This is the best authentic Baba Ganoush recipe, the famous Mediterranean eggplant dip and Mezze appetizer. Easy to make, smoky, nutty, flavorful Baba with extra virgin olive oil to enjoy with warm pita bread.
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Authentic Mediterranean Baba Ganoush Recipe
Baba Ganoush, also spelled Baba Ghanoush or Baba Ghanouj, or as we call it at home “mutabbal”, is one of those dishes that you can have for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
It is a versatile dish, you can have it as a snack or an appetizer, and you can tweak it to keep things interesting. This eggplant dip is always featured in Mediterranean Mezze, with a generous amount of olive oil on top.
Eggplant is the star of Baba Ganoush:
The first option is to roast your own eggplant. Get two medium sized eggplants, and wash them. Line your baking sheet with foil for easy cleanup. Stab your eggplants with a fork or a knife to prevent them from bursting from all steam that forms during cooking. You can bake them, but it takes at least an hour, usually more, of baking in a hot oven. Broiling the eggplants is the preferred method. It takes about 30 minutes. Do keep an eye on them, and turn them over on the other side after about 15 minutes of broiling.
You know they are done when the eggplants are soft and the skin is a bit burnt. You want to keep any caramel that leaks out of them. Using a spoon and maybe a knife, separate the skin from the pulp, and place the pulp along with the caramel in a mixing bowl.
The second option is to buy a jar of roasted or grilled eggplant. Because I make this so often, I buy the big can of grilled eggplant. It is smoky and gives a wonderful flavor to the dip. Since that’s a lot of eggplant, I store what I don’t use for later. To do that, I portion the eggplants into ziploc bags and then freeze them until I want to make more Baba G.
Preparing the Eggplant Dip:
To achieve the perfect texture of Baba Ghanoush, use a fork and lightly mash it by hand. That is the traditional route. For a smoother texture, you can use a food processor or an immersion blender.
Mince a big clove of garlic, you can add more if you like your Baba Ganoush to be more garlicky. Keep in mind that the taste of garlic intensifies after sitting in the fridge. I find it to be a bit overpowering if you add more than one clove, but It’s completely up to you.
Add the garlic, tahini, yogurt, juice of a lemon, the best olive oil you can find and mix it all in. Season with salt and pepper.
I also like to add a little chili powder, but not enough to make it spicy. You can also chop up a handful of parsley and mix it in if you like.
Related: How To Make Yogurt at Home Without Special Equipment
Plating and Variations:
Now it’s time to plate up!
You can plate and serve a few different ways. Experiment and see which one you like best, or you can make an assortment of plates with different toppings.
Plain Baba Ganoush with olive oil:
Traditionally, we serve Baba Ghanoush with olive oil on top, and dig in with warm pita bread. Garnish with parsley.
Baba Ganoush with Parsley mixed in:
Chop up a handful of parsley and mix it in with the Baba, and pour some olive oil on top.
Baba Ganoush with Pomegranate Molasses & Sumac:
The sweet and sour pomegranate molasses adds an interesting flavor to the dip. Undoubtedly, this combination beats the others when I serve them all together.
Endless options for plating Baba Ghanoush:
Experiment with different toppings with this dip. Add finely chopped sweet peppers, pomegranate seeds, ground cumin, or make it spicy with chili powder.
More Recipes to Try:
- Middle Eastern Labneh Recipe
- Basil Hummus Recipe
- Spinach Artichoke Pasta Bake with Goat Cheese
- Spinach Puff Pastry Appetizer
How are you going to make it?
Authentic Baba Ghanoush | Mediterranean Eggplant Dip
Ingredients
- 2 medium eggplants, or 2 cups roasted eggplant
- 1/2 cup Tahini
- 1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt
- 1 big clove of garlic
- 1 lemon (juiced)
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil more for serving
- salt and pepper to taste
- a pinch chili powder
Instructions
Roast or grill the eggplants
- Skip this step if you bought roasted eggplants. Stab your eggplant with a fork or knife, and broil it for about 30 minutes, or until it is very soft. Turn it upside down halfway through roasting. Let it cool down before handling it.
- Remove the pulp of the vegetable into a bowl.
Prepare the Baba Ghanoush
- With a fork, lightly mash the eggplants. You can do it with an immersion blender if you like a smoother consistency.
- Add the tahini, yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, chili powder, a small teaspoon of salt and some pepper. Mix everything until well combined.
- Top it with olive oil and serve with pita bread. You can serve it warm or cold.
Notes
- It keeps well in the fridge for about 5 days.
- You can roast more eggplants ahead of time. After you remove the pulp from the skin, put them in a ziploc bag and freeze. When you want to make the Baba, thaw the eggplants and add the rest of the ingredients.
- You can play around with the amount of tahini, and garlic. And by that I mean adding more, not less.
- Garnish or topping choices for the dip include: olive oil, pomegranate molasses, sumac and parsley.
I love baba Ganoush! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
I’m glad you like it. Thank you for stopping by!
I am very sure I will go for the sumac one. The babaganoush looks so good, feel like getting the bread ready to dip in.
I’m also partial to it, especially with the pomegranate molasses. It’s always a hit. 🙂