Loubia is an easy, one-pot Moroccan white bean stew packed with creamy white beans, aromatics, and warm spices. It’s a delicious comfort meal that’s ready in 1 hour, making it a perfect lunch or quick weeknight dinner you can pair with crusty bread.
What is Loubia?
Loubia is a North African dish popular in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. It is a hearty stew made with beans (or loubia in Arabic) and often includes fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, and a handful of flavorful spices.
Key Ingredients
Moroccan white bean stew is a tasty one-pot meal that comes together in one hour using simple ingredients. Here’s what you need to get started.
- Olive Oil: Saute the onions and aromatics in high-quality extra virgin olive oil.
- Onion: Yellow onions give the stew the best flavor. You can also use white onions or shallots.
- Garlic: I include four fresh garlic cloves, but measure with your heart.
- Ginger: Many authentic recipes call for ginger powder, but I enjoy the taste of fresh ginger.
- Tomato Paste: Adding a spoonful of bright tomato paste intensifies the flavor.
- Tomatoes: Dice three fresh tomatoes or use a few cans of petite diced tomatoes for a bit of acidity.
- Spices: Finish the Moroccan bean stew with kosher salt, paprika, ground cumin, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.
- Dried White Beans: Dried white beans like Cannellini beans are the main ingredient for loubia. Navy beans, butter beans, and great northern beans work as a replacement, but you can also include chickpeas or black-eyed peas. If using canned white beans, stew the other ingredients to let the flavors combine, then stir in the canned beans at the end.
- Chicken Broth: Simmer the stew in chicken broth for additional flavor, or you can use vegetable broth to keep the dish vegetarian.
Additions and Substitutions
Moroccan stewed white beans are delicious, but you can include bone-in beef or lamb like you would make my Moroccan beef and chickpea stew. Another popular addition is dried meat called queddid. If you decide to include meat in the creamy bean dish, add it to the Dutch oven at the same time as the onions.
Equipment
Use a large pot to cook the Moroccan beans, allowing them to expand as they simmer. I cook them in a Dutch oven, but you can also use a deep skillet, a stockpot, or a large saucepan.
How to Make Loubia
The full recipe with measurements is in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Rinse and soak the dry beans in a mixing bowl with fresh water overnight (at least 8 hours).
Step 2: Warm oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 8-10 minutes until they soften. Stir in the garlic, ginger, and tomato paste and sauté for another minute.
Step 3: Stir in the tomatoes, salt, paprika, ground cumin, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Then, transfer the soaked beans and broth to the pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour.
Instant Pot Loubia Instructions
Cooking dried beans used to mean planning days ahead, but pressure cooking changes everything. It reduces cooking time and makes soaking the beans optional.
Start by warming oil in an Instant Pot using the sauté function. Add the onions and cook for 8-10 minutes until they soften. Stir in the garlic, ginger, and tomato paste and sauté for another minute.
Stir in the tomatoes, salt, paprika, ground cumin, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Then, transfer the soaked beans and broth to the pot. Bring to a boil in sauté mode. Once boiling, secure the lid and set the Instant Pot to manual high pressure for 15 minutes, followed by a 10-minute natural release.
What does natural release mean?
Natural release on the Instant Pot means allowing the pressure inside the pot to gradually decrease on its own after cooking finishes, without manually opening the pressure release valve. This process takes 10–30 minutes, depending on the amount of liquid inside the pot.
As the pressure decreases, the float valve will drop, signaling that it’s safe to open the lid. Natural release is ideal for soups, stews, or liquid-heavy recipes to prevent splattering.
Expert Tips
- Soak the dried beans. If you’re using dried black-eyed peas, soaking them overnight will help reduce the cooking time and make them softer.
- Give them a rinse. Rinse the soaked beans thoroughly to remove the excess starch before adding them to the stew.
If you enjoy this easy loubia recipe, try more Moroccan-inspired favorites!
How to Serve Loubia
Loubia is hearty enough to enjoy as a main dish. Just drizzle extra-virgin olive oil over the top, finish with chopped parsley, and enjoy.
The savory white bean stew pairs perfectly with warm Moroccan bread, such as khobz or msemen. You can even scoop the beans with a piece of crusty bread like sourdough.
Complete the spread by serving the beans with marinated olives, haydari, and a bright salad like Shirazi salad, sumac cucumbers, malfouf salad, or çoban salatasi.
What To Do With Leftovers
- Refrigerate: Store the leftover bean stew in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
- Freeze: Let the dish cool and transfer it to a freezer-safe container or bag. Freeze loubia for 2-3 months.
- Thaw: Defrost the beans in the refrigerator overnight.
- Reheat: Gently warm the leftovers on the stovetop over low to medium heat. If the stew thickens once chilled, add a splash of water or chicken broth.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you soak Cannellini beans?
Rinse the dried beans and transfer them to a large bowl. Add enough cold water to cover the beans, about 3-4 cups of water for every cup of dry beans.
Cover the bowl and allow the beans to soak overnight, or for at least 8 hours. Drain and rinse the beans before using them to remove any impurities.
More Bean Recipes:
Loubia
- Serving Dish
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ -inch knob of ginger, grated
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3 Roma tomatoes, diced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 3 cups Cannellini beans, dry, soaked overnight, drained, and rinsed
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons parsley leaves, chopped
- 2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, chopped
- Rinse and soak the dry beans in a mixing bowl with fresh water overnight (at least 8 hours).
- Warm the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until they soften, for about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, ginger, and tomato paste and saute for another minute.
- Stir in the tomatoes, salt, paprika, ground cumin, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Then, transfer the soaked beans and broth to the pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour.
- Transfer the bean to a serving dish, drizzle with olive oil, and garnish with chopped parsley leaves.
- Soak the dried beans. If you’re using dried black-eyed peas, soaking them overnight will help reduce the cooking time and make them softer.
- Give them a rinse. Rinse the soaked beans thoroughly to remove the excess starch before adding them to the stew.
Melissa Wagner
Wednesday 8th of November 2023
This white bean stew totally hit the spot! The beans were perfectly tender and took on so much flavor from the aromatic spices. It was super hearty and satisfying served over couscous. I can't wait to make this for my family!
Jenna
Thursday 2nd of November 2023
I had so many leftovers, but it was delicious with crusty bread and olive oil.
Tressa Jamil
Thursday 2nd of November 2023
I am happy you enjoyed the loubia recipe; I eat it the same way!