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    Home » Recipe Round Ups

    The Best Traditional Lebanese Food Dishes (24 Recipes)

    By Lily・Published: Dec 15, 2022・Updated: Jan 26, 2024・Post may have affiliate links.

    These are some of the best traditional Lebanese food dishes that you will want to make over and over again.

    the best traditional lebanese food recipes

    Lebanese dishes use unique flavors like crushed garlic, sumac, pomegranate molasses, za'atar, tahini, and Lebanese seven spices. The staple of Lebanese cuisine is Lebanese pita bread- a soft and thin pita bread that's not doughy.

    Lebanese restaurants can be found in all corners of the world, with popular Lebanese mezze dishes like batata harra (spicy Lebanese potatoes), baba ganoush, and fried kibbeh. Here are some more of our favorite recipes.

    Tabbouleh

    Tabbouleh, aka tabouli, is a popular parsley and bulgur wheat salad made with fresh tomatoes, onions, flat-leaf parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. Serve with a side of pita bread, lettuce leaves, or cabbage leaves.

    bulgar wheat tabouli
    TABBOULEH RECIPE

    Kousa Mahshi Stuffed Zucchini

    Mahshi kousa is a delicious stuffed zucchini recipe made with calabaza squash, spiced minced meat and rice, and a rich tomato broth. This Lebanese stuffed squash recipe slowly simmers, resulting in the most fragrant and tender rice.

    mahshi kousa in a pot
    MAHSHI KOUSA RECIPE

    Homemade Labneh (From Scratch)

    This homemade labneh recipe starts with whole milk and starter plain yogurt. The process takes about 2 days, but the hands-on time is less than 15 minutes. First, plain homemade yogurt is made, then it's strained using a cloth or paper towel to form authentic labneh. This labneh recipe tastes different from using store-bought yogurt because homemade yogurt is tangier.

    close up of labneh made from store-bought yogurt
    LABNEH RECIPE

    Stuffed Grape Leaves (Warak 3enab)

    Lebanese stuffed grape leaves are common at family gatherings, special occasions, and holidays. This rolled grapes leaves recipe is made with lamb chops and meat and rice-rolled grape leaves that are slow-simmered in a garlic lemon broth. Stuffed grape leaves aren't that difficult if you follow this recipe's step-by-step guide.

    warak enab stuffed grape leaves with lamb chops
    STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES RECIPE

    Mujaddara

    Lebanese mujadara is a delicious dish made with lentils, rice, and caramelized onions. It's served with a delicious lemon and mint shredded cabbage salad and pita bread. Mujadara is made in a few different ways. This version is called mujadara msufaye which has a thick mostly lentil consistency.

    mujadara and mint shredded cabbage salad
    MUJADDARA RECIPE

    Stuffed Kibbeh

    Kibbeh is the national dish of Lebanon, and stuffed baked kibbeh is one of the many variations of kibbeh recipes. This version of kibbeh is made with minced meat and softened bulgar spread into the top and bottom layers. A middle section is made with pinenuts, pomegranate molasses, ground meat, and spices. This stuffed and baked kibbeh recipe is baked and served with some cucumber mint yogurt. Some other kibbeh recipes are potato kibbeh, kibbeh bil sanieh, kibbeh labanieh, fried kibbeh, and kibbeh nayyeh.

    baked stuffed kibbeh cross section view in a tray
    STUFFED KIBBEH RECIPE

    Fattoush Salad

    Fattoush is a bright, vibrant chopped salad with fried pita chips (or za'atar fried pita chips). It's a blend of chopped romaine lettuce, radishes, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, bell peppers, fresh parsley leaves, fresh mint leaves, and pomegranate arils. The salad dressing is a blend of sumac, lemon juice, salt, and olive oil. This fattoush salad recipe is 5 years of trial and error for the perfect combination of flavors.

    fatoosh chopped salad with pomegranate and pita chips
    FATTOUSH RECIPE

    Chicken Shish Tawook

    Chicken shish tawook, or shish taouk, is a popular Lebanese chicken kabob skewer made with marinated cubed chicken breast. Chunks of chicken are marinated in yogurt, lemon juice, spices, crushed garlic, pomegranate molasses, and olive oil.

    grilled chicken shish tawook skewers in a bowl
    SHISH TAWOOK RECIPE

    Toum Garlic Sauce

    Toum garlic sauce is the famous Lebanese garlic sauce made with raw garlic cloves, lemon, and oil. Garlic is emulsified into a paste using a food processor. This delicious and potent garlic paste is perfect for kabobs, chicken shawarma, and chicken shish tawook. Lebanese chicken shawarma is a popular street food that has toum, french fries, and shawarma wrapped into a pita sandwich.

