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Home » Vegan Lebanese Recipes

Creamy Foul Moudamas (Lebanese Fava Beans)

Published: Jun 10, 2022 · Modified: Jun 10, 2022· By: Janelle Hama

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Lebanese fava beans are a typical breakfast comfort food called foul moudamas. Tender cooked faba beans that have been hand mashed with lemon and garlic then topped with olive oil. 

A white plate of creamed fava beans topped with chopped parsley
Foul moudamas is so creamy!

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Jump to:
  • What is Foul Moudamas?
  • 😋Why You’ll Love This Recipe
  • ✔️Ingredients You’ll Need
  • 🔪How to Make Foul Moudamas
  • How to Cook Dry Fava Beans
  • 🥗Serving Suggestion
  • 🌿Garnish Suggestions
  • 🌟Pro Tips
  • 🥄Variations
  • ❓FAQ
  • 🥘Related Recipes
  • 📖 Recipe

What is Foul Moudamas?

Foul moudamas is a warm stew of dried fava beans (broad beans or faba beans) that have been slow-cooked, typically for 10-12 hours.

The foul are mixed through a base sauce of garlic, salt, and lemon. Then drizzled with a generous amount of olive oil.

Foul moudamas is found throughout the Middle East as an omnipresent staple, where there are many variations. 

In Lebanon, there are specialty shops dedicated to foul.

Foul Moudamas in English

Foul moudamas in English is pronounced as fool moo·dum·mas in Arabic.

It is also known as ful, foul, foul mdamas, and ful medamas. This pronunciation is dependent on the region in the Middle East.

The word “foul” is fava beans.

😋Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • A tempting, warming and filling meal for breakfast - foul is known to satiate
  • Easy to make and inexpensive
  • Faba beans offer an impressive amount of nutrition
  • Can be topped with various ingredients - see variations.
  • Is always paired with some form of chickpea dishes such as balila or musabaha.

✔️Ingredients You’ll Need

tahini, lemon, fava beans, chickpeas, olive oil, salt and garlic on a white bench top

Notes on some of the ingredients, the full list of ingredients and their measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Fava beans - to save on time, use the canned variety (affiliate link), which you can heat up in a pot. Otherwise, if you don’t mind cooking it from the dry variety (affiliate link) (my preference, albeit longer prep time. The taste is way better) see how to cook the dry variety. 

Chickpeas - are popular with foul moudamas and are usually used as a topper or mixed through. This is up to you. 

Fresh lemon juice adds a nice sourness to the chickpeas.

Tahini whilst optional bolsters the creaminess of the foul and gives a nutty taste.

Olive oil - use a high-quality extra virgin olive to top the foul moudamas. Normally a liberal amount is used, I have however limited to one tablespoon in this recipe - personal preference.

If you are avoiding oils in your diet, just leave it out.

Crushed garlic clove the size is up to you.

Salt - to taste.

🔪How to Make Foul Moudamas

Step 1 - In a pot over med-high heat, heat up faba beans with their brine until completely warm. Optionally, warm up a ¼ cup of whole chickpeas separately over medium-high heat in a pot. Set aside.

Step 2 - In a bowl, combine salt, lemon juice, and garlic. Mash through the warmed ful with brine), now mash through tahini and combine everything together as evenly as possible. The texture should be a combination of chunky and mash. Top with olive oil and optional warmed whole chickpeas. Serve warm. See serving and garnish suggestions.

How to Cook Dry Fava Beans

Soak sorted beans in water for about 8 hours (1 cup fava to 5 cups water), they should be fully reconstituted.

Then pour the beans and water into a pot, bring to a boil on high heat, then slow cook on low-medium heat for 10-12 hours.

You may need to top up the water with warm water. The ful should be falling apart.

Note - As the skin of ful is tough, they are cooked for a prolonged period of time, although the flesh itself is soft after 1-2 hours of cooking.

plain cooked fava beans topped with chickpeas and olive oil

🥗Serving Suggestion

As mentioned earlier, chickpea dishes such as balila or musabaha are always paired with foul. Although, in my household we tend to make either or.

Lebanese bread (pita bread) is used to scoop the foul moudamas and enjoyed with a plate of fresh and pickled vegetables (fresh mint, tomato, radish, pickled turnip known as lifit (affiliate link), olives, pickled green chili, and pickled Armenian cucumbers (affiliate link) (snake cucumbers).

A cup of cinnamon black tea or mint tea is enjoyed too.

🌿Garnish Suggestions

Some of the traditional garnishes include;

Chopped parsley and mint leaves

Whole tender chickpeas

Paprika, cumin, chili powder

Diced fresh tomato

creamy mashed faba beans topped with cooked chickpeas in a bowl and a side plate of vegetables

🌟Pro Tips

Foul moudamas is only ever made with dry beans and not fresh.

If you have the fresh variety, try this foul akhdar recipe.

The cooked faba beans need to be semi-mashed and chunky, it is generally done using a pestle in the bowl that it will be consumed.

