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
NOTES
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!
Nutrition
Can I make batches and freeze?
I am not sure if this will freeze well, Rita. The texture makes me think it might not, but haven’t tried it so can’t say for certain.
I’ve made this recipe three times, and have had no problem with the emulsification at all. The first time it came out with a peppery, bitter aftertaste, and I read elsewhere that de-germng the garlic makes a big difference. So I did that for the second batch, and the bitterness was gone. I also used grapeseed oil for that second batch. For my third batch, I de-germed as before but switched back to canola oil, and the bitter aftertaste was back. So now I am wondering how the kind of oil used affects the taste. But the recipe is easy to follow and still delicious; it just seems the canola oil versions had a bite to them. Have you experienced a difference using different oils?
OMG I love this stuff. I buy it from Whole Foods Market. This brand TOOM garlic dips! yum! They even have a spicy flavor. Thank you!
I had masses of home-grown garlic, so this was a great find. Incredible buttery garlic taste! Thanks so much for all the pointers
“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”
recipe:
“1/2 cup garlic cloves peeled”
“1 3/4 tsp salt”
using volume measurements for dry ingredients is imprecise, especially if a lot of variation in size is possible (garlic being a product of nature, and salt being available if different coarseness’s), because the bulk density (which has to do with how much air remains between individual pieces) can vary as a result. Another problem with volume measurement is that it’s often less precise reading the amount.
This recipe is essentially the middle eastern equivalent of a true aioli (true aioli is made without eggs and relies solely on the proteins in the garlic for emulsification, unlike the garlic mayonaises that are often sold as aioli), so especially a variation in the amount of garlic can affect whether the sauce emulsifies well.
I would encourage you to give weight measurements instead for more accuracy, perhaps that will reduce the amount of times it doesn’t work for others.
Yes Nienke, noted, thanks – next time I make this I plan to measure weights. I’m incorporating specific weights into almost every recipe now for this very reason.
Like several other people, I followed the recipe exactly and came out with something about the consistency of milk. What’s going on here? It seems to be really hit or miss.
Did you alternate the water and lemon juice? Did you drizzle VERY slowly? Did you use a food processor? Emulsion sauces can be very tricky, it really takes careful addition of ingredients and following the method precisely. I’ve made this countless times without an issue, and I’ve reviewed the instructions thoroughly – I’m just not sure where some people are going wrong. I’ve written it exactly as I make it at home. Wish I could help!
Mine didn’t come together in the food processor but it did when I used a stick blender at the end! I recommend trying that if it’s still runny because mine came together in seconds. ?
Tori, I just got hooked to this dip a few months ago discovering toum at Whole Foods Market. This brand TOOM Garlic Dips makes a yummy toum dip. They even have a spicy one! Yum! Love the recipe, I’m excited to try making it at home.
I had TOOM dips the other day too! So freaking good! It led me here to see if I could try to make it at home. Going to give this a shot.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a recipe before that calls for a CUP of raw garlic…I’m VERY excited to try this one!
I love this sauce and have made it twice. But be warned it is very HOT and can burn your mouth. Small amounts as recommended.
OMG!!!!! So so very good. Thank you! 🙂
Can we use olive oil instead of the other oils you mentioned? Thanks!
You can, but it will add an olive oil flavor to the sauce.
Hi Tori!
I have been trying to recreate toum for years. I am excited to try this recipe? My problem has always been that it has way to much bite, just like biting into a raw clove. Does the water and removing the inside do the trick?
Thank you!!
Kristilynn
Removing the green part inside will help a lot!
Hm, mine isn’t turning out quite as thick. It’s pretty watery, but the flavor is there. I drizzled in very slowly. Not sure what could have gone wrong?
Did you alternate drizzling oil with lemon and water as per instructions?
Followed the directions and mine turned out perfectly! I have tried making it before your recipe and it never worked but I feel that alternating the drizzle and lemon really is key to the success! Thanks so much!
I could bathe in this sauce. Just put the last of it (and it makes a lot) on some mashed potatoes. It’s awesome with falafel and with grilled meats — just melts on them
What a wonderful sauce for your falafel and chicken shawarma (and hummus) recipes.
Your ingredients and instructions turn out perfectly.
My only problem is I like it too much!
My family and I also love your nokedli recipe…so close to my Hungarian parents and grandparents recipe!
Thank you!
You’re welcome!
Hi you say in the receipt 1/2 cup of the garlic cloves and 1/2 cup of lemon juice and in the preparation you only put in 1/4 cup of the garlic and lemon, did you mean 12 cup????
Deborah, you start by adding 1/4 cup of lemon juice, then add more slowly (step 3). That’s why it says “divided.”
Good luck only using 2 Tablespoons of this stuff, I could drink it like a well made gravy… so good…
I really did not like this recipe. First of all don’t use any water unless you like watery bland sauce. Second of all it needs more garlic. What a waste of 4 cups of oil.
Sorry to hear that Lauren! I feel like maybe you didn’t get the emulsion quite right? The water doesn’t make it watery, it’s actually quite thick. As for more garlic, this is a VERY garlicky sauce, so I’m a bit confused where things might have gone wrong for you. If it’s just a matter of taste, that’s a shame! Better luck next time.
Lauren, mine turned out the same way yours did. I’ll try again with no water and much less oil.
MP
Mine came out tasting realllly lemony. Should I have not removed the insides from the garlic cloves?