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Broad beans (fresh or frozen)

Vegetables · Pods, beans & sprouts

Broad beans (fresh or frozen)

Fresh or frozen green broad (fava) beans, podded and often skinned, for salads, dips, risottos and stews.

Also called: fresh fava beans, frozen broad beans, gaardebounen, dicke bohnen, favas

Around the world: Gaardebounen (lb) · Dicke Bohnen, Saubohnen (de) · favas (pt) · habas tiernas (es)

A kind of fava beans (dried)

2 recipes with it

Photo: Unknown author, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-4.0)

What it is

Broad beans are the flat, pale-green seeds from large, fuzzy-lined pods. Young beans are sweet and tender; older ones have a tough grey-green skin that is slipped off after blanching to reveal bright-green beans. Dried fava beans are a separate pantry pulse used for ful medames and falafel.

Vicia faba

How it’s used

  • Blanched and skinned for salads
  • Mashed with mint and lemon on toast
  • Stewed with artichokes and dill
  • Stirred into risotto and pasta
  • Luxembourg gaardebounen with bacon

Characteristics

Taste
Sweet, nutty and grassy.
Texture
Creamy and tender once skinned.
When cooked
Cook a few minutes; the skins loosen after blanching and pop off easily.
Sold as
fresh, frozen
Cooking uses
Commonly cooked, Suitable for boiling

Storage

Frozen. Keep frozen beans frozen; fresh beans in pods are best refrigerated and used within a couple of days.

Diet, allergens and safety

No major allergens in typical versions.

  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Dairy-free
  • Egg-free
  • Gluten-free
  • Nut-free
  • Soy-free
  • Caffeine-free
  • People with G6PD deficiency can have a serious reaction (favism) to fava beans.

Nutrition per 100 g

Energy
72 kcal
Protein
5.6 g
Carbohydrate
11.7 g
Fat
0.6 g
Fibre
4.2 g
Sugars
— g

USDA FoodData Central: Broadbeans, immature seeds, raw.

Substitutes

Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.

Related ingredients

Recipes with broad beans (fresh or frozen)

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