Lupini beans are not very well known in the US, but they really should be. I predict they’ll soon be one of the hot new “health foods” here; it’s only a matter of time. Not only are they a deliciously addictive snack or appetizer, but are incredibly nutritious and high in protein.
Originally published December 8, 2012.
In this article, I’m going to show you how to cook and eat lupini beans, assuming that most of you reading this have never seen or maybe even heard of lupini beans*.
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What Are Lupini Beans?
Lupini are a very unique type of bean which are popular in Italy, especially at Christmastime.
Lupini beans are also common in Spain where they are known as altramuces, and Portugal as tremoços. They do not have the taste or texture of any other bean I’ve ever had, and they also eaten differently (see below). Lupini beans are extremely bitter before being prepared, and must be soaked overnight, cooked the next day, then rinsed several times a day for the next 5 or 6 days.
Lupini are not the same as other beans which can be cooked and ready to eat right away.
I’ve always wondered who the person was who discovered that if you just keep rinsing these beans that they would actually taste delicious, let alone edible! I can tell you, it’s no one that would get any sort of patent as lupini were eaten by ancient Egyptians! Please don’t let the process dissuade you as the end result is well worth it!
Interesting Fact: Have you ever seen lupin flowers? They are related to lupini beans.
You can just eat lupini beans as a healthy snack, antipasto or also after a meal, as they do in Italy.
With an Italian style preparation, olives are mixed with the lupini at the end of the process, which lend their salty flavor to the beans. It’s a fabulous combination. You can find lupini beans at most Italian markets/delis and middle eastern shops. If you want a large bag of them, on (I would absolutely buy the 3 lb bag on Amazon and make them three different times).
I repeat: don’t let the process of making these intimidate you because there’s really nothing to it. The only caveat is remembering to start about six days before you want to eat them.
If you can boil beans and rinse them, you can prepare lupini.
Of course, these are great to eat as a snack because they’re so healthy and nutritious. Don’t just limit them to the Christmas season, you can eat them year-round. I will warn you though, once you start eating lupini, it’s very difficult to stop; they are very addictive.
*WARNING: Peanut allergy sufferers, please make sure you are not also allergic to lupini beans.
How to Cook Lupini Beans
Ingredients
- one bag of dry lupini beans, look for beans without blemishes (I used one 14 oz bag)
- salt
- olives, green (like these, with pits are traditionally used in Italy) or black, with the liquid
Rinse and sort (take out any bad looking beans) the lupini, then soak them overnight, a minimum of 12 hours. Make sure to put a few inches of water above the beans so they don’t dry out when you’re trying to rehydrate them.
Cook the beans
Rinse the beans, then put them into a large pot with fresh water, covering the beans with at least a couple inches of water above them.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 45-50 minutes, occasionally stirring with a wooden spoon.
Remove from heat, drain, and place into a large bowl and fill to cover with water.
Rinse the beans for about 5 days
At this point, just keep rinsing the lupini for about 30 seconds at a time, 3 to 4 times a day, for about 5 days (fewer, if you change the water more often.)
The bowl can be kept on the counter; it does not need to be refrigerated.
I kept track of how many times I changed the water over 5 days, and the total count was 18. Yes, this is necessary or you will have bitter beans. Note: do not eat bitter beans, they must lose all their bitter flavor before ingesting them.
At the end of the fifth day, taste a bean, or part of one, to check for bitterness. The bean will not taste good/sweet yet, but you are only checking for bitterness, nothing else. If the lupini beans are still bitter, continue to change the water until they are no longer bitter.
Add salt and olives
Next in the process is to add some salt (about one teaspoon of Kosher salt) to the lupini in the water (do not drain the beans after this). You can also add a can of black or green olives, liquid and all (not under oil). Stir well and taste after about three hours. If it needs more salt, add some. If you make the lupini too salty, just add a little more water.
DO NOT CHANGE THE WATER AFTER THIS and refrigerate, once the salt has been added.
Now the lupini are ready to eat! Use a mini sieve or slotted spoon to put some lupini and olives into a serving bowl, keeping the main bowl in the fridge. The lupini must be kept in water in the fridge, but are best served at room temperature.
