Wondering how to cook fava beans? These Simple Marinated Fava Beans (with olive oil, vinegar, garlic, lemon zest, and fresh herbs) are one of my favorite ways to prepare them! Vegan, versatile and delicious! Use these on toast or bruschetta, in salads or on cheese boards or Mezze platters! Easy and delicious!
The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are. –Joseph Campbell
What I love about this preserving method is that it works with any shelling bean. Blanch them first, then make sure they are completely submerged in the marinating liquid, and they will last in the fridge for weeks!
For other tasty recipes using fava beans, here a couple more!
Cacio E Pepe with Fava Beans and Halibut with Summer Succotash
Fava beans have a second “skin” that many people like to remove. Personally, they don’t bother me – I grew up eating this outer skin you see above, so I leave them on. But the skins do have a slight bitterness, although somewhat masked by the marinade, so I don’t mind it.
But feel free to do as you like, removing the second skin if you please.
Then make the marinade.
Use ¾ teaspoon salt per cup of shelled beans. Add equal parts of olive oil and vinegar of your choosing. I used red wine vinegar in this recipe and a mixture of parsley and cilantro, because it’s what I had on hand in the garden.
Personalize it, play around with it and make it your own. Next time I’ll try it with tarragon or dill. The lemon zest adds a lovely brightness and I also added chili flakes to mine for a little heat. Whole spices are also a nice addition, like coriander seeds, mustard, cumin or caraway.
Serve these marinated fava beans over toast or crostini, or alongside hummus or tahini sauce, scooping them up with warm pita bread, or toss them into green salads, grain salads or pasta salads. Add to charcuterie or cheese boards, or simply serve as a condiment or side.
To preserve, make sure to refill the jar with olive oil and vinegar each time you dip into them, keeping the beans submerged.
Enjoy!
xoxo
RELATED: Farmers Market Recipes to celebrate summer!
More recipes with Fava Beans
- Fava Beans with Mint, Lemon & Ricotta Salata
- Grilled Fava Beans with Mint, Lemon Zest, and Sumac
- Cornmeal Crusted Halibut with Summer Succotash
Simple Marinated Fava Beans
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 1 Cup
- Category: Appetizer, preserved
- Method: blanched
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Description
Simple Marinated Fava beans- with olive oil, vinegar, garlic, lemon zest and fresh herbs- a delicisous way to serve fava beans! Serve over toast or crostini, or as part of a cheese or mezze platter alongside olive, hummus and baba ganoush. So tasty!
Ingredients
- 1 cup shelled fava beans (1 1/2 pounds in pods)
- 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar or white balsamic
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium garlic cloves, finely minced (about 2 teaspoons) or sub thinly sliced shallot
- 2–3 tablespoons fresh tender herbs- flat leaf parsley, dill, mint, tarragon, basil, cilantro or oregano
- zest of one lemon
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt ( per 1 cup of beans)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- pinch chili flakes- optional
- 1/2 teaspoon whole spice seeds- optional ( coriander, mustard, caraway, cumin)
Instructions
- Bring a pot of generously salted water to a boil. While the water heats, remove the fava beans from their long pods. Add the shelled fava beans to the boiling water and cook until bright green and tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and immediately rinse under ice cold water until cold.
- Decide if you would like to peel off the “second skin” ( see post above). If so do this now.
- In a pint jar, combine the vinegar, olive oil, garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper. Place a lid on the jar and shake to combine the marinade. Place the fava beans into the jar, replace lid and shake to coat the fava beans. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- To keep for longer, up to 2-3 weeks in the fridge, just make sure the oil and vinegar marinade completely covers the beans, adding equal parts oil and vinegar, a tablespoon at a time, pressing down on beans, until completely submerged.
Notes
Of course, you can double/triple recipe. Basic ratio is 3/4 teaspoon salt per cup of beans, and use half olive oil, half vinegar to cover beans. Always refrigerate. Keeping garlic in olive oil without refrigeration can create harmful bacteria.
If your olive oil hardens in the fridge, pull out jar 15-20 minutes before using ( it will liquify) and then just give a good shake.
Nutrition
- Calories: 195
If I use dried Fava beans to make the marinated. How long should I cook the beans
Hi Laura, I would soak them first overnight, then simmer until al dente, this may take up to 2 hours. I am guessing here!
