10 Middle Eastern Recipes Easy to Make at Home

Picture a table crowded with small plates — creamy dips, sizzling skewers, herb-flecked salads, and fragrant rice — and a group of people reaching across one another, eating without any particular order, laughing and refilling their glasses. That’s the spirit of Middle Eastern cooking, and it’s one of the most welcoming food cultures on the planet. The mezze tradition alone — that beautiful sprawl of shared small dishes — is enough to make you fall in love with this cuisine before a single bite.

What surprises most home cooks is how approachable these dishes actually are. The ingredient lists tend to be short, the techniques are forgiving, and the payoff in flavor is enormous. Middle Eastern cooking leans hard on a core pantry of olive oil, garlic, lemon, tahini, chickpeas, and a handful of warm spices — cumin, coriander, cinnamon, sumac, and za’atar — and from those building blocks, you can produce an astonishing range of dishes.

The recipes here span the region broadly, drawing from Lebanese, Egyptian, Turkish, Persian, and Levantine traditions. Some are best known as restaurant staples or street food. Others are weeknight dinner workhorses that millions of families across the Middle East cook without a second thought. All of them are genuinely achievable in a home kitchen, whether you’re cooking for one on a Tuesday or feeding a dozen people on a weekend afternoon.

1. Hummus

There’s a reason hummus has become one of the most consumed dips on earth — it hits every note at once. Creamy, nutty, subtly tangy, with that grassy richness from good olive oil pooling in the center. The stuff you buy at the grocery store gives you a rough idea of what hummus is, but homemade hummus from scratch is a completely different experience.

The single biggest factor in great hummus is how you cook your chickpeas. Dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and simmered until they’re almost falling apart, produce a far smoother, more intensely flavored result than anything from a can. Peel the skins off while they’re still warm — tedious, yes, but the difference in texture is dramatic. If you’re in a time crunch, canned chickpeas absolutely work; just drain, rinse, and simmer them in fresh water for 20 minutes to soften them further before blending.

The tahini you use matters too. A high-quality tahini — pale, pourable, and mildly bitter — will make your hummus taste like it came from an Israeli restaurant. Cheap tahini tends to be gritty and overly bitter, and no amount of lemon juice will fix it.

How to Make It at Home

Blend your cooked chickpeas with tahini, fresh lemon juice, a small clove of raw garlic, and enough ice-cold water to get the blender moving. The cold water is a trick worth knowing — it helps the hummus emulsify into something lighter and almost whipped. Season with salt, then keep blending for at least 3 minutes. The longer it runs, the silkier it gets.

Serving and Topping Ideas

• Swirl it onto a wide, shallow plate and use the back of a spoon to create a well in the center
• Fill the well with good extra-virgin olive oil and a generous pinch of smoked paprika or sumac
• Add a handful of whole chickpeas warmed in cumin-spiced olive oil for texture
• Serve with warm pita, sliced cucumbers, and radishes for scooping

Pro tip: A pinch of baking soda added to the chickpea soaking water helps them cook faster and peel more easily — it softens the skins significantly.

2. Shakshuka

Shakshuka is proof that a dish of tomatoes and eggs can be as satisfying as anything you’d order at a restaurant. Eggs poached directly in a spiced tomato and pepper sauce — the whole thing cooks in one pan in about 30 minutes — and you serve it straight from the skillet with bread torn alongside for scooping.

Originally from North Africa (Tunisia has a strong claim on its origins), shakshuka spread across the Levant and became especially beloved in Israel, where it’s eaten at all hours. It’s as common for breakfast as it is for a late weeknight dinner, which tells you everything about its versatility.

The sauce is where all the flavor lives. You’re building it in layers: soften onions and peppers first until they’re sweet and jammy, then add garlic, cumin, paprika, and a pinch of cayenne. Canned whole tomatoes, crushed by hand into the pan, give you a brighter, more textured sauce than tomato paste or puree. Let it all simmer and concentrate before you crack in the eggs.

Getting the Eggs Right

Make shallow wells in the sauce with the back of a spoon before cracking in each egg. Cover the pan and cook on low heat — the steam does the work. You want the whites fully set but the yolks still liquid and trembling when you tilt the pan. That usually takes 6 to 8 minutes depending on your stovetop.

