A satisfying vegan stew, straight from my mom’s Egyptian kitchen! Humble peas and carrots, quickly braised in a tasty, aromatic tomato sauce. Best served with a generous drizzle of our Private Reserve extra virgin olive oil!
You May Also Like: Ratatouille; Briam: Greek Roasted Vegetables; Spanish Chickpea Stew, and Mujadara
Known as “bisala wa gazar,” this vegan stew with peas and carrots is a staple of the Egyptian kitchen.
For a good portion of the year when Coptic Christians are fasting, they make it in the form of a simple vegan stew. It’s basically peas and carrots doused in a tomato sauce fragrant with onions and spices. The most humble of dishes, but so satisfying.
Occasionally, it turns into a meaty stew with the addition of small-diced lamb or beef, but I much prefer it as a vegan stew.
Like we do with Fasolakia (Greek green beans), serve this peas and carrots stew in bowls, topped with a generous drizzle of quality extra virgin olive oil (I used Private Reserve EVOO here, just what is needed to finish this dish!). Add warm pita bread to sop up the tasty sauce, or if you prefer, try Lebanese rice.
What else serve with this vegan stew?
A few starters can turn this into a meatless feast. Think salad like like fattoush or this simple Mediterranean salad; roasted red pepper hummus ; or even a meatless Mezze platter! Keep the pita plentiful. Enjoy.
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Egyptian Vegan Stew with Peas and Carrots
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: serves 4
Description
A satisfying vegan stew, straight from my mom’s Egyptian kitchen! Humble peas and carrots, quickly braised in a tasty, aromatic tomato sauce. Best served with a generous drizzle of our quality Private Reserve extra virgin olive oil!
Ingredients
- Private Reserve Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 3 carrots, chopped or diced small
- 1 lb frozen sweet peas
- Salt
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp sweet Spanish paprika
- 15-oz can tomato sauce
- 2 cups quality vegetable broth
- Fresh parsley for garnish, optional
- jalapeno peppers for garnish, optional
Suggested sides and starters
Instructions
- Note: If you’re making Lebanese rice, a salad or another dish to serve along, make those first as the stew is quick to cook.
- In a 3-quart dutch oven like this one, heat 2 tbsp Private Reserve extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat.
- Add chopped onions and cook until translucent, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, carrots, peas, a pinch salt, and spices. Toss to combine. Cook for 5 minutes or so over medium-high heat, until fragrant, stirring regularly.
- Add broth and tomato sauce raise the heat. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes, then turn the heat to medium. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or so. Occasionally, uncover and stir the stew. Taste and adjust seasoning. Peas and carrots should be cooked through and tender, but not mushy. Once you achieve that, it’s ready!
- Transfer the stew to serving bowls. Add a generous drizzle of Private Reserve extra virgin olive oil on top. Garnish with parsley, and a few slices of jalapeno if you like a little heat! Serve with warm pita or your favorite crusty bread. (See suggested starters above)
Notes
- Recommended for this Recipe Our Greek Private Reserve Extra Virgin Olive Oil (from organically grown and processed Koroneiki olives); all-natural and organic ground coriander, and sweet paprika.
- SAVE! Try our Ultimate Mediterranean Spice Bundle or create your own 6-pack or 3-pack of our all-natural or organic spices. VISIT OUR STORE HERE
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Category: Entree/Vegan
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Mediterranean/Egyptian
More Recipes to Try:
Mediterranean Vegan Wraps with Roasted Cauliflower
Egyptian Koshari: Rice and Lentils
Open-Faced Greek Omelet with Tomatoes
Would you recommend freezing this soup?
Sure, Lotte! This one is freezer-friendly :).
Another great dish. Although we are in the hot of summer, I was craving a good sturdy soup. This one is soo easy to create and an explosion of tastes! Love it
Suzy, Thank You SO MUCH for blessing us with all of your Lovely Recipes! You are truly Heaven sent and we just wanted to let you know that we have made 4 dishes so far (after just finding your website) and we have loved every single one of them! This one, being one of them ?. I love how fun and easy you make cooking look, that is truly a Gift and a Talent. Keep them coming, we are so excited to follow you on this Wonderful Foodie Journey~. ~?~ Marlene and Caroline, Salt Lake City, UT
Thank you for the kind words, Marlene & Caroline! Y’all made my day!!
I love your recipes! I am an Egyptian and Coptic Christian and will be trying this recipe today since we are fasting! So many of the flavors remind me of home!
Awwww! I’m so glad this brings you some good memories! Hope you enjoy it!
This recipe is wonderful! For such a quick cook time, it is SO flavoursome and with minimal ingredients I have on hand. Gorgeous recipe and this will be on rotation. I made it with your Lebanese rice with vermicelli. Every recipe I try from your site is an absolute winner. Thank you!
Sounds like a great dinner! So glad you enjoyed both, Bianca!
Simple and tasty! I used 1.5 cup fresh tomatoes, instead of 15 oz can. I served it with the Lebanese Rice and some cucumber, tomato, onion, avocado, parsley salad. Next time I’ll try it with crusty bread. Thanks!
Great, Sharon! Thanks for sharing.
It looks delicious. We have the same dish in Macedonia, except that we don’t add broth. I’ll definitely try this new version of “grasok” (green peas in Macedonian) 🙂
Oh thanks so much for sharing! Love hearing the similarities!
It is similar to what we cook in Pakistan, just an addition that we may add potato and cauliflower with the same recipe,
carrot in Pakistan is much sweeter and the prepared dish is really nice to eat. We may call it mixed vegetable.
Wonderful! Thank you for sharing. Here is our cauliflower stew recipe, you might like: https://www.themediterraneandish.com/chickpea-stew-and-cauliflower-recipe/
Very delicious!
Wonderful, Amanda! Sounds like you’ll be making this again. So glad!
How would this hold up as leftovers or as meal prep?
Hi Sherwood. Sorry I’m not able to get to questions as quickly as I like. This recipe will hold up a good 3- 4 days in the fridge in a tightly closed container.
This looks amazing! Do you think chick peas could be added? I will be trying this very soon.
Yes, you can definitely add chickpeas Mary! That would be great! I have another recipe for you that you might like. It’s a roasted cauliflower and chickpea stew. Here it is: https://www.themediterraneandish.com/chickpea-stew-and-cauliflower-recipe/ Enjoy!
I enjoy reading about world cuisines like this one! Such a delicious looking recipe.
Awesome! Thanks for stopping in.
I don’t think I know exactly what egyptian flavors are! love this vegan stew…need to try it soon!
I’m glad you stopped in then, Anjali! Thanks!
Such a beautiful stew! I love all the colors. Definitely need to try this at home.
Can’t wait to hear what you think! Enjoy!
I love how easy this looks! Yay for warm vegan comfort food 🙂
Super easy! Thanks so much, Sarah!
This looks like such a comforting dish, and if it’s mama’s recipe it’s going to be super duper awesome! 😀
It really is! Thank you, Joyce!