If you’re looking for a satisfying healthy meal that you can have ready for the week ahead, then kickstart fall with this **Mediterranean White Harissa Stew** recipe! Loaded with Mediterranean spices and flavours with plenty of vegetables and hearty white beans, this stew will be a new family hit!

Are you interested in trying out healthy recipes for fall? I’m so upset that the time for warm weather is ending, but I do like the feeling of eating some cozy warm food!

I totally understand that beans & grains can be considered some pesky proteins! However, you’ll grow to love beans with this Mediterranean White Bean Harissa Stew! We’re going to use some Great Northern Beans to give us a hearty and creamy stew that is packed with North African flavours! To conquer this pesky protein and discover a new dinnertime favourite, be sure to make this easy-to-follow and extremely satisfying stew as part of your Live to Cook one-month challenge! Get started on your cooking journey for free by signing up for my free email newsletter, plus all of my new recipes will be sent straight to your inbox!

For a visual representation on making our healthy and hearty Vegan Harissa Bean Stew from start to finish, be sure to watch the video at the bottom of this post! It would mean a lot to me if you would please subscribe to my YouTube channel, if you’re not already! Also, don’t forget to press the bell button so you’re notified when all of my latest video recipes are live! Let’s get cooking!

What are Great Northern Beans?

You may confuse Great Northern Beans with Cannellini beans, and that’s completely understandable! They do look very similar, but they are definitely not the same! Cannellini beans are also known as “white kidney beans.” White kidney beans have a thicker skin and slightly bolder taste. Both are excellent to make in soups and stews.

Substitutes for Great Northern Beans

Because the Great Northern Beans and Cannellini beans are so similar, you can use either one for this recipe! However, if you’re going to use dried white kidney beans, you’ll need to cook them for slightly longer. I like to cook my beans in my Instant Pot, and I have an entire guide on how to cook the perfect beans in the Instant Pot here that will set you up for success based on which bean you’re going to choose for this recipe!

Additionally, the Great Northern Beans are more delicate than the white kidney beans. I’m actually not going to cook the beans all the way prior to using them in my stew to ensure that they don’t become mushy in the stew.

Other options for substitutions include navy beans or small lima beans, also known as lima beans.

Do I Have to Soak the Beans For this Bean Stew?

While you don’t technically have to if you use canned beans, even if you cook the northern beans unsoaked in the instant pot, you may get beans that have exploded and not cooked evenly. I have unfortunately not had the best experience with no soak north beans since they are so delicate to handle.

Is this White Bean Harissa Stew HealthY?

Yes, it definitely is! There is plenty of protein from the beans that is suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Additionally, the beans provide plenty of fibre which will assist in your digestion and to help keep you full. Furthermore, the great northern beans are loaded with antioxidants and minerals including potassium, iron and magnesium.

WHy You’ll Love thiS White Bean Harissa Stew Recipe!

Easy to make: This Mediterranean White Bean Stew is almost one-pot and comes together effortlessly! You’ll find that the majority of the work comes in the preparation in terms of chopping the vegetables and getting organized. Actually cooking them out and getting the sauce ready for our stew doesn’t take much time or hands-on work at all!
Healthy: As we’ve just discussed, there are plenty of health attributes all packed into this bean stew recipe. You’re making an excellent choice nutrition-wise by trying out this recipe!
Flavourful: Lots of Mediterranean goodness can be found here with the harissa, cumin and coriander. Plus, there’s a touch of heat from cayenne, paprika, and Aleppo pepper. The vegetables and garlic give off their own aroma, and the beans contribute to the texture and body of the stew.
Make-ahead friendly: I certainly encourage you to make a large batch of this White Bean Harissa Stew because it will last for quite some time in the fridge and it’s easy to reheat! I’ll describe exactly how to make a large batch and store it for later at the end of this post!

Dietary Considerations for Mediterranean White Bean Stew

This White Bean Mediterranean Stew is…

Vegan
Vegetarian
Can be gluten-free if you replace the all-purpose flour with cornstarch.
Low fat
High in protein

How Can I Increase the Protein in This White Bean Stew?

This Mediterranean White Bean Stew is vegan and vegetarian so that it’s accessible to everyone! However, if you want more protein, certainly feel free to add in some animal-based protein, such as chorizo or chopped bacon. You can simply add them prior to adding the oil to the pot, cooking them to your liking and then setting the meat aside. Then, proceed with the recipe as instructed as you scrape out the fond leftover from the protein to further enhance the broth. Simply top the serving portion with the cooked chorizo or bacon bits and enjoy.

Another way is it add sauteed chicken or poached, shredded chicken to the serving bowl and enjoy a chicken and bean stew. It works really well and in a way reminds you of a country style chicken stew with a hot and spicy, tomatoey twist.

You can most definitely keep this dish vegetarian by increasing the protein with some feta cheese or an Italian cheese blend on top for serving if you would like! To keep the recipe vegetarian and vegan, then feel free to add another type of bean, or you could even add in tofu.

