What Is Bissara? The Moroccan Fava Bean Soup Explained
Bissara is a thick Moroccan soup of dried fava beans or split peas, blended smooth with garlic and olive oil and finished with cumin and paprika, eaten as a warming breakfast or street food.
African Stores Editorial Team
The short answer
Bissara is a thick Moroccan soup of dried fava beans or split peas, blended smooth with garlic and olive oil, then finished with a drizzle of oil, cumin and paprika. It is a hearty, budget friendly breakfast and street food, eaten hot with bread. African Stores lists shops across the UK where you can find the ingredients near you.
What to remember
- Bissara is a smooth, thick Moroccan soup made from dried fava beans or split peas.
- It is blended with garlic and plenty of olive oil, then finished with cumin, paprika and often a little chilli.
- It is naturally vegan and gluten free, though it is usually eaten with bread, which contains gluten.
- It is a classic warming breakfast in cooler months and a popular, cheap street food.
- The dried beans, peas and spices to make it are sold by African and Middle Eastern food shops across the UK.
Steam rising from a bowl of bissara on a cold morning carries a smell that is pure comfort, warm cumin and garlic loosened into soft beans and grassy olive oil. In countless Moroccan homes and at market stalls alike, this is the taste of winter breakfasts, of hands warmed around a shallow dish and bread torn to scoop up every last bit before heading out into the cold.
Its comfort lies in how little it asks and how much it gives. Made from a handful of dried beans and a good glug of oil, it is food that stretches a modest cupboard into something nourishing and generous. To cook a pot far from home is to bring back those early mornings, and to set it down for someone else, glossed with oil and dusted with spice, is to share a warm and unfussy piece of Morocco.
What Bissara Actually Is
Bissara is one of the most comforting everyday dishes in Moroccan cooking, a thick, velvety soup built from humble store cupboard beans and very little else. Dried fava beans, or split peas in many versions, are simmered until soft and then blended smooth with garlic and a generous pour of olive oil, so the result sits somewhere between a soup and a loose puree. It is honest, filling food, the kind sold from steaming pots at market stalls on a cold morning and made just as often in home kitchens for a warming start to the day. Pale green or golden depending on the beans used, and always finished with a bright dusting of spice, it belongs to the same generous table as much other Moroccan food, where a few simple ingredients are coaxed into something deeply satisfying.
What Is Bissara Made Of
Bissara begins with dried pulses, most traditionally split fava beans, though split peas are widely used and give a slightly sweeter, golden version. The beans or peas are soaked and then simmered with garlic until completely tender, so they collapse easily. Everything is then blended, or mashed by hand, with plenty of olive oil until the mixture turns thick and smooth, loosened with a little of the cooking water to reach the texture the cook wants. Salt, cumin and sometimes a pinch of chilli go in as it cooks. The finish is what makes it unmistakable, a shallow pool of olive oil poured over the top, then a dusting of ground cumin and paprika, and often a little chilli or hot pepper for warmth. Because it is made purely from pulses, olive oil and spices, bissara is naturally vegan and gluten free, which makes it a reliable choice for a range of diets, so long as you keep in mind the bread served with it does contain gluten.
How Bissara Is Eaten in Morocco
Bissara is above all a breakfast, eaten hot and thick on cold mornings through the autumn and winter, when a bowl of it is enough to set someone up for the day. It is served in a shallow dish, the surface glossed with olive oil and dusted with cumin and paprika, and eaten by scooping it up with torn pieces of Moroccan bread rather than with a spoon. Beyond the breakfast table it is a much loved street food, ladled out from big pots by vendors in cities and towns, cheap, quick and warming. The texture is a matter of taste and occasion, some like it thick enough to hold the shape of a spoon, others loosen it into a more pourable soup. Whichever way it is served, the bread, the oil and the warm hit of spice are always part of it.
Where to Buy Bissara Ingredients in the UK
Everything bissara needs is easy to track down in the UK. Dried split fava beans and split peas are the heart of it, and while larger supermarkets stock split peas, African, Caribbean and Middle Eastern food shops are the reliable place to find split fava beans, often cheaper and in better condition, along with the good olive oil, whole and ground cumin and the paprika that finish the dish. The same shops sell the chilli or hot pepper some cooks add, and the flatbreads traditionally served alongside. You can find African food stores near you that keep these ingredients, and the staff are usually happy to point you to the pulses and spices they rate. With a bag of dried beans, a bottle of olive oil and a well stocked spice shelf, a pot of bissara is well within reach at home.
Frequently asked questions
What is bissara?
Bissara is a thick, smooth Moroccan soup made from dried fava beans or split peas simmered with garlic until soft and blended with plenty of olive oil. It is finished with a drizzle of oil and a dusting of cumin and paprika, and often a little chilli. It is a hearty, budget friendly dish eaten hot with bread, most often as a breakfast or as street food.
What is bissara made of?
Bissara is made from dried pulses, most traditionally split fava beans, though split peas are widely used for a sweeter, golden version. The beans or peas are simmered with garlic until tender, then blended smooth with olive oil, salt and cumin, and loosened with a little cooking water. It is finished on top with more olive oil, ground cumin and paprika, and sometimes chilli or hot pepper for warmth.
Is bissara vegan and gluten free?
Bissara is naturally vegan and gluten free, because it is made purely from pulses, olive oil, garlic and spices with no dairy, egg or wheat. The one thing to watch is the bread it is traditionally served and scooped up with, which usually contains gluten, so anyone avoiding gluten should choose a suitable bread or eat the soup on its own. The soup itself is suitable for both vegan and gluten free diets.
How do Moroccans eat bissara?
Bissara is eaten hot, most often as a breakfast on cold autumn and winter mornings, served in a shallow dish glossed with olive oil and dusted with cumin and paprika. It is scooped up with torn pieces of Moroccan bread rather than eaten with a spoon. It is also a popular street food, sold from big pots by vendors, and the texture ranges from thick and spoonable to a looser, more pourable soup.
Where can I buy the ingredients for bissara in the UK?
The dried split fava beans, split peas, olive oil and spices for bissara are sold by supermarkets and, often cheaper and in better condition, by African, Caribbean and Middle Eastern food shops, which are the most reliable place to find split fava beans. These shops also stock the cumin, paprika and flatbreads served with it. African Stores lists African and Caribbean food shops across the UK, so you can find one near you that stocks the ingredients for bissara.