This traditional Lebanese garlic sauce (or "toum") is packed full of garlicky flavor and spreads as easily as softened butter. Commonly served with shish tawook or even just as a dip for pita bread, if you love garlic this is for you!
Today, I continue my love letter to Middle Eastern food! I teased this recipe when I posted the Perfect Pillowy Pita Bread recipe a few weeks ago, and I am HERE TO DELIVER!
This Lebanese garlic sauce, sometimes called "toum," was another delicious item that I discovered for the first time the summer I worked at a Middle Eastern restaurant. To be completely honest, I didn't know a whole lot about Middle Eastern food when I applied there. I remember the manager asking me which foods I liked to eat from the restaurant during my interview and all I could come up with was the crushed lentil soup...which in his eyes was probably only a slight step up from the kids chicken fingers.
But omg I am so happy that I got that job. Working there opened up my eyes to so many amazing foods, like hummus, fattoosh, falafel, grapeleaves, shawarma, ghallaba, garlic sauce, baklava...I could go on and on.
I got hooked on this garlic sauce right from the beginning (it certainly assisted in my habit of eating 12+ pieces of pita bread per shift), and I was flabbergasted when the manager told me it was made of just garlic, lemon juice, salt and oil. Say, what now? I thought for sure there was mayo or yogurt or something like that in there...it just didn't make sense! But it's TRUE!
The key to making this magical sauce is to add the oil and lemon juice very slowly to create an emulsion. The oil needs time to get broken up by the food processor blades and mingle with the other ingredients - if you add oil too quickly, the oil droplets will all just join back together and your sauce will be oily & chunky instead of creamy & homogenous.
I used to hoard my little to-go containers of garlic sauce whenever I got takeout, so I was SO HAPPY when I figured out I could make it at home! I love eating this just as a dip with pita bread (like with Perfect Pillowy Pita Bread...duh!). It's also great spread on sandwiches (I use rotisserie chicken to make my own little homemade chicken pita!), on meat (kebobs, grilled chicken or steak, etc.) but I also love to use it for roasting vegetables. I've even put it in salad dressings like the Garlicky Red Wine Vinaigrette! You can use it in tons of recipes that call for minced garlic, it's great because it adds the flavor of garlic but without the chunks of garlic cloves.
One warning: I wouldn't recommend eating this before a date, because it is STRONG. Like - you'll be breathing garlic fire for a little while afterward.
Or maybe you and your date can both eat it and then it won't matter because you'll both be garlicky, win-win!
Trust me, you need this garlic in your life. Yummy noises await you!
Lebanese Garlic Sauce: Toum
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 cups canola or vegetable oil
- juice of 1 lemon (about 2-3 Tbsp)
Instructions
- Add the garlic cloves and salt to the bowl of a large food processor. Process for about 10 seconds. Stop, scrape down the sides and run for another 10 seconds or so until all the garlic cloves are nicely minced.
- Turn the food processor back on. Through feed tube, start adding ½ cup of oil VERY slowly in a thin stream. It's crucial to add everything very slowly so that the ingredients emulsify into the right texture. If you go too fast, the mixture can break and the oil & garlic wont properly combine.
- After adding the first half cup of oil, slowly add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. If you feel you need to, you can stop the food processor and scrape down the sides to make sure everything is getting combined. Repeat, alternating remaining oil in ½ cup increments and lemon juice in 2 teaspoon increments until all ingredients have been incorporated.
- The end product should be thick and creamy looking like mayonnaise or softened butter. Transfer mixture to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator. Eat with pita bread, spread on sandwiches, on meat, use for roasting vegetables, the possibilities are endless!
Notes
This is truly Garlic Heaven!!
Yes! I love it so much!!
If healthy olive oil is not good,what over healthy oils could be used? Avocado oil? Canola oil and others such as soybean are very unhealthy
Hi Ken! I have only tried this recipe with canola and vegetable oil so I can’t say for sure, but as long as the avocado oil you choose is flavorless I would think it would work fine! If you try it let me know how it goes 🙂
I use sunflower oil! Healthy and full of Vit E.
In a single's household, 4 cups, or even 2 cups, seems like a lot. How long does this keep?
Yes, it does make quite a large batch but it’s really great on lots of things! I really do use it in a lot of recipes that call for minced garlic because it’s so easy, and I especially love it for roasting vegetables.
The general consensus is that homemade toum should last about 4 weeks in an airtight container in the fridge. That being said, I’ve personally kept it even longer myself - but please use your best judgment!
Amazing! I mix it with cream cheese and serve with fresh baked crackers...EVERYBODY LOVES THIS! Also, I use just a wee bit less oil, sunflower, and this stuff ROCKS THE HOUSE!
