Toum – Recipe for Middle Eastern Garlic Sauce. Use on Shawarma, Falafel, Grilled Foods. Vegan, Garlicky, Creamy and Flavorful
I’ve been wanting to post this recipe for a while now, but it took some time to develop it and get it just right. Either the texture wasn’t quite right or the flavor wasn’t exactly where I wanted it to be. I can proudly say that finally, I’ve cracked the code. This toum recipe is da bomb. It’s smooth, creamy, garlicky and deliciously potent.
The key was using a big food processor (8 cups or more), making a large batch (big enough for it to easily emulsify in the food processor), using sunflower or canola oil (these mild oils work best for flavor and texture), and chilling the oil. Sound strange? The chilled oil is magic, it helps to keep the sauce from separating. Come on, don’t you trust me yet?
If you’ve never had the pleasure of trying toum, it’s a creamy garlic dipping sauce that is often served in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean restaurants. It’s similar to aioli or mayonnaise, but made without eggs.
It’s utterly fabulous on falafel, shawarma, grilled chicken, fish, and vegetables— really, anything that calls for a creamy garlic accompaniment. Be warned, this sauce isn’t for the faint of heart. Toum packs a powerful punch.
Raw garlic contains some pretty incredible health benefits, and has been used as both food and medicine for thousands of years. Ancient Olympic athletes used to eat raw garlic to boost their strength and stamina. It’s a great source of antioxidants; it also has anti-inflammatory properties.
Some studies have shown that eating garlic may help lower high blood pressure and high cholesterol. So toum is not only tasty, but it’s also good for you. Although I can’t promise it will have a very positive effect on your breath. Don’t go kissing anybody after a serving of this stuff!
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Garlic Sauce (Toum)
Ingredients
- 4 cups sunflower oil, avocado oil or canola oil, chilled (You may need less oil - detailed instructions below. For Passover safflower oil may be used)
- 1/2 cup garlic cloves peeled
- 1/2 cup lemon juice divided
- 1/2 cup ice cold water divided
- 1 3/4 teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Please Note: this recipe must be made exactly as written, and it relies on a balance of ingredients with very specific amounts and temperatures. Please do not alter the number of servings, or your sauce may not emulsify properly. Before you begin, place your oil in the freezer or refrigerator so that it is chilled, but still liquid. While the oil chills, remove the ends from your garlic cloves, split them in half and remove any green layers from inside. In a food processor, combine garlic cloves, salt, 1/4 cup of the lemon juice and 1/4 cup of the ice cold water.
- Process until smooth, then stop and scrape the sides of the food processor with a spatula.
- Turn the food processor back on and drizzle the chilled oil through the top as SLOWLY as possible, one cup at a time. If you don't have a steady hand I suggest putting the oil in a squeeze bottle and drizzling it in that way. After each cup of oil, add 1 tbsp each of the lemon juice and cold water.
- Scrape down the sides of the food processor as necessary. Be sure that your processor does not get too hot, as this can cause your sauce to separate.
- Only add oil until you've reached the texture you desire - you may only need 3 1/2 cups to achieve the proper texture. The final result should resemble a soft mayonnaise. This recipe makes about 5 cups of sauce, a serving is calculated as roughly 2 tablespoons. Store toum in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This recipe makes a pretty big batch, but it should keep for up to 4 weeks and it can be used on so many things. You'll be happy you have extra. Enjoy!
NOTES
Nutrition
I wish they would just ofer a huge bowl of that sauce and a spoon on the menu!!
Thank you thank you thank you
Would it work with Olive Oil?
Hi Cheryl, I tested it with olive oil but the flavor was really off. Don’t recommend it here. Another reader suggested avocado oil which I think might work really well, if I test it I will report back.
yummm
Thanks Tori
OK, of course canola oil is not allowed in my kitchen for any reason, but you do have my curious up about why Safflower oil is better than Sunflower oil for Passover? I love the things I learn here!
Hi Sue– safflower oil is one of the only cooking oils that is easy to find with a kosher-for-Passover certification. This is due to the Ashkenazi restriction on a category of foods known as kitniyot. Many Jews are not concerned about this restriction (including my family, which is half Sephardic), but some will not eat any foods during Passover that are not certified kosher for Passover. Grapeseed oil can also be found with Passover certification, but I don’t recommend it here as the resulting texture isn’t quite right with it– something is off with the viscosity. Olive oil gives it a strange flavor, so I don’t recommend using that either. More on the Passover restrictions here: https://toriavey.com/what-foods-are-kosher-for-passover/
Finally! This recipe! My daughter and I love it. But forget to ask what its called. Thank you for sharing!
Can’t wait to make it this weekend!
Inez
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love garlic.
yum!
I have .are before, but have purchased and use it as a sauce for pizza / flat bread. This sauce and cheese. … yum!
Can’t wait to try to make my own!!
I like the idea of using it as a sauce for Pizza. I just wonder if the garlic would be a bit strong.
This looks so good1 I will definitely make it. With a totally busted bracket, i have to find something to do!!
Thank you for the technique! I figured the ingredients and I’ve attempted making this before; however, I think the addition of the cold water will make all the difference!
OH. MY.
Tori i definitely will – maybe for Shabbat! Fingers crossed. Costco sells a great organic avocado oil that I even use in my challah – and to fry latkes – it’s really amazing!
I’m wondering if avocado oil would work?
Lisa I haven’t tried it with avocado oil, but I think it might work really well. If you try it will you let us know?
Avocado oil would be an absolutely fabulous choice, maybe even use the fresh ripe fruit to make a garlic version of guacamole.
I used half Extra Virgin Olive Oil and half Rice Bran Oil and I’ve been putting it on baked potatoes at night, on rice, use for any kind of chips, kofte, falafel, crudite fresh veggies AND the raw version garlic gives you allicin to further boost our immune system.
NOTE: Anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties found in garlic allicin are lost when garlic is cooked. The anti-cancer and heart healthy properties are preserved even after cooking garlic since these benefits come from sulfur compounds other than allicin. So, roast or don’t roast the garlic, per our preference 🙂
I just love this egg-less mayonnaise and it is incredibly healthy if you don’t use 100% Omega 6 fatty acid oils. Canola oil is good if you don’t heat it and this recipe doesn’t heat it.
To reduce Arthritis pain, edible oils with Omega 3 fatty acids immediately help, like within 15 minutes. Omega 6 fatty acids exacerbate inflammation. I’m going to make a batch of this with fresh flax oil (nice nutty flavor – reduces shelf life to 1 day due to flax oxidizing) and another one with my Natural Lemon Carlson Norwegian Cod Liver Oil (would go well with the lemon juice that’s already in the recipe) – Just imagine this recipe reduces inflammation, pain and bad cholesterol AND tastes GREAT!!!
I haven’t had a garlic sauce with my falafel, I like the tziki (cuke and yogurt mix).
yumm! will defenitly keep in mind to make this for passover. will be perfect on meat salads, roasted veggies and fish!
Malk I love it on roasted veggies! If you’re keeping Ashkenazi Passover make sure you use a mild-flavored Passover-certified oil, like safflower.
So that’s how they keep something that looks creamy pareve
Mmmmm! Can’t wait to make it.