Our easy Mutabbal recipe is a healthy Middle Eastern dip featuring smoky eggplant.
This traditional and authentic Mutabbal recipe features flavourful ingredients like olive oil, garlic, tahini, lemon juice, chili, mint and green onion.
The simple and healthy dip is keto friendly, dairy free, gluten free, vegetarian and vegan.
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Mutabbal vs Baba Ganoush?
Muttabbal is a Middle Eastern vegetarian dip prepared with smoky roasted eggplant, freshly squeezed lemon and plenty of minced garlic.
Both Mutabal and Baba Ganoush have the same base of roasted eggplant but they differ slightly in their other ingredients. While Mutabal has only roasted eggplant, tahini, olive oil, and garlic, Baba Ganoush features chopped tomato, pomegranate molasses and herbs like mint and parsley.
Once you have a traditional Mutabbal recipe perfected, you can get creative by adding additional ingredients like roasted peppers, squash or sweet beets.
Travel to the Middle East by Cooking Mutabbal at Home
I love traveling to the Middle East and North Africa.
As a professional food and travel journalist, I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy amazing meals in the Middle East, from authentic markets to award winning restaurants.
For over ten years, I’ve been on the hunt for the best Mutabbal via adventures that had me zig-zagging through Morocco, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Israel and Dubai. You guessed it! Some of my fondest food memories while traveling in the Middle East include colourful eye-popping mezze platters featuring mutabbal, humus, tahini and tabbouleh.
I ate a creamy bowl of Mutabbal at a traditional Moroccan riad, on food tours of Istanbul and Bodrum, accompanied by Egyptian tea on a Nile Cruise and in bustling market in Cairo, late night snack in Amman, al fresco market lunch in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and as a pita spread at a massive Middle Eastern barbecue in the middle of the Dubai desert while belly dancers twirled under the night sky.
Where To Eat Authentic Mutabbal
If you live in a large city in Canada or America you’ll likely have access to a local Middle Eastern restaurant that serves traditional Mutabbal.
Haven’t traveled to the Middle East before? It may be helpful to first sample Mutabbal at a local restaurant to better understand how the dip is served. You’ll get an idea for the desired spice level, thickness of the dip and ideal garnishes. You’ll also find inspiration on what to pair with Mutabbal such as such as falafel, kibbeh, shawarma and kebab.
In Toronto, popular Middle Eastern restaurants that may serve a traditional Mutabbal include Parallel, Byblos, Tabule, Fat Pasha, Maha’s, Masrawy Kitchen and Paramount Fine Foods.
My Family Loves Roasted Eggplant Dip
When my family moved to Oakville the first restaurant we visited was a local Egyptian and Lebanese restaurant called Agabi. Ranked as one of the best restaurants in Oakville, Agabi, became our family’s go-to Middle Eastern take out joint.
We’d always order a mezze platter featuring labneh, hummus, stuffed grape leaves, falafel and creamy mutabbal.
After falling in love with Middle Eastern food at our favourite local restaurant, we enjoyed vacations to the Arab Peninsula, feasting on endless bowls of hummus, falafel stuffed pita and roast chicken topped Mutabbal.
If you’ve got company coming for dinner and are looking for a healthy vegan or vegetarian dip Mutabbal is always a crowd pleaser!
Mutabbal Health Benefits
Our homemade Mutabbal recipe is packed full of healthy ingredients!
It is only recently that scientists have begun to identify the components responsible for garlic’s myriad health benefits. Rich in phytochemicals and potassium, garlic helps boost your immune system, fight cancer and protect your heart.
Onions are a humble vegetable packed with vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. Regular consumption of onions can help boost digestive health and reduce the risk of developing heart disease.
Olive Oil is ranked as one of the healthiest fats and is a staple in the Mediterranean diet. It contains vitamins E and K and plenty of beneficial fatty acids and antioxidants.
Eggplants are a nutrient dense food that contain a good amount of vitamins, minerals and fibre in few calories. It’s a good source of manganese, folate, potassium, vitamin K and C.
A rich source of phytochemicals and vitamin C, lemons help boost your immune system and neutralize free radicals that cause disease and skin aging. Lemons also protect against heart disease and help improve blood flow to the brain.
Fresh mint is antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, and can have a calming effect on the digestive system. It is also a good source of folate, which supports blood health.
A useful source of copper, calcium, manganese, and phosphorus, sesame seeds help support circulatory, digestive and skeletal health.
Mutabbal Cooking Tips
If it’s your first time cooking Mutabbal at home be sure to review our detailed step-by-step recipe below. Here are some helpful tips and tricks to get you started:
- In our recipe below we suggest using an immersion blender to puree the dip but you could also use a heavy duty Vitamix.
- This recipe does not include a description on how to roast eggplant as there are many way to do this. Our favourite way to roast eggplant is over a flame or in the oven.
- If you want to elevate the dish before serving, why not sprinkle the Mutabbal with toasted pine nuts or roasted almonds?
- Add a drizzle of pomegranate molasses and sprinkle of pomegranate seeds to add additional sweetness and eye appeal.
What To Serve with Middle Eastern Dip
We love to make this healthy vegan Middle Eastern dip as a snack with carrots, celery, crackers and pita throughout the week. It also tastes great as a spread on fresh slices of sourdough bread.
Mutabbal is also a popular side dish for grilled meat, seafood or roasted vegetable couscous.
If you’re hosting a large Middle Eastern-theme dinner party buffet you may want to add fresh salads, homemade soups and other healthy dips. Serve the smoky eggplant dip with other regional specialities like shawarma, kebab, fatteh, toum, kibbeh, Lebanese Lamb Dumplings Shish Barak and Lebanese Lentil Soup Adas Bil Hamod.
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Storing Dip
If you have leftover Mutabbal you can store it in the fridge in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
We love doubling our recipe so we can store leftovers in the freezer and save time on cooking in the kitchen. We suggest storing leftover Mutabbal in Pyrex freezer safe containers that have a snug lid.
How To Make Homemade Mutabbal
Traditional Mutabbal Roasted Eggplant Dip
Equipment
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- tongs
- Blender or Food Processor
- French knife
Ingredients
- 1 Large Eggplant
- 4 Garlic Cloves
- 3 tbsp Tahini
- 1 Lemon juice and zest
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1/4 tsp Sumac
- 1 tbsp Pine Nuts garnish
- 1 tbsp Parsley garnish
- Cracked Pepper garnish
Instructions
- Begin by roasting the eggplant by placing it directly over the fire on a gas stove. Roast it for approximately 15 minutes by turning it from side to side until it’s black and the interior is soft and tender.
- Once the eggplant has finished roasting, peel off the skin, and add to the jug of a blender.
- Add minced garlic, salt, juice/zest of a lemon and tahini and blitz until smooth.
- Serve by drizzling a glug of good quality olive oil, and sprinkle with sumac, pine nuts and parsley. Serve warm with pita.
Nutrition
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