Skip to content
FriendsPantry

Levantine · Lebanese

Baba ghanoush

Vegetarian

بابا غنوج · bābā ghannūj

Aubergines charred until collapsing and smoky, then mashed with tahini, lemon and garlic. A creamy, smoky dip from the Levantine meze table.

Baba ghanoush is a Levantine dip, ready in about 55 minutes and made with eggplant and tahini. It serves 6 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
A serving of Baba ghanoush
Photo: Breville USA / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-2.0
Prep
10 min
Cook
30 min
Rest
15 min
Total
55 min
Serves
6
Level
Easy
Calories
139

Ingredients

6 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Prick the aubergines (opens in a new tab) a few times and char them directly over a gas flame, on a barbecue or under a very hot grill, turning, until the skins are blackened and the flesh completely soft.

    Direct flame gives the smokiest flavour; oven roasting works but is milder.

    Food cooking over a grill
    How it looks · Photo: Malte Luk on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Cool slightly, then split and scoop the flesh into a sieve. Leave to drain for 15 minutes to remove bitter juices.

    Liquid being strained through a sieve
    How it looks · Photo: Katerina Holmes on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Mash or chop the flesh and mix in the tahini (opens in a new tab), lemon juice (opens in a new tab), garlic (opens in a new tab) and salt. Taste and adjust.

    • 5 min
    Potatoes being mashed
    How it looks · Photo: Mateusz Feliksik on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Spread in a dish, drizzle with olive oil (opens in a new tab) and scatter with parsley (opens in a new tab) and pomegranate seeds (opens in a new tab).

    • 1 min
    Fresh herbs scattered over a finished dish
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Levant · Commonly attributedEaten throughout the Levant; names and recipes vary — in some places 'baba ghanoush' means a tahini-free aubergine salad and the tahini version is called mutabbal.Also popular in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Israel
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Snack · Dips & spreads · Appetizers & starters
Cooking method
Roasted, Smoked
Taste
smoky, creamy, garlicky, nutty
Diet
Vegan · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Keto-style · Low-carb · High-fibre
All labelsVegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Whole-food focused · Paleo-style · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Mediterranean-style · Keto-style · Low-carb · High-fibre · DASH-style · Carb-conscious
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Make-ahead
Cook more with
Eggplant · Tahini · Lemon juice · Garlic
Techniques
Roasting · Grilling · Smoking

Allergens

  • Contains: Sesamefrom tahini

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

139 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 174 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 8%
  • Carbohydrate 31%
  • Fat 61%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy139 kcal80 kcal
Protein3.2 g1.9 g
Carbohydrate11.7 g6.7 g
Net carbohydrate6.2 g3.6 g
Sugars5.5 g3.2 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre5.5 g3.2 g
Fat10.2 g5.9 g
Saturated fat1.4 g0.8 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium306 mg176 mg
Salt equivalent0.8 g0.4 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
396 mg
Calcium
58 mg
Iron
1.3 mg
Magnesium
31 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
2 µg
Vitamin C
6 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
44 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: parsley, pomegranate.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Mashing with a fork keeps a pleasant texture; a blender makes it gluey.

Common mistakes

  • Pulling the aubergines off the flame while still firm — they must collapse completely, or the dip tastes raw and lacks smoke.

Serve with

  • With warm pita and other meze.

Storage

  • Keeps 3 days in the fridge.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Goes with

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Customise in Sauce & Drizzle

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3, 4

Make it milder, swap ingredients for your diet, change the batch size or thickness — the original stays as it is.

Customise in Sauce & Drizzle

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

You might also like