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Lebanese Garlic Sauce is a thick, creamy sauce with an intense garlic flavor. It is wonderfully delicious served on grilled meats, falafel and shawarma but it can be used on practically anything. Try it on pasta, pizza, stirred into steamed veggies or as a spread for sandwiches. It also makes a to-die-for dip for french fries. The possibilities are endless. Watch our video to see how to make it.
I have been buying a Lebanese garlic sauce at Central Market occasionally, and I stress the ‘occasionally’ as it is almost six dollars for a dinky little 8-ounce container.
So, I was excited when I saw a garlic sauce recipe in my new cookbook entitled, Comptori Lebanais by Tony Kitous, There are some great sounding Lebanese recipes in this book and I have already picked out a few that I want to try.
This garlic sauce is also known as toum which happens to be the Lebanese word for garlic.
During a recent trip to Costco, I purchased a huge bag of peeled garlic with the intention of making my own garlic sauce.
The whole bag of garlic cost less than seven dollars so my homemade Lebanese garlic sauce is very economical compared to the commercial container.
The garlic sauce will use a good cupful but this bag of garlic will keep in the fridge for a long time.
Homemade Lebanese garlic sauce is very similar to making mayonnaise and you just have to take your time drizzling in your oil and lemon juice.
Patience is the key to this recipe… don’t rush. It eventually comes together into a thick, creamy delicious sauce.
HOW DOES LEBANESE GARLIC SAUCE TASTE?
This Lebanese Garlic sauce has a nice creamy texture with a lemony tang and an intense garlic flavor. It is addictive but a little goes a long way.
Did I say it has an intense garlic flavor? This is the real deal! This sauce is not for the faint of heart.
It packs a powerful punch but if you love garlic you will LOVE this sauce. Plus, it will keep in the refrigerator for at least a month.
Serve it with some baked naan bread, or a beef shawarma sandwich and tabouli salad.
HOW CAN YOU USE LEBANESE GARLIC SAUCE?
This sauce is great as a dip, a spread, a pizza sauce or a pasta sauce. It can be used like a mayonnaise on sandwiches.
As a matter of fact, the texture and consistency of this sauce is very much like mayonnaise but with the bonus of being egg-free for anyone with egg allergies.
You will love the versatility of the sauce.
Ideas to use this sauce:
- Stir into cooked pasta
- Spread on salmon steaks and bake
- Bake or grill it with chicken, lamb, beef or pork
- Stir into sautéed vegetables
- Spread on sourdough bread then toast it under the broiler
- Stir it into rice or quinoa
- Top it on a baked potato
- Spread it on a pizza crust instead of traditional pizza sauce
- Use it as a dip for french fries
I mixed several tablespoons of this sauce with additional lemon juice to thin it out and used it with our grilled lamb kabobs. That! was really delicious!
HOW TO MAKE LEBANESE GARLIC SAUCE:
As mentioned earlier, you must take your time when you make this sauce.
If you rush the process the mixture will not emulsify and you will end up with a thin marinade.
That wouldn’t be so bad, actually, but what we are after this time is a thick, fluffy, creamy, delicious spread with somewhat of a mayonnaise consistency.
So take your time with this process and give the mixture time to emulsify.
It should take you 7 to 8 minutes to add all of your oil. Watch our video below to see the process.
You also want to start with dry equipment. If your spatula, food processor or measuring cups have even a drop of water it could prevent the mixture from emulsifying.
Now that I have said that, if you do happen to get water in the mixture, all is not lost. You can still recover.
Water and oil actually can emulsify but if water gets in the mixture, the process will be greatly lengthened and you may feel like giving up and using the mixture as a marinade.
So, make this process easier and start with dry equipment and add the oil VERY SLOWLY. You will love the results.
How many calories are in Lebanese garlic sauce?
One tablespoon of Lebanese garlic sauce has 95 calories, 10 grams of fat, and only 1.5 grams of carbs. Since this garlic sauce is a stable emulsion of oil then the calories come from all the oil.
Lebanese garlic sauce is not a low-calorie sauce but it is a low carbohydrate sauce. Are you watching your carbs?
You will love this sauce. If you’re worried about all the calories then remember that a little bit goes a very long way.
One teaspoon only has 31 calories and that’s all you need for a sandwich or to spread on these grilled lamb kabobs.
MORE GREAT SAUCE RECIPES:
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Lebanese Garlic Sauce
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Ingredients
- 30 large garlic cloves, about 1 cup
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 3 cups neutral-flavored oil, avocado, grapeseed, or canola (do not use peanut, olive oil or sesame oil)
Instructions
- Add the garlic and salt in a food processor and puree until smooth, stopping several times to scrape down the sides.
- With the motor running, slowly drizzle 1/2 cup of the oil through the opening in the lid in a thin stream. Then, with the motor still running, pour in a teaspoon of the lemon juice. The mixture will begin to thicken a little.
- Continue alternating between ½ cup of the oil and a teaspoon of the lemon juice, waiting a few seconds between additions to give the mixture time to absorb, until you’ve added all of the oil and lemon juice. Do not rush, this is a process that will take about 15 minutes. The sauce will become thick, creamy and look like mayonnaise.
- Alternating between the oil and lemon juice is the secret to proper emulsification which creates the light and fluffy garlic sauce.
- Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
Video
Notes
- It is important to make sure that all your equipment is dry. If even a drop of water is on your measuring cups, spatula or food processor the water will prevent emulsification.
- Adding the oil or lemon juice very slowly is also important to the success of this recipe. When you add the oil it should be in a very slow and thin stream, especially in the beginning. The entire process should take about 10 to 15 minutes.
- If the mixture breaks while adding the oil, stop adding the oil and continue pulsing until it comes together again then continue adding oil in a very thin and slow stream.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Help! What am I doing wrong? I’ve tried to make this twice and it never incorporates/thickens. I have tried the blender and the food processor. Measured all items out. Dried my gadgets with a blow drier before I started
Hi, Tracie….I’m sorry this didn’t thicken up into the fluffy goodness, I hope you are willing to try it again. I am wondering if maybe the oil and lemon juice are being added to quickly. It is the lemon juice that gets the emulsifying going but it only takes a teaspoon for each addition. Alternating between the oil and lemon juice is the secret to proper emulsification which creates the light and fluffy garlic sauce. I hope this helps with your next batch. Thanks for your feedback.
The sauce consistency turned out awesome, it’s light and fluffy and looks amazing. Then I tasted it … I have now tried 2 different garlics- the sauce is weirdly spicy!? I’ve had this garlic sauce in restaurants and it’s never been spicy. We love spice, but this is not a pleasant spice … thoughts!?
Hi, Erin…That is weird. Garlic never has tasted spicy to me. I just use the regular fresh garlic found in any grocery store. If you used the pre-peeled garlic in containers that could make a difference if it wasn’t fresh. Or, try it again with less garlic. Thanks for the feedback…hope you give it another try.
Try splitting each garlic clove and remove the germ.
Thanks for the tip, Danielle!
@Erin, I know exactly what you’re talking about. It’s the garlic, it happened to me. I use costco large garlic. One of them was equivalent to 3 cloves. It went to waste because i didn’t take that into account. Had no idea it would make it too spicy. Lesson learned🤷♀️ i hope this helps you!🙏
While this sauce was super good, I definitely don’t agree that peanut is a suitable oil to use to make it as the recipe suggests. I took a chance after realizing I only had about 2 cups of canola oil at home. I used peanut to make up the rest and the toum DEFINITELY has a not entirely subtle peanut flavour to it now. It’s still good (especially when it was used as topping on our homemade chicken schwarma!), it’s just not exactly the flavour I wanted. I wouldn’t consider peanut to be a neutral enough oil for this.
Hi, Caitlin…thank you so much for your feedback on the peanut oil, I have made the change in the recipe card and also added grapeseed oil as an option. I’m sorry that the sauce was not what you expected and hope you will give it another try. Thanks again for reporting your results to us.
Oh we will certainly give it another try! It was delicious, and I can’t wait to perfect it to our own tastes. Might I suggest another option for oil would be vegetable?
Thanks again for the recipe. We thoroughly enjoyed making and tasting it.
Hi, Caitlin….Oh, yes, this is an amazing garlic sauce….I’m ready to make another batch. ?
Toum is the Arabic word for garlic, not Lebanese.
Lebanese people speak arabic . The Lebanese people are arabs. There id no Lebanese language.
Thank you, Susan.
Thank you, Susan
Actually, the lebanese is a language and it is different from arabic it is originated from the Assiryan language we don’t speak arabic. And sometimes when we refer to lebanese receipes because they are different in the taste, flavor and peppers from other arabic countries with all respect. Plus she referred in her recipe several time that this is a garlic sauce, but she called it toum the way how we say it in arabic or in lebanon.
Thanks Maria
Just made this. I did stop adding oil at about 2 cups though as the oil stopped incorporating and the sauce started to just look oily. Added a bit more lemon juice and the taste/consistency are great so…?♀️
Thanks for the comment Anna, glad you like it. 🙂
I was going along fine until my blender overheated and I switched to my food processor – the sauce gpt quite warm – is it still good to eat??
Yes, Louise, it is still good to eat, I am not sure if the texture will be the same if it is heated but it will still be super garlicky.
Can this recipe be made using a blender instead of a food processor?
We haven’t tried it in a blender but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work if your blender is large enough.
This sounds amazing!! 2 questions though. First, can you halve the recipe without affecting the results? Second, can you freeze this in small quantities to take out as needed?
Ann thanks for asking, yes you can freeze this garlic sauce. It should last for 4 to 6 months if you keep it well sealed. I have not made this sauce in a smaller portion but as long as the blades of your food processor are not free-spinning above the ingredients then you should be able to reduce the quantities without affecting the results. We have never had a problem with having too much of this sauce though, especially since it keeps so well.
It’s called Toum
Thank you, Tony 🙂
This is AMAZING! Our two year old says Daddy stinks and our 7 year keeps running from me when I try to breathe on him. We can’t figure out why!? My husband asked me to make this and Pinterest brought me to you. Thank you!
Ha, ha, Diane….your two-year old is very astute! Out of the moths of babes 🙂 So happy you enjoyed the garlic sauce 🙂
This sounds amazing! I need to try it asap! Love garlic!!
It is a wonderful sauce, Kristina! I hope you can try it out soon 🙂