Broad bean

Vicia fabaAlso called fava bean, faba bean, field bean and bell bean

Broad beans are legumes with tender pods that can be crunchy when cooked. Cooks eat them raw, boil, simmer, dry-toast, roast, steam or stew them, or blend them into a paste.

Plant-based
Gluten-free
No listed allergens

About the plain ingredient, not packaged products; general information, not medical advice. Details

Category: Beans & pulses
Part used: Pod
Family: Fabaceae
Texture: Tender, crunchy
Cooked most in: Asia, Africa, Europe
Top country: Türkiye
Dishes: 7 in the catalogue
Energy: 88 kcal per 100 g

Photo: Mutney · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

In the kitchen

How to use broad bean

Typical ways to cook or use it

Boil simmer
Dry toast
Paste blend
Raw
Roast
Steam
Stew

Preparing it

Shell the beans before cooking. Parboil the beans to loosen their skins, then peel them. The seed coat is edible in young pods; very young pods can be eaten whole.

Cooking with it

Frying makes the bean skins split.

Goes well with

Flavour

Taste and texture

Texture

Tender

Texture, cooked

Crunchy

Shopping

Choosing and storing broad bean

Sold as: Canned, Dried

Nutrition

What 100 g of broad bean holds

Per 100 g, raw. Averages from USDA; real values vary by variety, season and growing conditions.

Protein 30%Fat 3%Carbohydrate 67%of the macronutrients by weight

Nutrition per 100 g of broad bean, raw
Energy	88 kcal · 368 kJ
Protein	7.9 g
Fat	0.73 g
of which saturated	0.12 g
Carbohydrate	18 g
of which sugars	9.2 g
Fibre	7.5 g
Sodium	25 mg
Cholesterol	0 mg

Nutrition per 100 g of broad bean, raw: minerals and vitamins
Potassium	332 mg
Calcium	37 mg
Iron	1.6 mg
Magnesium	33 mg
Zinc	1 mg
Vitamin C	3.7 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)	17 µg
Folate	148 µg

Cooked

Protein 31%Fat 3%Carbohydrate 66%of the macronutrients by weight

Nutrition per 100 g of broad bean, cooked
Energy	62 kcal · 259 kJ
Protein	4.8 g
Fat	0.5 g
of which saturated	0.14 g
Carbohydrate	10 g
of which sugars	1.8 g
Fibre	5.4 g
Sodium	277 mg
Cholesterol	0 mg

Nutrition per 100 g of broad bean, cooked: minerals and vitamins
Potassium	193 mg
Calcium	18 mg
Iron	1.5 mg
Magnesium	31 mg
Zinc	0.47 mg
Vitamin C	20 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)	14 µg
Folate	58 µg

Canned

Protein 30%Fat 1%Carbohydrate 69%of the macronutrients by weight

Nutrition per 100 g of broad bean, canned
Energy	71 kcal · 297 kJ
Protein	5.5 g
Fat	0.22 g
of which saturated	0.04 g
Carbohydrate	12 g
Fibre	3.7 g
Sodium	453 mg
Cholesterol	0 mg

Nutrition per 100 g of broad bean, canned: minerals and vitamins
Potassium	242 mg
Calcium	26 mg
Iron	1 mg
Magnesium	32 mg
Zinc	0.62 mg
Vitamin C	1.8 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)	1 µg
Folate	33 µg

Source: USDA FoodData Central (foods 168574, 169328, 173798, 173754), public domain. Minerals and vitamins are listed only where USDA measured a non-zero amount.

Around the world

Where broad bean is cooked

7 dishes in the catalogue use broad bean. Here is where they come from.

Dishes by continent

Countries whose dishes use it most

Counts are catalogued dishes from each country that list broad bean among their ingredients.

On the table

Dishes made with broad bean

5 of the 7 catalogued dishes that use it, spread across the countries they come from.

Pan-bagnat
France
Falafel
Ful medames
Egypt
Fava
Türkiye
Shoyumame
Japan

Dish lists come from Wikidata; a dish counts when its recorded ingredients include broad bean.

Good to know

Diet and allergens: broad bean in detail

These notes describe the plain ingredient. Packaged and prepared products vary, so read the label; for allergies and medical diets ask a doctor or dietitian.

Allergens: None of the 15 listed allergens foundChecked and not found: soy, eggs, fish, milk, lupin, wheat, celery, sesame, mustard, peanuts, molluscs, sulphites, tree nuts, crustaceans, gluten cereals.
Animal origin: No animal ingredients foundChecked and not found: egg, fish, meat, dairy, honey, insect, gelatin, poultry, bone char, shellfish, other animal, animal fining, animal rennet.
Gluten: None
Alcohol: None
Caffeine: None
Pork: None