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Lebanese Spinach Stew is a favorite recipe that I grew up eating and that I make for my family now every few weeks. In Arabic, this dish is called Sabanekh w Riz – which translates to spinach and rice. It’s a hearty, nutritious and wholesome meal made with simple inexpensive ingredients. While we often serve it with beef, you can make it vegan by serving it with chickpeas.
What I love about most of the Lebanese meals I make is how they’re made with simple inexpensive ingredients that are transformed to something so nourishing to feed a family! This spinach stew is no exception and its one of the simplest Middle Eastern stews you can make!
How to make spinach stew
- Toast the pine nuts with some olive oil. You want them to be golden and fragrant without burning, so watch them closely and set aside when toasted.
- In the same pan, cook the ground beef with 7 Spice, salt and pepper. Make sure the ground beef is browned, and then remove from the pan and set aside.
- In that same pan, using the olive oil and juice leftover from cooking the pine nuts and ground beef, you can start cooking the cilantro and garlic along with crushed red pepper. I use frozen cilantro and frozen garlic to make it quick.
- As soon as the cilantro and garlic become fragrant, you can add the frozen spinach to it. There’s no need to thaw the spinach in advance or drain any liquid. Just transfer it it straight from the bag and cook until it softens.
- Finally, you’ll return the toasted pine nuts and cooked beef on top of the spinach along with chicken broth or water and simmer the spinach stew for 20 minutes. You can save some toasted pine nuts to add on top when serving.
- After 20 minutes, the mixture will thicken and the spinach will become tender.
When you’re done cooking the spinach stew, you can eat it on its own with a splash of lemon juice. However, it’s very traditional for us to eat it with Lebanese Rice. You can serve it with any type of rice you’d like, or quinoa, couscous, Bulgur or even cauliflower rice.
Tips for making the recipe
- Cook the stew in a heavy bottomed sauté pan; they absorb and distribute the heat from the stovetop more evenly, so you don’t get hot spots which can cause burning the pine nuts or the garlic.
- Use frozen cilantro and frozen garlic to make it quicker. Since I make this stew and other stews so often, I buy fresh cilantro and fresh garlic and mince them both and freeze separately to use in recipes like this. It cuts the prep down so much!
- Don’t bother using fresh spinach. While I usually opt for fresh over frozen when possible, in this case it adds a lot more unnecessary prep work and you will need a lot more spinach – like two pounds of it! Frozen works perfectly here!
Frequently asked questions
Lebanese stews (which we call yakhneh) are always served with Vermicelli Rice, very similar to how curries are enjoyed with rice. For lower carb options, try it with quinoa!
As the spinach wilts, it will thicken the broth for this stew. You can control how much chicken broth you add though depending on your preference and keep in mind that it will thicken as it sits. If you want to thicken the stew even more, consider adding a starch like potatoes to it.
Once you make the stew, let it cool to room temperature, then transfer to an airtight container and it will keep in the fridge for around 4 days. The stew also freezes well, just defrost it in the fridge before reheating on the stovetop.
If you have extra frozen spinach and you’re looking for more Lebanese style recipes to make, you’ll have to try Arabic spinach pies which are filled with a spinach, onion and sumac mixture!
This stew is such a great comfort food dish, and one I grew up with! I’m sure you are going to love it just as much as we all do! If you have a large family, this spinach stew is a perfect easy meal you can make in 30 minutes with hardly any prep. You can double or triple the recipe because it stores so well and keeps for a few days!
For other similar dishes:
- Traditional Vegetable Stew
- Peas and Carrots Stew
- Okra Stew
- Peanut Soup
- Green Bean Tomato Stew
- Easy Butter Chicken
- Easy Beef Stew
If you’ve tried this healthy-ish feel good Spinach Stew recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!
Lebanese Spinach Stew
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- ⅓ cup pine nuts
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 teaspoons 7 Spice
- 2 teaspoons salt divided
- ½ teaspoon black pepper divided
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 2 10-ounce bags frozen spinach
- 3 cups chicken broth
- Juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
- In a heavy bottomed saute pan over medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and toast the pine nuts until golden, remove and set aside.
