At the end of the day, it’s just stewed dried fava beans. It’s a pretty humble dish. But ful medames comes together into a total showstopper when you spoon some mashed fava beans a bowl and add some lemon juice, olive oil, chopped herbs, chili, eggs, or whatever else you love. After all, ful is all about the toppings.
I started making ful medames for weekend brunches as a way to feed a crowd without overcommitting myself to the kitchen. And it worked great, because as it turns out, everyone loves a meal they can customize. And I get to hang out instead of frying eggs to order.
Jump to the recipe to hit the ground running, or read on for a list of some tips for success and a note on fava allergy.
Tips for ful medames success
1. Use baking soda for quick-cooking, fluffy beans.
Soaking dried fava beans with baking soda not only helps them cook faster, but also helps them cook up fluffier and softer. Just make sure to rinse them well after soaking so they don’t taste weirdly soapy.
2. Watch the pot carefully.
When you use this baking soda trick, fava beans can go from tender to mushy very quickly. Don’t overcook them or they will get a bit soggy instead of fluffy. But with ful medames, soggy actually isn’t the end of the world, so don’t stress if you take them a little too far. Overdone is better than unpleasantly mealy.
3. Don’t skip the garlic, oil, and herbs.
These are the only toppings that are pretty much mandatory (well, that and pita bread, if that counts as a topping). Garlic and parsley or cilantro brings freshness and oil brings richness, two qualities that cooked fava beans are lacking.
4. Have fun with the toppings!
You can use whatever you’d like for your ful medames. The list in the following recipe is not mandatory—pick a few things that sound good to you. It’s generally nice to pick one or two fresh-tasting things (e.g., tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, lemons), one or two creamy things (e.g. feta, eggs), and one or two bold things (e.g. spices, garlic, etc.). And don’t just stick to this list—feel free to get creative and use what you have.
allergy warning
Fava beans are a beloved ingredient in many parts of the world, but they’re not safe for everyone. There’s a genetic condition called G6PD deficiency (also sometimes referred to as favism) that can make it unsafe to eat certain foods, including fava beans. I’m not a medical professional, so if you’re unsure whether they’re safe for you or your guests, it’s worth doing a bit of research or checking with a healthcare provider.
And if you’d rather play it safe, you can absolutely make ful medames with something like black beans or chickpeas instead. It won’t be traditional, but it’ll still be hearty, comforting, and very good.
PrintFul Medames (with topping ideas)
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
For the beans:
- 2 quarts water
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 1/2 cup dried fava beans
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed through a press or finely minced
- 3/4 tsp salt, or to taste
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley or cilantro
Optional toppings (choose 2 to 3… or all 12!)
- Serve with pita Bread, warmed in the oven for a couple minutes (semi-mandatory, unless you hate bread)
- More garlic, crushed through a press or finely minced
- 1/2 of 1 red onion, thinly sliced or minced
- 2 lemons, sliced into wedges
- 3 soft or hard boiled eggs, cut into wedges or halves
- 3 medium tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 of 1 English cucumber or 3 Persian cucumbers, diced
- 8 to 10 radishes, thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lightly toasted cumin
- 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
- 8 ounces feta (can also use 1 cup labneh or yogurt)
- More parsley or cilantro
Instructions
- Pour the water and baking soda over the dried fava beans and stir until the baking soda dissolves. Let them soak overnight.*
- The next morning, drain away the soaking water and cover the fava beans by a few inches of water in a medium stock pot or skillet. Bring the water to a boil, and then lower the heat and simmer the fava beans for about 35 minutes, until they’re very soft (keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t disintegrate completely). If you don’t use baking soda or if your beans are old, they’ll take longer to cook.
- While the beans are cooking, prep the toppings.
- Once the beans are very soft, strain them in a colander.
- Place the now empty pot back over medium heat and let it heat for a couple minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and add the garlic. Cook and stir over medium heat for 30 seconds, and then return the beans to the pot with the garlic and mash them up with the salt. Add one or two tablespoons of water if the beans are too thick (they will thicken a little more as they cool).
- Drizzle the beans with more extra virgin olive oil, and top with parsley or cilantro.
- Have guests build their own bowls, starting with the beans, then piling on their favorite toppings.
Notes
* If you don’t have time to let them soak overnight, you can cook them right from dry. It will just take a lot longer on the stove.
2025 update: This recipe was originally published on 10 January 2018, but I recently made a few changes and updated it. The recipe is now much more streamlined and easier to follow (this was my 100th recipe at the time 🥳 but I still had a lot to learn!). The actual recipe itself is still pretty much the same, so if you’ve been making it for years, don’t worry. It’s just a lot easier to follow now.
Delicious and super easy. I prepared this with our favorite toppings, basically all the ones in the recipe. Served with tortilla bread since we had that at home instead of pita and it was a whole, wonderful, meal. It’s amazing. I make all kinds of bean dishes and this is one of our favorites now. I’ll try the fresh fava beans recipe when I get my hands on those. Thank you!!
Aw thank you so much Esra, I’m so glad you guys enjoyed it!! ❤️