Fresh Fava Beans Recipe

Do you know how to cook fava beans (broad beans)? Here is a super easy recipe that you can enjoy with the fresh fava beans. It is buttery, sweet and a little spicy. Serve it as an appetizer with some crusty bread on the side.

If fava beans are new to you, you might first want to learn what are they. They are a type of legume and come in various forms. You can find them in two forms: Dried fava beans and fresh or green fava beans.

The season of fresh fava beans is very short, you can only find them in the early spring. But you can enjoy dried fava beans any time of the year.

Spring means several vegetarian dishes for us. One of our favorites is made with fresh fava beans.

Towards the end of the season, fava beans inside the pod get larger. We remove the beans from the pod and cook an amazing side dish: Sauteed fava beans.

Why Should You Make This Recipe?

• This is a very easy recipe with a few ingredients.
• It is healthy and packed with fiber, vitamins and nutrition.
• You will feel the special taste of fresh fava beans in the most delicious way.
• You can serve it as a side dish or use it on your toast for a quick lunch.

About The Ingredients

This is a very easy recipe as long as you can find fresh favas. So let’s see what ingredients we need.

• Fresh fava beans: Buy them in their pods if you can find. They are the tastiest ones. You will remove the beans from the pod and peel their skin. 2 pounds of fava beans with pods make about 1 cup of shelled beans. Alternatively, you can use frozen fresh fava beans, which are already podded.
• Onion: The sweetness of onion matches perfectly with the sweet and earthy taste of favas. 
• Olive oil: This is the ingredient that gives the Mediterranean touch to any dish. So use a generous amount of it. The taste goes really well with the nutty taste of fava beans.
• Fresh dill: The tangy taste of dill matches well with favas and adds a refreshing touch on them. You can use parsley too.
• Red pepper flakes or crushed chili: We only use them as a garnish, but they give a nice kick on the mild fava beans. 

Step-By-Step Instructions

Cooking fava beans is extremely easy to do and worth the effort. This fava bean recipe uses simple fragrant ingredients to help elevate the natural flavor of the broad beans. 

The fresh broad beans need some preparation before the cooking process. So let’s start with preparing the beans.

Shelling Fresh Broad Beans

There are two peeling steps for fava beans: Remove the beans from their pod and then remove the shell from beans.

1. Cut ends and pull down the tiny string to unzip the seam of each bean. Then remove all of the beans from their pods. 
2. Make a small slit on each bean. Fill a saucepan with boiling water and salt. Stir to dissolve all the salt before adding the beans. Allow them to soak in this hot salty water for about 10 minutes. This will soften the outer skins and make it easier to peel.
3. After 10 minutes, drain and peel the shells by pinching each bean between your thumb and forefinger. Put the bright green fava beans in a bowl. You can make a fava bean salad with these or use them in soups, stews, pasta dishes or risottos. But today we will use them to make a very easy fava bean recipe.

Alternative blanching method: This is a more common method that is used for blanching any vegetable. Bring a pot of salty water to a boil. Add the beans into the boiling water and cook for 3-5 minutes or until tender. Then, using a slotted spoon, immediately transfer these beans into a bowl of ice water. Let them sit there for about 5 minutes and drain. 

Peel the outer skins. Take a bean between your fingers and gently squeeze the bean to remove it from the tough skin. If you cut a slit on each bean before blanching, it is super easy. But if you haven’t done so, you can use your nail to start the peeling and then pop them out of their skin.

Tip: If you buy frozen fava beans from the store, they are probably peeled and you won’t need any of those steps above.

Cooking Them

1. Heat olive oil in a pan and sauté the onions and garlic over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the onions become translucent.
2. Add the shelled fava beans and cook them for about 5 minutes.
3. Add in the salt, sugar, and water, and continue cooking the beans for about 20 minutes.
4. Cool and garnish the beans. Remove the cooked fava beans from the heat and allow them to cool slightly. Add some freshly chopped dill and stir it in well. Serve with red pepper flakes, fresh dill, and some refreshing lemon slices.

Variations

With Tomatoes: Add some tomatoes into the pot and cook together with the onions. Then add the beans and cook everything until tender. This can be served as a light lunch.

Green Fava Hummus: You can turn this fava bean recipe into a green hummus.  Puree the cooked onions and fava beans in a food processor. You can also add in cumin and garlic. Garnish with a drizzle or olive oil, fresh mint or fresh dill. Serve with chips, pita on the side.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you eat the shell of fava beans?

The shell of fava beans is edible and actually quite delicious when they are young. We’d only recommend eating the shells of younger and smaller fava beans as the larger beans have that tough skin.

What do fava beans taste like?

Fava beans have a very similar texture and flavor to lima beans (butter beans). Fava beans however are much more flavorful!

They have distinct nutty and earthy flavors with subtle hints of sweetness. Some beans also have a slightly bitter taste to them (usually the larger beans) and some even say they can taste the cheese.

Are there any substitutes for fresh fava beans?

Although the taste won’t be the same, you can substitute peas or edamame for fresh fava beans.

Can you freeze raw fava beans?

It is best to rinse and blanch them before freezing them. Make sure to pat dry the blanched beans before placing them in an airtight container and freezing them for up to 12 months.

You can freeze raw beans, but we wouldn’t recommend it as the texture will completely change and the tough skin will be much harder to remove later!