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Healthy Middle Eastern Recipes

Find healthy, delicious middle Eastern recipes including Lebanese, Israeli and Turkish recipes. Healthier Recipes, from the food and nutrition experts at EatingWell.

Tomato Dolma with Roasted Eggplant (Köz Patlicanli Domates Dolmasi)

Cucumber with Basil, Yogurt, Walnuts & Browned Butter (Yanik Tereyagli Cacik)

Double-Tahini Hummus

Chickpeas with Garlicky Yogurt & Toasted Pita (Fatteh Hommos)

Middle Eastern Mezze Recipes

Turkish, Lebanese and other Middle Eastern flavors star in these healthy recipes for appetizers, dinner, side dishes and more. Mezze, also spelled meze, means small plates to sharewhich are served similar to tapas. We like to serve these flavorful Middle Eastern recipes like tapas or as sides to shish kebabs, lamb, chicken or fish. Try the best hummus we've ever made, slow-roasted tomato sauce (Matbucha), cauliflower salad with walnuts and more with these healthy favorites.

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Circassian Chicken (Çerkez Tavugu)

Tomato Dolma with Roasted Eggplant (Köz Patlicanli Domates Dolmasi)

Lamb & Walnut Gul Börek

Cucumber with Basil, Yogurt, Walnuts & Browned Butter (Yanik Tereyagli Cacik)

Healthy Turkish Recipes That Will Transport You to Istanbul

Turkish food has mastered savory and sweet dishes without using any traditional sweet ingredients, try out our Borrek recipe to taste it yourself. Many of these dishes play with flavors and combinations that we don't normally use in everyday cooking like, pickled cherries and eggplant, and cucumbers and yogurt. Turkish cuisine is one of the richest in the world because of the mix of cultures and styles it has adopted from countries like Egypt, Syria, Greece and Iraq.

Greens with Crispy Onions (Hendbeh b' Zeit)

Chard Stalks in Tarator (Dlou' Selee' Mtaballeh)

Chickpeas with Garlicky Yogurt & Toasted Pita (Fatteh Hommos)

Freekeh with Grilled Vegetables (Frikeh bel Khodra)

Healthy Lebanese Recipes to Give You a Taste of the Middle East

Taste the middle east through savory mezze dishes that have layered simple ingredients, with exciting spices to create dishes like, Pumpkin Kibbeh. Many Lebanese dishes include chickpeas or fava beans to create a spiced hummus or sauce, an important part of every Lebanese meal. Most dishes are vegetarian or use meat sparingly due to the traditional Levant style of cooking, red meat is uncommon but when used it is usually, goat or lamb.

Persian Rice Pie (Tah Chin)

Oven-Roasted Fish with Onion, Lemon, Fenugreek & Cilantro (Mahi-e Shekam Por)

Grilled Liver Kebabs (Jigar)

Yogurt with Beets (Borani Chogondar)

Healthy Persian Recipes That Everyone Will Love

Try these daring Persian dishes that everyone will love, like Oven-Roasted Fish, Ginger-Melon Soup or Grilled Liver Kababs. All of these dishes include spices like saffron, mint and parsley to make every bite full of flavor. Persian recipes often call for fruit like plums or pomegranate to bring a natural sweetness to a dish. Its traditional for rice to be served with most meals, make sure to try our Persian Rice Pie with any of these dishes for a truly authentic meal.

Falafel Burgers

Pureed chickpeas, seasoned with the characteristic flavors of falafel, make excellent veggie burgers. We use a two-stage method for cooking the patties, first browning them in a skillet and then finishing them in the oven. Garnish the burgers with tzatziki or tahini sauce (see associated recipes), pickled red onions, lettuce and tomatoes.

Persian Rice Pie (Tah Chin)

The bottom layer of this rice pie is all tahdig--the delectable, crispy golden rice that is the highlight of an Iranian meal. Cooking the pie on the stovetop before it goes into the oven gives the rice its signature crunch.

Herbed Yogurt-Rice Soup

The grains of rice disappear into the yogurt as it's simmered and stirred, thickening the soup and giving it substance. Serve warm or chilled, depending on the weather.

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Cucumber & Pomegranate Salad (Salad-e Khiar-o Anar)

A platter of herbs, scallions and feta is typically served alongside Persian meals in lieu of a Western-style green salad. They are meant to be folded into flatbread as an accompaniment to a meal (or sometimes as the meal itself). This salad is a riff on that, with pomegranate seeds and cucumbers mixed in.

Chicken Stew with Green Herbs & Citrus (Morgh-e Torsh)

This delicious chicken stew is traditionally made with sour oranges, which are prolific in Iran--if you find them, use the juice of two in place of the citrus called for here. Serve with rice to pair with the flavorful spinach sauce.