    Lebanese toum garlic sauce
    TOUM RECIPE

    Baba Ghanoush Eggplant Dip

    Baba ganoush in an epic eggplant dip made from flame-grilled smokey eggplant that's blended with crushed garlic, lemon juice, salt, and tahini (a popular Middle Eastern paste made of ground toasted sesame seeds). This authentic baba ganoush dip gives all of the tips and tricks for the best baba ganoush recipe including how to freeze grilled eggplants and how to grill eggplants on an open flame. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and eat this delicious side dish with pita bread, pita chips, or fresh vegetables.

    fire roasted baba ganoush on a plate with olive oil
    BABA GANOUSH RECIPE

    Shish Barak

    Shish barak is a traditional Lebanese dish made with meat-filled dumplings slow-simmered in a thick mint yogurt sauce. This shish barak recipe is teta-approved, and it has a video to guide you through the entire process. Also, the dumplings can be frozen, which cuts down the cooking time for a future meal.

    recipe for Shish Barak
    SHISH BARAK RECIPE

    Sheikh El Mahshi (Meat Stuffed Eggplants)

    Sheikh el mahshi literally translates to the king of mahshi. This Lebanese stuffed eggplant recipe is an extraordinary dish made with roasted eggplants stuffed with minced meat and then baked in a tomato broth.

    sheikh el mahshi on a plate
    SHEIKH EL MAHSHI RECIPE

    Sfouf Turmeric Cake

    Sfouf is a popular turmeric and semolina cake made with semolina, flour, sugar, turmeric (or curcuma), and milk. Serve with Arabic coffee or cardamom tea.

    sfouf turmeric cake
    SFOUF RECIPE

    Grilled Kafta Skewers

    Grilled kafta skewers are a delicious minced meat kabob made with ground beef or ground lamb meat, spices, fresh parsley, onion, and minced garlic. Check out baked kafta and potatoes or these chicken kafta patties.

    Lebanese kafta kabob skewers
    KAFTA RECIPE

    Namoura Semolina Cake

    Namoura is a syrup-soaked semolina cake, similar to basbousa. This namoura dessert recipe is made with fine semolina, yogurt, sugar, butter, and baking powder then drizzled with orange blossom water sugar syrup.

    Lebanese namoura
    NAMOURA RECIPE

    Fried Kibbeh Balls

    Fried kibbeh balls are small balls of kibbeh stuffed with spiced minced meat and pine nuts, and then deep-fried to perfection. Kibbeh balls are a popular Lebanese mezze appetizer that tastes phenomenal, especially when dipped in some garlic labneh! These are freezer-friendly, so make a double batch for an easy-peasy appetizer.

    fried kibbeh in a bowl
    KIBBEH BALLS RECIPE

    Raw Kibbeh Nayyeh

    Raw kibbeh nayyeh is a delicious Lebanese recipe with softened bulgar wheat, raw meat, onions, and spices. It's normally eaten with some white onions, pita bread, and arak on the side. If you'd like a vegan version, try potato kibbeh.

    decorating kibbeh nayeh with herbs
    KIBBEH NAYYEH RECIPE

    Eggplant Fatteh

    Eggplant fatteh, or fattet betinjan, is a delicious savory bread pudding made with leftover pita scraps, garlicky yogurt, fried eggplant, chickpeas, and pine nuts. Another one of our favorite fatteh recipes, is this fattet hummus with chickpeas and pomegranate.

    eggplant fatteh
    FATTET BETINJAN RECIPE

    Lahm Bi Ajeen (Sfiha) Meat Pies

    These delicious Lebanese meat pies, aka lahm bi ajeen, are made with homemade flatbread dough topped with tomato-spiced meat mixture. These flatbreads are baked in the oven and served with some homemade yogurt, Lebanese cucumber yogurt sauce, and a drizzle of lemon juice.