How to Eat Lupini Beans
There are three steps. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be able to put away a dozen in under 15 seconds (don’t ask me how I know this). 🤔
- Take a lupini bean in your fingers and bite part way through the top part of the bean (where the little white part is) to break open the skin, but don’t bite the bean inside.
- Now, just squeeze gently while holding the bean in front of your mouth, and POP the bean in! I told you lupini were cooked and eaten differently than any other bean. 😁
- Discard the skin.
Can You Eat the Skin of a Lupini Bean?
Yes, the skin is edible. I can tell you that my brother and son just pop the whole bean into their mouths. However, I don’t like the texture of the skins, so I don’t eat them.
Once you get started, you won’t be able to stop, but remember, they are beans, so you probably don’t want to eat too many in one sitting. Now you know how to cook and eat lupini beans. Enjoy!
Interested in other traditional Italian dishes for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? Just click the following photo or this link.
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Lupini Beans and Olives, An Italian Christmas Tradition (How to Cook & Eat Lupini)
A super nutritious, healthy and addictive traditional Italian snack. Lupini beans and olives are usually served at Christmastime in Italy.
Ingredients
- one bag of dry lupini beans, look for beans without blemishes (I used one 14 oz bag)
- salt
- olives, green (like Castelvetrano, with pits are traditionally used in Italy) or black olives, with the liquid
Instructions
- Rinse and sort (take out any bad looking beans) the lupini, then soak them overnight, a minimum of 12 hours. Make sure to put a few inches of water above the beans so they don't dry out when you're trying to rehydrate them.
- Rinse the beans, then put them into a large pot with fresh water, covering the beans with at least a couple inches of water above them.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 45-50 minutes, occasionally stirring with a wooden spoon.
- Remove from heat, drain, and place into a large bowl and fill to cover with water.
- At this point, just keep rinsing the lupini for about 30 seconds at a time, 3 to 4 times a day, for about 5 days (fewer, if you change the water more often.)
- The bowl can be kept on the counter; it does not need to be refrigerated.
- I kept track of how many times I changed the water over 5 days, and the total count was 18. Yes, this is necessary or you will have bitter beans.
- At the end of the fifth day, taste a bean, or part of one, to check for bitterness. The bean will not taste good/sweet yet, but you are only checking for bitterness, nothing else. If the lupini beans are still bitter, continue to change the water until they are no longer bitter.
- Next in the process is to add some salt, probably about one teaspoon of Kosher salt to the lupini in the water (do not drain the beans after this.) You can also add a can of green (this is the Italian style) or black olives, liquid and all (not under oil). Stir well and taste after about three hours. If it needs more salt, add some. If you make the lupini too salty, just add a little more water.
- DO NOT CHANGE THE WATER ANYMORE and refrigerate, once the salt has been added.
- Now the lupini are ready to eat! Use a mini sieve or slotted spoon to put some lupini and olives into a serving bowl.
Notes
Nutrition info is just for the lupini.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 18 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 25Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 84mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 2g
Nutrition information is only estimated.