For convenience, I mash mine with a fork.

🥄Variations

Each country and region in the Middle Eastern has its version of ful medamas, below are some variations;

Use vinegar and tahini rather than lemon juice and tahini. This version is great with spices such as hot chili and paprika powders.

Chopped tomato, parsley, onions, and radish can be mixed throughout. This is referred to as foul salad.

A spoonful of plain yogurt is mixed through. You can use tahini, lemon, and garlic with this.

This is a personal preference, but you can also mash through cooked chickpeas into any type of foul.

creamy brown faba beans garnished with chopped parsley and two cups of tea

❓FAQ

What does foul Medames taste like?

Foul medamas tastes very creamy, tangy, garlicky and a tad nutty from the beans. Each bite is bold, addictive and umami. Foul is unique in flavoring and can be topped with various spices which the beans take on really well. 

How to eat foul mudammas?

This is the fun part, usually, it is eaten with torn bite-sized pieces of pita bread that are used as a scoop to pick up the foul mudammas. I personally love to also eat it, by scooping it up with pieces of white onion. The flavor combination is addictive. A side of fresh and pickled vegetables is always enjoyed.

🥘Related Recipes

If you love this Lebanese fava beans recipe here are other recipes with beans including poor mans white bean soup, tomato-y bulgur pilav, upside down vegetables and rice maqlouba and chickpea salad balela salad.

  • Easy Creamy Lebanese Musabaha (Chickpeas Breakfast)
  • The Best Hummus Balila (Lebanese Warm Chickpeas)
  • Easy Shawarma Spice Mix
  • Warak Enab (Lebanese Grape Leaves)

Did you enjoy making this vegan recipe? I would love to hear from you, leave me a comment below and give me a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating. This will help me sustain Plant Based Folk. 

Alternatively, did you happen to take a photo? Tag me @plantbasedfolk on Instagram to be featured via stories.

📖 Recipe

A white plate of creamed fava beans topped with chopped parsley

Creamy Foul Moudamas (Lebanese Fava Beans)

Lebanese fava beans are a typical breakfast comfort food called foul moudamas. Tender cooked fava beans that have been hand mashed with lemon and garlic then topped with olive oil. 
Print Pin Rate
Course: Appetizer, Breakfast
Cuisine: Lebanese, Middle Eastern
Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 1 servings
Author: Janelle Hama

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Fava beans canned (if using dry beans, see notes)
  • ½ teaspoon Salt or to taste
  • ½ small Lemon freshly squeezed
  • 1 tablespoon Olive oil or to taste
  • 1 clove Garlic crushed
  • 1 tablespoon Tahini or to taste
  • ¼ cup Cooked chickpeas optional
Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

  • In a pot over med-high heat, heat up fava beans with its brine until completely warm. Optionally, warm up a ¼ cup of whole chickpeas separately over medium - high heat in a pot. Set aside.
    1 cup Fava beans, ¼ cup Cooked chickpeas
  • In a bowl, combine salt, lemon juice and garlic. Mash through the warmed fava beans with brine), now mash through tahini and combine everything together as evenly as possibly. The fava beans should be chunky and mash. Top with olive and optional warmed whole chickpeas. Serve warm. See serving and garnish suggestions.
    ½ teaspoon Salt, ½ small Lemon, 1 tablespoon Olive oil, 1 clove Garlic, 1 tablespoon Tahini

Video

Notes

How to cook dry fava beans
Step 1 - soak sorted beans in water (1 cup fava beans to 5 cups water) for 8-12 hours (the bean should be soft throughout)
Step 2 - Pour the beans and water into a pot, bring to a boil, then slow cook on low-medium heat for 10-12 hours. You may need to top up the water with warm water. The fava beans should be falling apart. Use as needed.
 
Garnishes
Chopped fresh herbs such as parsley and mint leaves
Whole tender chickpeas
Typically used spices - paprika, cumin, chilli powder
Diced fresh tomato
Variations
Use vinegar and tahini rather than lemon juice and tahini. Great with spices such as hot chilli and paprika powders.
Mix through chopped tomato, parsley, onions and radish
A spoonful of plain yogurt.
Cooked chickpeas can be mixed through any type of foul

Nutrition

Calories: 487kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Sodium: 1181mg | Potassium: 731mg | Fiber: 15g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 59IU | Vitamin C: 31mg | Calcium: 123mg | Iron: 5mg

N.B., nutrition info is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. This will vary based on the specific ingredients you use.

Tried this recipe?Mention @Plantbasedfolk or tag #plantbasedfolk
« Easy Creamy Lebanese Musabaha (Chickpeas Breakfast)

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Heya, I'm Janelle! I've been a messy but delicious cook for a couple of decades now.

In the last few years, I've converted to a vegan diet and have fallen in love with the flavors that can be created from plants.

I specialize in vegan Lebanese food and I'm excited to share these amazing recipes with you.

Let's cook together!

More about me →

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