Healthy Middle Eastern Recipes You’ll Make on Repeat

Fattoush is a Middle Eastern salad originating from Lebanon. It’s fresh, crunchy and herby with hints of citrus and fruitiness from the incredibly beautiful and delicious spice, sumac. What makes this salad extra special is the crispy toasted pita that gets tossed in with the veggies.

Falafel is a popular Middle Eastern street food that is made up primarily of mashed chickpeas and other fragrant herbs and spices. This recipe serves them up as sliders alongside tabbouleh salad and a lot of tahini sauce for a summer feast that’s sure to please a crowd.

This eggplant casserole is a classic Middle Eastern dish common in Iraq. Typically made with layers of kofta (beef patties), eggplant, potatoes, onions, peppers and tomatoes this recipe skips the kofta and bakes up the veggies using the same method. The result? A light and deeply flavourful casserole that’s seriously delicious served alongside rice and yogurt.

This chicken kebab is marinated with a special spice blend and grilled over fire. It is served with an iconic side dish of Afghan rice – fragrant, flavoured rice studded with nuts, dried fruit and sliced carrot.

In this recipe, cauliflower is marinated in olive oil and warm Middle Eastern spices, then roasted to perfection. Serve alongside a luxurious drizzle of tahini sauce and garnish with parsley, cilantro or flaked almonds. Then just watch it disappear off the plate.

This vegan take on za’atar flatbread (AKA Lebanese manaeesh) is sure to become your new favourite breakfast. Typically served with a hot cup of tea, you can pile it high with your favourite fresh veggies and then drizzle with more olive oil for the perfect start to your day.

Bulgur wheat is one of the most underrated grains, but it’s oh-so versatile and packed with fibre. It’s a common Middle Eastern staple and comes in various sizes. If you’re looking for a creative way to give bulgur a try, this salad is the perfect recipe. It’s crunchy and nutty, with hints of sweetness and tartness from the pomegranate and lemon juice; and the parsley and green onion add freshness. It’s the ultimate balance of flavours.

You’ve probably heard of honey glazed salmon… but have you heard of pomegranate glazed salmon? Pomegranate molasses is an ingredient commonly used in Middle Eastern cuisine and has both sweetness and tanginess that adds so much depth and flavour to any dish. It is the star ingredient in this glaze, along with garlic, honey and chilli flakes for some heat.

Mujadara is a simple and delicious Middle Eastern dish of lentils, rice, spices and fried onions. It gets its rich, infused flavour by coating the rice in olive oil and spices before cooking it. If you have leftover rice, you can improvise a cheat version of mujadara and fold it in with the lentils and onions at the end.

If you’ve never cooked with sumac before, this is the perfect recipe to start. It has a natural tangy, lemon flavour that pairs beautifully with chicken. Finished with fresh herbs, date syrup and toasty pecans, it’s a total symphony of Middle Eastern flavours.