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Top down view of butter bean stew in tomato sauce in white pot with black spoon.
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Polish Butter Bean Stew (Fasolka po Bretońsku)

Polish butter bean stew is made with tender butter/lima beans, smoked sausage and pork belly cooked in a rich tomato sauce with herbs and spices. It is a simple, hearty, delicious dish perfect to make ahead and serve as a family meal or party dish.
Course Main, Side
Cuisine Polish
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 392kcal
Author Monika Dabrowski

Equipment

  • Large non-stick pan
  • Strainer
  • Medium sized pot

Ingredients

  • 2 cans butter beans see *Notes
  • 5.29 ounces Polish smoked kielbasa cut into small cubes
  • 5.29 ounces smoked pork belly side cut into small cubes, see Ingredients in post for substitutions
  • 1 onion finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
  • 1½ cups water
  • ¾ cup passata
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon oil any
  • 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
  • 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 allspice berries or ⅕ tsp ground
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt and pepper to taste
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Prepare beans: Rinse the beans under cold water and set aside.
  • Brown meats: To a large non-stick pan add the oil, cubed kiełbasa and pork belly and fry over a medium heat for several minutes until lightly browned stirring often (be careful not to brown these too much). Transfer to a bowl leaving the fat in the pan.
  • Cook onion: To the same pan add the onion, bay leaf and allspice berries and cook gently for about 5 minutes until softened stirring often. After about 4 minutes add the garlic.
  • Assemble: To a medium sized pot add the beans, meats and onion mixture. Next add the water, passata, tomato paste, herbs, paprika, salt and pepper.
  • Cook: Cover and bring to the boil then simmer gently for about 35 minutes stirring occasionally (make sure the mixture doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan). Remove from the heat, adjust the flavour or add a little more water, if needed, then serve.

Notes

  • The tomato sauce in this dish is quite thick, but you can adjust the consistency by adding more water or passata (you may also need to add more spices and seasoning).
  • *The canned beans I used weighed 14.11oz/400g each. If you use larger cans increase the amounts of water, passata and herbs (you can adjust this once the dish is cooked to ensure you don’t add too much).
  • Polish butter beans with kiełbasa taste just as delicious the next day and can be refrigerated for up to 4 days. The mixture will thicken over time so you may need to add a little water when reheating it.
  • Freeze for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 392kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 1137mg | Potassium: 1177mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 621IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 5mg