Garlic Toum

Garlic toum is a traditional Lebanese garlic sauce known for its bold flavor, silky texture, and cloud-like white appearance. Made with only four simple ingredients such as garlic, oil, lemon juice, and salt, this authentic Middle Eastern sauce is surprisingly easy to make at home.

Although toum looks similar to mayonnaise, it contains no eggs or dairy. Instead, the creaminess is a result from slowly emulsifying the garlic and oil, creating a light, fluffy sauce that is naturally vegan and incredibly versatile.

In Lebanon, garlic toum is served with everything from chicken shawarma and shish tawook to grilled lamb, kebabs, and roasted vegetables. Many families prepare large batches to keep in the refrigerator, where the garlic mellows and the flavor becomes even richer over the following days. Once you’ve made homemade garlic toum, you’ll quickly understand why it has become one of Lebanon’s most beloved condiments.

Ingredients

Oil, Garlic cloves, Lemon, and Salt.

Authentic Lebanese garlic toum is made with just four ingredients, but choosing the right oil makes all the difference. Use a neutral-flavored oil that allows the garlic flavours to come through. Grapeseed oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, and avocado oil all work well. Strong oils, such as extra virgin olive oil, can overpower the sauce and may leave a slightly bitter finish.

Garlic, Lemon Juice & Salt

Fresh garlic cloves are the foundation of this lebanese garlic toum. Choose firm, fresh cloves without green sprouts, as older garlic can become bitter.

Freshly squeezed lemon juice balances the richness of the oil while adding brightness to the garlic. It also helps create a stable emulsion. Salt enhances the flavor of every ingredient while bringing the sauce together.

For the fluffiest garlic toum sauce, start with garlic cloves out of the fridge, this means it is necessary to pre-peel the garlic and chill the lemon juice. Cold ingredients help the emulsion form more easily, producing the signature light, airy texture that authentic toum is known for.

Instructions

Making garlic toum is easier than you might expect. The secret is creating a stable emulsion, just like making homemade mayonnaise.

Using an Immersion Blender

Add the garlic, lemon juice, oil, and salt to a tall, narrow container. Pulsate from the bottom upwards. Within seconds, the mixture will change into a thick, creamy garlic sauce. Continue until the sauce becomes smooth. For an even lighter texture, blend in a tablespoon or two of ice water at the end, this will result in a garlic toum with a cloud like consistency.

Using a Food Processor

For larger batches, a food processor works beautifully. Begin by pulsing the garlic until it is finely minced, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a silicon spatula. With the processor running, drizzle in the oil while alternating with small amounts of lemon juice, this allows the garlic to emulsify with the oil, creating a thick, silky sauce. Finish by blending in a little ice water until the toum becomes smooth, creamy, and brilliantly white.

Expert tips

Making authentic toum is simple once you understand the process. Use fresh garlic for the cleanest flavor. Keep the garlic and lemon juice cold before blending. Add the oil slowly when using a food processor to prevent the emulsion from breaking.

Toum usually separates when the oil is added too quickly or the ingredients become too warm. Using cold ingredients and adding the oil gradually helps create a stable emulsion. If the sauce feels too thick, blend in a little ice water for a lighte consistency. An immersion blender is suited for narrow container, while a food processor is ideal for larger batches.

How to Store Toum

Store homemade toum in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one month. The garlic flavor will gradually become smoother and more mellow after a few days, making the sauce even more delicious. If you’ve made a large batch, toum also freezes well for up to three months. Simply thaw it overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

What to Serve with Toum

Garlic toum pairs beautifully with both grilled meats and vegetables. In the Middle East, it is served alongside Chicken shawarma, Shish tawook, Grilled lamb chops, Chicken meatballs or Kofta, and rotisserie chicken. Explore more Middle Eastern recipes.