I made these to be one of the main ingredients in a salad for our Christmas meal. All my family loves them. We call them broad beans in New Zealand and they are a regular crop in our late spring early summer garden. It’s wonderful to have such a great new way to prepare them.
The whole salad includes the marinated broad beans, brown rice and red quinoa, carrots chopped in the food processor, chopped red pepper, finely cut silver beet (swiss chard), toasted slivered almonds, and currants. We just tested it out for the first time tonight on 3 of us in the family and are sure it will be a big hit on the Christmas table.
I just found your website recently and this is the first recipe I’ve tried. I look forward to making many more of them.
Great to hear Martha! Thanks so much!
Going to try this today as my beans are growing like crazy…how long do you think these would last…
It does look absolutly delicious…
Hi Pip, they will keep 4-5 days in the fridge. But to keep for longer, make sure to add olive and vinegar- emough to fully submerge and they should last a couple weeks in the fridge.
Sadly, I can only get frozen broad beans. Do you think it would work?
I’m not sure but I would personally give it a try!
Where do you get your fava beans? They are impossible to find where I live.
Hi Harlee- they are seasonal- late spring- and usually at the farmers market. 🙂
Made this in the early summer when the beans were in season, and am just now eating in in November. It kept great in a mason jar, in the fridge.
Great to hear!
Just picked my first home grown crop and can’t wait to try this recipe for the summer
Awesome Gary!
Can I make this with dried favs beans? Thanks
Well, you could but I think it would be as “pretty”.
Fabulous! Just so simple but makes such a flavour impact.
Hi Sylvia, I tried this recipe out in a 1L jar and the oil and vinegar separated and then hardened at the top, so now I have a huge floating chunk of solid olive oil. Any suggestions?
Yes, it happens. Just pull from the fridge 15-20 minutes prior to using and give a good shake. 🙂
HANDS DOWN -My new favorite fava bean recipe! VERY easy and I’ve served these on everything. Perfect as a mezze addition. I made a double batch, put in two smaller jars and have kept over 2 weeks in the fridge, submerged. Still delicious, no issues!
I heard that adding or presreving garlic in oil is not advisable and can be hazardous to health. Can I omit the garlic in this recipe?
If refrigerated, and completely submerged in oil- it will keep. And yes, you can absolutely leave it out. 😉
No, you can’t omit the garlic! Especially on the basis of such a stupid piece of misinformation as that. Ludicrous!
We called them horse babes n s as a kid. My Sicilian grandmother made them this way. We popped them out of second shell before eating them.. loved them.
I don’t think anything lasts for ions. They last for eons though.
oops. 😉
Have made 6 cups now using different herbs, they are delicious
So cool! Would love to hear about your different combinations!
This is a fantastic recipe.
Good with everything,on bread with blue cheese avo and salad onion.
As an hors d’douverve with everything.
We grow heads so only pick the mid range beans ,so tender.
Thank you.
Hi – I have an abundance of broad beans in my garden and have just tried this, this afternoon. I’ve made 2 large 1.5 litre jars. However, the oil and vinegar has now separated and half the beans are soaking in oil and the other half in vinegar. Have I missed something?, Can I rectify this?
Any help will be appreciated. Thanks Belinda
Hey Belinda,hummmmm, that does present a problem! I would try periodically shaking or stirring the jar once they are cold ( you have them in the fridge, right?) and see if they stay more mixed since the oil will be more solid? I’m kind of stumped! The jars I used were a lot smaller, maybe why I didn’t have that come up??
This look great! I have a whole crop full of beans to use at the moment. How long do these keep for?
They should keep for a few weeks, in the fridge.
We’ve got them from over a year ago and there still tasting great
Think this would work with Lima Beans???
Yes!
Thanks for the recipe, I’m going to give it a try. After you take them out of the pods and blanche them; do you peel the second layer of the bean before marinating them?
Yes, you can peel the second layer if you want to. I don’t, I really don’t mind the 2nd skin, I’ve been eating them this way since I was a kid and just got used to it I guess, but yes they are slightly bitter. Jut try one and see what you think. The marinade does mask the bitterness some. 😉
This looks fantastic Sylvia – what a fantastic summer side it would make alongside some crusty bread!
Totally! thanks Millie!
This looks delicious! I’ve actually never had fava beans before, but I think it’s high time I give it a try! Gorgeous pictures, as always!
xx Sydney
Yes, they are worth seeking out!
I just love this!
Thanks, I love it too!