Tools Needed to Make Harissa White Bean Stew

Ingredients for Mediterranean Bean Stew

Scroll to the bottom of this post or press the “Jump to Recipe” button for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card that has all ingredients and their quantities, and you can save the recipe for later. The recipe card will also let you to scale the recipe based on how many portions of stew you’re looking to make so that you don’t need to do any mental math!

Great Northern Beans: We’ll need to soak and cook the dried beans first, if you are using dried beans.
Olive oil: To cook all the vegetables and beans together.
Spices: We’ll use cayenne, paprika, ground cumin, ground coriander, ground ginger, Aleppo pepper, and harissa. For the harissa, you can use the paste or the spice as I’m using here.
Rainbow chard: This is a type of Swiss chard that grew with colourful roots. You can use regular Swiss chard if you don’t have Rainbow chard. Alternatively, you can use other greens like kale or spinach, if desired.
Vegetables: Onions, carrots and celery will be our key vegetables here, and they are iconically used together to make up a mirepoix. You’ll see this mixture in lots of sauce and stew recipes, such as in Bolognese!
Garlic cloves: To add a wonderful aroma to your stew. Garlic is certainly essential!
All-purpose flour: To help thicken the stew.
Tomato paste: We won’t add any tomatoes to the stew, but the tomato paste adds a deep rich tomato flavour.
Vegetable broth: This is the main base liquid for our stew. If you’re not vegetarian, you could add in Better Than Bouillon paste, chicken bouillon cubes or chicken broth from a carton.
Water: You can’t have a stew without some water! We need water to cook the Great Northern Beans and to make the stew.
Salt: To taste, as always!

How to Make White Bean Harissa Stew

To Cook the Great Northern beans

Rinse well and add soaked beans to the Instant Pot and add 4 times the volume of water, along with salt.

Ensure the Instant Pot is in Sealing mode. Set the Instant Pot to Pressure Cook mode on High and cook for 8 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 15-25 minutes and then do a manual pressure release.

For the White Bean Harissa Stew

Heat a large pot on medium heat and once warm, add olive oil. Add the rainbow chard stems, celery, carrots, onions and garlic.

Sauté for 4-6 minutes or until the veggies soften.

Add the spices (Aleppo peppers, harissa, paprika, cayenne, cumin, coriander, ginger) and stir well. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the mixture becomes fragrant and the rawness from the spices is cooked out.

Add flour and stir well. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Mix in water 1-2 Tbsp at a time if needed in case anything starts to stick at the bottom of the pan.

Add tomato paste in the middle of the pot and stir lightly to allow the tartness of the tomatoes to cook out. Then, mix the tomato paste in completely with the vegetable mixture.

Add 1 Cup of vegetable broth and then mix well. Then, pour in the rest of the broth and mix well. Season and taste for seasoning.

Once the broth comes up to a gentle simmer, add the cooked and drained beans, along with the rainbow chard leaves.

Gently fold the ingredients together until the chard leaves have completely shrunken down and mixed into the stew. Simmer for 5-10 minutes on low heat as you taste and adjust for seasoning.

Once the stew is at your desired consistency, garnish with dill and serve hot and fresh.

Tips For A Comforting White Bean Stew

Make sure to cook the great northern beans well to ensure they are not too hard or too soft. Hard beans are not pleasant while beans that are overcooked will turn to mush in the stew resulting in a gummy texture.
Swiss chard or rainbow chard can contain lots of sand and mud so make sure that before using, you wash them really well to prevent grittiness in the stew.
Spices intensify in flavour as they are sautéed and release their own oils. Make sure to roast them with the veggies instead of adding them to the broth and simply boiling them.
Chicken stock or chicken bouillon will work great if you are non-vegetarian as it adds lots of amazing, salty and savoury flavour to the broth.
The stew can be made even richer by finishing with some heavy cream - it would play well with the creaminess of the beans and will contrast the spiciness of the broth.

Can I use Canned Beans for this recipe?

Yes you really could use some canned white beans! This will definitely save you plenty of time since you won’t have to worry about soaking the beans and then cooking them. However, I do find the texture and taste of dried beans that were cooked slightly different from canned beans, so my preference is to take the extra time and effort to cook the dried beans. Furthermore, dried beans are much cheaper than canned! As I describe in my free motivational guide to explore your potential in the kitchen, Make Cooking Fun!!, if there’s a suitable substitute that you already have, then no need to go to the store to get exactly what I’m saying. If there’s been a can of white beans sitting in your pantry for quite some time, then go ahead and use it for this recipe! You won’t be letting food go bad, you’ll declutter the pantry, and you’ll have a delicious meal as a result!

Can I Make This Mediterranean Stew in Advance?

For sure you can! Actually, I would definitely recommend you make a nice big batch of soup so that you’ve got meals for the next few days - it’s perfect to have conveniently ready for you to just heat up and enjoy when you’re in a pinch for time!

