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When my wife learned to make ful medames while living in Morocco, she learned the traditional method, which is honestly a PAIN IN THE BUTT that no one should have to endure. Soaking fresh fava beans, painstakingly peeling each one. It's why, for years, we rarely made her absolute beloved dish for breakfast. But this ful medames recipe is fast, cheap, hyper-delicious, and maybe most importantly, super-low effort.
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Originally from Egypt, ful medames (sometimes called foul mudammas) has become a staple across the Middle East. Fava beans mashed just enough to create a creamy fava bean base, jazzed up with lemon, garlic, and the best extra virgin olive oil you can get your hands on. It shares the breakfast spotlight with other regional faves like vegan shakshuka and Afghan bolani with harissa hummus.
This easy version ditches the overnight soak and leans on canned beans to get dinner on the table fast, because ain't nobody got time for that. Make a double batch; you'll thank yourself next time.
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🥰Why you’ll adore this foul mudammas recipe
✊ Vegan AF and GF: Like all of my vegan Middle Eastern recipes, this has none of the chopped hard-boiled eggs, and a spoonful of yogurt is nowhere in sight. It's just fava beans, tahini, aromatics, and spice—nothing clucking, mooing, or baaa-ing required. If you're looking for vegan gluten-free recipes, this one will make you super-psyched!
⏱ Weeknight Friendly: Uses canned fava beans and zero obscure tools. Your crew will go from hungry to happy in under 20 minutes.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all my vegan recipes, this one has been tested and tweaked by a massive team of recipe testers across kitchens big and tiny.
🤘Learn to make killer vegan Middle Eastern food
This guide to my most popular plant-based Middle Eastern recipes is 100% FREE, & you'll love the actual heck out of it 🥰
🫛Ful Ingredients
The Spices
Don't be ful-ish and make your fava beans super bland! Ground cumin gives the musky backbone, coriander the fragrance, and black pepper and paprika add warmth and color.
Tahini Paste
We’re talking about pure tahini here, just the sesame paste, no added lemon, garlic, or water like in tahini sauce (aka tarator). Make sure it’s smooth and pourable, not gritty or separated.
Canned Fava Beans
Canned beans are your besties for this recipe—fast, tender, flavorful, and soooo much less work. You can use dried beans if you've got time, but it's not required. To cook them, soak overnight, then simmer over medium heat for 45–60 minutes until tender. Drain well before using, just like the canned version. If using fresh fava beans or dried fava beans, you'll need to prepare them differently—fresh fava beans require blanching in a pot of water and sometimes an ice bath to remove the skins easily.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Borlotti Ful Medames
If you’re out of fava beans, borlotti beans (used in my Turkish barbunya recipe) make a surprisingly delish swap. Just sub 2 cups of cooked borlotti beans in place of the favas.
Ful with Harissa Chickpeas
Take your medammes up a ful notch (oh, golly 🤭) by spooning on a generous helping of creamy harissa chickpeas with some spinach, onion, and tomato. That smoky tomatoey sauce tastes gosh darn good with the favas and makes this healthy dish even more satisfying.
📖 How to make ful medames
Stick with the step-by-step below to get every flavor hit for this ful, or skip ahead to the printable recipe card if you're the kind who cooks with one eye on the pan and the other on the clock.
Step One
Your Fave Band: Onion Direction.
Heat olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. After 90 seconds, add the diced onion once the oil is hot. Stirring occasionally, cook it for 4 minutes, until the onion is soft and turns translucent.
Step Two
Bloom Service:
Sprinkle in the cumin, coriander, paprika, and black pepper. Stir constantly for 30 seconds to let the spices bloom in the hot oil.
Step Three
Here Today, Gone Tomato:
Add the garlic and diced tomato to the pan. Cook for another 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes start to break down.
Step Four
On a Tahineed-To-Know Basis:
Pour in the water, lemon juice, and tahini. Stir to combine and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer.
Step Five
Total Mash-terpiece:
While that simmers, mash about ¾ of the drained fava beans in a medium bowl with a fork, potato masher, or in a food processor until mostly smooth.
Step Six
The Ends Justify the Beans:
Add both the mashed and whole fava beans to the pan, along with the salt. Stir everything together and simmer gently for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
Step Seven
You Got Served:
Spoon the ful into serving bowls. Top each with diced tomato, minced red onion, a drizzle of olive oil, sliced green chilies, and a sprinkle of chopped parsley. Serve warm.
💡Serving Ideas
Ful plays nicely with others. Serve alongside Egyptian rice for a classic combo. But if you are looking for other Middle Eastern rice to rock this out with, Turkish rice, Lebanese rice, Persian rice, or Moroccan rice will all be super lovely for ya.
Orrr why not build a full mezze table with muhammara, Lebanese baba ganoush, matbucha, and homemade Israeli hummus, or go deeper into comfort with a warm ol' bowl of Lebanese lentil soup. This healthy breakfast option pairs beautifully with fresh vegetables and makes a complete vegan meal.
It's also uhh-mazing with borani banjan and tucked into wraps with harissa roasted cauliflower. You can prepare this dish in various ways based on your personal preference—some like it as a bean dip consistency, others prefer it more like a stew.
👉Top tips
- Tahini Texture Matters: If your tahini is thick or separated, stir it smooth before adding, or it'll clump. You want that creamy swirl, not chalky streaks.
- Don't Rush the Simmer: Those last few minutes are where flavor builds as the tomatoes and onions kinda melt into the fava beans. Keep it gentle and stir it now and then.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Both! Ful medames is traditionally eaten for breakfast in Egypt, often as street food with warm bread and pickles. This healthy breakfast has been enjoyed across North Africa and the Middle Eastern region for centuries—it's practically Egypt's national dish!
At our family’s fave Palestinian restaurant, Tanoreen in Brooklyn, sometimes we are lucky when we come in for dinner and they still have some leftover ful. But they always look at us like we are cray cray having it at some time other than breakfast.
🧊 Refrigerating:
Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
❄️ Freezing:
Cool completely before transferring to freezer-safe containers. Keeps well for 1–2 months.
💧 Thawing:
Move frozen ful to the fridge overnight, or use the defrost setting on your microwave if you're in a rush.
🔥 Stovetop Reheating:
Add a splash of cold water and reheat over medium heat, stirring occasionally until warmed through.
⚡️ Microwave Reheating:
Cover and microwave on high in 45-second bursts, stirring between, until hot.
✌️You'll love these vegan Middle Eastern recipes too:
Learn the secrets to perfect falafel in this fun cooking class with Chef Adam Sobel!
Ful Medames
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 teaspoons olive oil
- ½ cup onion diced
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- ½ cup tomato diced
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons tahini paste
- 2 15 oz Canned fava beans drained
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
To Garnish:
- ½ cup tomato diced
- 2 tablespoons red onion minced
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- Sliced green chilies to taste
- ⅓ cup parsley chopped
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. After 90 seconds when the oil is hot, add the diced onion and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.
- Add the cumin, coriander, paprika, and black pepper. Stir for 30 seconds to bloom the spices.
- Add the garlic and diced tomato and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes begin to break down.
- Add the water, lemon juice and tahini and bring to a simmer.
- Mash about ¾ of the drained fava beans in a bowl using a fork, potato masher or food processor.
- Add the mashed and whole fava beans to the pan along with salt and stir to combine. Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
- Transfer to serving bowls and garnish with diced tomato, minced red onion, a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, sliced green chilies, and chopped parsley. Serve warm.
Notes
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