- In the same pan over medium high heat, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and add the ground beef, season with 7 Spice, 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook until the meat is browned, about 5-7 minutes. Remove and set aside, keep any oil and juices in the pan.
- In the same pan, add the cilantro, garlic and crushed red pepper, cook for about 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Add the frozen spinach, remaining salt and cook with the cilantro mixture until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth or water and bring mixture to a boil. Return the cooked ground beef and pine nuts to the pan. Lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes until stew thickens.
- Stir in the lemon juice and serve over traditional Arabic rice pilaf.
Equipment
Notes
- Instead of frozen spinach, you can use fresh spinach, but you will need 2 pounds to be the equivalent of 20 ounces frozen spinach.
- 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 or substitute it for chickpeas.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
My go to when I’m short on time and don’t know what to cook.
Aww, love that!! So happy you enjoy the recipe, Nesmah! Thank you!
My husband (born & raised in Lebanon) told me he didn’t like this traditional recipe growing up. But I wanted to try making it because I thought it looked so good & easy! Well, consider my husband’s mind completely changed now – he loved this. Thanks, Yumna!
Aww, thank you so much!! So happy he loved it, you just made my day!!
Hello! Does 2 10 ounces of spinach just mean 20 ounces? I’ve used this recipe many times before but it’s been a while and I can’t remember how much spinach I’ve used!
So sorry for the confusion! Yes, it’s 20 ounces of frozen spinach. I just edited the recipe to say “2 10-ounce bags frozen spinach,” thank you so much for pointing this out!!
This was delicious! I made some significant changes, based on diet and what I had on hand, so I’ll note them in case it’s helpful for anyone:
-I only had 12 oz of frozen spinach, so I used fresh shredded kale for the rest. It tasted great to me. I also used parsley as I didn’t have any cilantro, and I added an onion to the parsley/garlic/red pepper saute.
-Used impossible burger, as I’m a vegetarian. Note that I didn’t simmer the meat with the spinach, but added it at the end.
-I burned the pine nuts (of course), so I used some toasted almonds. I actually prefer almonds to pine nuts, so this was great
Some of these are big-ish changes so repeat at your own risk, but it was totally delicious and I’m excited to make it again for company. Thanks for the recipe!
Love the tweaks you made! Thank you so much for sharing, Miri. It sounds like your stew turned out amazing!!
Omg! This was fabulous! Simple and yet flavor packed. Due to health reasons I can not eat red meat, but substituted ground turkey (I always had a touch of Worcestershire sauce to make it taste more beefy). I also cannot eat white rice but used black rice. This was adaptable and will be a part of my rotation of healthy meals. Getting ready to enjoy your chocolate cherry chia pudding for dessert, I love it so. Your cookbook was my Mother’s Day gift and it’s the best gift. A good healthy way to eat. Thank you and blessings for making a difference in people’s lives.
Aww, I’m so happy you’ve been able to enjoy so many of my recipes! Love your Worcestershire sauce trick, so smart. Thank you for all your support, Karen!!
Can’t wait to make soup . But what rice is that in the picture? What kind and how to cook it?
Hi Dana, the rice in those photos is my Lebanese Rice recipe!
Thanks ☺️ I have eaten this before but needed a go-to recipe and this was perfect to adjust to whatever I have on hand. Substituted animal for vegan mince and used spices that I had on hand. I try not to consume garlic so just added onion and didn’t have spinach but had a local leaf that tastes pretty much the same that had to be used up. It came together so well. Thanks for such a versatile recipe with the same taste outcome.
Yay! So glad you liked how it turned out!!
Loved it! The smell was so authentic to how my mother would make it. Delicious!
So glad to hear, I love this!
Hi yumna will try this tomorrow. If I use fresh spinach what steps do I need to do? Also what’s a good brand for frozen?
Thank you!
So I’m Lebanese. Grew up in America but had Lebanese food daily. For the life of me I can’t get the recipes to taste how my mom cooks. I’ll be trying this family favorite to see how I do. Thanks for the step by steps.
I hope it turns out perfect for you!! You’ll have to let me know what you think after you make it.
