33 Middle Eastern Recipes That Go Beyond Falafel and Hummus (2024)

There's no denying the artichoke's allure: they're the roses of the vegetable kingdom. We're pairing the smoky flavors of the grill here with a cool, green pistachio-yogurt cream and adding a little bit of spice and crunch with fried garlic chips and a pistachio-sesame topping.

Get the Grilled Artichoke recipe.

Originating in North Africa and now strongly associated with Israeli cuisine, shakshuka typically involves a sauce of tomatoes and red peppers. Ours is mildly spicy, full of flavor, and has perfectly runny eggs.

Get the Shakshuka recipe.

Although these shortcut falafel aren’t as crispy as the classic fried variety, they develop a nice golden crust and contain all the key spices. A zippy roasted pepper salad is the perfect foil, and creamy tahini sauce (aka tarator sauce) ties it all together.

Get the Roasted Vegetable Baked Falafel Sandwiches recipe.

Tagine refers to both the pot and the stew like dish that is cooked inside, but don't write off making a tagine if you don't own a tagine pot. We made ours in a Dutch oven and it comes out perfectly!

Get the Moroccan Lamb Tagine recipe.

Hummus is a Middle Eastern dish made of chickpeas and tahini. Garlic or roasted red peppers and other spices are common additions. It's great as a veggie dip or with pita chips.

Get the Creamy Garlic Hummus recipe.

Pita bread (also known as Arabic bread and Syrian bread) is a yeast-leavened flatbread common in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines. It can be made with or without an interior pocket (but we love the pocket for stuffing falafel and grilled veggies into!).

Get the Homemade Pita Bread recipe.

Sticky and rich, baklava is a dessert made of layered sheets of phyllo dough, nuts, spices, sugar and/or honey. Our version uses walnuts and pistachios but feel free to use whichever nuts you like the most.

Get the Walnut and Pistachio Baklava recipe.

This hearty vegetarian dish is based on a traditional Iraqi breakfast, and is popular among Iraqi-Israelis. With flavorful seared and marinated eggplant slices, fresh cucumber salad, and creamy tahini sauce, this juicy sandwich is great for any meal.

Get the Sabich Sandwich recipe.

We like our eggplant-based baba ghanoush GARLICKY. If you don't, skip grating the raw clove in at the end. Without it, you'll have a more subtle (slightly sweet) garlic flavor that will still make everyone very, very happy.

Get the Best-Ever Baba Ghanoush recipe.

This Lebanese (or Syrian, depending who you ask 😉) salad is sure to improve whatever it's paired with. Bright, fresh herbs get friendly with sweet tomatoes and a sharp lemon dressing to create the salad equivalent of a breath of fresh air.

Get the Best-Ever Tabouli Salad recipe.

Toum is a Middle Eastern garlic spread made of just garlic, lemon juice, salt, and oil—garlic lovers, this recipe is for you!

Get the Garlic Toum recipe.

We paired these spiced, herby meatballs with an addicting green goddess sauce, and couldn't stop eating them. They'll soon be a new favorite of yours too!

Get the Lamb Meatballs recipe.

Halva is a Middle Eastern tahini-based treat similar to fudge, but less sweet and more crumbly. We're obsessed.

Get the Easy Halva recipe.

The Delish team solidly believes that tahini should be in your kitchen at all times. Not only is it a delicious topping for hummus or shawarma but can even be delicious mixed with a bit of honey and drizzled on oats!

Get the Tahini Sauce recipe.

We love making these well-spiced falafel in our air fryer—they only take 15 minutes per batch, and stay nice and tender.

Get the Air Fryer Falafel recipe.

This luxuriously creamy street food rock star has just the right amount of tang. Drizzle on beef, lamb, chicken, or grains or serve as a dip with crudités.

Get the Halal Cart-Style White Sauce recipe.

While often mistaken for a grain, Israeli couscous is actually pasta! It's a staple in Middle Eastern cuisine that pairs well with everything from lamb to vegetables.

Get the Lemony Herb Couscous recipe.

Fattoush is a very fresh and bright salad usually served alongside a protein to help cut the fat. Pro tip: Let the juices that drip to the bottom of the salad serve as extra dressing for whatever you're eating next to it.

Get the Fattoush recipe.

This dish used to be considered a poor man's food that used the bulgur wheat to make the ground beef go further. Now it's a great main dish (perhaps served alongside some tabouli salad and tahini sauce?) or appetizer!

Get the Kibbeh Saniye recipe.

This carrot-and-raisin salad gets an upgrade with a slightly spicy, slightly sweet, and very addicting sauce. It brings out the sweet freshness of the carrots and makes the whole dish sing. We are tempted to pour it over all of our salads from here on out.

Get the Moroccan Carrot Salad recipe.