Toum is a Lebanese Garlic Sauce that packs a punch of flavor and easy to make in a food processor. This recipe is the most palatable with yogurt and potato, allowing you to enjoy as much as you'd like. This Mediterranean sauce is the perfect shawarma garlic sauce.

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You will make the creamiest toum on your first try!

This recipe is absolutely foolproof, with a simple extra step of adding a boiled potato, you will be left with the creamiest garlic sauce ever, that's much more palatable than others.

This will easily become a staple in your home, as it's an absolute must-have condiment in my house. We are garlic lovers after all!

WHAT IS TOUM

Toum sauce is a traditional Lebanese garlic sauce that's an absolute staple in most Lebanese households.

Every family makes it slightly different, and my recipe is the absolute most palatable yet still pungently garlicky!

This sauce is not only found in Lebanese homes but is also a staple in one of our most popular street food and is widely used as a Chicken Shawarma garlic sauce.

Which, if you've never tried it, you must! It's filled with flavorful meat and wrapped in a pita that's been slathered with this amazing Lebanese sauce and stuffed with fries and pickles alongside meat.

In downtown Beirut and most cities, you will find this sandwich as a quick meal on the go!

lebanese garlic sauce in a wood bowl with pita bread on side

WHAT MAKES THIS TOUM CREAMY AND MORE PALATABLE

This recipe is the creamiest and the most palatable because of 2 extra ingredients that I use; boiled potato and Greek yogurt.

These two ingredients both have a strong purpose in this recipe and create this garlic sauce that is dangerously good!

Boiled potato. I take the time to boil a potato for this recipe because it makes all the difference. Potato is the perfect starch to thicken the batter to such a creamy consistency, meanwhile slightly diluting the strong raw garlic taste.

Yogurt. Yogurt in this recipe is a must! It adds the perfect amount of creaminess to complete this well-rounded Lebanese Garlic Sauce recipe.

FOR THIS RECIPE, YOU WILL NEED

Food processor.
Small pot.
Measuring Cups.
Bowl to serve, or mason jars to store. I love these wooden bowls!
Neutral oil.
Garlic. A whole lot of it!
Boiled potato.
Yogurt.
Lemon.
Salt.

toum lebanese garlic suace ingredients oil garlic potatoes salt and yogurt

HOW TO MAKE LEBANESE GARLIC SAUCE

This sauce is quickly whipped together in the food processor!

After you have your boiled potato ready, add all your ingredients except the flavorless oil and blend.

Slowly drizzle in the oil to avoid the sauce separating.

Once the oil is incorporated, taste for salt, and add more to your liking.

Serve, or allow to sit in the fridge to meld further.

TOP TIPS FOR MAKING THIS SAUCE

Make sure the potato is completely soft and almost mushy. Using a harder potato will prohibit this recipe from becoming the creamy frothy texture it needs to be.
Blend the ingredients until completely creamy, the longer, the better, prior to slowly drizzling in oil.
Use a flavorless oil, not olive oil. Though I usually gravitate towards Extra Virgin Olive Oil in most of my recipes, this one will be the exception.
Olive oil has a strong flavor that takes over in this sauce. So use any flavorless oil of choice.
Use a food processor to make this Lebanese Garlic Sauce recipe in as little time as possible!

WAYS TO USE THIS SAUCE

This Lebanese Garlic Sauce recipe is so versatile. I like to make sure we always have it on hand to add to any meal throughout the week. Here are some ideas to use this sauce, that we love:

SHAWARMA GARLIC SAUCE. Our recipe is packed with flavor!
THE PERFECT GARLIC DIP FOR A BBQ. The other most popular way to enjoy this Lebanese garlic sauce is with BBQ'd chicken. This is hands down the best garlic sauce for chicken. It's a pairing made to be together!
USE AS FRY SAUCE. This is our second favorite way to use it is on fries or roasted potatoes! Scoot over stadium garlic fries! Make your own by drizzling toum and sprinkling fresh parsley.
ON SANDWICHES. Slather on bread and pair with any meat, cheese, and veggies you enjoy.
DRIZZLE OVER COOKED FISH. Pour a light drizzle over.
DRIZZLE OVER YOUR PIZZA. Garlic sauce for pizza anyone? Yum! I know I'm not alone in wanting extra garlic sauce for pizza, and this sauce couldn't be more perfect for the job! It will pair well with most pizzas.
USE AS VEGGIE DIP. Simply dip cucumbers, carrots, broccoli, or other veggies in it.
DRIZZLE ON AN OMELETTE. I added it to a Crab Omelet recipe and it couldn't have been more delicious! Though you will need to be mindful not to enjoy this breakfast on a day full of meetings :).
DRIZZLE OVER YOUR PASTA OR USE IT AS PASTA SAUCE.
TOSS THIS GARLIC SAUCE WITH ROASTED VEGGIES. Just yum!

