Lebanese Toum

This sauce, oh my, this sauce is so good! If you are a garlic lover, you will adore this Lebanese Toum sauce. A perfect compliment to Mediterranean dishes, and also fantastic as a compliment to soups, meat, sandwiches and veggies. Delicious, easy, and versatile, you will want this in your fridge at all times!

What is Lebanese Toum?

Toum is a staple of Lebanese cuisine. Akin to mayonnaise or aioli, Toum is a blended condiment that uses just four simple ingredients. It has a thick creamy consistency that is spreadable and dippable. Toum has a strong garlic flavor coupled with a tanginess from the lemon juice.

How to Prepare Lebanese Toum: Garlic Sauce (Aioli)

I recommend and immersion blender if you have one but a standing blender or food processor work well too, especially if you make a large batch. 

A main component of Toum is garlic, and lots of it! For this recipe you need about 1/2 cup of peeled garlic cloves.

I’ve tried several methods to remove garlic skins and tend toward the smash and peel method. Here are the top 3 most effective ways to peel garlic:

1. Gently smash each clove with the palm of your hand or side of a knife
2. Remove loose skin and roll the clove(s) in a soft garlic peeler or rubber jar opener
3. Place several cloves of garlic in a jar or container with a lid and shake vigorously until the skins come off. This method is the least effective but fun and quick.

Once the garlic is peeled. Check for any brown or dry spots and cut those off the cloves.

Okay, this next step is a bit fussy and you can totally omit this step if you like, but it does make a difference in the flavor. Slice each clove in half and remove the green sprout. The green sprout can add a bitter flavor in the finished sauce and removing it will help with this issue. 

Set the garlic aside and measure out the remaining ingredients.

Lemon juice will the be second main flavor in the sauce. As much as you can help it, choose fresh lemon juice. It just tastes better. I do make this sauce with bottled lemon juice in a pinch and it’s a bit more bitter than fresh juice. You’ll use a generous tablespoon or the juice of 1/2 of a lemon.

Salt is super important in most recipes. It helps to bring out the flavors of all the ingredients and can generally make a recipe cohesive and satisfying. Choose good quality salt like pink Himalayan or sea salt. This recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon.

Lastly is the oil. I’ve seen many recipes call for olive oil, which definitely is an option. I prefer not to use olive oil because of it’s distinct flavor. A neutral flavored oil will let the garlic and lemon shine and will produce a “cleaner” flavor. Avocado oil is great for this recipe and what I tend to prefer. You’ll need 1 cup of neutral flavored oil.

Make the Lebanese Toum: 2 Easy Ways

Make Toum with an Immersion Blender

Add the garlic, salt and lemon juice to a blender cup and blend until the garlic is broken down into a paste. Turn the blender off, add the oil to the cup, keeping the blender at the bottom of the cup, start blending. The mixture will start to emulsify, thicken and become opaque. At this point, move the blender head up to incorporate the rest of the oil. Within a few second the mixture will be thick and creamy like mayonnaise.

Make Toum with a Blender or Food Processor

Add the garlic, lemon juice and salt to the blender or food processor and blend until it forms a paste. With the blender/processor running, remove the lid insert (or pour spout stopper) slowly pour in the oil in a thin stream. Pouring too quickly will separate the mixture, a slow pour is needed to emulsify the toum well. Blend until you have achieved a mayonnaise-like consistency.

That’s it! It is so easy.

How to Store Lebanese Toum

Pour the toum into a glass container and refrigerate until needed. This sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to a week. I’ve noticed after 4 – 5 days the sauce can start to separate and thin a bit. You can re-blend it to bring it back together.

This recipe is for a small batch but you could make a large batch and keep it in the fridge. See the recipe notes.

How to Serve Lebanese Toum

Lebanese toum is so versatile and can be paired with many dishes. Try it with Chicken Shawarma, as a dip for veggies or French fries. It’s an excellent mayonnaise substitute on sandwiches and wraps. Dollop a spoonful into soup, serve as a side with grilled meat or roasted veggies.

I hope you enjoy this unique and delicious sauce!

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