Bazella (Peas and Carrots Stew)
Updated Dec 28, 2025
Bazella W Riz is a Peas and Carrots Stew that is a popular Lebanese recipe made with a tomato base broth and served with vermicelli rice
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Jump to Section
Lebanese-Style Peas & Carrots Stew
One of my favorite stews that my mom made growing up is this Lebanese Peas and Carrots Stew, which we call Bazella w Riz. It’s made similar to my other Lebanese stews like Green Bean Stew, White Bean Stew and Okra Stew but I switch out the veggies to use peas and carrots.
Bazella is a hearty, nutritious and utterly comforting dish and it’s a recipe I make so often that even my teenage daughter learned to make it on her own recently! Make sure to serve it on top of my Lebanese Rice for a truly authentic meal that we call yakhneh.
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
How to Make Bazella
Peas and Carrots Stew
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound ribeye steak or NY strip steak trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 2 teaspoons 7 Spice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 small onion chopped (optional)
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
- 2 15-ounce can tomato sauce
- 3 Roma tomatoes diced
- 4 cups water
- 3 cups frozen peas
- 1 cup frozen carrots or 1-2 carrot sticks, chopped
Instructions
- In a heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil. Add the beef, season with 7 Spice, salt and pepper. Sear for 5-7 minutes until the meat is browned on the outside, but not fully cooked. Remove and set aside on a plate, keep any oil and juices in the pan.
- In the same pot, add the onions, garlic and cilantro, and cook for about 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
- Add the tomato sauce, fresh tomatoes and water to the pot and stir to remove any browned bits stuck to the pot from the beef. Bring to a boil, then add the peas, carrots and partially-cooked beef with the juices to the pot. Return the cooked beef to the pot along with peas and carrots and stir to combine.
- Lower heat to low and cook covered for 45 minutes. Uncover the pot and continue cooking for 15 more minutes, until the sauce is reduced to a thick broth.
- Serve warm over Lebanese rice.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Recipe Variations
- Instead of tomato sauce, you can use canned diced tomatoes or 6 ounces of tomato paste with 2 cups of water.
- Instead of 7 Spice, you can substitute any mix of paprika, cumin, coriander, ground cloves, nutmeg, cardamom and cinnamon
- To make it vegan, just leave the beef out. You can add other vegetables like potatoes, cauliflower, eggplant or zucchini.
Recipe Tips
- Use beef chuck or another tough lean cuts of beef for best results. The tough cuts can handle the long cooking without becoming chewy or melting into the broth. In fact, after simmering for at least 30 minutes, they become even more tender.
- Use a heavy bottomed saute pan for this recipe, they absorb and distribute the heat from the stovetop more evenly, so you don’t get hot spots which can cause burning.
- Sear the beef until a rich brown crust forms. When you sear meat, it caramelizes the natural sugars and amplifies the flavor of the stew. It makes a difference in the taste.
- Use frozen vegetables for convenience. Because the stew is simmering for a while, fresh vegetables are not always necessary here. In fact, vegetables like peas and carrots are frozen at peak ripeness so they have a sweeter taste to them. Plus it’s fuss-free!
Serving Ideas
FAQs
If you would like your stew a little thicker, at the end of cooking, in a separate bowl mix a tablespoon of cornstarch into one tablespoon of water until combined. Add this paste into the stew and stir and cook for a couple of minutes until it is mixed in. For a more Middle Eastern approach at thickening stew, just add potatoes and rely on the starch from the potatoes to thicken it.
Comments
I usually do this recipe with chicken but want to try with beef, however we don’t have chuck steak in uk supermarkets, which other beef would work? I tried lean beef before and was too chewy. They have fillet, rump, ribeye, sirloin steaks here not sure which one will work for this stew? Thank you
Great question! I think sirloin steak would work the best for this stew.
Yes, that would work. I recommend 2 tablespoons of coriander. Enjoy!
Would it be ok to sub canned diced tomatoes for fresh tomatoes? If so, how much canned diced tomatoes would you recommend? Also, I don’t typically have fresh cilantro available. Would coriander work as a substitute? If so, how much please. Thanks in advance!
Yes, I would use about half a 15-ounce can of diced tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of coriander. Hope you enjoy!!
Back to say I made this using ground chicken with your suggestions and it turned out delicious! Just reduced the water slightly and used 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. I see the instructions note pepper, but it’s not listed in the ingredients. Thanks for another great recipe!
Yay! So glad to hear that!! I’m happy you liked how it turned out, Amira! Thanks!!
This recipe was a new one for me, I’ve never tried Lebanese food before but this stew was great! I made my own 7 spice mix because I couldn’t find it in the store. I also let my stew simmer on the stove for three hours to make sure my meat was tender. Delicious dinner and easy to bring to work!
Yay, congrats on making your first Lebanese dish!! I’m so glad you loved it!!
I made this recently. My kids loved it and my husband loved it. All your recipes are great! I don’t usually leave any reviews but it was so yummy
Yay! So happy your entire family loved it!! Thank you, Mirna!
Hi yumna 🙂 if i were to buy frozen peas carrots together in a bag, how many cups would you say to do for (1x) ?
Hi Samantha, 3 to 4 cups would be my best guess. Due to the varying ratio of peas vs carrots in the mixed bags I am really not sure as you do want it to be more pea heavy than carrot.
Excellent recipe! thanks Yumna, can parsley be used instead of cilantro or at least together? have you tried that?
Hi Dan, great question you can use parsley if you prefer. I have not tried them together, but I do use them interchangeably depending on what I have on hand.
I made this today and it tastes and looks exactly as the picture. I served it over the Lebanese rice recipe. It’s warm, filling, and comforting for this last cold week of March in Michigan.
So glad you enjoyed it, Melissa.
Hi, will be making this for dinner this week. Can ground beef be used in place of the beef chuck?
Thanks for all the great recipes.
Hi Nicole, you can use ground beef as a substitute! Hope you enjoy!
See All Comments