Loubia (Moroccan Stewed White Beans With Lamb) Recipe - Calories, Macros & Health Benefits

Loubia (Moroccan Stewed White Beans With Lamb) - Calorie & Ingredient Breakdown

Original recipe: Loubia (Moroccan Stewed White Beans With Lamb) - Serious Eats by Nargisse Benkabbou

The Recipe

Loubia (Moroccan Stewed White Beans With Lamb)

Prep: 15 min | Cook: 2 hr (plus 8 hr bean brining) | Serves: 7

Ingredients

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cover the beans with 8 1/2 cups (2 L) water. Add brining salt and baking soda, stir briefly, cover loosely, and let soak at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours. Drain and rinse well.
2. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion, garlic, tomato paste, cumin, paprika, turmeric, ginger, stew salt, and black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the lamb and stir to combine. Let it cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the drained beans, grated tomatoes, and broth. If the beans are not fully covered, add water just to cover.
5. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low. Cover and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the lamb is tender and the beans are creamy, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Add water if needed to prevent scorching and keep a stew-like consistency.
6. Season to taste with salt. Serve in shallow bowls, drizzle with olive oil, and garnish with cilantro.

Key tip: Brining the beans in salt and baking soda before cooking is the single biggest upgrade to bean texture. The baking soda softens the pectin and the salt holds the bean skins together, giving you creamy interiors without mushy, broken beans.

Nutrient Card

Loubia (Moroccan Stewed White Beans With Lamb) (per serving)
Calories: 431
Protein: 38g
Fat: 13g
  Saturated: 3g
Carbs: 42g
  Fiber: 10g
  Sugar: 4g
Sodium: ~1,330mg
Cholesterol: ~79mg

Full Nutrition Breakdown

Here is the ingredient-by-ingredient breakdown of a single serving of loubia (recipe divided into 7 servings). Values use USDA FoodData Central references for cannellini beans, lamb stew meat, and the aromatic mix.

Note: My ingredient totals land at around 441 cal, which tracks with the published 431 cal per serving. The small gap comes from variation in lamb cut leanness and how much brining salt actually gets absorbed by the beans. Lamb leanness in particular swings results by 50 to 80 calories per serving.

Where Your Calories Actually Come From

This is the counterintuitive part of loubia: the beans are responsible for almost half the calories, not the lamb. People hear "lamb stew" and assume the meat is driving the calorie count, but in a properly portioned bowl the beans do the heavy lifting and the lamb functions as a flavor accent.

Macro Split

A 35% protein share is high for a stew. For comparison, a typical beef chili lands closer to 25% protein, and most pasta dishes sit at 10 to 15%. The combination of beans plus lamb in the same bowl is the reason the protein runs so strong here without the fat creeping up.

Health Benefits at a Glance

Loubia is quietly one of the more nutrient-dense one-pot meals you can put together. The ingredient list is short, but each one is pulling real weight. Here is what the research links to the standout components of this dish.

This meal is especially strong if you are trying to lose weight without feeling hungry. The 38 grams of protein plus 10 grams of fiber is the single best combination for hours-long satiety, and it hits that mark for 431 calories. It is also a smart pick after a tough workout because the lamb provides iron and B12 your body uses to rebuild, while the beans refill glycogen stores without spiking blood sugar. If your skin has been dull or your joints have been achy, the turmeric and olive oil combination is working on both of those in the background.

Smarter Swaps (With Real Numbers)

A few small swaps can drop calories meaningfully without gutting the flavor. Each of these compares against one serving of the original recipe.

Swap 1: Replace lamb with extra-lean beef (93/7)

Swap 2: Use skinless chicken thigh instead of lamb

Swap 3: Cut olive oil in half (use 1.5 tbsp instead of 3 tbsp)

Swap 4: Use canned no-salt-added beans instead of dried

The Ultra-Lean Stack: All Swaps Combined

Swapping in skinless chicken thigh, halving the olive oil, and using canned no-salt beans brings a single serving to roughly 340 calories, 37 g protein, and 550 mg sodium. That is a 91-calorie drop and a 780 mg sodium drop while keeping the protein essentially untouched. The flavor profile is still Moroccan and the texture is still stew-creamy.

Fit It Into Your Day

Common Pairings and What They Add

Loubia is traditionally eaten with crusty bread, and it is worth knowing that the bread easily adds more calories than the lamb in your bowl. If you are watching intake, one slice paired with the stew is a more complete meal than two, and you will not miss the second slice once the beans fill you up.

How It Compares

The home-cooked loubia outperforms most restaurant stews on fat while matching or beating almost everything else on protein. The all-in-one-pot format is doing a lot of the work here: no extra butter finishes, no cream, and no frying step means the calorie density stays honest.

Recipe from Serious Eats by Nargisse Benkabbou. Nutrition data sourced from USDA FoodData Central. Individual results vary by brand, cooking method, and portion accuracy. When in doubt, weigh your ingredients.