What to Serve With Shakshuka

• Warm pita or crusty bread for scooping — non-negotiable
• A crumble of feta cheese over the top adds a salty, creamy contrast
• Fresh herbs: flat-leaf parsley or cilantro, torn and scattered just before serving
• A simple cucumber and tomato salad on the side turns it into a full meal

Don’t skip the bread. Shakshuka without something to dip is like soup without a spoon.

3. Falafel

Falafel has a devoted following for good reason — when done correctly, these crispy chickpea fritters are golden and shatteringly crunchy outside, while the interior stays brilliantly green and almost herb-forward, not dense or pasty. Nailing that texture at home is entirely achievable once you understand what causes falafel to go wrong.

The most important rule: use dried chickpeas that have been soaked, not canned. This surprises almost everyone who tries making falafel for the first time. Canned chickpeas are already cooked through, which means the starches have fully gelatinized — the mixture will be too wet and the falafel will either fall apart in the oil or turn dense and gummy inside. Dried chickpeas soaked for 12 hours (but not cooked) have the right moisture content to hold together and fry up light.

Pulse the soaked chickpeas in a food processor with flat-leaf parsley, cilantro, onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, and a pinch of cayenne. You want a coarse, slightly gritty texture, not a smooth paste. Refrigerate the mixture for at least an hour before frying — it firms up and holds its shape much better.

Frying vs. Baking

Oil temperature is everything for frying. Heat neutral oil to 375°F (190°C) and lower the falafel balls in gently. Fry in small batches so the temperature doesn’t drop. They should be deep amber brown in about 3 to 4 minutes.

Baking is an option if you’d rather skip the oil, though the exterior won’t be quite as crisp. Brush generously with olive oil and bake at 425°F (220°C), turning once halfway through.

How to Serve Falafel

• Stuffed into warm pita with shredded lettuce, sliced tomato, and pickled vegetables
• Drizzled with tahini sauce and a squeeze of fresh lemon
• Served over hummus with a cucumber-tomato salad alongside
• Crumbled into a grain bowl with couscous or bulgur wheat

Worth knowing: A tablespoon of flour worked into the mix helps bind it if you’re finding the falafel crumbles when you shape it.

4. Tabbouleh

Tabbouleh is one of those dishes that gets misrepresented so frequently in Western cooking that it’s worth setting the record straight. Authentic tabbouleh is a parsley salad with a small amount of bulgur wheat, not a bulgur salad with some parsley thrown in. The parsley is the main event — finely, finely chopped, packed, and heaped — and the bulgur is there to add body and a pleasant chewiness.

You’ll need two large bunches of flat-leaf parsley. Strip the leaves from the stems, gather them into a tight bundle, and chop them finely with a sharp knife. The food processor will turn them to mush — knife only. Add finely diced ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced green onions, and a handful of fresh mint.

The bulgur gets soaked rather than cooked. Cover fine bulgur with boiling water, let it sit for 20 minutes, then squeeze out every drop of moisture with your hands. Excess water is the enemy of tabbouleh — it turns the salad limp and diluted within minutes of dressing it.

The Dressing

Three ingredients: fresh lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, and salt. That’s it. The ratio should lean toward lemon — tabbouleh is meant to be bright and acidic, not oily.

Tips for the Best Texture

• Salt the diced tomatoes and let them drain in a colander for 10 minutes before adding them — they’ll release excess water that would otherwise water down your salad
• Dress the tabbouleh just before serving; it doesn’t hold well once dressed
• Taste and adjust the lemon — you’ll likely want more than you expect
• Serve on a bed of romaine lettuce leaves for scooping, in the traditional Lebanese style

5. Lebanese Chicken Shawarma

Shawarma is street food royalty. The word refers to the cooking method — stacked, marinated meat rotating slowly on a vertical spit — but you can get remarkably close to that flavor at home using a sheet pan and your oven’s broiler. The marinade does the heavy lifting, and it’s worth taking the time to marinate overnight.

The shawarma spice profile is distinctive: cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, allspice, garlic, and lemon. A good splash of plain yogurt in the marinade helps tenderize the chicken and gives it that characteristic slight char when it hits high heat. Use boneless, skinless chicken thighs — they stay juicier than breasts and handle the broiler better.

