A Moroccan comfort food classic! This Moroccan white bean stew is naturally vegan, gluten-free, and features simple ingredients. Made in one pot, this stew is perfect for a hearty weeknight meal.
Loubia – Moroccan white bean stew
Loubia – which means beans in Arabic- is a delicious and spicy North African white bean stew. It’s warm, comforting, and full of flavors.
This dish can be prepared in a variety of ways, depending on the region/ family recipes but the base is usually the same.
This version is about as simple as it gets, made in one-pot, using simple ingredients, you probably already have right now.
How to make this Moroccan white bean stew:
It starts with an aromatic blend of onions, garlic sautéed with salt and pepper. Add in the blend of spices, including cumin, paprika, ground ginger, chili flakes, a bay leaf, and turmeric.
Sautéed at the beginning, the spices release all of their incredible flavors into a fragrant sauce.
Then crushed tomato and tomato paste are added.
Once the aromatic base is ready, it’s a matter of adding your white beans (fresh/dried; see notes) coating them in the flavored sauce, adding broth, and simmering until ready! Finally, add preserved lemon (if using) or lemon juice for extra tanginess.
This is the perfect meal for colder weather. It’s flavorful, comforting and it’s quick and easy to make!
Serve warm, with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and a wedge of lemon.
It’s delicious on its own, or paired with freshly toasted bread and grilled veggies!
Other Moroccan plant-based recipes you might want to try:
- Honeycomb Pancakes – Bghrir
- Moroccan Warm Eggplant Salad – Zaalouk
- One-pot Moroccan fava bean soup
- One-pot Moroccan lentil soup
WHAT YOU MIGHT NEED FOR THIS RECIPE:
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A Moroccan comfort food classic! This one-pot Moroccan white bean stew is naturally vegan, gluten-free, and features simple ingredients.
- 3 cup fresh white beans (or soaked overnight dried beans) see notes
- 2 tbsp oil
- 2 onions - diced medium
- 4 garlic cloves - minced
- 1 large tomato chopped or grated using a box grater or replace with 1/2 cup crushed tomato (can)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp turmeric optional
- 1 bay leaf optional
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 1/4 tsp chili flakes optional
- 1/2 preserved lemon (or lemon juice) optional
- 4 cup veggie broth or water
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Bring your veggie broth to a boil or simply boil water and set aside.
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Cut your preserved lemon (if using) in half, remove the pulp. You can use the pulp as well if you want it to be extra tangy. Set aside.
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Heat a large pot over medium heat. Once hot, add oil, diced onions, minced garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sautée stirring frequently for 5 to 6 minutes or until the onions are soft and fragrant.
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Add all the spices, along with the bay leaf and sautée for 2 to 3 minutes to release the flavors of the spices.
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Add chopped or crushed tomato and tomato paste, cook stirring occasionally for about 3 to 4 minutes to reduce the liquid from the tomatoes.
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Add white beans, and toss to coat with the sauce. Add your veggie broth or water and bring to a boil.
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Once the stew is boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 to 40 minutes or until the beans are cooked. You can taste test one, or simply squeeze it between your fingers. If it's ready, it should be very tender.
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At this stage, if your sauce is too liquid continue simmering to reduce it. If too thick add more broth or water. Add preserved lemon or lemon juice. Taste test for seasoning, add more salt, pepper, chili flakes or lemon juice if needed.
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It's ready! Serve warm with a drizzle of olive oil.
- You can use either dried white beans (that you have to soak overnight before using) fresh white beans or canned. I advise against using canned beans because they are already cooked and flavorless, but they work.
- Adjust the cooking time, depending on the beans used. Dried and fresh white beans will take more time to cook than canned beans.
- Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in a microwave or over a stovetop. If using the stovetop, add a splash of water to your pot to prevent sticking/ burning.
- Leftovers can be kept in the freezer for up to a month. Place in a ziplock bag, flatten and freeze. When needed, place the frozen stew in a large pot, add a splash of water and gently heat it.
Check out my other plant-based recipes
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The ingredient says 1 tomato – crushed but then in the instructions it says “add crushed tomatoes” (plural). Does it mean to say can of crushed tomatoes and if so what size can? If it is just 1 tomato crushed then do I smash it myself and leave it that way or am I chopping it into pieces? Does the skin stay in?
Hi Shannon, I am sorry about the confusion! It’s 1 tomato and you can either grate it with a box grater or chop it. You can leave the skin on if organic but I’d suggest removing it. If you want to use canned crushed tomato it’s about 1/2 cup! I hope it’s clearer now.
Thank you so much for pointing that out, I will update the recipe!
I made this with giant butter beans and it was delicious! Fast and easy. I always forget to soak my beans so I bring the beans to the boil with baking sofa, turn off, cover and leave for at least an hour. Followed the instructions as written and the beans were cooked beautifully. I will definitely be making this recipe again. Thank you.