Cook With Ido

Middle Eastern Libyan Beginner

Libyan Overnight Beef and White Bean Stew (T’bicha)

(beef bones, white beans, and eggs baked low and slow until morning)

I
By Ido
· August 2026 · ★ Rate this recipe

T’bicha (also spelled tabikha or t’becha) is the Libyan Jewish word for a slow-cooked pot, and in my house it means one specific dish: beef on the bone, white beans, potatoes, and whole eggs, sealed tight and left in a low oven overnight. It’s the weekend pot that fills the house with a smell you can’t get any other way, and it’s the one dish my two year old points at the oven for. The beans cook down into a thick, almost gelatinous gravy from the bone marrow, and the eggs turn a deep tan and creamy inside. If you like this kind of hands-off long braise, my beef goulash works on a similar principle.

Prep
20
min
Cook
6-8
hrs
Serves
4-6
people
Level
Beginner
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Overhead close-up of Libyan tbicha beef and white bean stew steaming in a pot, deep red-brown gravy with beans and beef visible

This Libyan beef and white bean stew turns deep red-brown, with meltingly tender beef and beans gone thick and gelatinous after hours in a low oven

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Why This Libyan Beef and White Bean Stew Works

T’bicha is a category of Libyan Jewish stews rather than one fixed dish. Ask a family from Tripoli what tbicha means and they’ll ask you which one, tomato-based, beet-based, this Libyan beef and white bean stew. What they all share is the technique: everything goes into one pot, gets sealed tight, and cooks low and slow until it can’t be rushed any further.

This version leans on beef marrow bones for the gelatin that turns the cooking liquid into a thick, rich gravy, and on the eggs for a texture you don’t get anywhere else, closer to a soft-set custard than a boiled egg, from sitting in that gravy for hours. The white beans go in dried and soaked, never canned, because they need the full cook time to absorb the paprika and cumin and turn silky rather than mushy.

The other thing that makes this work is the seal. Parchment paper, then foil, then a tight-fitting oven-safe lid, so that almost no liquid escapes over 6 to 8 hours. Open the pot too early or too often and you lose the steam that’s doing all the work.

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Why the eggs go in wrapped
Wrapping the eggs loosely in parchment before setting them on top keeps the shells from cracking against the beans and bones as the pot cooks. It also means they poach gently in the steam rather than sitting directly in the liquid, so they hold their shape and come out with that soft, custardy texture instead of turning rubbery.
Overhead flatlay of tbicha ingredients including beef cubes, beef marrow bones, dried white beans, potato, white onion, garlic, eggs, and a small bowl of spices
Everything the pot needs: beef, marrow bones, white beans, potato, onion, garlic, and eggs

