Loubia (Moroccan White Bean Tomato Stew)

This easy Loubia is a Moroccan version of a white bean stew and makes for a perfect weeknight meal. It features white beans, tomatoes, vegetable broth, spices and fresh herbs. It comes together in under 30 minutes and is naturally vegan and vegetarian.

This easy Loubia makes for such a wonderful meal.

You can whip up a batch in under 30 minutes, making it a perfect weeknight dinner. But also, it is super healthy and it bursts with amazing flavor that highlights tons of aromatic spices.

And like many other stews on the blog, this is a one-pot super simple recipe everyone can make.

We love and often make these white bean dishes: lemony white bean kale soup and butter bean curry. But this time I made this Moroccan-style white bean tomato stew on a pinch mid-week to feed my family, it was a huge success!

It features lots of good-for-you white beans (I used cannellini beans), a tomato broth, lots of spices (such as cumin, paprika, ginger and turmeric) and fresh herbs. This is a straightforward recipe done quickly but that delivers a surprising amount of flavor. Also very versatile and perfect for meal prep as it stores well. 

We love this Loubia with crusty bread to dip in the yummy stew, but also great served over rice.

Let me know if you give it a try! ❤️

What is Loubia

Loubia means "beans" in Arabic, which explains the origin of the name of this bean-centered dish.

Loubia is a bean stew served as a main dish in many different parts of the world, but mostly in Middle Eastern countries and in North Africa. You can find Lebanese Loubia, Algerian Loubia or Tunisian Loubia, with each of them influenced by the local ingredients and cultural background.

Today we are making a Moroccan-style Loubia, which highlights white beans, some tomatoes, Moroccan spices and fresh herbs.

Loubia is a very simple recipe often naturally vegetarian or vegan, although you will sometimes find meat also included. This is a surprisingly flavorful dish given the short list of ingredients!

Why you will love this recipe

• Quick recipe perfect for busy weeknights
• One-pot meal that's easy to make
• Easy to double the recipe to feed a crowd!
• Family-friendly comforting and hearty meal
• Packed with flavors and very satisfying
• Healthy: rich in fiber and plant-based protein (and antioxidants from all the spices)
• Requires only a few simple ingredients mostly from the pantry
• Naturally vegan, vegetarian and meat-free

Ingredients you will need

(all the measurements are in the recipe card below)

• White beans: you will need 3 x 15-ounce canned beans. I used cannellini beans, but navy beans, butter beans or great northern beans would also work well. You can do a mix and match of different kinds of beans. I would avoid chickpeas for this recipe since they are more tough, which would change the overall texture of the stew.
• Tomatoes: you will need a 15-ounce can of crushed tomatoes. If you only have diced tomatoes, you can roughly mash or blend them first. This stew is best without large chunks of tomatoes to create a tomato-y broth. Canned tomato sauce would work too and try to use San Marzano tomatoes if you can.
• Large onion: I used a yellow onion, but sweet onion would be lovely for this stew. 
• Garlic: adds a huge amount of flavor! I added 3 garlic cloves, but you can add more.
• Spices: I used a blend of sweet paprika with some ground cumin, ginger and turmeric. It gave the stew such an amazing flavor. You can tweak the spices easily depending on what you have!
• Vegetable broth: I used the concentrated vegetable broth from Bouillon.
• Fresh herbs: add a fresh flavor to the stew, try not to omit! I used a combination of fresh parsley and fresh cilantro, but some dill would be great too.

How to make a vegan Loubia recipe

(all the detailed steps are in the recipe card below)

Cook the aromatics

Warm up a large pot with a little oil and then add the onion with a pinch of salt. Stir and cook for 5-7 minutes. 

Then, add the garlic and spices (paprika, cumin, ginger and turmeric), plus some black pepper. Stir and cook for one more minute.

Simmer

Add the broth, canned tomatoes and beans. Stir, cover and simmer on medium heat for about 20-25 minutes. You can uncover and stir once in a while to ensure it does not stick to the bottom.

Finish up and serve

Once the Loubia is done simmering, then add the fresh herbs and simmer for an extra minute before serving. Enjoy!

Helpful tips

• Adjust the consistency of the stew to your personal preference: add more broth for a thinner result and simmer uncovered for a few extra minutes to make a thicker stew.
• There are a lot of beans in this stew, so don't hesitate to cook dried cannellini beans from scratch if you prefer. This would make you save some money and it is a great meal to use up your extra dry beans if you have some.

Serving suggestions

This Moroccan Loubia dish is amazing served with a side of crusty bread to dip in the ultra-flavorful broth. Sourdough bread would be perfect, but also a French baguette or this homemade no-knead buckwheat bread for an ultra hearty meal.

You can also serve over brown rice to make this meal more hearty. Or try pairing with a mushroom couscous or serve alongside harissa potatoes for a delicious Moroccan-style meal.

To add some freshness to your meal, consider adding a side of green salad. This harissa dressing would be great here or even a kale apple salad made with apple cider vinegar or this arugula pear salad to add some brightness.

Variations

This recipe is highly customizable and pretty much foolproof!

You can adjust the amount of spices to your taste and add more to it, such as extra veggies. This recipe can be a good base to make it your own.

Here are a few variations you can try:

• Spices: you can add more spices for a more fragrant result. You can also swap the sweet paprika for smoky paprika or (use 1 teaspoon of each) for a delicious smoky stew.
• Veggies: some veggies would be great here, especially red bell pepper, zucchini, carrots and celery. Try to dice them small so it blends well within the stew.
• Spicy: a dash of cayenne pepper or some red pepper flakes would add some flavor and extra heat to this stew.
• Soup: this can make for a yummy soup as well! Simply add more broth to adjust the consistency and make sure to increase the amount of spices as well to compensate.

Storage tips

These Moroccan beans store very well! Keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. Reheat using the microwave or the stove. The stew tends to be thicker after resting in the fridge, so if this is the case, simply add a little water. 

Similar recipes to try

• Braised white beans
• White bean bruschetta
• Chickpeas in tomato sauce
• Butter bean stew
• White bean chili
• Garlic white bean mash
• Mexican bean soup
• Tuscan white bean salad

I hope you like this Moroccan Loubia recipe as much as we do! If you try it, please leave a comment below and rate the recipe to let me know how it was. Your feedback is so helpful!

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