Bigilla

Name: Bigilla
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 1 h 40 min
Ingredients: 250 g fava beans (dried); 3 cloves garlic, crushed; 4 tbsp olive oil; 1 tbsp lemon juice; ½ tsp red chilli flakes; 3 tbsp parsley, chopped; 1 tbsp mint, chopped; 1 tsp salt; ¼ tsp black pepper

Vegetarian

A rustic Maltese dip of mashed dried broad beans with garlic, chilli, olive oil and fresh herbs, eaten with galletti crackers or bread.

Bigilla is a Maltese dip from Malta, ready in about 1 hour 40 minutes and made with fava beans (dried), garlic and olive oil. It serves 6 and is rated beginner to cook.

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No licensed photograph of this dish yet.

Prep: 10 min
Cook: 1 h 30 min
Total: 1 h 40 min
Serves: 6
Level: Beginner
Calories: 226

Plus overnight soaking of the beans.

Ingredients

6 servings

250 g Fava beans (dried) (opens in a new tab)Small brown dried broad beans (ful ta' Ġirba) are traditional; soak overnight.
3 cloves (12 g) Garlic (opens in a new tab), crushed
4 tbsp (54 g) Olive oil (opens in a new tab)
1 tbsp (15 g) Lemon juice (opens in a new tab)
½ tsp (1 g) Red chilli flakes (opens in a new tab)
3 tbsp (11 g) Parsley (opens in a new tab), chopped
1 tbsp (1.5 g) Mint (opens in a new tab), chopped
1 tsp (6 g) Salt (opens in a new tab)
¼ tsp (0.5 g) Black pepper (opens in a new tab)

Equipment

Method

1
Step 1
Soak the beans overnight in plenty of cold water. Drain, cover with fresh water and simmer until very soft, 1–1½ hours. Drain, keeping a little cooking water.
- 90 min
- low heat
- Saucepan (opens in a new tab)
2
Step 2
Mash or pulse the beans with the garlic (opens in a new tab), most of the olive oil (opens in a new tab), the lemon juice (opens in a new tab), chilli, salt and pepper (opens in a new tab), adding cooking water until spreadable but still textured.
- 5 min
- Food processor (opens in a new tab)
How it looks · Photo: Mateusz Feliksik on Pexels
3
Step 3
Stir in the herbs, spoon into a bowl and finish with the rest of the oil.
- 2 min

About this dish

Origin: Malta · Well documentedMore food from Malta
Dish: Snack · Dips & spreads · Appetizers & starters
Cooking method: Boiled, Blended
Taste: earthy, garlicky, spicy (chilli heat)
Diet: Vegan · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb · High-fibre
All labels
Vegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Whole-food focused · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Mediterranean-style · Low-carb · High-fibre · DASH-style · Carb-conscious
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for: Budget-friendly · Make-ahead · Meal-prep friendly
Cook more with: Fava beans (dried) · Garlic · Lemon juice · Red chilli flakes · Parsley · Mint
Techniques: Boiling · Simmering · Wet grinding · Emulsification

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens appear in the listed ingredients.

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

226 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 108 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

Protein 19%
Carbohydrate 44%
Fat 37%

Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
Nutrient	Per serving	Per 100 g
Energy	226 kcal	209 kcal
Protein	11.1 g	10.3 g
Carbohydrate	25.4 g	23.5 g
Net carbohydrate	14.8 g	13.7 g
Sugars	2.5 g	2.3 g
Added sugars	0 g	0 g
Fibre	10.6 g	9.8 g
Fat	9.7 g	8.9 g
Saturated fat	1.4 g	1.3 g
Trans fat	—	—
Cholesterol	0 mg	0 mg
Sodium	396 mg	365 mg
Salt equivalent	1 g	0.9 g

Vitamins & minerals per serving

Potassium: 469 mg
Calcium: 51 mg
Iron: 3 mg
Magnesium: 82 mg
Vitamin A (RAE): 13 µg
Vitamin C: 5 mg
Vitamin D: 0 µg
Vitamin B12: 0 µg
Folate (DFE): 180 µg

How these numbers were made

Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
Red chilli flakes: Ground cayenne (FDC 170932) used as a stand-in for dried chilli flakes such as pul biber or Aleppo pepper.
“—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Serve with

Serve with galletti water crackers or crusty bread as part of a Maltese platter.

Storage

Keeps 4 days refrigerated.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added 27 Oct 2026 · Updated 8 Nov 2026

Goes with

Ftira biż-żejt

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Customise in Sauce & DrizzleCompare with

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Fava beans (dried)250 g
Garlic, crushed3 clove · 12 g
Lemon juice1 tbsp · 15 g

Used in steps 1, 2

Make it milder, swap ingredients for your diet, change the batch size or thickness — the original stays as it is.

Customise in Sauce & Drizzle

Reviews & corrections

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