I’ve made so many of your recipes and this may be my absolute favorite! It was so simple, but full of flavor. My family really enjoyed it as well!
This recipe super easy to make and delicious! Even my picky eater loved it and gave it a 9.5/10 …. soooooo gooood!
LOL Love it! Tell them I said thank you!
I did NOT expect this to be so good! I don’t know why I thought this should have onions and tomato sauce also, but nooo. It was just perfect simple as it is. I didn’t even have cilantro and used ground coriander instead, it still came out SO Good! You’re a a start Youmna, totally trust your taste to match our family’s
Meant to say star of course 🙂
Just made this for dinner-it will now be in the monthly rotation! Absolutely delicious, easy to throw together and so very satisfying!
So glad you enjoyed it, Beth!
I saw this recipe on TikTok and wanted to fully create the perfect meal, and it tastes SO GOOD. I’m at the simmer stage currently. I accidentally threw in some frozen kale I had been saving, so I have about 1/2 spinach, 1/2 kale but so far I think it’s going to be pretty good! I also substituted chopped walnuts instead of pine nuts because I didn’t have any, I figured you can do that with pesto, maybe it will work out ok? Thanks for the recipe!
Love the idea of using walnuts instead! So glad you enjoyed the stew!
Made this dish yesterday. It was a major success and my girlfriend who generally hate greens, devoured her serving in minutes. Served with rice/vermicelli and yogurt. Another favourite in our household.
Yum! So glad you both enjoyed it!
Thank you so much for this recipe! My family raved about it and my daughter asked that I make anther batch as soon as we’re done with this one. I know this will be a favourite. My only limitation will be the price of pine nuts. 😁
Pine nuts are outrageous, for sure! It’s crazy. So glad everyone enjoyed it!
Buy pine nuts when on sale (well … cheaper any ways) and they keep very well in the freezer (the oils don’t go rancid as fast).
I made this last week but didn’t have spinach. So I used silver beets instead it yield more then spinach world and it was cheaper.I used all the leaves and a 1/3 of the stems ( finely chopped). It was so good and tasty. English spinach can be expensive for a big family. It’s worth a try for next time.
Oh yum! I had to look it up silverbeets, we call it swiss chard here, but that does sound amazing and like a great substitute. Thank you for sharing!
Absolutely delicious ♥️😍
Thank you so much!
I made this two days ago and it was so easy and delicious . I also made it with chicken breasts and it was as delicious as the ground beef one. So easy meal to prep after work 😋😋😋
That makes me so happy to hear! So glad you love this recipe!
This is my go to recipe! Loved it the first time around and doing it again today … was wondering about the amount of salt. Do you reduce the 2 tsp if using chicken stock?
I love that! Yay!! I would add the salt even if you’re using chicken broth, but it’s better to taste and adjust as you go!
This is an absolutely incredible dish and recipe. Very good. Warm flavours with a hint of spicy-ness. The 7 spice is an addition you should not substitute in my opinion.
I used beyond meat as a vegan substitute and it worked really well.
Thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed it!
Love it! I tried it several times it’s my favorite! Reminds me exactly of the one I used to have back home😍
Thank you! I love that!
I tried this because I absolutely love your other recipes. It was amazing! I always get nervous when making a new recipe with guests over but it was totally worth it.
So glad you gave this a try! Yay!!
Just like mama’s. Moving to Toronto from the UAE was overwhelming esp that now I have to do everything alone and your page Youmna has made my life easier. Made this a few days ago and my little one said: “just as yummy as teta’s.” Thanks 🙂 for your yummy and easy to make recipes.
So glad you found my page and are enjoying the recipes! Yay!! You’re so welcome.
October 2021. Just made this for the first time and my husband & I loved it. Will for sure make it again. I used half frozen spinach & half fresh baby spinach because that’s what I had.
That makes me so happy to hear! Yay!!
I love trying new recipes. This was great. Wasn’t sure if I’d like the 7 spice but it was flavorful without being overpowering. Family said they would like me to make it again.
Same here! Glad you decided to give this one a try and that your family all enjoyed it!