Building the Marinade

Mix together:

• 4 garlic cloves, minced to a paste
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 3 tablespoons plain yogurt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon each: cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, allspice
• Salt and black pepper

Coat the chicken thighs thoroughly and marinate for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Spread on a parchment-lined sheet pan in a single layer and broil on the top rack until charred at the edges and cooked through — about 15 to 18 minutes, flipping once.

How to Serve It

Thinly slice the cooked chicken against the grain. Serve inside warm pita with:

• Pickled turnips (the pink ones — a Middle Eastern staple)
• Garlic sauce (toum) or tahini
• Sliced tomatoes and cucumber
• Fresh parsley or a handful of sumac-sprinkled onions

Pro tip: Tuck the filled pita into a hot dry pan for 30 seconds on each side. The slight crisp and heat brings the whole thing together in a way that room-temperature assembly just doesn’t.

6. Baba Ganoush

If hummus is the most famous Middle Eastern dip, baba ganoush is arguably the most underrated. It’s made from charred eggplant — and “charred” is not an exaggeration. You want the skin completely blackened, the flesh soft and collapsing, and a deep smokiness running through every bite. That char is the defining flavor of baba ganoush, and it separates the real thing from mediocre versions.

The best method for home cooks is direct flame: place whole eggplants directly over a gas burner and let them char all over, turning with tongs every few minutes, for about 15 to 20 minutes until completely collapsed. No gas stove? A very hot broiler works, though you’ll get less smoke penetration into the flesh.

Let the cooked eggplant drain in a colander for at least 20 minutes after peeling. Eggplant holds a lot of water, and if you skip this step, your baba ganoush will be watery and thin. Squeeze the flesh gently to press out as much liquid as possible.

Building the Flavor

Mash the drained eggplant flesh with tahini, garlic, lemon juice, and salt. Some versions add a spoonful of plain yogurt for extra creaminess. Don’t over-process it — baba ganoush should have texture, not be completely smooth.

Finishing Touches That Matter

• A drizzle of good olive oil is non-negotiable
• Pomegranate seeds on top add sweetness and color
• A sprinkle of sumac or smoked paprika gives it visual appeal
• Chopped fresh parsley adds freshness to the smoky richness

Baba ganoush actually improves after a few hours in the fridge — make it ahead and let the flavors settle.

7. Kofta Kebabs

Kofta is one of the most ancient preparations in the entire region — the word comes from the Persian koofteh, meaning pounded meat — and it’s easy to see why it’s lasted for centuries. Ground meat (lamb, beef, or a combination) mixed with onion, fresh herbs, and warm spices, shaped around skewers or into cylinders, and cooked over fire or under a broiler. It’s simple, rich, and deeply satisfying.

The spice blend is what defines kofta’s character. Allspice, cinnamon, and cumin are the backbone. Fresh flat-leaf parsley adds brightness and keeps the interior moist. The trick to kofta that holds together on the grill is grating the onion rather than chopping it — grated onion releases its juices into the meat and acts as a binder while adding flavor without chunks.

Mix ground lamb or beef with the grated onion, chopped parsley, minced garlic, cumin, allspice, cinnamon, paprika, salt, and pepper. Knead the mixture firmly for about 2 minutes — this develops the protein structure so the kofta won’t fall apart during cooking. Shape around flat metal skewers if you have them, or form into elongated cylinders and cook on a well-oiled grill grate.

Cooking Methods

• Grilled: Over medium-high charcoal or gas for 10 to 12 minutes, turning regularly
• Broiled: On a wire rack set inside a sheet pan, under a hot broiler for 12 to 15 minutes
• Pan-seared: In a cast-iron skillet with a little oil — excellent crust, more steam inside

What to Serve With Kofta

• Warm pita and a bowl of minty yogurt sauce for dipping
• Rice pilaf with toasted vermicelli noodles
• A fattoush or shirazi salad alongside for freshness
• Hummus spread on the plate, with the kofta laid on top

8. Mujadara

Mujadara has been called the poor man’s dish — but anyone who’s eaten a properly made bowl would argue it’s one of the most satisfying things you can cook. It’s a Levantine preparation of rice and green lentils topped with caramelized onions, and the combination of textures and flavors is genuinely greater than the sum of its parts.