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[…] We stopped for drinks at a lovely outdoor bar. They even gave us free snacks (notice the lupini?) […]
[…] with a delicious toasted fig bread (remember, I don’t like figs-I loved this bread), some lupini and olives, homemade tomato jam, which was incredible, and Italian honey. Of course we had a large basket with […]
Just a follow up on my Lupine beans Christina. I followed your recipe and they turned out the way I remember how they should taste! I did add the pitted kalamata olives at the end but it didn’t say they were in oil. When I added them to the beans I saw the oil floating on top of the water. I checked the jar again and it showed the oil in very small print in the list of ingredients not on the front label where it would usually say what they are packed in. I removed the olives and rinsed the beans. Fortunately after the final rinse I poured the beans into 4 canning jars to keep in fridge. So only that first jar had the taste of the olives…just glad I didn’t add the liquid from the olives because even though I rinsed the oil off it still had the flavor of the olives. After that…..just before I served them I decorated the lupine dish with the olives that I strained the liquid from first and that worked great. I added more salt and black pepper before serving. Since we were traveling so much over the holidays I took them with me and served and taught our hosts and guests how to eat them. Some liked, some did not….not all Italians there. But my husband and I and the Italians that were also guests at our Filipino friends New Years Eve party enjoyed them and were excited to see them. I soaked for five days as per your recipe and rinsed on an average of 4 times a day…..a few times it was only 3 rinses. I know the beans were fresh. I purchased them at the busiest Italian store in the Pittsburgh area….The Pennsylvania Macaroni Co….they also have a website and take orders online. When I got there after Thanksgiving the store was packed with customers and the lupine barrel was almost empty and I was going to buy whatever was left in it but as I was scrapping the bottom to fill a bag an employee came with a huge bag of lupine beans to fill the barrel so I know these were fresh and they were selling fast! So you were right when you said that dried beans can go bad in your reply to my first email. I hope nobody has to experience sour lupine beans after all the time and effort it takes to prepare them. Knowing that can happen I will ask for the best buy date on the shipment if they are filling barrels with the beans. So thank you for the good information and advice. Warmest wishes to you and your family for good health and much joy in the New Year.
I just made some two weeks ago, and it took less than two days to have ready to eat. I am arbic and we do eat them through out the year but it is a must have around Christmas time when all the family gathering around for Christmas. If you are near an Arabic store or international market look for a Brand called ( Cortas ) they have the lupini in a 1lb bagsand they are not bitter. I soaked them over night for about 18 hours then washed them and boiled them for about 40 minutes. I washed them a couple of times then soaked them in cold water and little salt. They were ready to eat right away but they tasted great on the second day after cooking them since they were soaked with the little salt overnight.. I put them in the friedge for a week till Christmas eve and everyone enjoyed them even the people who tried them out for the first time. We sprinkle some chopped Italian parsely on top for a little color and falvor
I have never heard of these quick lupini, Lubna. That would be great, especially here in CA where we are in a drought as it takes a lot of water to rinse the beans over so many days. Thanks so much, I’ll look out for them! CC
Love this. We eat them with Spanish and Portuguese food. Will definitely be trying your version as part of pre-Chrstmas antipasti.
Yummy, aren’t they? Enjoy, Jennifer! CC
Ahhh the lupine beans! Thoughts of Christmas and family….lots of family…..dance through me head! My Mom always made lupine beans for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day…..they are addictive….especially with family and company sitting around the table talking and eating lupine beans. I made them several times since I have my own family so to keep the Italian tradition alive. But the last time I made them (2 years ago) they tasted sour and I threw them out. I soaked, drained, soaked in fresh water for 3 weeks as my Mom taught me. So I have been timid about making them again. I live in the South and I can’t find them down here so when I go back home to the Northeast I go to an Italian store to buy Italian foods that I cannot find down here. There is no expiration date on the package as the merchant bags the beans from a bulk bin. Since I usually purchase them in the summer I refrigerate them in my vegetable bin until I am ready to use them at Christmas. When I tasted that last batch they were not mild and nutty….they were sour. My Mom is deceased so I can’t ask her and there are not many Italian-Americans here that would know. Possibly your Mom or other posters may know if dried beans can spoil. But other than that one problem they are so worth the time and effort and I would like to continue the tradition. My Mom also put ground black pepper on our lupine along with the salt. She did not add the olives but I think I would like it and will add them to mine. They make a prettier presentation then the bowl of plain lupine beans. Thanks for sharing your experiences and tips. Best regards, Joanne
I live in Santa Monica, CA..there is a great market Baycities…they sell Italian, Greek, Spanish, Indian, etc.
I bought a bag of lupini beans because I remember as a kid in New Jersey my mother would always have them.
I soaked them in salted water for 5 days and changed the water 3 times a day. Then I boiled them for 30 minutes.
Then I soaked them again for 3 days and changed the water 3 times a day. Okay..you may think this to much work
to do for a silly bean. But in cooking great foods, so what…do it and you will be rewarded.