Grilled Liver Kebabs (Jigar)

Made with just about any kind of meat, kebabs are classic Iranian street food. Lamb is the predominant red meat eaten in Iran, and its liver is a delicacy. Lemon, garlic and fresh basil nicely balance the liver's mineral flavor.

Yogurt with Beets (Borani Chogondar)

Borani, a Middle Eastern yogurt dip, can be made with anything from spinach to eggplant to carrots. This recipe gets its shockingly pink color from grated beets. Make it ahead--the longer it sits, the better it tastes.

Oven-Roasted Fish with Onion, Lemon, Fenugreek & Cilantro (Mahi-e Shekam Por)

Cooking whole fish is easy--most fish markets sell them already cleaned and butterflied with the backbone and rib bones removed. (If not, ask the fishmonger to do it for you.) Leaving the head and tail intact makes them easy to work with--and the presentation at the table is impressive. A flavorful stuffing made with tangy tamarind and aromatic herbs is a great foil for the mild fish.

Greens with Crispy Onions (Hendbeh b' Zeit)

Wilted greens topped with fried onions is a mezze must. Bitter dandelion greens are the most flavorful, but chard or kale--really any green or a combination of them--tastes delicious.

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Chickpeas with Garlicky Yogurt & Toasted Pita (Fatteh Hommos)

Fatteh means "broken" and signifies a dish of toasted bread pieces mixed with other ingredients. In this easy recipe, the yogurt is also "broken" with tahini, garlic and oil. Enjoy it immediately, before the crispy bread gets soggy from the yogurt.

Carob Molasses Cake (Sfouf b' Debs)

With all due respect to baklava, we've found a new favorite Lebanese dessert. This rich, moist cake is sweetened with carob molasses and has a hit of anise. We may or may not have fought over it in the Test Kitchen.

Pumpkin Kibbeh (Kebbet Laa'tin)

"Kibbeh" describes dishes made with bulgur, onions and spices. That mixture is combined with everything from tomatoes to goat. It's layered and baked, shaped into balls or footballs, stuffed, deep-fried or eaten raw. This vegetarian kibbeh recipe is made with pumpkin and stuffed with seasoned greens. Sorrel adds a lemony flavor, but you can use chard or kale and add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to the filling. Use fine bulgur or the texture of the dough will be gritty.

Chard Stalks in Tarator (Dlou' Selee' Mtaballeh)

Tarator is an easy-to-prepare tahini sauce that often accompanies baked fish, shawarma, falafel or cooked vegetables like these chard stalks.

Stewed Okra (Yakhnet Bemyieh)

Simmered in a tomato sauce fragrant with garlic and cilantro and finished with pomegranate molasses, this okra recipe might be just the dish that turns okra haters into lovers.

Freekeh with Grilled Vegetables (Frikeh bel Khodra)

Soaking the freekeh and cooking it with caramelized onions results in an almost risotto-like texture. Grill up your favorite vegetables in place of the zucchini, carrots and scallions, if you like--or skip the vegetables altogether and serve it as a simple whole-grain side. It's really that good on its own.

Eggplant with Sweet-Sour Onions & Pickled Cherries (Visneli Patlican Bayildi)

This layered dish features super-tender roasted eggplant and sweet sautéed onions spiked with tart and fruity pomegranate molasses. Serve with pita as part of a mezze course or as a side with a larger meal.

Olive Oil-Braised Jewish Zucchini Peels (Kashkarikas)

A popular Sephardic Jewish dish, cuajado, is made with just the zucchini flesh mixed with fresh cheese and matzo meal. This vegetable side dish recipe was created so the peels wouldn't go to waste. Serve as an appetizer or a side dish. Use any leftover zucchini flesh in stuffings, breads and muffins or just sauté with garlic in olive oil.

Lamb & Walnut Gul Börek

These gul, or rose-shaped, pastries are savory with a sweet touch from sautéed onions and sun-dried tomatoes. A little vinegar in the olive oil used for brushing the layers of phyllo keeps the dough pliable and easier to coil.

Tomato Dolma with Roasted Eggplant (Köz Patlicanli Domates Dolmasi)

Dolma are stuffed vegetables common from the Mediterranean all the way to Central Asia. This easy recipe pairs ripe tomatoes with a ground beef filling that's lightened with eggplant and onions. Serve the stuffed tomatoes as a starter or double up for a main dish.

Cucumber with Basil, Yogurt, Walnuts & Browned Butter (Yanik Tereyagli Cacik)

You may not typically serve your cucumbers bruised, but intentionally smashing them releases their flavorful juices. Taking the time to soak the walnuts for this dish gives them a special soft texture and plumpness. Serve this vegetable dish with pita as part of a mezze platter or as a side salad.