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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.

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.

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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.

Zhoug Sauce

This green hot sauce originating in Yemen gets its heat from jalapeños. If you like it spicy, leave the seeds and ribs on your peppers. For a milder version, take them out. Serve this quick hot sauce with hot-off-the-grill meats, fish and vegetables to add a bright pop of flavor to dinner all summer long.

Open-Face Roasted Eggplant & Herb Salad Pita Sandwiches

One of the most popular street foods in Israel is a sabich, an overstuffed sandwich that always includes eggplant and hard-boiled eggs--along with a potential kitchen sink of salads and sauces. This fork-and-knife version inspired by one served at Tel Aviv's Yom Tov Café is way less messy to eat. Try this healthy sandwich for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Israeli Salad with Challah Croutons & Feta

Cucumbers, tomato, parsley and feta are the basics of an Israeli salad, which is as common at breakfast as at any other meal. Here, fluffy challah croutons make the dish a sort of mash-up of the Lebanese bread salad fattoush, made with pita, and a Tuscan panzanella. It's just the kind of cross-pollination modern Israeli food is known for. And for you, it's a healthy meal that's ready in 25 minutes!

Hummus with Slow-Roasted Vegetables

Serve these vegetables and super-lemony hummus with warm pita bread and a sprinkle of fruity za'atar, and you'll be transported to the hustle and bustle of Tel Aviv, Israel's iconic Mediterranean coastal city. This is the perfect healthy appetizer or element of a party board for any gathering.

Green Shakshuka with Spinach, Chard & Feta

The inspiration for this green shakshuka recipe comes from HaBasta, a popular restaurant on the edge of Carmel Market in Tel Aviv, where the shakshuka is packed with green chard and spinach and a little hot pepper provides just a touch of spice. Serve with pita or crusty bread to sop up the sauce for a quick dinner or for brunch.

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Green Lentil Curry Masabacha

Masabacha is a thick stew that in this case serves as the backbone to a hearty and healthy breakfast bowl. But the real star here is the silky whipped tahini sauce, made by simply pureeing tahini and water with garlic and lemon juice until the mixture is transformed into a light, spreadable sauce. Serve with warm pita and some vegetables for dipping.

Crispy Artichokes over Labneh

If you are short on time, you can purchase labneh from well-stocked grocery stores and Middle Eastern markets, but making your own is as simple as straining yogurt and lemon juice overnight in the refrigerator. The tangy sauce is a perfect foil for these garlicky, crispy fried artichokes.

Whole-Grain Salad with Charred Broccoli, Spring Onions & Parsley-Sumac Vinaigrette

For this easy healthy salad, chef Hugh Acheson shows the power of charring vegetables as a way to add interest to a salad. This flexible recipe can be made with a variety of whole grains, such as wheat berries, farro or pearl barley. The salad revels in the spring arrival of radishes, spring onions and bright green parsley. Sumac, which is commonly used in Middle Eastern cooking, adds a touch of tartness. Look for it in well-stocked spice sections at your market.

Gold Medal Moussaka

This Middle Eastern dish is most often made with ground meat and eggplant (or potatoes) and topped with a thick béchamel sauce. To reduce fat and calories, our makeover moussaka recipe uses fat-free milk, low-fat yogurt, and light ricotta cheese for the topping, but even with those subtitutions, it still delivers on taste!

White Bean Moussaka

Moussaka is a Middle Eastern baked main dish, typically made by layering slices of eggplant with a seasoned ground beef or lamb mixture. This protein-filled vegetarian version replaces the meat with white beans but will still delight any and all meat-eaters at your table.

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Lemon Chicken & Rice

This easy Persian-inspired chicken and rice dish has a beautiful golden color and a wonderful fragrance. If you have saffron in the cupboard, do add that optional pinch; just a little will enhance the flavor and aroma of the dish.

Lamb-Stuffed Eggplant

This Middle-Eastern-inspired dish uses just a small amount of lamb to stuff the eggplant, which keeps the saturated fat in check. It calls for cooked brown rice, which you can prepare up to a day ahead. Save time by using instant brown rice, which cooks in under 10 minutes.

Salted Caramel Pistachio-Apricot Baklava

This sweet dessert pastry is made with thin, flaky, buttery layers of phyllo dough and filled with sweet apricots, lightly salted pistachio nuts, and a bit of brown sugar. An apricot caramel sauce is drizzled over the cooled baklava and the entire dessert is sprinkled with coarse salt, providing a sweet and salty bang with each bite.

Peanut & Shrimp Soup

This Moroccan-inspired soup is made with roasted butternut squash and tomatoes, flavored with creamy peanut butter, and topped with zesty shrimp and julienned carrots. It's a beautiful appetizer to serve to guests--and they'll love the taste!

Air-Fryer Falafel

Making falafel in the air fryer is practically foolproof. Just combine all your ingredients in a food processor, form into patties and drop in the air fryer. The countertop appliance is like a mini convection oven, so the falafel will cook up quickly and with way less oil than if you pan-fried them. Serve them with tahini sauce for dipping (see associated recipe).

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.

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.