I made Christina’s Lupini Beans with Olives.. Yes it is worth the time doing it. You will be richly thrilled and happy.
So happy they turned out for you, Fred! They are super easy to make, it’s just remembering to rinse them all the time that takes some effort! I hope you’ll continue to make them…soon it will be time for the Christmas batch! Thanks for stopping by! CC
Fred….I think you misunderstood my question to Christina. I don’t have a problem with the time involved preparing lupini beans….I have done it before as did my Mom. I was actually doing it for three weeks and rinsing and changing the water twice a day. My question was…..do dried beans spoil because the last time I prepared them they were sour….not bitter like when they are not ready but sour. I knew they were not supposed to taste like that and threw them out. Christina said that dried beans can go bad and I may have gotten a bad batch. I think that probably is what happened. But I am going to try Christina’s recipe…..it takes a lot less time than the way my Mom and I did them! I will be going back to Pittsburgh in a couple of weeks and will purchase again but I am going to ask the merchant if there is an expiration date on the bulk supply he has because there is no date on the bags that he fills and stocks on his shelves. So they may have been old and not good anymore. Thanks for your interest. I agree the foods that we grew up with in our Italian family take time and effort to prepare but are oh so worth it!
Hi Joanne, actually beans can go bad, so maybe you just got a bad batch, but maybe they just weren’t rinsed enough, because that’s why they taste bitter, when they are not fully rinsed. Maybe you could try my family’s recipe here, because we only rinse them for about a week, but that’s changing the water several times a day. Let me know if you try, and how they turn out. Good luck!
Thanks Christina. I am going to try them again this Christmas and I will try your recipe. Good to learn that dried beans can go bad. I will see if I can find the lupine beans in a large grocery chain in Pittsburgh. They have a large Italian population there so they may carry them in the larger grocery stores. The little Italian store where I always bought them is always busy but I’m sure it doesn’t do the volume that the large stores do and possibly the beans were old and went bad. Thanks again and I will let you know how it turns out this year!
Sounds good, Joanne! Lots of luck! CC
I remember eating lupini beans as a kid. My mother would always have
them on the table. I forgot about them as I grew older, until I saw a package
of them in my Italian market in Santa Monica.
I am now trying your method of preparing them. Can’t wait to have them for
Christmas. keep sending more Italian things to eat.
What about tripe. I always enjoyed going home to Mom and she would
make me tripe with tomatoes. She was from Naples and my father
was from Calabria.
Boy, did I eat great. And I still carry on the Italian tradition as do my
grown children do when it comes to eating.
My friends can not believe that I use a bottle of olive oil each week.
Thanks, Fred Caruso
Love to hear this, Fred! I’m sure the lupini will bring back so many memories…I love them so much, I even make them during the rest of the year.
Unfortunately, I’m not a tripe-lover. Nonna used to make it in Italy and my mother likes it, but the smell while it is cooking is off putting to me, but don’t worry, I have lots of other authentic Italian recipes to share. You can look up “Italian” by cuisine under my recipes tab and see all the posts I have done so far. Let me know if you need to print one off and it doesn’t have an EasyRecipe printable option, as I am working on adding this to all of my posts.
Love to hear that you and your family are continuing the wonderful Italian traditions with food and if you’re using a bottle of olive oil a week, I say you’re doing something right! :)
Thank you for stopping by! Christina
I grew up with Lupini and in fact I am making a batch right now…will do another batch at Christmas. Since I have two Italian stores near me, I have no problem getting them in bulk. My mom cooked them a little different…soak overnight, at least 12 hours. In the morning, add a handful of salt to the water, bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes, cool in same water and then change the water (at room temperature) 2-3 times a day for 5-7 days. Use your judgment on the bitterness. My mother served with salt and black pepper but this time I might try with the olives. As a child, I used to enjoy popping them out of the shell before eating. As an adult, when I get lazy, I eat skin and all. Yes, these are addictive and sometimes I eat too many at one sitting. They are a very healthy snack and worth the time. Although, I find non-Italians not receptive to the bean.