Recipe
🍳 BREAKFAST
Sahan Ful (Sudanese Fava Beans)
Slow-cooked fava beans crushed with cumin and lifted with tomato, onion and olive oil, the Sudanese breakfast of beans and bread.
Sudanese · easy · serves 4
prep 10 min · cook 20 min
~197 cal · 11g protein · 36g carbs · 1g fat · 9g fiber · 4g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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AI-generated illustration
Ful medames is so central to Sudan that it is often called the national dish, a plate of slow-cooked fava beans eaten for breakfast and known simply as sahan ful, a plate of beans. The soft beans are crushed with cumin, then dressed with tomato, onion and a generous pour of olive oil.
Across Khartoum it is scooped up with bread from a communal dish, a shared start to the day. Rich in protein and endlessly satisfying, it is of how much a humble bean can carry.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
3 cups cooked fava beans
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tomato, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp ground cumin
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Warm the fava beans with a little of their liquid in a pot, then crush them lightly with a masher, leaving some whole.
2
Fold in the garlic and cumin and season with salt, adding water to a soft, spoonable texture.
✎ Chef’s note
Leave some beans whole for texture rather than mashing to a smooth paste.
3
Spoon into a bowl and top with the chopped onion and tomato.
4
Drizzle generously with olive oil, squeeze over the lemon, and serve with warm bread.
Sudanese breakfast cooking, Khartoum.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Khartoum. Peanut is a sauce ingredient here rather than a snack. Dakwa, ground peanut, goes into stews and into salads such as salata aswad, made with grilled aubergine. Breakfast is fuul, fava beans cooked soft and dressed with sesame oil and crumbled white jibna cheese.
🗺️
Sudan. Sudanese ful is dressed differently from the Egyptian version: sesame oil poured over rather than olive oil, crumbled white cheese on top, and the beans mashed only partly. Sesame is a major Sudanese crop, which is why its oil rather than another turns up at breakfast. Karkade, hibiscus steeped and cooled, is the drink alongside.
🌍
Africa. Much of what reads as timeless African cooking is younger than the Atlantic crossings. Maize, cassava, groundnut, chilli and tomato all arrived from the Americas after 1500 and pushed older crops aside; millet, sorghum, teff, yam and fonio are the ones that were already here, and the map still shows the join.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Sudan
Bamia (Sudanese Okra Stew)Tender lamb and okra simmered in a garlicky tomato broth spiced with black lime, Sudan’s everyday comfort, scooped with kisra.
GurasaA thick, soft Sudanese griddle pancake eaten with a stew or with sugar and ghee for breakfast.
ShaiyahStrips of lamb quickly fried with onion, peppers, and spices, a popular Sudanese meat dish for gatherings.
Browse all Sudan recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Best the day it is made. Wrap well and refresh in a warm oven, or freeze and reheat straight from frozen.
Make it a Sudan meal
Jabana (Sudanese Spiced Coffee)Drink
Basbousa (Semolina Cake in Syrup)Dessert
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Frequently asked questions
What is Sahan Ful (Sudanese Fava Beans)?
Slow-cooked fava beans crushed with cumin and lifted with tomato, onion and olive oil, the Sudanese breakfast of beans and bread.
Where does Sahan Ful (Sudanese Fava Beans) come from?
Sahan Ful (Sudanese Fava Beans) is a Sudanese dish from Khartoum, Sudan.
Can Sahan Ful (Sudanese Fava Beans) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Sahan Ful (Sudanese Fava Beans) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Sahan Ful (Sudanese Fava Beans) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Sahan Ful (Sudanese Fava Beans) take to make?
About 30 minutes total (10 minutes prep, 20 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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