IS YOUR TOUM SAUCE TOO RUNNY?

The number one complaint in making this Lebanese garlic sauce, is the ingredients not binding and therefore your sauce becoming too runny, since you want it creamy and fluffy.

My secret to this dilemma is adding boiled potatoes!

Potato acts as a natural binding agent and with the help of Greek yogurt to keep it the perfect creamy consistency.

Both the potato and Greek yogurt in this Lebanese Garlic Sauce recipe will be sure to cut the edge off the raw garlic, without compromising the pungent garlic flavor whatsoever.

HOW LONG DOES TOUM LAST

This creamy homemade garlic sauce recipe lasts about a week in the fridge! I typically store it in an airtight condiment dispenser or in a mason jar. My family runs through this garlic sauce fairly quickly!

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CAN YOU FREEZE TOUM

Yes! You sure can! I freeze mine in mason jars. Though the texture does change slightly, making the sauce a little bit runny, the flavor is still spot on!

So it's best to use fresh, but if you have a lot left over, it's best to freeze and later use as a marinade.

WHAT'S THE ACTUAL SPELLING?

There are many names for this garlic sauce recipe, as some spell it "toum" and others "toom". While some prefer to call it Lebanese garlic sauce. So, what is the correct name for Lebanese Garlic Sauce?

Let's start with the basics - Where does the name the name come from?

Toum is actually the name for garlic in Lebanon. Everyone has adopted their way of spelling it. Regardless of how you prefer to spell it, it all means the same thing - Garlic!

MORE LEBANESE RECIPES

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lebanese garlic sauce toum in a olive oil bowl

Toum (Lebanese Garlic Sauce)

This Toum (Lebanese Garlic Sauce) is the most creamy and palatable recipe. With yogurt and potatoes, you will end up with a fluffy garlic sauce on your first try!

Use this Mediterranean garlic sauce on many dishes like Chicken Shawarma, bbq kabobs, and fries.

5 from 11 votes

Cuisine: Lebanese, Mediterranean

Course: sauce

Prep: 5

Cook: 20

Total: 25

Servings: servings

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Ingredients

¼ cup garlic cloves
¼ cup Greek yogurt
⅓ cup potato, cut in cubes , about 1 small potato
1 cup flavorless oil avocado oil, canola, vegetable
2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

In a small pot, bring water to a boil. Place the cubed potato pieces and boil for approximately 15-20 minutes, until fork tender. Remove potato, and place aside to cool.
To a blender, add potato, yogurt, garlic, lemon and salt. Blend until smooth, about 2 minutes.
To the mixture, slowly drizzle in oil while blending for an additional 2-3 minutes. Be sure to not pour all the oil at once, as this may cause separation. Remove once mixture is smooth and frothy.
Transfer to a serving bowl. Cover and place in the fridge until completely chilled.

Notes

-Can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for a week.

-Make sure to use Greek yogurt, otherwise your sauce will come out runny. If you have regular yogurt to use up, I would use it, being careful not to add in the extra liquid from the yogurt.

-This is the traditional toum recipe that I grew up with. It pairs well with almost every dish, sandwich, BBQ, and is a little easier on the stomach than others.

-If you are DF, substitute Greek Yogurt for DF Yogurt with as little flavor as possible. I would stay away from coconut as it's strong in flavor. Another option is using DF cream cheese that you dilute with water.

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Nutrition

Calories: 232kcal

Keywords: foolproof creamy garlic sauce, garlic, healthy sauce, mediterranean garlic sauce, middle eastern sauce, sauce for shawarma, toom, toum ingredients, toum sauce too runny

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Comments

5 from 11 votes (7 ratings without comment)

Toum - Lebanese Garlic Sauce