Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Pasulj (Serbian Bean Stew)
Slow-cooked white beans with smoked pork, onion and paprika, finished with a fried-onion and paprika roux (zaprska) that gives the stew its deep colour and flavour.
Serbian · easy · serves 6
prep 20 min · cook 150 min
~487 cal · 30g protein · 53g carbs · 17g fat · 13g fiber · 4g sugars · 4g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Pasulj is Serbia's great everyday bean dish, so central that Serbians say "prosto ko pasulj", meaning "as simple as beans", when something is easy. It is a thick stew of white beans slow-cooked with smoked pork until the broth turns deep and smoky, and it is often called the country's national dish in all but name, eaten at home, in taverns and once famously in army kitchens as vojnicki pasulj, "soldier's beans".
The beans are soaked, then simmered with smoked ribs, sausage or bacon, onion, garlic, carrot, paprika and bay until tender. What sets the Serbian version apart is the zaprska: a of deeply caramelised onion, flour and paprika fried in oil, then whisked into the pot near the end, giving the stew its nutty depth and rich red-orange colour.
Hearty, cheap and better the next day, pasulj is cold-weather comfort food, and in its meatless form it is also a staple of Orthodox fasting tables.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally dairy-, egg- and nut-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
1 lb dried white beans (such as cannellini or great northern), soaked overnight
300 g smoked pork ribs, sausage or bacon
2 onions (1 for the stew, 1 for the )
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, diced
2 bay leaf
1/4 cup sunflower oil
1 tbsp plain flour (for the zaprska )
2 tbsp sweet paprika
to taste salt and pepper
Instructions
1
Drain the soaked beans, cover with fresh water, bring to a boil for a few minutes, then drain again.
2
Return the beans to the pot with fresh water, the smoked meat, one diced onion, the garlic, carrot and bay. Simmer gently for 1.5 to 2 hours until the beans are tender, topping up with water as needed.
✎ Chef’s note
Add salt only once the beans are soft, or they can stay tough.
3
If using ribs, lift out the meat, shred it off the bone and return it to the pot.
4
Make the zaprska: fry the second, finely diced onion in the oil until deep golden, about 12-15 minutes, stir in the flour for a minute, then take off the heat and stir in the paprika.
5
Whisk a ladle of hot bean broth into the roux, then stir it all back into the pot and simmer 15 minutes more.
6
Season with salt and pepper and serve hot with bread; like most bean stews, it is even better the next day.
Serbian home and tavern tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Šumadija (Belgrade). Autumn is when the year's condiments are made. Roasted red peppers are peeled and cooked down into ajvar in quantities meant to last until spring, plums go into rakija, and the pig is killed later in the season. The grill and the table follow that rhythm for the rest of the year.
🗺️
Serbia. Serbian cooking is generous and grill-loving, ćevapi, stuffed cabbage (sarma), grilled meats, and rich ajvar pepper relish. Balkan, Ottoman, and Central European roots meet over bread, cheese, and rakija.
🌍
Europe. Europe has written a great deal of its food into law. A regulation of 1992 created the protected designation of origin and the protected geographical indication, tying a name to a place and a method, and an EU evaluation published in 2021 counted more than three thousand registered names across those schemes, from cheeses and hams down to particular shapes of bread.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Serbia
Sarma (Sour Cabbage Rolls)Sour-cabbage leaves rolled around spiced meat and rice, braised low over smoked ribs, the dish that anchors every Serbian slava.
ProjaA crumbly Serbian cornbread studded with white cheese, baked until golden and eaten with kajmak.
Karađorđeva ŠniclaA breaded, rolled veal or pork cutlet stuffed with rich kajmak, sliced to reveal a molten centre, a Serbian showpiece.
Browse all Serbia recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan, Whisk.
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Pasulj (Serbian Bean Stew)?
Slow-cooked white beans with smoked pork, onion and paprika, finished with a fried-onion and paprika roux (zaprska) that gives the stew its deep colour and flavour.
Where does Pasulj (Serbian Bean Stew) come from?
Pasulj (Serbian Bean Stew) is a Serbian dish from Šumadija (Belgrade), Serbia.
Can Pasulj (Serbian Bean Stew) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Pasulj (Serbian Bean Stew) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Pasulj (Serbian Bean Stew) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Pasulj (Serbian Bean Stew) take to make?
About 170 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 150 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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