Israeli-style rice and beans with meat is a Mizrahi-Israeli dish of navy (white) beans and meat soup seasoned with the unique Middle Eastern taste of cumin, and generously poured over rice.
Eat the soup in a bowl or have it over white or yellow rice as suggested in this recipe!
Bean soup with meat is a popular dish on it’s own in Israeli food culture and in ethnic Israeli restaurants in the U.S. and the soup poured over rice is it’s own flavorful dish!
And it’s an absolutely warm, hearty, and delicious comfort food!
Israeli-Style Rice with Beans and Meat is a terrific hearty meat meal for anyone who loves earthy cumin and Middle Eastern food.
The longest part of this recipe cooking the beans! So, pro tip, use pre-cooked beans and cut out most of the time it takes to prep this meal!
The rest is quick and simple!
And it’s SO delicious!
And feel free to use left over meat! (I would gently fry it with the onions so it can absorb the flavor).
Also, beef has nutritional benefits.
And so do the beans!
A little about white beans
White beans are also known as Navy beans in the US, because the navy has served it to it’s sailors as a stable since the middle of the 19th century.
White beans are a common type of bean that has been domesticated in North and South America.
They contain protein and are rich in copper, folate, and iron. And check out the other health benefits of white beans!
What does it mean when recipes say “to taste” about an ingredient?
When recipes say “to taste,” it means that you can put in as little or as much as you like to your own taste. Some recipes have many ingredients that a cook can adjust to their own taste when cooking (not so much when baking though).
The best way to calculate what your taste is with a recipe that you are not yet familiar with is to first taste the dish and then add the “to taste” ingredient GRADUALLY, a little at a time—a splash of this or a pinch of that—until the dish is just the way you like it. Make sure to stir the ingredient after each time you add it so that the flavor will distribute evenly and become part of the dish. Then taste again. Repeat until you reach your personal preference.
Note: If you plan on using the recipe again, it is highly recommended to make a note of what and how much you added so that you can refer to it next time.
What does “savory” mean?
“Savory” refers to foods that are not sweet, such as foods that taste salty, spicy, or herbal.
Seasoning and flavoring suggestions to keep in your kitchen:
- salt (my recipes use regular table salt)
- ground black or white pepper
- granulated garlic or garlic powder (I prefer granulated)
- onion powder
- sweet paprika and/or sweet pepper flakes (paprika is ground dried red pepper, pepper flakes are crushed dried red pepper)
- hot paprika, hot pepper flakes, or cayenne pepper (moderately spicy dried ground chili pepper) for those occasional spicy dishes
- ground turmeric
- ground cumin
- ground cinnamon
- ground ginger
- ground nutmeg
- ground cloves (for pumpkin flavors)
- sugar (granulated)
- brown sugar
- chicken consommé powder / beef bouillon powder (regular or vegetarian)
- onion soup mix
- onion flakes (substitute for fresh onion—3 tablespoons for 1 medium onion).
- various herbs
Store properly.
What is needed for this recipe?
I hardly ever meal plan, so I like to keep a cupboard full of seasonings, spices, veggies, and canned goods in my kitchen to use whenever the mood strikes.
But these are what you need to have on hand to make this recipe even last minute!
navy beans (white beans)
1.5 – 2 pounds cooked brisket or stew beef, or other meat
onion
tomato paste
paprika
chicken bullion powder (regular or vegetarian)
white granulated sugar
cumin
granulated garlic
oil for frying
A little about Israeli cuisine
Some people complain about cultural appropriation in cuisine when food from one country is attributed to another country.
However, national cuisine is often just a mingling of food from a variety of cultures, often due to a change of ruling countries and a shifting of borders.
When people move from country to country, they will take their cultures with them, and their descendants may adapt their traditional cuisine with that of their new home.
That being said, “Israeli cuisine” is basically Middle Eastern (as opposed to Eastern European food) that was brought to Israel by Jews when they fled or were expelled from Muslim countries and moved to Israel mostly after the declaration of the State of Israel (collectively known as Mizrahi Jews).
Ingredients often had to be switched out for those that were less expensive or more readily available (like what Chinese immigrants had to do when they moved to the U.S.).
Recipes were passed from generation to generation, and although decades have passed, the foods are still known by the culture they came from, and everyone seems to have their own way of making them.
That said, there are many variations of pretty much any “Israeli” recipe because of background, custom, or even just taste. When choosing a recipe, one has to know what actually constitutes a main ingredient—what makes the dish what it is—and what is left up to individual taste.
Love Middle Eastern foods Try these easy recipes!
Moroccan-Israeli Fish
Turkish-Style Moussaka
Israeli-Style Matbucha
Easy Israeli -Style Rice and Beans with Meat
Delicious and easy, savory beans and meat with the flavorful taste of Middle Eastern cumin, poured over rice.
Ingredients
- 1 pound navy beans (white beans)
- 1.5 - 2 pounds cooked brisket or stew beef, or other meat, cut into 1-inch chunks (depending on how meaty you want it).
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 2 tablespoons chicken bullion powder, vegetarian
- 1 tablespoons granulated white sugar
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon of granulated garlic
- 8 cups water
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Cook navy beans according to the instructions on the package (cooked through, but not mushy).*
- Pour enough oil in the bottom of a large pot just to cover the bottom and sauté the diced onion until slightly brown.
- Add the water, cooked beans, cooked meat, tomato paste, paprika, chicken bullion powder, sugar, cumin, and granulated garlic.
- Mix well.
- Cook on medium heat for around 20 minutes, mixing occasionally, until the soup thickens.
- Pour over white or yellow rice.
Notes
*It can take a couple of hours to boil navy beans. If you soak them over night (or during the day) for around 8 hours, it could take less. Cooking in a pressure cooker (if you are used to using one) can take less as well.
Use pre-cooked beans and save time!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 504Total Fat: 26gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 146mgSodium: 88mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 7gSugar: 3gProtein: 46g