This loubia recipe is an easy-to-make version of stewed Moroccan beans. Made with canned white beans, it’s the perfect side dish or starter to accompany Moroccan cuisine or roasted meats. It’s also entirely vegan and made in less than 30 minutes.
Recipe Stats
Traditional Moroccan | Less Than 30 Minutes | Vegan | One Pot Meal
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Tools For This Recipe:
- UnoCasa Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven – Good quality dutch oven at a great price and the perfect size for soups and stews. Buy direct from UnoCas here.
- Zulay Premium Garlic Press – I prefer to mince or press garlic so that it blends better and there aren’t big pieces of garlic in the final stew.
What Is Moroccan Loubia
We traveled to Morocco in 2019 and fell in love with the cuisine. As much as there is a lot of chicken and lamb served in Morocco, some of the best Moroccan dishes included beans and lentils. One of my favorites was Moroccan loubia, which I ordered every chance I could.
Loubia is a Moroccan bean stew. It is a white bean stew made with tomatoes, garlic, spices like cumin, and sometimes a little spicy chili. It can be found on Moroccan restaurant menus but can also sometimes be found as street food, particularly in colder weather.
Since returning from Morocco, we’ve been constantly seeking out and testing easy Moroccan recipes. Moroccan beans is now a staple recipe for us because it’s so easy to prepare.
Check out some of our other Moroccan recipes:
Moroccan Pumpkin Soup With Chickpeas
Harissa-Spiked Moroccan Stew With Pumpkin And Chickpeas
Vegan Moroccan Red Lentil Soup
How To Make White Beans
We love cooking with white beans (also known as cannellini beans). I find I can add white beans to so many recipes to add a little bulk, to stretch ingredients, or to replace or supplement meat. I find it easiest to use canned white beans, but you can use dry white beans too.
In order to use dried white beans in this stewed beans recipe, soak the beans overnight or for at least 8 hours. Drain and rinse the beans a few times before cooking.
Cook the beans in at least two cups of vegetable broth and increase the cooking time. It will take about 45-60 minutes for the dried beans to cook fully and become tender.
That’s why I like cooking canned beans. It makes this an easy Moroccan white beans recipe that is finished in less than 30 minutes.
Ingredients For This Moroccan Bean Recipe
Many of the ingredients for this stewed bean recipe are pantry staples. Fresh diced tomatoes, diced yellow onion, and garlic cloves are cooked in olive oil. (You can substitute a cup of canned, diced tomatoes and a teaspoon each of onion powder and garlic powder).
Try to dice the onions as small as you can so that they sort of melt into the stew. I like to use a garlic press too so that there aren’t big chunks of garlic in the stew. Try the Zulay stainless steel garlic press, which is easy to use. There’s no need to even peel the garlic ahead of time.
When using canned white beans, be sure to place them in a colander and rinse them in cool water.
Adding Spices To White Beans
The spices for this recipe include cumin, turmeric, and sweet or spicy paprika, depending on your tastes. Cumin is in almost every Moroccan recipe. It’s even placed on the table along with salt for people to add into their meals. Cumin provides an earthy almost nutty flavor to a dish.
Turmeric adds a nice color to the stew as well. Crushed red pepper adds a little bit of heat without making the stew spicy. Loubia, like most Moroccan cuisine, is not all that spicy. It’s always flavorful, but normally the spice would come from the addition of Moroccan chili paste served alongside.
Do you like cooking with turmeric? Check out our recipe for Golden Turmeric Hummus Recipe With Creamy Coconut.
Other Ingredients For This Loubia Recipe
The beans and spices cook in just a bit of vegetable broth. If you are not a vegetarian, chicken broth can also be used. You don’t want to use so much vegetable broth that the stew becomes a soup. Instead, use just enough to allow the beans to cook without burning.
At the end, I like to use just a bit of tomato paste, to add a bit of acidity and color. I like to use concentrated tomato paste, which I keep in a tube in the house. By keeping tomato paste in a tube, I can use a little at a time without having to open a can for each recipe. You can buy concentrated tomato paste on Amazon here.
How To Make Moroccan Stewed Beans
This stewed beans recipe is so easy! It’s almost foolproof.
Warm a medium-sized dutch oven or large saucepan over medium-high heat. Once warm, add the olive oil. When the olive oil is warm, add the onion and garlic. Cook 2-3 minutes until the onion and garlic starts to soften.
Add the fresh, diced tomatoes and coat them in the olive oil. Add the cumin, turmeric, paprika, salt, and pepper. Coat the onion, garlic, and tomatoes in the spices. Adding the spices to the olive oil before the main ingredients helps to infuse the flavor and aroma of the seasoning into the stew.
Cook another 2-3 minutes to infuse the ingredients with the spices. Add the rinsed and drained white beans and toss to coat. Add the vegetable broth, stir, and cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the beans are warmed through. There’s no need to cook for longer than 10 minutes because the beans will start to get too soft.
Add a squeeze of tomato paste and a little crushed red pepper. Stir and then taste. Adjust the seasoning as needed. Remember to start with a little red pepper if you are sensitive to spice. It’s easier to add more than to take away the spice once it’s there.
How To Serve Loubia
Moroccan stews are generally not served over rice or with rice like other cuisines. Instead, everything is served with bread and lots of it. Any crusty bread will work, like a crusty baguette or sourdough bread.
This recipe is enough for two servings of Moroccan bean stew with bread. Or, loubia is often served as a starter or side dish along with other vegetable stews and salads. If served as a side dish, this recipe is enough for four servings.
Top the stew with freshly chopped cilantro or parsley to add a bit of color. Or, sprinkle with a but of crushed red pepper.
Loubia Recipe - Stewed Moroccan Beans
This loubia recipe is an easy-to-make version of stewed Moroccan beans. Made with canned white beans, it’s the perfect side dish or starter to accompany Moroccan cuisine or roasted meats. It’s also entirely vegan.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 6 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
- 3 tomatoes, diced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 15 ounce can of white beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
Instructions
- Warm a medium-sized dutch oven or large saucepan over medium-high heat. Once warm, add olive oil.
- When the olive oil is warm, add the onion and garlic. Cook 2-3 minutes until they start to soften.
- Add tomatoes and coat in the olive oil.
- Add the cumin, turmeric, paprika, salt, and pepper.
- Coat the onion, garlic, and tomatoes in the spices. Cook another 2-3 minutes.
- Add the rinsed and drained white beans and toss to coat.
- Add the vegetable broth, stir, and cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the beans are warmed through.
- Add tomato paste and crushed red pepper.
- Stir and then taste. Adjust the seasoning as needed.
- Serve with crusty bread or topped with fresh cilantro or parsley.
Notes
This recipe makes four servings as a side dish or two servings as a main course.
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Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 253Total Fat 8gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 0mgSodium 496mgCarbohydrates 37gFiber 10gSugar 4gProtein 12g
This nutritional data is provided by a third-party source and should not be relied on if you are on a strict diet.
Modifications And Variations For This Loubia Recipe
We love cooking with harissa. Harissa is a spicy Morocca chili paste. I like the harissa by Mina, which you can buy on Amazon here.
As much as harissa is not normally added to an authentic loubia recipe, it’s a perfect addition if you like heat. Add a tablespoon either while the white beans stew or serve the beans with a dollop of harissa on the top.