The caramelized onions are what make mujadara memorable. You need time and patience — slice two or three large onions thinly and cook them in olive oil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for a solid 30 to 40 minutes. They’ll go through several stages: sweating, softening, turning pale gold, then finally becoming deep amber and jammy. Don’t rush this. The sweetness that develops in those onions is irreplaceable.

The lentils and rice get cooked together, with warm spices — cumin, cinnamon, coriander — stirred into the cooking liquid. The result is fragrant, earthy, and filling.

The Right Lentils

Use green or brown lentils for mujadara — they hold their shape after cooking, which gives the dish texture. Red lentils will dissolve and turn the whole thing into a porridge, which isn’t what you’re going for.

How to Serve Mujadara

• Topped generously with the caramelized onions (reserve some to stay slightly crispy)
• A dollop of plain yogurt on the side cuts through the richness beautifully
• Serve with a fresh salad of chopped tomatoes, cucumber, and parsley dressed with lemon
• A sprinkle of sumac over everything adds the final bright note this dish needs

Mujadara is one of the rare dishes that tastes even better reheated the next day — make a large batch.

9. Ful Medames

Ful medames — often spelled ful mudammas — is essentially the Egyptian national breakfast dish, and it’s been eaten in the region for thousands of years. Fava beans, slow-cooked until tender and then mashed with garlic, lemon juice, cumin, and olive oil, served warm with a variety of toppings. It’s incredibly simple and completely satisfying.

You can use dried fava beans (soaked overnight and simmered for about an hour) or the canned version, which works fine and cuts the prep time significantly. Drain and rinse the canned favas, then combine them in a pot with a little water, minced garlic, ground cumin, salt, and a squeeze of lemon. Cook over medium heat until the beans are soft and have absorbed the seasonings, then use a fork to partially mash them — you want some texture remaining, not a completely smooth paste.

Finish with a generous pour of extra-virgin olive oil directly into the pot before serving. This is not optional — it rounds out the flavor and gives ful its characteristic richness.

Traditional Toppings

Part of what makes ful medames so enjoyable is the topping setup. Set out small dishes of:

• Diced tomatoes and cucumber
• Sliced hard-boiled eggs
• Fresh parsley and cilantro
• Sliced green onions
• Extra lemon wedges
• A drizzle of chili oil or harissa for heat

What to Eat It With

Warm pita is the classic accompaniment, used to scoop the beans directly. A side of labneh (strained yogurt) and sliced vegetables rounds it into a complete meal that’s protein-rich and incredibly filling.

10. Lebanese Chicken Kebabs (Shish Tawook)

Shish tawook is one of Lebanon’s most beloved grilled chicken dishes, and once you’ve made the marinade, you’ll understand why it’s cooked at least weekly in homes across the country. The combination of yogurt, garlic, lemon, and warm Arab spices — cumin, cinnamon, allspice — transforms ordinary chicken breast into something fragrant and deeply flavorful, with edges that char beautifully on a grill.

Yogurt is the key marinade ingredient. It’s mildly acidic, which tenderizes the meat without toughening it the way highly acidic marinades (think lots of lemon juice or vinegar) can do over time. The yogurt also clings to the chicken and creates a coating that caramelizes against the heat, forming those slightly charred, slightly sticky edges that make shish tawook so irresistible.

Cut boneless chicken breasts or thighs into large cubes — roughly 1.5 inches. Mix together a marinade of plain yogurt, minced garlic (at least 4 cloves; don’t be shy), lemon juice, olive oil, tomato paste, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, paprika, and salt. Coat the chicken thoroughly, cover, and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours. Overnight is better.

Grilling for the Best Results

Thread the marinated chicken onto skewers, alternating with chunks of red onion and green pepper if you like. Grill over medium-high heat, turning every 3 to 4 minutes, until cooked through with visible char marks — about 12 to 15 minutes total. The tomato paste in the marinade encourages browning, so watch for flare-ups.

Serving Shish Tawook

• Over a mound of couscous or Lebanese rice with vermicelli
• Inside pita with garlic sauce (toum), pickled vegetables, and fresh parsley
• With a simple cucumber and tomato salad dressed with sumac and lemon
• A sprinkle of sumac over the finished kebabs before serving adds an authentic finishing note

Shish tawook is outstanding cooked under a broiler if you don’t have a grill — the results are nearly identical.

