Fabada Asturiana
Asturian white-bean stew with chorizo, morcilla, and slow-cooked pork.
Ingredients
- 500 g Fabes (white runner beans)
- 250 g Cooking chorizo
- 200 g Morcilla
- 400 g Pork shoulder
- 1 Onion
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 1 tsp Pimenton dulce (sweet smoked paprika)
- 30 ml Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp Salt
- ⅛ g Saffron (optional)
- 2 Bay leaves (optional)
Method
- Soak the fabes (dried white runner beans) in plenty of cold water overnight — at least 12 hours.
- Drain the soaked fabes and tip them into the Dutch oven. Cover with fresh cold water by a couple of centimetres.
- Add the pork shoulder, halved onion, garlic, bay leaves, and saffron. Bring to a gentle simmer.
- Skim the foam from the surface. Drop the heat so just a few bubbles rise and cook gently.
- Add the chorizo and morcilla whole. Continue at the barest simmer.
- Stir in the pimentón and a drizzle of olive oil. Check the seasoning and continue cooking until the broth thickens.
- Lift out the meats. Slice the chorizo and morcilla, shred the pork, and return everything to the pot.
- Ladle into deep bowls with the meats heaped on top.
Tap “Start cooking” for live timers that flag what to get ahead on while something simmers.
About Fabada Asturiana
Fabada Asturiana is the great winter stew of Asturias, in Spain's cool, green northwest, built around fabes, the large, buttery white runner beans that give the dish its name and its silky texture. It is a slow, unhurried pot enriched with cured chorizo, blood sausage, and pork shoulder, the sort of meal that anchors a long Sunday lunch rather than a quick supper. Cooked over roughly three hours, it is unapologetically hearty, high in protein and fiber, and meant to be eaten with bread and a serious appetite.
The flavor is deep and smoky, the broth thickened by the starch of the beans and colored by pimentón, saffron, and the paprika-rich fat that renders out of the sausages. The technique that makes or breaks it is restraint with the heat: the pot should barely tremble, never boil, so the delicate fabes cook through and turn creamy without splitting their skins. Traditionally the beans and the sliced meats are served together in generous bowls, sometimes as separate courses, with crusty bread and a robust red wine or Asturian cider to cut the richness.
Fabada Asturiana: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Fabada Asturiana?
A serving has about 702 calories — 47.9g protein, 54.3g carbs, 33.4g fat, 13.4g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is it high in protein?
Each serving has about 47.9g of protein, roughly 27% of its calories.
Is Fabada Asturiana gluten-free?
Based on its ingredients, Fabada Asturiana has no gluten-containing components, so it's naturally gluten-free — as always, check that any packaged ingredients you use are certified gluten-free to be safe.
How long does Fabada Asturiana take to make?
About 180 minutes start to finish, but only around 18 of those are hands-on — the rest is largely unattended cooking time you can step away from. In the Homecooked app the timers and parallel steps are sequenced for you so the hands-on part feels even shorter.
Do I need every ingredient to make Fabada Asturiana?
The core ingredients are essential, but you can leave out saffron, bay leaves — they're optional and mainly there for extra flavor or finish.
How many servings does Fabada Asturiana make?
This recipe makes 6 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.