Skip to content

Vegetarian, Maghreb and Middle East

Bissara with bread

Bissara is a creamy Moroccan soup made from dried fava beans, served with bread, for 4 people. It takes 50 minutes, stays easy to make, and costs about €1.10 per person. The key to it is drizzling olive oil and spices on top right before serving, never cooking them in.

A big steaming bowl of bissara, drizzled with olive oil, and bread for dipping, Moroccan comfort food at its best.

Bissara with bread
Total time
50 min
Difficulty
Easy
Cost per person
€1.10
Calories per person
590 kcalcalculated by Kiloach, your weight coach
Season
Winter, Fall

Bissara is a thick soup of blended dried fava beans, completely smooth, eaten with a spoon and scooped up with bread. The texture is velvety, almost like a thin puree, and the flavor stays mild, carried by garlic cooked low and slow, then lifted at the end with cumin, paprika, and a squeeze of lemon.

This is a winter dish, the kind you serve steaming hot in a deep bowl on a cold evening. Kids don't always warm up to the background garlic flavor, but adults who love comforting, budget friendly meals ask for seconds. Mon Chou fits it into fall and winter menus, a weekend lunch or a light weeknight dinner.

The ingredients

4 people

Pantry

  • Dried peeled fava beansoften in the pantry 300 g
  • Cuminoften in the pantry 2 tsp
  • Paprikaoften in the pantry 1 tsp
  • Olive oiloften in the pantry 6 tbsp
  • Saltoften in the pantry 1 pinch
  • Pepperoften in the pantry 1 pinch

Fruits and vegetables

  • Garlic 4 cloves
  • Lemon 1

Bakery

  • Baguette 1

Allergens Gluten

The step by step recipe

  1. Rinse the peeled fava beans and soak them in a large bowl of cold water.

    Peeled fava beans are already skinless, an overnight soak saves half an hour, but three hours is enough.

  2. Drain them, cover with three times their volume of water along with the peeled garlic, and simmer gently. 40 min

    Skim the foam at the start, it gives the beans a slightly bitter taste otherwise.

  3. Once the beans mash easily under a spoon, blend them with a bit of the cooking water, the cumin, the salt, and the lemon juice.

    Save some cooking water, the puree thickens as it cools and you'll need to loosen it.

  4. Pour the thick soup into shallow bowls, make a well in the center, and fill it with olive oil.

    A good fruity olive oil makes all the difference, it's the real seasoning of the dish.

  5. Sprinkle with paprika and cumin and serve with warm bread for dipping.

    Warm the bread in the oven for two minutes, it stays soft and holds up better in the soup.

Our tips to get it right

  • Blend the soup while it's still hot, it comes out much smoother than once it has cooled down.
  • If the bissara thickens too much as it cools, loosen it with a splash of hot water or broth rather than milk, that keeps the flavor authentic.
  • Always taste before adding more salt after blending, the lemon juice changes how salty it tastes quite a bit.

The variations

  • Swap the dried peeled fava beans for fresh shelled fava beans in season, the cooking time will be shorter.
  • For a milder version, cut the garlic down to two cloves and add it only toward the end of cooking instead of at the start.
  • For a heartier meal, top the bissara with halved soft boiled eggs.

What to serve it with

  • Warm bread for dipping
  • Marinated olives on the side
  • Mint tea

Storage

Bissara keeps for 2 to 3 days in the fridge in a sealed container. It freezes well for up to 2 months, before adding the olive oil and spices on top. Reheat it gently on the stove with a splash of water to bring back its creamy texture.

Questions about this dish

Can I use whole fava beans instead of peeled ones?

Yes, but you'll need to remove the skins after cooking before blending, otherwise the texture stays grainy. Plan for a slightly longer cooking time.

Is the garlic in bissara really raw?

No, the garlic cooks with the fava beans for 40 minutes and loses its sharp bite. The 'raw garlic' tag refers to the strong flavor it keeps despite cooking.

Can I make bissara ahead of time?

Yes, make the soup the day before and keep it in the fridge without the oil or spices. Reheat gently and add the olive oil, cumin, and paprika right before serving.

Why is my bissara too thick or too thin?

The texture mostly depends on how much cooking water you add when blending. Always save a bit of cooking water aside to adjust the consistency right before serving.

How long does it take to make a creamy bissara with bread?

Count 50 min in total, prep and cooking included. The recipe is rated “easy”.

How many calories are in a creamy bissara with bread?

About 590 kcal per serving, for a recipe meant for 4 people. Calories are calculated by Kiloach, your weight coach, the app that partners with Mon Chou.

How much does a creamy bissara with bread cost?

About €1.10 per serving, or €4.40 for 4 people, based on average supermarket prices.

What allergens does this recipe contain?

This recipe contains gluten. Always check the labels of the products you buy.

Maghreb and Middle Eastern cuisine

See all

Recipes with raw garlic

See all