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Mexican Vegan Fava Bean Soup

This fava bean soup is made with fava beans, onions, tomatoes, garlic, and nopales. It's the perfect meal for a cool day! Plus, it's gluten-free and vegan-friendly. Follow these simple steps to make this classic Mexican soup!
Course Soups
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword Fava Beans Soup, sopa de habas receta, sopa de habas recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 6
Calories 71kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 ¼ cup dried peeled fava beans soaked overnight.*
  • 5 cups of water
  • 1 slice white onion to cooking the beans
  • 2 plum tomatoes or 1 large tomato peeled and diced**
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
  • cup white onion finely chopped
  • 1 large garlic clove finely chopped
  • 1 cup nopales cooked and drained.
  • Salt and pepper to taste***
  • cup cilantro chopped
  • Thick French bread slices to serve optional

Instructions

  • cups of cold water and cook over medium-high heat. Once it starts boiling, reduces heat to a simmer, and partially cover with the lid. They will take somewhere around 40 minutes to be tender.
  • While you cook the beans, prepare the “recado”: heat one tablespoon of oil in a medium-size skillet for 2 minutes over medium heat. Add the chopped garlic and onion and keep cooking until the onion is transparent. Mix in the chopped tomato and stir, cooking for another 5 minutes or until the tomato mixture starts to thicken.
  • Stir the tomato mixture frequently to avoid it from sticking to the skillet.
  • Add the tomato mixture to the fava beans before they finish cooking to let all the flavors combine. Stir in the drained nopales, season with salt and pepper, and keep cooking until the beans are tender or at the desired consistency. You can use a bean masher to mash some of the beans and give the soup a creamy consistency. Mashed fava beans will thicken the soup.
  • Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle with chopped cilantro. I love to serve this soup with slices of French bread to dip into the soup.

Notes

*To soak the Fava beans overnight, place them in a bowl and cover with water. The next day, simply drain the water.
**Optional. Blanch the tomatoes by placing them in boiling water for about 15 seconds, and removing them with a slotted spoon. Place under cold water or in a bowl with ice water. The skins will peel off easily with the help of a paring knife; see picture below.
***Instead of salt, some cooks add granulated chicken bouillon to season the soup.

Nutrition

Calories: 71kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 17mg | Potassium: 194mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 298IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 1mg