All you need to do to store your bean soup is to transfer the contents into an airtight container and place in the fridge. This will last for 3-4 days. This recommendation is based on the activity of bacteria since after 3-4 days, the risk of bacterial contamination increases. Stews contain lots of moisture which is the perfect environment for spoilage to thrive. So try and not to push this and freeze what you are not planning to eat.

To freeze your Mediterranean White Bean Stew make sure to cool down the stew to room temperature to prevent excess frost and ice from developing once the stew is frozen. It’s probably a good idea to divide the stew into portions that you plan to consume once defrosted. Then, go ahead and label and date the container and freeze in a freezer safe container. The stew should stay good for up to 3 months. Longer than 3 months, the quality of the texture, flavour and nutrients will start to eventually degrade in addition to risk of freezer burn.

How to Reheat Mediterranean Bean Stew

The quickest way is to use the microwave and heat for 1-2 minutes while stirring at least halfway through the reheat time. This is my preferred method. Another alternative would be over the stovetop on low heat.

With either method, keep an eye on the thickness of the broth of the stew and if needed, add more vegetable broth or water to make the gravy thinner. The stew would naturally thicken the longer it stays in the fridge as the beans and veggies absorb the liquid, plus the evaporation that will occur while reheating.

What to Serve with White Bean Harissa Stew?

This White Bean Harissa Stew is indeed quite hearty on its own since you have fibre and protein from the beans! However, if you want to have something on the side, you could enjoy some crusty bread like baguette or ciabatta, Lebanese Pita Bread, or some Soft and Fluffy Dinner Rolls. If you want to have a lighter side, try a salad like an Arugula Goat Cheese Salad with Roasted Almonds!

More Comforting Bean and Legume Recipes

Watch How to Make Mediterranean White bean Harissa Stew Here:

Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cooking.with.anadi. Thank you!

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Vegetarian, Vegan, Beans

North African, Mediterranean

Yield: 10

Author: Anadi

The Ultimate Vegan Mediterranean White Bean Stew Recipehttps://youtu.be/oihhQYFjNr0This vegan Mediterranean white bean stew recipe is easy to make and will warm you up for fall! This Mediterranean white bean stew is made with Great northern beans, plenty of vegetables, and Swiss chard, almost entirely in one-pot! Enjoy the comforting Mediterranean flavours in this vegan white bean stew and make it a new weeknight staple!2024-08-30

Mediterranean White Bean Harissa Stew

If you’re looking for a satisfying healthy meal that you can have ready for the week ahead, then kickstart fall with this Mediterranean White Harissa Stew recipe! Loaded with Mediterranean spices and flavours with plenty of vegetables and hearty white beans, this stew will be a new family hit!

Prep time: 35 MinCook time: 50 MinInactive time: 4 HourTotal time: 5 H & 25 M

Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

For homemade beans

454 grams or 1 lb of dried Great Northern Beans, soaked for at least 4-6 hours + 4 times the volume of water for cooking

For the baked beans

1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 lb Rainbow or Swiss chard, stems separated from leaves. Stems cut to a fine dice and rinsed well, leaves cut to large chunks and rinsed well.
3 celery sticks, rinsed well and chopped to a fine dice
2 carrots, peeled, rinsed well and chopped to a fine dice
1 onion, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 Tbsp Aleppo pepper
5-6 Tbsp harissa
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1-2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp tomato paste
4 Cups vegetable broth (1 carton)
water, as needed
salt to taste
fresh dill, as needed, for garnish

Instructions

To prepare the beans

Instant Pot Method
Rinse well and add soaked beans to the Instant Pot and add 4 times the volume of water, along with salt. Set Instant Pot to Pressure Cook mode on High and cook for 8 minutes. Ensure Instant Pot is in Sealing mode. Let the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes and then do a manual pressure release.

For the white bean harissa stew

Heat a large pot on medium heat and once warm, add olive oil. Add the rainbow chard stems, celery, carrots, onions and garlic. Sauté for 4-6 minutes or until the veggies soften.
Add the spices (Aleppo peppers, harissa, paprika, cayenne, cumin, coriander, ginger) and stir well. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the mixture becomes fragrant and the rawness from the spices is cooked out.
Add flour and stir well. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Mix in water 1-2 Tbsp at a time if needed in case anything starts to stick at the bottom of the pan.
Add tomato paste in the middle of the pot and stir lightly to allow the tartness of the tomatoes to cook out. Then, mix the tomato paste in completely with the vegetable mixture.
Add 1 Cup of vegetable broth and then mix well. Then, pour in the rest of the broth and mix well. Season and taste for seasoning.
Once the broth comes up to a gentle simmer, add the cooked and drained beans, along with the rainbow chard leaves. Gently fold the ingredients together until the chard leaves have completely shrunken down and mixed into the stew.
Simmer for 5-10 minutes on low heat as you taste and adjust for seasoning. Once the stew is at your desired consistency, garnish with dill and serve hot and fresh.