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My Lebanese Garlic Sauce is so good you would want to make it all the time and never run out of it. This condiment goes so well with pretty much anything and is made with just 5 simple ingredients. It takes just about 15 minutes to make and it is so flavorful.
As some of you may know, I am Lebanese even though I was born in West Africa and lived there till I was 19 and then moved to the States. I grew up eating garlic sauce, which is also referred to as toom or toum. Many would spell it differently. The word toom or toum in Arabic simply translates to the word garlic. Now you have learned an arabic word. My mom always made toum for us and it’s something we had in our fridge all the time.
It pairs well with so many main dishes whether you want to serve it with grilled meats, as a dip with bread like cheesy garlic bread, or use it in creamy sauces for chicken or as a dressing for salads. I love serving it with my chicken shish tawook, my chicken kafta, and my beef kafta. Those are classic pairings. If you go to any mediterranean restaurants, they will most likely serve you fresh bread with this homemade lebanese garlic toum sauce as a dip.
Ingredients you will need
Below is a list of ingredients you will need to make this easy-to-make homemade toum Lebanese garlic sauce. Full measurements are listed further down below in the recipe card.
- Fresh Garlic Cloves, peeled (from 2-3 large heads)
- Neutral oil, like avocado oil, canola, grapeseed, or safflower.
- Lemon juice
- Salt
- Lemon juice
How to make Lebanese Toum Garlic Sauce
Below, I will be showing you a step-by-step process of how to make this homemade toum garlic sauce. Easy peasy!
Step 1: Peel the garlic cloves and either slice or crush them gently in half to remove any visible green sprouts in the middle.
Step 2: Add the sliced garlic into a food processor along with the salt. Blend for a couple of minutes until the garlic is finely chopped. Pause and scrape down the sides of the food processor and blend again.
Step 3: While the food processor is running, add 2 tablespoons of the oil and let it continue to blend for 2 minutes.
Step 4: Pause again and scrape down the garlic. Repeat step 3 two more times or until the garlic starts to look creamy.
Step 5: Then add the rest of the oil and lemon juice.
Step 6: Blend again continuously until the garlic becomes creamy white, fluffy, and fully incorporated. This may take another 8-10 minutes.
Step 7: Transfer the garlic/toum sauce to a container or lidded jar and store it in the fridge for up to 2 months.
Tips for making toum garlic sauce
- I like to soak the garlic in a cold or ice water bath for about an hour to make the garlic taste less strong. It is a trick my grandma taught me.
- When slicing the garlic, if you find any green stems in the middle, remove them if you can. They tend to make the garlic sauce a bit bitter.
- If you do not want to peel a ton of garlic, there are many places that now sell packaged fresh garlic. Do that instead.
- When adding the lemon and oil, you can start with the oil first, then the lemon, add oil, then the lemon. As you keep blending, this will help the sauce stiffen up and not be runny.
Frequently asked questions
Toum is simply an Arabic word for garlic. So saying toum garlic sauce really just translates to “garlic” garlic sauce. But it is what we all go by.
Yes. Even though it is safe to leave it out overnight on the counter, I do recommend storing it in the fridge. Toum can last for 3-4 weeks.
This may happen if the garlic you used isn’t fresh. This will lead to a more “spicy” strong taste. Don’t worry though. Store it in the fridge for a day or 2 and the flavor will tone down.
There are many ways to make toum less pungent. First, I would recommend you soak the garlic in an ice bath for like 30 minutes to an hour. You may also just store the garlic sauce in the fridge for 2-3 days. This will mellow down the flavor. I sometimes don’t like this 3rd option because it laters the recipe a bit. I add a bit of yogurt to the sauce to tone down the garlic flavor.
What to serve with toum garlic sauce
Even though the options are endless from dipping anything you are having for lunch or dinner from sandwiches to main courses, here are some ideas:
- Grilled meats like grilled cilantro lime chicken, grilled lemon chicken skewers, cilantro lime grilled salmon, or this healthy grilled scampi.
- Bread: I like to dip pita bread or freshly baked bread with this garlic sauce. You can try my homemade dinner rolls, Cheesy garlic bread, crusty bread, or garlic naan.
- Serve with all sorts of fresh veggies.
Storing and freezing toum
- How to store: You can place your leftover toum in a lidded jar and store it in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.
- Freeze: Place toum in a tightly lidded jar in the freezer for up to 3 months. A lot of times, I like to portion them into ice cube trays and freeze them. Once frozen, I place the frozen garlic sauce cubes into a ziplock bag. This way, when I see a small serving, I remove however many I need. Even though freezing will change the texture slightly, the taste will stay the same.
- How to thaw: It is best to place the frozen garlic toum in the fridge overnight as opposed to allowing it to thaw on the kitchen counter to maintain its creamy texture. Sometimes, when thawed, the garlic sauce will separate slightly/ You just need to give it a good whisk.
You may also like
- Easy Chimichurri sauce
- Homemade pesto sauce
- Homemade Buffalo Sauce
- In-N-Out Sauce
- Homemade Tartar Sauce
- Cranberry Orange Sauce
Thanks for stopping by. If you try a recipe and you like it, leave me some feedback in the comment section below, and don’t forget to rate it! I would love it if you shared it with friends and family.
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Lebanese Toum Garlic Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup Fresh Garlic Cloves, peeled (from 2-3 large heads)
- 2 cups neutral oil, like avocado oil, canola, grapeseed, or safflower.
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
Instructions
- Peel the garlic cloves and either slice or crush them gently in half to remove any visible green sprouts in the middle.
- Add the sliced garlic into a food processor along with the salt. Blend for a couple of minutes until the garlic is finely chopped. Pause and scrape down the sides of the food processor and blend again.
- While the food processor is running, add 2 tablespoons of the oil and let it continue to blend for 2 minutes. Pause again and scrape down the garlic.
- Repeat step 3 two more times or until the garlic starts to look creamy.
- Then add the rest of the oil and lemon juice. Blend again continuously until the garlic becomes creamy white, fluffy, and fully incorporated. This may take another 8-10 minutes.
- Transfer the garlic/toum sauce to a container or lidded jar and store in the fridge for up to 2 months.
Notes
- Serves 24, 2 tbsp per serving.
- Use fresh garlic. You cannot use frozen garlic.
- Any neutral-tasting oil will work.
- Store in a jar in the fridge for up to 3 weeks
- You can freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