How to Make Libyan Beef and White Bean Stew, Step by Step

1
Soak the beans the day before
  • Cover the dried white beans in plenty of water and let them soak for 8-12 hours, or overnight.
  • Drain fully before using. Skipping the soak means the beans won’t fully soften even after hours in the oven.
2
Brown the beef and bones
  • Cut the beef into large cubes and separate it from the bone if it came as one piece.
  • In a very large pot that’s oven-safe, heat oil over high heat and add the beef cubes and marrow bones.
  • Let them brown on all sides without moving them too much. Salt generously at this point.
  • Take the meat and bones out and set aside.
Beef cubes and marrow bones searing and browning in a large pot with oil, steam rising
Brown the beef and bones alone first, this is where a lot of the flavor comes from
3
Fry the onion, garlic, and potato with the meat
  • In the same pot, add the roughly chopped onion, whole garlic cloves, and the potato cubes, cut roughly the same size as the beef.
  • Return the browned beef and bones to the pot and let everything cook together for a few minutes over high heat.
Beef cubes, marrow bones, potato cubes, and onion pieces frying together in a large pot
Onion, garlic, and potato go in with the browned meat and bones
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4
Add the beans and spices
  • Add the drained, soaked beans to the pot along with the paprika, cumin, chicken powder, and salt.
  • Mix everything together well, so the spices coat the beans, meat, potato, and onion evenly. You’ll see the whole pot turn a deep reddish color.
Soaked white beans in a pot with a pile of paprika and minced garlic sitting on top, not yet mixed in
Beans go in first, then the spices pile on top before mixing
Beef, beans, potato, and onion mixed together in a pot, all coated in a deep reddish paprika color
Once mixed, the paprika turns the whole pot a deep rust color
5
Add water and bring to a boil
  • Pour in enough water (or chicken stock) to cover everything generously, with a little extra on top.
  • Bring the pot to a light boil on the stovetop before moving on to the next step.
Water being poured into a pot of beef, white beans, potato, and onion coated in paprika
Cover everything generously, the beans and long oven time will need every bit of that liquid
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Don’t be shy with the liquid
Once the pot is sealed, it won’t get opened again for hours. Make sure the water level is generous before you seal it, everything should be fully submerged with room to spare. There’s no topping it up halfway through an overnight bake.
6
Add the eggs and seal the pot
  • Wrap the eggs loosely in parchment paper and set them gently on top of the stew, no need to submerge them.
  • Cover the pot with a layer of parchment paper, then aluminum foil, then an oven-safe lid, so no steam can escape during cooking.
Two eggs wrapped in parchment paper sitting on top of the boiling beef and white bean stew, ready to be sealed and put in the oven
Eggs go on top, wrapped in parchment, right before the pot gets sealed
7
Bake low and slow
  • Put the sealed pot into a preheated oven set to 100-120°C (210-250°F).
  • Leave it for 6-8 hours. I usually put it in before bed and let it go overnight.
  • Resist opening the pot during cooking. The seal is what keeps everything submerged and cooking evenly.
Tips for a Perfect Pot
  • 🍲 Use a genuinely large pot: Beans expand as they cook and the liquid needs room. A pot that looks too big at the start is usually the right size.
  • 🔥 Don’t skip the sear: Browning the beef and bones first builds a base flavor that a straight simmer never gets to. Give it the full few minutes on high heat.
  • 🧂 Salt while browning, not just at the end: Salting the meat as it browns seasons it from the inside out over the long cook, rather than sitting on the surface.
  • 🚪 Keep the lid on: Every time the pot opens, steam and heat escape and the cook time resets a little. Trust the seal and check it only once you’re ready to serve.
Spoon lifting tender beef, white beans, and a parchment-wrapped egg out of the finished tbicha stew
Ready to serve, the beans have turned thick and the beef falls apart at a touch
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How to Serve Libyan Beef and White Bean Stew

Unwrap the eggs and slice or halve them over the top of each bowl. Ladle the beef, beans, potato, and gravy generously, there should be plenty of that thick, rich liquid to go around. A pile of good crusty bread on the side is really all this dish needs, for mopping up the gravy at the end. It also works spooned over rice or couscous if you want something more filling.

Frequently Asked Questions

Tbicha (also written t’bicha, tabikha, or t’becha) is Libyan Jewish for a slow-cooked pot. It’s not one fixed recipe, it’s a whole family of long-braised stews, some tomato-based, some beet-based, and this Libyan beef and white bean stew. What ties them together is the method, not a single ingredient list.
I’d stick with dried, soaked beans for this one. Canned beans are already fully cooked, so 6-8 hours in the oven turns them to mush and they won’t hold up against the meat and potato. Dried beans need that long cook time to get to the thick, silky texture that makes this dish what it is.
They’re not strictly required, but they do a lot of work here. The marrow melts into the gravy over the long cook and is a big part of what makes the liquid so thick and rich. If you can’t find them, the dish still works, just expect a slightly lighter gravy. Beef shank often comes with bone attached, which covers the same job.
You can shorten it on the stovetop at a low simmer with the lid on, checking the liquid level occasionally, which usually takes 3-4 hours instead. It won’t develop quite the same depth as the full overnight oven bake, but it’s a reasonable weeknight version if you plan ahead and soak the beans the day before.
The parchment keeps the shells from cracking against the beans and bones while everything shifts around during the long cook, and it lets the eggs poach gently in the steam rather than sitting directly in the boiling liquid. The result is a soft, custardy egg rather than a rubbery one.
It keeps well in the fridge for up to 4 days, and honestly tastes even better the next day once the flavors have settled. Reheat gently on the stovetop over low heat with a splash of water if the gravy has thickened too much in the fridge. It also freezes well for up to 3 months, minus the eggs, which are better added fresh if you’re freezing a batch.

Drop a comment below and let me know how this Libyan beef and white bean stew turned out for you. If you’re building out a Middle Eastern spread, my stuffed zucchini and chicken bone broth both fit the same slow, comforting mood as this one.

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