⏱️ Prep: 15 mins | 🔥 Cook: 40 mins | 🥞 Servings: 6 | 🥗 Calories: 420 kcal | ⌛ Total: 55 mins
Hello and welcome back to YumsJunction! In this post, I’ll be telling you how to make super delicious fried or stewed white beans.
I know there are a million ways to make beans, but when you want something rich, flavorful, and packed with amazing proteins, this is the recipe you need. I love when my beans have a lot of gravy or soup inside, especially because I always serve mine with some fluffy white rice. I do not love my beans dry!
And if hearty, cozy bowls of goodness are your thing, you’ll also love my The Absolute BEST Mediterranean Chickpea and Cucumber Salad and these Veggie‑Loaded Rice Bowls with Simple Homemade Sauce for more protein‑packed, satisfying meals.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This
- It’s customizable: You can use any proteins of your choice. Beef only, smoked fish only, or go all out like I do!
- The flavor is incredible: You will be building a gorgeous base with coarsely blended tomatoes, peppers, and onions cooked down until the oil floats. Add in that crayfish and smoked fish, and the savory depth is out of this world.
- Perfect for rice: Because you will be leaving a lot of rich, delicious gravy in the pot, this is the ultimate comfort food to spoon over a big bowl of rice.
If you’re looking for more easy dinner ideas to rotate in with this bean stew, definitely check out my 5 Cozy 30 Minute Dinner Recipes for Busy Nights—they’re all simple, comforting, and family‑friendly.
What You’ll Need
Special Equipment:
- Food processor or food chopper
- Large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven
The Ingredients:
- 3 cups Cooked white beans (or two 15oz cans, rinsed and drained)
- 2 medium Red bell peppers, deseeded
- 3 medium Fresh tomatoes
- 1 large Onion
- ⅓ cup Cooking oil
- ½ lb Fresh beef, cut into small bite-sized pieces
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 1 tbsp Seasoning powder (or bouillon)
- ½ tsp White pepper
- 2 tbsp Ground crayfish (optional, omit if allergic to seafood)
- 1 tbsp Ginger and garlic paste
- 2 medium Fresh carrots, diced
- 1 cup Smoked fish, deboned and flaked
- 2 tbsp Fresh parsley, chopped and divided
- 1 tbsp Fresh thyme, chopped and divided
- 1 cup Cow skin (ponmo), cleaned and chopped (optional)
- ½ cup Water
- 1 cup Beef broth (liquid or frozen)
Let’s Get Cooking!
1. Prepare the Base
To start, you need to get our base ready. In your processor or chopper, add the deseeded red bell peppers, fresh tomatoes, and the onion. You want to go ahead and coarsely chop that.
Pro Tip: You don’t want it perfectly smooth—leaving a little texture makes the stew so much better!
2. Fry the Base & Cook the Beef
In a large hot pot, add in your cooking oil, then bring in that coarsely blended tomato-pepper mix. In this recipe, you will be using some fresh beef. Just go ahead and add the bite-sized beef right inside so it cooks directly with this blended mix.
Note: If your meat is really soft, it does not take a long time to cook. If your meat is a harder, tougher cut, you can boil it first before you bring it in at this point.
3. Cook Down the Mix
Let that cook down for 10–15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want to make sure it cooks until the oil floats to the top—that’s how you know the raw tomato taste is gone!
4. Season It Up
Now for the flavor! Add in the salt, paprika, seasoning powder, and white pepper. I also love using some ground crayfish. (If you have allergies to seafood, you can skip that part, or you can just use some extra smoked fish instead). Add in the ginger and garlic paste, and mix that until everything is well combined.
5. Pack in the Proteins & Veggies
Next, bring in your smoked fish (yes, I use crayfish and smoked fish!), the diced fresh carrots, and half of your fresh herbs (parsley and thyme). Save the rest of the herbs for later to garnish. Trust me, whenever you add fresh carrots into your fried white beans, it is so good.
And lastly for proteins, bring in the chopped cow skin. I know you’re gonna be like, “Oh, that’s too much for fried beans!” Yeah, that’s how I love mine! Like I said, you can use whatever works for you, but this combo is amazing. Give that a really good stir.
6. Bringing in the Beans!
Now we are going to bring in our boiled beans. Your beans will have been fully boiled until they are nice and tender. Yes, you can totally use canned beans for this, but make sure you rinse the canned beans first to get rid of that starchy liquid, okay?
7. Simmer to Perfection
Just add in a little water (about ½ cup) because you want everything to mix together nicely. Then, bring in the beef broth. (Mine was frozen, so I just let it defrost right in the pot!). Bring the pot to a gentle simmer and let it all cook together for another 10–15 minutes until everything marries together perfectly and forms a rich gravy.
