This simple fava bean soup is warm, comforting, and full of wholesome flavors. Made with canned fava beans and basic spices, it’s an easy, nourishing meal perfect for cozy lunches or light dinners. You can make it within 35 minutes!
There’s something truly comforting about a bowl of soup on a cozy day, when the weather calls for warm, soothing meals. Soups feel like a gentle hug, filling the kitchen with inviting aromas and making every sip satisfying.
This fava bean soup is simple yet rich in flavor, with creamy beans and mild spices coming together beautifully. It’s hearty without being heavy, making it perfect for both lunch and dinner.
What makes this soup special is how easy it is to prepare with everyday ingredients. Once you try it, you’ll want to make it again and again for its comforting taste and nourishing goodness.
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What's needed to make fava bean soup?
To make this canned fava bean soup Middle Eastern style, you will need the following simple ingredients:
Ingredient notes and substitute suggestions
- Fava beans: I have used canned fava beans. You can also cook dried fava beans at home and use them in the recipe. You can make this soup with other beans too like cannellini beans, kidney beans, black beans, garbanzo beans (chickpeas) etc.
- Onion: I have used red onion but white and yellow onion (brown onion) are fine too.
- Tomato: Use a juicy variety of tomatoes. Canned tomatoes are fine too.
- Tomato paste: It adds a rich flavor of tomatoes to the soup. Skip, if you don't have tomato paste. Just add 1-2 additional fresh tomatoes if you don't have tomato paste.
- Fresh garlic: I have added 4 large garlic cloves. You can add less for a milder garlic flavor. Garlic powder can also be used instead of fresh garlic.
- Lemon juice: Lemon juice adds a nice fresh flavor to the soup. You can use vinegar too but lemon juice gives better taste.
- Fresh herb: I have used my favorite herb cilantro for garnishing but you can add parsley too.
- Seasoning: To flavor the soup, I added cumin powder, dried red chili powder, dried oregano, salt, and ground black pepper. Feel free to use spices or seasonings of your choice.
- Olive: Use good quality extra virgin olive oil for more flavor and richness.
- Vegetable stock: Vegetable stock makes the soup more flavorful. but you can use water too. If you are using home cooked beans then use the water in which the beans were cooked, it will make the soup creamier and thicker.
Other ingredient details and nutritional information are shared in the recipe card.
How to make (step by step process)?
To make this fava bean soup, use the following easy step by step process given below:
Step 1: Heat oil in a large cooking pot. Add chopped onion and cook until the onion turns translucent.
Step 2: Add minced garlic and sauté for around 30 seconds.
Step 3: Add tomato paste, cumin powder, red chili powder, dried oregano, and ground black pepper. Sauté for another few seconds.
Step 4: Add chopped tomatoes and salt.
Step 5: Cook on medium heat until the tomatoes turn mushy and are no longer raw.
Steps 6 and 7: Add canned fava beans and cook for 2 minutes.
Step 8: Roughly mash the beans with a masher.
Step 9: Add vegetable stock.
Step 10: Cook for 10-12 minutes on medium heat. Turn off the heat.
Step 11: Add lemon juice and mix.
Step 12: Garnish with chopped cilantro.
Enjoy your delicious fava bean soup!
Serving fava bean soup
Serve this bean soup hot with a squeeze of fresh lemon and a drizzle of olive oil.
You can top it with cooked chickpeas, caramelized onions, croutons, or, pumpkin seeds.
This soup can be served with a side dish like warm pita bread, crusty sourdough, or any other toasted bread of choice. It can also be paired with a refreshing salad like Fattoush or Tabbouleh.
Storing, freezing, and reheating
To store, let the soup reach room temperature. Transfer to airtight containers and refrigerate. It will be fine for 3-4 days.
For freezing, transfer to batch size freezer safe containers or zip-lock bags and freeze for around 3 months.
Reheat on stove top over medium heat. Add little water or stock to adjust the consistency. Stir occasionally. If the soup is frozen, thaw it before reheating.
You can also microwave the soup in a microwave save container. Heat in intervals of 1-2 minutes until heated well. Keep on stirring in between.
Re-season while reheating, if required.
Recipe tips, tricks, and variation suggestions
- Instead of using canned beans, you can also cook dried beans from scratch and use them in the soup. However, remove the outer skin of the cooked fava beans before adding them to the soup.
- I prefer rinsing canned beans before using them in the soup but if you want, you can use the liquid of canned beans. Just add less vegetable stock if doing that.
- I roughly mash a portion of the beans and keep some whole beans too. If you prefer a creamy texture of soup, blend it completely using an immersion blender, stand blender, or food processor. You can also skip the step of mashing or blending the beans if you want to keep whole beans in the soup.
- Canned crushed or diced tomatoes can also be used in this recipe instead of fresh tomatoes.
- Coconut milk can also be added to this soup to make it creamier.
- For more nutritious and flavorful version, add vegetables like carrots, celery, bell pepper to the soup.
- For a spicier version, add chili flakes or drizzle some chili oil on top.
- Add a spoonful of tahini for a nutty creaminess.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, they are same. The difference is in the stage when the bean is harvested. Broad beans are harvested in the initial stage when the beans and pods are still fresh. Fava beans are harvested at a mature stage when the pods and plants turn dry.
No, they are different and they taste different too. Lima beans has a milder flavor than fava beans.
Yes, fresh fava bean soup can also be made following this recipe. The cooking time will increase if you use fresh favas instead of canned fava beans.
More easy soup recipes
Looking for more easy soup recipes for a cozy day? Don't miss to try out the following links:
More bean recipes
If you enjoyed this soup and looking for more bean recipe ideas, the following recipes are worth trying out:
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Recipe
Easy fava bean soup
Equipment
- 1 Large cooking pot
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Masher or blender
- Knife and chopping board
Ingredients
- 2 cans fava beans 450 grams each (drained weight-293 grams each)
- 1 medium red onion finely chopped
- 3-4 cloves of garlic minced
- 2 medium tomatoes finely chopped
- ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon red chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cups vegetable stock
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pot. Add chopped onion and cook until the onion turns translucent.
- Add minced garlic and saute for around 30 seconds.
- Add tomato paste, cumin powder, red chili powder, dried oregano, and ground black pepper. Saute for another few seconds.
- Add chopped tomatoes and salt. Cook on medium heat until the tomatoes turn mushy and are no longer raw.
- Add canned fava beans and cook for 2 minutes.
- Roughly mash the beans with a masher.
- Add vegetable stock and cook for 10-12 minutes on medium heat. Turn off the heat.
- Add lemon juice and chopped cilantro. Mix.
Video
Notes
- Instead of using canned beans, you can also cook dried beans from scratch and use them in the soup. However, remove the outer skin of the cooked fava beans before adding them to the soup.
- I prefer rinsing canned beans before using them in the soup but if you want, you can use the liquid of canned beans. Just add less vegetable stock if doing that.
- I roughly mash a portion of the beans and keep some whole beans too. If you prefer a creamy texture of soup, blend it completely using an immersion blender, stand blender, or food processor. You can also skip the step of mashing or blending the beans if you want to keep whole beans in the soup.
- Canned crushed or diced tomatoes can also be used in this recipe instead of fresh tomatoes.
- Coconut milk can also be added to this soup to make it creamier.
- For more nutritious and flavorful version, add vegetables like carrots, celery, bell pepper to the soup.
- For a spicier version, add chili flakes or drizzle some chili oil on top.
- Add a spoonful of tahini for a nutty creaminess.
- More recipe tips, tricks, and variation suggestions are shared in the post above.
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