Totally yumm!!!!!
That makes me so happy to hear!
Good gracious! The smell alone is reason enough to make this! I had to use methi/fenugreek, because it is my absolute favorite. Honestly, my house has never smelled better! And the taste! 🤗😍🤗😍
I also made your mujadara recipe. More perfection.
I love that! Yay!! That makes me so happy to hear!
Can i know whats the weight of the nutritional facts you’re providing?Thanks a lot
There’s no weight for the nutritional facts, but you can weigh the dish when you’re done cooking it and divide that value by eight to get the weight of one serving based on the recipe you made that day.
Your blog is my favorite, so many recipes that remind me of home. Made this tonight, was so fast and easy and absolutely delicious! I’ve never had it with pine nuts before and wow!! Game changer! Thank you so much, the best comfort food on a weekend.
I made this with veggie stock and Beyond Meat and it came out beautifully…the only thing is I needed one cup more of liquid despite adding only 16 oz of frozen spinach. Loved it…your food blog has been a wonderful find for me as I learn new recipes while laid off from work for the winter. Thank you!
Thank you so much! That means a lot!
I have been wanting to make this spinach stew for a long time now. I finally did and all I can say is that it turned out AMAZING !!! I would not skip the pine nuts. They are very flavorful and blend so well with this meal. Thank you so much for this delicious recipe. I can’t wait to make it again.
That’s awesome!! Thank you so much 🙂
I finally made it yesterday , my entire family loves this dish, thank you so much ,
Thank you for sharing this recipe. Those of us who have lived away from our roots for so long miss the flavors and dishes of home.
I don’t live in an area with many arabic ppl and so following your page keeps me close and connected to my roots.
So glad to hear that! Thank you 🙂
This recipe is delicious and savoury! I used Impossible meat in place of the real thing and it was wonderful! I also added the toasted Pune nuts at the very end to give more crunch. This is a keeper!!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!
So i must share. I wanted to cook something for a dear friend who’s anemic I thought your sbanekh w riz would be perfect. I also gave some to my Lebanese friend to try and critique, I wanted a Lebanese opinion. Both friends immediately asked for the recipe after they tried it. And my Lebanese friend (who’s an amazing cook) told me it’s the best she’s ever tasted! So I can’t thank you enough especially for your Lebanese recipes, since most natives have a hard time giving you exact measurements when it comes to their home cooking. Keep them coming 👍🏼 شكرا كتير💜
Aww that makes me so happy to hear! Thanks so much!!
We just finished making and eating this stew for the first time. It was delicious, and my two-yr old agrees! We had it over your rice recipe as suggested and it was the perfect complement.
We added extra lemon juice because we love lemon, and it was so flavorful and hearty.
Thank you!!
Thank you!! My Lebanese husband was impressed with the spinach and beef recipe. He said it was just like his grandmas! ❤️
Oh wow, that’s the best compliment ever! Thank you!
I’m sorry I was reading the instructions (the last section) and it doesn’t mention at what point to add the frozen spinach? With the broth or before? Thanks!
I’m so sorry, I just fixed that now. I usually add it before the broth and sautee it with the cilantro mixture to give it more flavor. Thanks for pointing that out to me!
Truly a hearty nutritious and wholesome meal. My whole family enjoyed it. Thank you for another easy delicious recipe.
This dish was flavorful with the spices. We had it for lunch and my daughter requested it for dinner as well. This will be in our rotation of meals. Thank you for these delicious recipes.
Yay, so glad to hear it. Thank you!!
As I’m reading the comments, I realize I forgot the lemon! But it was very good anyway!! Thank you, I never had Lebanese cuisine until tonight. I will definitely make it again.
Thank you! Lemon next time for sure!
This dish is amazing ! I can’t believe how easy it is to make. Thank you so much for sharing this delicious and flavorful dish ❤️
I’m so happy you enjoyed it. Thank you!!
Wow !! I’m so amazed at how easy and delicious this meal is ! Thank you so much for sharing this amazing … flavorful and tasty dish ❤️
Yay, I’m so glad you liked it. Thank you!