How to Prepare
🫑 First, follow my instructions to roasting bell peppers here. Once roasted, peel, chop, and set aside 1/3 cup chopped peppers.
🥕 Add the olive oil to a soup pot over medium heat. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the onions, carrot, and celery. Stir.
🧄 Once the onions start to become translucent, add the roasted bell peppers and garlic. Stir for 1 minute, then add the seasoning: oregano, salt, paprika, and flour. Cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
🍅 Add the tomato sauce making sure to stir, and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. Add the broth and beans. Let the stew come to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for 20 minutes or until the stew has reached your desired consistency.
🥣 Finally, taste for salt and adjust as needed. Serve and enjoy!
Nonna’s Tip 🫘
We roast bell peppers in the oven, peel them, and use 1/3 cup chopped for this recipe. You are more than welcome to use raw bell peppers or jarred roasted peppers but I feel like roasting your own gives this recipe the best flavor possible.
Variations and Substitutions for Bean Stew
- While roasting your own bell peppers is ideal, you may use jarred roasted peppers, though I find them too acidic. You can also use raw peppers, but roasted add a depth of flavor and smokiness to the dish. 🫑
- You can bulk up this stew with meat, such as sausage, chorizo, kielbasa, pork chops, or ribs. 🌭🥓 Fully cook the meat first and then nestle it into the prepared stew, for serving.
- Instead of oregano, it’s traditional to use summer savoury (chubritza in Bulgarian), a fresh herb that is part of the mint family. 🌿
- Garnishes are optional but encouraged! 😉 I love a drizzle of hot pepper oil or even some thin sliced roasted jalapeños. 🌶
Similar Recipes
Bulgarian Stuffed Peppers
1 hr 20 mins
Baked Beans and Pork Chops
55 mins
Pasta e Ceci
25 mins
Fasolakia
55 mins
Best Served With
- A crusty loaf of bread is a must alongside stewed beans. You can serve this with Garlic, Cheddar, Olive, Gluten Free, and traditional No Knead Bread are all excellent options. 🥖
- I like to spice this up with some hot pepper oil; but feel free to use your favorite hot sauce of choice. 🥵
- My easy, soft, slab focaccia is perfect for dipping into this stew.
- You can’t go wrong with a Simple Green Salad and bean stew for dinner. 🥗
Common Questions
You can store leftovers in the fridge in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 days.
I love to enjoy this by the bowl-full, as a soup, served alongside some crusty bread. You can also serve it as side dish, alongside meat and salad, or with other vegetarian dishes.
Every Bulgarian has their own version of this recipe; but in our home, the traditional version is made with dried beans, which are soaked overnight, boiled until tender, and then used in place of canned beans. We also use the herb summer savoury instead of thyme.
Add boiling hot water into a thermos and seal it so that the thermos preheats. In the meantime, warm up the stew on the stove. Dump the hot water out of the thermos and add the soup. Leave some room at the top so that it doesn’t create a vacuum seal, making the thermos harder to open.
Feel free to garnish with hot pepper oil, your favorite hot sauce, red chile flakes, or roasted jalapeños.
You can save yourself a bit of time and labor by purchasing pre-cut mirepoix mix — aka a mix of diced onion, carrot, and celery.
Bean Stew
Equipment
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup roasted bell peppers, chopped
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 celery rib, diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon oregano, dry
- 1 teaspoon salt, to taste
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ½ cup tomato sauce, plain
- 2 cups bone broth, I used unsalted beef broth but any works
- 2 cans white kidney beans, 19 oz cans, drained and rinsed
Instructions
- Note: we roast bell peppers in the oven, peel them, and use 1/3 cup chopped for this recipe. You are more than welcome to use raw bell peppers or roasted peppers from a jar but I feel like roasting your own gives this recipe the best flavor possible.
- Follow my instructions to roasting bell peppers here. Once roasted, peel, chop, and set 1/3-1/2 cup of chopped peppers aside.
- Add the olive oil to a soup pot over medium heat. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the onions, carrot, and celery. Stir.
- Once the onions start to become translucent, add the bell peppers and garlic. Stir for 1 minute, then add the oregano, salt, paprika, and flour. Cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
- Add the tomato sauce making sure to stir, and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. Add the broth and beans. Let the stew come to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for 20 minutes or until the stew has reached your desired consistency. Taste for salt and adjust as needed. Serve and enjoy!
Nonna’s Notes
My Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
We live this and have made this multiple times 😋
This is an incredible recipe! I needed some new flavors in my dinner rotation, and this hit the spot
My family loved this! Such a great recipe! Thank you! ☺️
So happy to hear that this one was a winner for you and the fam 😘
The best stew you can ever put in your mouth. Love love love.