That sounds delicious! So glad you like it, Gretchen! 😊
Ok....I made this for the first time today. It is May 8, 2020 and we are living the quarantine life! I have a favorite garlic sauce I love, that comes from a market I cannot get to through this crazy time. I liked it so much because it was a little more lemony and a little less harsh than some of the garlic sauces (Toum) I've tried.
As I was perusing Yummy Noises today, there was the recipe! A perfect time to try to make my own! First of all, so EASY! Most importantly, ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!! I did make a few small changes. I halved the recipe, because I didn't have that much garlic on hand but, it still made an ample 2 cups! I also used frozen garlic because that is the way I keep it in my house. I buy fresh garlic, peel and separate the cloves. ( I freeze them on a cookie sheet and then store them in a glass jar, my mom taught me that!) I also feel that freezing the garlic may soften the flavor a bit. I used the juice from a whole lemon and a bit of lemon zest (just because I like it lemony, if you don't, stick to the amount in the recipe). And, I use half canola oil and half evoo). I did not thaw the garlic, I processed it with the salt, lemon juice and zest first and then slowly added the oil, as Rachel suggested, to get a beautiful emulsion. It is seriously like a whipped souffle' of lemony garlic deliciousness! Simple, delicious and so YUMMY!!!! I'm never buying this again! Thank you for the inspiration, Rach!
So delicious! Best I’ve ever had!!!
Thank you so much! 🙂
This is so great, thanks for making it!
Hi. Do you use the blade attachment when you process? I attempted this once and it separated. Wasn’t sure if it was because I poured the oil too fast or if it was the blade?
Hi Rebecca! Yes, use the blade attachment on the food processor. You are probably correct with the guess that the prior batch broke because the oil was added too fast - you want to drizzle it in suuuuper slowly to get a good solid emulsion!
I've made this sauce 4 times but on only 2 occasions. Both times the first batch has been think and fluffy up until the very end then falls into slop (out of emulsion). Based on my reading, this can be caused by too much oil. It's a real waste to be throwing out so much olive oil each time. I recommend changing the recipe to reflect less olive oil for a more reliable result.
Hi Alyssa, I’m sorry you had trouble with the toum breaking, but I’m glad you were able to get it to work! I think the most common reason the emulsion breaks is usually because the oil was added too quickly - the slower the better! Sometimes you can even rescue a broken batch by taking it out and drizzling it slowly back into the food processor to re-emulsify. If you get to a point where you’re happy with the taste and texture of your toum, you can definitely use less oil if that’s what works for you. 😊
How can this be made without a food processor or mortar and pestle
Ooo that’s a tough one! A mortar and pestle is the original way toum was made, but the food processor is pretty critical for this method. I haven’t tried it myself, but I have heard that some people have had success using an immersion blender and a narrow container. Just make sure to add the oil very slowly, good luck!
I made this today for the first time. Excellent!!! Best recipe. I am so happy as I have not been able to find much Arabic food near my new house.
So glad you liked it, Tina! I love being able to make it at home too 😊
Is it possible to make this with a Ninja blender?
I haven't tried it with the Ninja blender so I'm not totally sure - sorry! I know that you can open the pour spout on the lid while it's running so you could try drizzling the oil in there and it might work. If you give it a try let me know how it turns out!
This recipe was a complete and utter failure for me. I added the oil as slowly as humanly possible (my food processor was running for almost 10 minutes straight as I was adding the oil and lemon juice). I tried running it through the food processor again, tried an immersion blender. Nothing worked. Total waste of ingredients that wound up in the toilet. So disappointed!
Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear that, I know it's super frustrating when things don't work out. I'm assuming yours didn't come together - getting the emulsification right is the tricky part of this recipe. What kind of oil did you use? I've tried olive oil and it tasted pretty bitter, and I've tried avocado oil but it didn't seem to stay emulsified as well.
Fabulous recipe first time-out of the gate it was beyond beyond and so pretty. I halved it (and sorry I did later) and used sunflower oil and it came out just like the picture. I believed you when you said sssuuupper slow, I had seen a stream that thin and still flowed. Thank you so very much you NAILED it.
Gratefully yours,
Candy
Amazing! That makes me so happy to hear. 🥰 Thanks for your kind words!
Just made a half recipe as i only have a baby food processor. It is phenomenal!!!!! It came out just like the garlic sauce I would get in the middle eastern restaurant in the Detroit area. Living in the south now and missed this. Thank you for all the tips they worked!
Laurel
How long will this keep
The general consensus is that homemade toum should last about 4 weeks in an airtight container in the fridge. That being said, I’ve personally kept it even longer myself - but please use your best judgment!
Do you know if you can make this using a vitamix blender on the lowest setting? I used mine and thought I was adding everything very slowly and it still broke.
Thank you!