    sfiha minced meat pieces on a plate
    LAHM BI AJEEN RECIPE

    Za'atar Manakish

    Za'atar manakish (or cheese manakish) is a traditional Lebanese breakfast, found all throughout Lebanon. Delicious homemade flatbread dough is topped with za'atar and olive oil, then baked to perfection. Serve za'atar manakish with fresh mint, tomatoes, Persian cucumbers, olives, and labneh. Za'atar is a popular mixed dried spice in Lebanese food that's great for za'atar pita chips, za'atar labneh, and za'atar and cheese fried spring rolls.

    cooked manakeesh on a plate
    ZA'ATAR MANAKISH RECIPE

    Pita Chips

    These golden fried pita chips are the best pita chips ever! Thin Lebanese bread is cut and fried into chip-like squares and topped with flaked sea salt. These pita chips are the best for black olive tapenade, garlic labneh, or Vitamix hummus.

    homemade pita chips
    PITA CHIPS RECIPE

    Rose Water Rice Pudding

    Rose water rice pudding is a creamy stovetop rice pudding dessert made with rose water, orange blossom water, milk, sugar, cornstarch, and rice.

    stovetop rice pudding with cooked rice
    RICE PUDDING RECIPE

    Lebanese Vermicelli Rice

    Lebanese vermicelli rice is the most popular rice side dish served alongside stews like bazella, mloukhieh, and fasolia.

    Lebanese vermicelli rice.
    Vermicelli Rice

    Kishik Soup

    Lebanese kishik soup is a bulgur wheat yogurt porridge with ground lamb, onions, and garlic.

    Kishk soup with Lebanese pita bread and vegetables on the side.
    KISHIK SOUP RECIPE

    Delicious Lebanese Food

    For more of the best authentic Lebanese recipes, check out the Lebanese recipe index on The Matbakh. Lebanese food is a popular Middle Eastern cuisine, and now you can have a Lebanese feast at home with these traditional recipes!

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      What To Serve With Lasagna - 10 Easy Side Dishes

    About Lily

    Howdy! My name is Lilian, but my friends call me Lily. I'm the founder and one of the recipe authors here at The Matbakh. I enjoy sunsets, long walks to the fridge, meaningful relationships, and anything related to food. I'm so happy you are here!

    Reader Interactions

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Sandi Cugno

      September 07, 2024 at 6:26 pm

      I love Lebanese food recipes and your article is written very well. I have friends and family who would like to see the recipes. It's been a real treat to me to have read the information and I'm going to share it with my family and friends.

      Reply
      • Lily

        September 07, 2024 at 8:16 pm

        Thanks for the comment Sandi! There are so many good Lebanese recipes!

        Reply
    2. imsen

      February 22, 2023 at 1:15 am

      the kousa recipe was thestar of the show! thanks for the recipes!

      Reply
    3. Whitney

      February 21, 2023 at 7:30 pm

      My late grandfather is lebanese and I truly miss his cooking. These recipes do remind me of him, I always loved his meat pies so looking forward to trying yours!

      Reply
    4. justin

      February 21, 2023 at 7:09 pm

      Labneh was to die for, thanks for the help with it!

      Reply
    5. Tara

      February 21, 2023 at 7:04 pm

      Such a wonderful collection of recipes! I especially love the Shish Barak and Chicken Shish Tawook.

      Reply
    6. Gabby

      February 21, 2023 at 6:12 pm

      YUM! I love so many of these recipes, but have so many more to try. Great to have them all in the one place to refer back to!

      Reply
    7. Carrie Robinson

      February 21, 2023 at 5:32 pm

      I have never cooked Lebanese food before! I definitely see a few recipes that I need to try soon. 🙂

      Reply
      • Lily

        February 21, 2023 at 5:44 pm

        Thanks for the comment!

        Reply
    8. Jerry

      January 02, 2023 at 5:07 pm

      Nice little resource you got here

      Reply
      • Lily

        January 02, 2023 at 5:19 pm

        Thanks Jerry!

        Reply
      • Michelle House

        January 08, 2023 at 11:38 am

        Sublime

        Reply

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    lily at the matbakh

    I'm Lily

    I'm an American Lebanese living in Texas. My kitchen, or matbakh, is a hodgepodge of recipes from the U.S. and Mediterranean region.

    ABOUT ME

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