These delicious roasted fava beans caramelize with flavor as they roast. Their sweet, slightly crisp, salty flavor makes them a winner with grown-ups and kids! All you need are a few simple ingredients, including olive oil, garlic, and salt to make this side dish. Cook them in either the oven or the air fryer!
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❤️ Sandi’s Summary
Fava beans have taken over the farmer’s market lately, and I am excited to see these broad beans. Fava beans (aka broad beans) have two uses. They can be cooked as a side dish, made into a dip, or used as a snack.
You usually buy fava beans in their green pods, and you shuck them when you are ready to cook them. If you see them at your farmers’ markets, buy them because they grow for only a short season.
I am sharing two ways to roast fava beans so you can make them easily with very little prep. First, you can make them traditional by roasting fresh fava beans in the oven with a bit of olive oil.
You can also make them much quicker by roasting them in your air fryer. Both ways slowly caramelize the beans, adding a delicious sweet flavor.
Ingredient Notes:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
This fava bean recipe is made with just a few simple ingredients.
- Fava Beans
- Olive Oil
- Garlic
- Sea salt and pepper.
Flavor Options:
You can add all sorts of seasonings to flavor your fava beans. Here are some of my favorites
- Sprinkle them with olive oil, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.
- Sprinkle them with lemon pepper seasoning.
- Get spicy with some chili powder, cayenne pepper, and lime juice!
- Cook them with sesame oil and sprinkle some gluten free soy sauce over them before serving.
- Sprinkle nutritional yeast over them for a cheesy vegan flavor.
How to Make Roasted Fava Beans (Step-By-Step)
Preheat your oven to 375°F. (Note: air fryer instructions are below.)
Step 1: Wash and shell the broad beans. The pods are easy to separate, and the beans come out easily. I try to enlist my kids to help with this tedious task.
The pods are easy to peel, and you can put the beans into a
👀 Sandi Says: Don’t toss the pods. They are really great to add to your compost pile!
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Step 2: Add the shelled fava bean seeds to a bowl to prepare the fava beans. Combine the minced garlic and olive oil. Add this mixture to the beans along with kosher salt and ground black pepper. Toss to coat all of the beans.
Step 3: Line a baking sheet or
Spread out the fava beans so that they are all flat on the baking sheet and not stacked on top of each other. This is important so they all roast evenly.
Step 4: Place the pan of beans in the preheated oven. Roast the beans for 10 minutes, then stir them around so the other side cooks. Roast for an additional 10-12 minutes or longer. The beans will vary in size; if you have a lot of larger beans, they will need more cooking time to roast.
Serve with those brown bits you scrape off the baking sheet. The skin on the beans will partially split open as they roast. This is completely fine!
Air Fryer Instructions:
Air-frying fava beans will give you the same roasted, sweet flavor in half the time! To make these in your air fryer, here are the simple steps:
- Prepare the fava beans as described above.
- Preheat your air fryer to 375ºF.
- Place the seasoned fava beans in the air fryer basket. Be sure they are spread out and don’t overlap too much. Air needs to circulate around the beans to ensure they cook evenly.
- Air fry the beans for 7 minutes, then stir the beans to cook the other side.
- Air fry for an additional 5-7 minutes.
- Serve them hot.
What to Serve With Fava Beans:
Frequently Asked Questions:
Fava beans have a similar flavor to lima beans but are larger. They have a slightly creamy, rich flavor, especially when roasted.
No, I do not recommend eating fava beans raw. You technically could eat them raw if they are very young.
Store the cooked beans in an airtight container. They will stay fresh for up to 4 days.
More Delicious Gluten Free Sides:
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
- Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes
- Gluten Free Scalloped Potatoes
- Kid-Friendly Ginger Peas
Love This Recipe?
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. This will help others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Roasted Fava Beans Recipe
Equipment
- Air Fryer Or oven
Ingredients
- 2 cups shelled fava beans
- ½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt kosher salt is also fine
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1-2 cloves minced garlic
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375º F
- Wash and shell your 2 cups shelled fava beans. The pods are easy to peel and you can put the beans into a mixing bowl. Rinse the beans with cold water and pat them dry with a paper towel.
- To prepare the fava beans, add the shelled fava bean seeds to a bowl. Combine the 1-2 cloves minced garlic and ½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Add this mixture to the beans with ¼ teaspoon sea salt and ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper. Toss to coat all of the beans.
- Line a baking sheet or cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread the fava beans across the baking sheet in a single layer.
- Place the pan with the beans into the hot oven. Roast the beans for 10 minutes then stir them around so the other side cooks. Roast for an additional 10 minutes or longer. The beans will vary in size and if you have a lot of larger beans, they will need more cooking time to roast.
Notes
- Prepare the fava beans the same way as above.
- Preheat your air fryer to 375º F.
- Place the seasoned fava beans in the air fryer basket. Be sure they are spread out and don’t overlap too much. The air needs to circulate around the beans so they cook evenly.
- Air fry the beans for 7 minutes, then stir the beans to cook the other side.
- Air fry an additional 5-7 minutes.
- Serve the cooked beans hot.
- Sprinkle them with olive oil, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.
- Sprinkle them with lemon pepper seasoning.
- Get spicy with some chili powder, cayenne pepper, and lime juice!
- Cook them with sesame oil and sprinkle some gluten free soy sauce over them before serving.
- Sprinkle nutritional yeast over them for a cheesy vegan flavor.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, my rule of thumb is to add more flour if your dough or batter is wet and add more liquid if the dough or batter is too dry!
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
I truly hope you enjoy this recipe. I have been testing and creating gluten-free recipes for over 15 years. Creating gluten-free recipes that do not taste gluten-free is my goal for every recipe. Sometimes I only have to test a new recipe a couple of times, and others it takes multiple times. I do this so you get reliable, delicious results every time!
Do you have any advice on dried or frozen fava beans?
Hi Courtney, I haven’t tested either. I would assume frozen fava beans would work when thawed, but I have never worked with dried fava beans.