Tip: If you want yours a little bit drier, you can reduce the gravy by adding less water/stock or simmering uncovered for longer.
8. Garnish and Serve
Once it looks beautiful and smells amazing, turn off the heat. Finally, just garnish with those remaining fresh herbs, let it cool off a bit, and it is ready to serve. You can go ahead and serve this right away with a big plate of fluffy white rice or whatever you like!
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FAQs
Can I use canned white beans instead of dried?
Yes, absolutely! Canned white beans are super convenient. Just make sure you drain and rinse them really well before adding them to the pot to wash off that starchy canning liquid.
What kind of white beans are best for stewing?
Cannellini beans, Great Northern beans, and gigante beans are all fantastic choices. They have a gorgeous creamy texture but hold their shape beautifully in the thick tomato gravy without turning to total mush.
What if I don’t eat beef or cow skin?
That is totally fine! Like I always say, you can use any proteins of your choice. You can make this with just smoked fish, swap the beef for chicken, or even keep it entirely plant-based by skipping the meat, fish, and crayfish and just adding more veggies.
How do I make the beans drier instead of saucy?
I love mine with a lot of gravy so I can eat it with rice, but if you want yours more like a dry u0022friedu0022 bean dish, just reduce the amount of water and beef stock you add at the end. Let the pot simmer uncovered so the extra moisture cooks off.
How long do stewed white beans last?
These taste even better the next day once the flavors have really locked into the beans! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3–5 days. Just warm them up on the stove or in the microwave when you’re ready to eat.
Super Delicious Fried or Stewed White Beans
Course: MainCuisine: West African, NigerianDifficulty: Easy6
servings15
minutes40
minutes420
kcal1
hour10
minutesA rich, saucy, and flavor-packed white bean stew loaded with beef, smoked fish, cow skin, and fresh herbs. Perfect for serving over fluffy rice!
Ingredients
- Special Equipments
Food processor or food chopper
Large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven
- Full ingredients list with exact measurements + grams:
3 cups (500g) cooked white beans (or 2 15oz cans, rinsed and drained)
2 medium (240g) red bell peppers, deseeded
3 medium (450g) fresh tomatoes
1 large (150g) onion
⅓ cup (80ml) cooking oil
8 oz (225g) fresh beef, cut into small bite-sized pieces
1 tsp (5g) salt
1 tsp (2g) paprika
1 tbsp (10g) seasoning powder (bouillon)
½ tsp (1g) white pepper
2 tbsp (10g) ground crayfish (optional)
1 tbsp (15g) ginger and garlic paste
2 medium (120g) fresh carrots, diced
1 cup (150g) smoked fish, deboned and flaked
2 tbsp (8g) fresh parsley, chopped and divided
1 tbsp (4g) fresh thyme, chopped and divided
1 cup (150g) cow skin (ponmo), cleaned and chopped (optional)
½ cup (120ml) water
1 cup (240ml) beef broth (liquid or frozen)
Rice, for serving
Directions
- In a food processor or chopper, coarsely chop the red bell peppers, fresh tomatoes, and onion.
- Heat the cooking oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the chopped mixture to the pot.
- Stir in the fresh beef pieces. Allow the mixture to cook, stirring occasionally, until the water reduces and the oil floats to the top (about 10–15 minutes). Tip: If your beef is a tough cut, pre-boil it until tender before this step.
- Stir in the salt, paprika, seasoning powder, white pepper, crayfish, and ginger and garlic paste. Mix thoroughly.
- Add the diced carrots, smoked fish, half of the fresh parsley, half of the fresh thyme, and the cow skin. Stir to combine.
- Gently fold in the boiled white beans. Pour in the water and beef broth.
- Simmer the stew for 10–15 minutes until the sauce thickens to your liking and the flavors meld together into a rich gravy.
- Turn off the heat. Garnish with the reserved fresh parsley and thyme. Serve warm with rice.
Notes
- Bean Swaps: You can use dried cannellini or Great Northern beans (soaked overnight and boiled until tender), or save time with canned white beans. Just be sure to rinse canned beans thoroughly!
- Protein Swaps: I know cow skin and smoked fish might seem like a lot to some, but that’s how I love mine! Feel free to use only beef, only smoked fish, or swap in chicken if that’s what you have.
- Gravy Level: I love when my beans have a lot of soup inside so it coats my rice. If you prefer a drier “fried” bean texture, use half the amount of broth and let it simmer uncovered until the liquid evaporates.
