Labneh with za'atar and olive oil

Name: Labneh with za'atar and olive oil
Prep time: 8 min
Total time: 8 min
Ingredients: 250 g labneh, 24-hour labneh, well chilled; 30 ml olive oil, good, fruity extra virgin; 6 g za'atar; 100 g tomato, cut into wedges (optional); 80 g cucumber, small Lebanese cucumber, sliced into rounds or batons (optional); 40 g black olives, green or black, drained (optional); 3 g mint, small leaves picked (optional)

Vegetarian

لبنة وزعتر · labna wa-zaʿtar

Thick labneh swirled on a plate, flooded with green olive oil and showered with za'atar, served with cucumber, tomato, olives and mint. The classic Levantine breakfast plate, scooped up with warm bread.

Labneh with za'atar and olive oil is a Levantine dip, ready in about 8 minutes and made with labneh, olive oil and za'atar. It serves 4 and is rated beginner to cook.

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Prep: 8 min
Cook: 0 min
Total: 8 min
Serves: 4
Level: Beginner
Calories: 125

Assumes the labneh is already strained (24 hours).

Ingredients

4 servings (about 70 g with garnish)

250 g Labneh (opens in a new tab), 24-hour labneh, well chilledSwap: Greek yogurt (Thick strained Greek yoghurt with a pinch of salt; softer and milder.)Contains milk
30 ml Olive oil (opens in a new tab), good, fruity extra virgin
6 g Za'atar (opens in a new tab)About 2 tsp of the dried thyme-sumac-sesame blend.Contains sesame
100 g Tomato (opens in a new tab), cut into wedges (optional)
80 g Cucumber (opens in a new tab), small Lebanese cucumber, sliced into rounds or batons (optional)
40 g Black olives (opens in a new tab), green or black, drained (optional)
3 g Mint (opens in a new tab), small leaves picked (optional)

Equipment

Method

1
Step 1
Spoon the labneh (opens in a new tab) onto a shallow plate and spread it into a round about 1.5 cm thick with the back of a spoon, pushing a deep swirl or a ring of ridges into the surface so the oil has somewhere to pool.
- 2 min
- Spatula (opens in a new tab)
2
Step 2
Pour the olive oil (opens in a new tab) slowly into the swirl until it pools, then scatter the za'atar (opens in a new tab) evenly over the top; it should cling to the oil.
- 1 min
How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels
3
Step 3
Arrange the tomato (opens in a new tab) wedges, cucumber (opens in a new tab), olives (opens in a new tab) and mint (opens in a new tab) around the edge. Serve with warm flatbread; tear a piece, drag it through labneh (opens in a new tab), oil and za'atar (opens in a new tab) together.
How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin: Levant · Commonly attributedA standard breakfast and meze plate in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Jordan.Also popular in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Israel
Dish: Breakfast · Snack · Dips & spreads · Appetizers & starters
Cooking method: No-cook
Taste: tangy, creamy, herby, fresh
Diet: Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No gluten ingredients · No nut ingredients · Keto-style · Low-carb
All labels
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Whole-food focused · No gluten ingredients · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Mediterranean-style · Keto-style · Low-carb · Low-sodium
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for: Everyday · Child-friendly
Cook more with: Labneh · Za'atar

Allergens

Contains: Milkfrom labneh
Contains: Sesamefrom za'atar

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

125 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 73 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

Protein 18%
Carbohydrate 11%
Fat 71%

Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
Nutrient	Per serving	Per 100 g
Energy	125 kcal	173 kcal
Protein	5.8 g	7.9 g
Carbohydrate	3.4 g	4.8 g
Net carbohydrate	2.9 g	4 g
Sugars	2.5 g	3.5 g
Added sugars	0 g	0 g
Fibre	0.6 g	0.8 g
Fat	10.1 g	13.9 g
Saturated fat	2.5 g	3.4 g
Trans fat	—	—
Cholesterol	8 mg	11 mg
Sodium	23 mg	31 mg
Salt equivalent	0.1 g	0.1 g

Vitamins & minerals per serving

Potassium: 100 mg
Calcium: 91 mg
Iron: 1.9 mg
Magnesium: 10 mg
Vitamin A (RAE): 4 µg
Vitamin C: 1 mg
Vitamin D: 0 µg
Vitamin B12: 0.5 µg
Folate (DFE): 7 µg

How these numbers were made

Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
Optional ingredients are not included: tomato, cucumber, black olives, mint.
Labneh: Strained whole-milk Greek yogurt used as a stand-in; labneh is usually strained further and saltier.
Za'atar: Dried thyme (FDC 170938) used as a stand-in for the herb portion of za'atar; the sesame in the blend is listed in allergens.
“—” 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

Toast store-bought za'atar for 30 seconds in a dry pan if it tastes dusty; it wakes up the thyme and sesame.
Bring the labneh out of the fridge 15 minutes before serving so the oil does not set on it.

Common mistakes

Mixing the za'atar into the labneh, which turns it grey; it belongs on top with the oil.

Serve with

With warm khubz or manakish for breakfast, alongside boiled eggs, hummus and mint tea.
As part of a meze spread with olives and pickles.

Food safety

Keep chilled and do not leave yoghurt- or cheese-based dips out of the fridge for more than 2 hours (1 hour in hot weather).

Storage

Assemble just before serving. Leftover labneh with oil and za'atar keeps 2 days covered in the fridge.

Variations

With fresh za'atar (Palestine): In spring, Palestinian and Lebanese cooks scatter fresh za'atar (wild thyme/hyssop) leaves over the plate as well as the dried blend.
With Aleppo pepper and mint (Syria): Swap the za'atar for dried mint and a pinch of Aleppo pepper.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added 2 Nov 2026 · Updated 8 Nov 2026

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Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

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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

Labneh, 24-hour labneh, well chilled250 g
Tomato, cut into wedges (optional)100 g
Cucumber, small Lebanese cucumber, sliced into rounds or batons (optional)80 g
Black olives, green or black, drained (optional)40 g

Make Labneh (strained yoghurt cheese)Used in steps 1, 3

Masalas in this recipe

Make the masala first, then come back to finish the dish.

Dry spice blend
Za'atar
This recipe uses 6 g (6 g for 4 servings (about 70 g with garnish)).
Make Za'atar

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.

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