Stocking Your Middle Eastern Pantry

Before you try any of these recipes, it’s worth understanding which pantry items to keep on hand. Middle Eastern cooking is built on a relatively compact set of staples, and once you have them, a huge range of dishes becomes weeknight-easy.

The spices that appear most frequently across these recipes:

• Cumin (ground) — earthy, warm, essential
• Coriander (ground) — floral, slightly citrusy
• Cinnamon — used in savory applications far more than in Western cooking
• Allspice — warm and complex, especially common in Levantine dishes
• Sumac — tart and fruity, used like a seasoning salt over finished dishes
• Za’atar — a blend of dried thyme, sesame seeds, and sumac
• Turmeric — for color and depth in rice dishes and stews
• Paprika (smoked or sweet) — for warmth and color

Essential pantry staples beyond spices:

• Good tahini (sesame paste) — the foundation of hummus, baba ganoush, and countless sauces
• Extra-virgin olive oil — used generously in everything from cooking to finishing
• Dried chickpeas and green lentils — the proteins of much of this cuisine
• Bulgur wheat and couscous — fast-cooking grains that anchor salads and side dishes
• Canned whole tomatoes — for shakshuka, stews, and kofta sauces
• Plain yogurt — for marinades, dips, and accompaniments

With these on your shelves, you can pull together most of the dishes above with minimal advance planning.

How to Turn These Recipes Into a Full Middle Eastern Spread

One of the most rewarding ways to cook from this list is to combine three or four dishes into a mezze-style spread — the Middle Eastern tradition of sharing multiple small dishes rather than plating individual portions.

A manageable home mezze might look like: hummus, baba ganoush, tabbouleh, and kofta kebabs, served with warm pita and a bowl of sliced cucumber and tomatoes. Make the hummus and baba ganoush the day before — they both improve overnight. Prep the tabbouleh a few hours ahead but dress it at the last minute. Cook the kofta fresh and serve immediately.

The beauty of this approach is that most of the dishes are make-ahead friendly. Shakshuka reheats in minutes. Mujadara improves after a day in the fridge. Ful medames can be made in a big batch and served across multiple days. The marinades for shawarma and shish tawook work overnight, so the actual cooking time is short.

Middle Eastern cooking rewards patience in the planning stage — a little prep done the day before transforms what could be a stressful dinner party into something genuinely easy to manage.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Cooking Middle Eastern Food

Even with straightforward recipes, a few recurring pitfalls trip up home cooks working with this cuisine for the first time.

Using pre-ground spices that have been sitting in your cupboard for two years. Spices lose potency quickly. If your cumin smells like nothing when you open the jar, it’ll taste like nothing in your food. Buy whole cumin and coriander seeds and toast and grind them yourself — it takes 5 minutes and the difference is startling.

Under-salting. Middle Eastern food is boldly seasoned, and salt is what brings all those spices into focus. Taste at every stage, especially in dishes like hummus and tabbouleh where the seasoning has to be dialed in precisely.

Rushing the caramelized onions in mujadara. This comes up again because it’s the most commonly skipped step. Thirty minutes feels like a long time. Forty-five minutes of properly caramelized onions is what separates a good mujadara from a great one.

Skipping the draining step for tabbouleh and baba ganoush. Excess moisture is the silent killer of both dishes. Salt your tomatoes and drain them. Squeeze your charred eggplant. These 10-minute steps protect the texture of your finished dish.

Final Thoughts

Middle Eastern cooking doesn’t ask a lot of you — it asks for good olive oil, fresh lemons, a handful of well-stocked spices, and a little time. The techniques are mostly simple: blend, mix, grill, simmer. What makes this cuisine feel special is how those modest elements combine into something that’s genuinely greater than the ingredients themselves.

Start with hummus and shakshuka if you’re cooking from this list for the first time. They require almost no special equipment, they come together quickly, and they’ll give you an immediate feel for how Middle Eastern flavors work together. From there, falafel and shish tawook make a natural next step.

Cook one dish a week rather than trying to tackle everything at once. You’ll build a feel for the spice combinations and develop a sense of how much lemon, how much garlic, how much tahini suits your palate. That’s how these recipes become second nature — the way they already are for cooks across the region who make them without measuring a single thing.