Epic Baba Ganoush
This baba ganoush recipe is the best! It's easy to make, too (no food processor required). You'll need eggplant, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 30, 2024
โBut why would I make baba ganoush if I could just eat hummus?โ Mara asked when we set out to make the ultimate baba ganoush recipe. At that moment, I couldnโt help but shrug my shoulders.
Then we nailed the method and ingredients you see here, and neither of us could stop scooping up more. When you get it right, baba ganoush is irresistibly smooth and luxurious, smoky, and savory.
In its most basic form, baba ganoush is made with eggplant, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt. I found that adding a tiny bit of ground cumin, smoked paprika and fresh parsley takes it to the next level.
Baba ganoush is similar to hummus, but it calls for grilled or roasted eggplant instead of chickpeas. Both dips originated in the Eastern Mediterranean, and theyโre often served together with pita bread and raw, crisp veggies. You can use baba ganoush like you would hummusโas a dip or spread. Ready to make some?!
How to Make the Best Baba Ganoush
There are a few considerations when it comes to baba ganoush.ย First up: do you grill the eggplant or roast it?
Roast your eggplant
I donโt have a grill, so I roasted my eggplant and it turned out great. So, you donโt need a grill for this baba ganoush!
To make up for the grilled flavor, I halved the eggplants and roasted them cut-side down for caramelized deliciousness. (Roasting them halved also means that your eggplant cooks faster, and you donโt risk an entire eggplant exploding inside your oven.) Using smoked paprika as a garnish adds some extra smokiness, too.
Roasting the eggplants until theyโve collapsed on themselves helps concentrate their flavor and ensure that your dip is silky-smooth. At that point, itโs easy to flip over the eggplant and scoop out the insides. Peeling the skin off eggplant is not my idea of a good time!
Extract moisture
The next consideration is how to extract as much moisture from the eggplant as possible. Fortunately, our roasting method has already helped eliminate a lot of it. Just let the eggplant rest in a strainer for a few minutes and stir it to release even more.
Stir it up
The next questionโdo you mix the dip by hand or whip it up in your food processor? Iโm a big fan of my food processor, but it isnโt necessary for this recipe. Baba ganoush traditionally has some texture to it, and roasted eggplant readily falls apart when you stir it with a fork.
Add ample salt
My last tip is to salt the dip generouslyโeggplant is inherently bitter, and salt reduces that bitterness. This dip isnโt truly epic until itโs properly seasoned with salt. Can I call my own recipe epic? Oh hell, Iโm doing it! This baba ganoush is epic.
Watch How to Make Baba Ganoush
What to Serve with Baba Ganoush
Basic baba ganoush is always vegan, gluten free and nut free. That makes baba ganoush a great party appetizer for guests who are following special dietsโas long as your accompaniments fit the bill.
I like to serve my baba ganoush with sturdy raw veggies like carrot sticks, cucumber rounds and bell pepper sticks. Toasted pita wedges or pita chips are great, too.
For a full Mediterranean spread, serve this baba ganoush with herbed hummusย or tahini sauce and fresh salads. I recommend Mediterranean bean salad, my favorite quinoa salad, or tabbouleh. Here are even more Mediterranean recipes!
Please let me know how this baba ganoush recipe turns out for you in the comments! I hope itโs your new favorite.
Epic Baba Ganoush
This baba ganoush recipe is the best! Itโs easy to make, too (no food processor required). Youโll need eggplant, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and spices. Recipe yields about 1 ยพ cups (enough to serve 4 to 6 as an appetizer).
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Italian eggplants (about 2 small-to-medium eggplants*)
- 2 medium cloves of garlic, pressed or minced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, more if necessary
- ยผ cup tahini
- โ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing the eggplant and garnish
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus extra for garnish
- ยพ teaspoon salt, to taste
- ยผ teaspoon ground cumin
- Pinch of smoked paprika, for garnish
- Serving suggestions: warmed or toasted pita wedges, carrot sticks, bell pepper strips, cucumber slices, etc.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit with a rack in the upper third of the oven. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent the eggplant from sticking to the pan. Halve the eggplants lengthwise and brush the cut sides lightly with olive oil. Place them in the prepared pan with the halved sides down.
- Roast the eggplant until the interior is very tender throughout and the skin is collapsing, about 35 to 40 minutes (this might take longer if you are using 1 large eggplant). Set the eggplant aside to cool for a few minutes. Flip the eggplants over and scoop out the flesh with a large spoon, leaving the skin behind.
- Place a mesh strainer over a mixing bowl, then transfer the flesh to the strainer and discard the skins. Pick out any stray bits of eggplant skin and discard. You want to remove as much moisture from the eggplant here as possible, so let the eggplant rest for a few minutes and shake/stir the eggplant to release some more moisture.
- Discard all of the eggplant drippings, drain and wipe out the bowl, and dump the eggplant into the bowl.ย Add the garlic and lemon juice to the eggplant and stir vigorously with a fork until eggplant breaks down. Add the tahini to the bowl and stir until itโs incorporated. While stirring, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Continue stirring until the mixture is pale and creamy, and use your fork to break up any particularly long strings of eggplant.
- Stir in the parsley, salt and cumin. Season to taste with more salt (I usually add another ยผ teaspoon) and more lemon juice, if youโd like a more tart flavor.
- Transfer the baba ganoush to a serving bowl and lightly drizzle olive oil on top. Lastly, sprinkle parsley and smoked paprika on top. Serve with accompaniments of your choice. Itโs also great on sandwiches!
Notes
Recipe roughly adapted from Serious Eatsย and Tori Avey.
*Eggplant selection:ย Large eggplants tend to contain more seeds, which can produce a bothersome texture. So, itโs better to use 2 small eggplants that weigh about 2 pounds total, rather than 1 large. Choose eggplants that are shiny and smooth (no mushy parts), and feel heavy for their size. Turn your eggplant into baba ganoush promptly, since overripe eggplant tastes more bitter.
Storage suggestions:ย Leftover baba ganoush can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 4 days (I think itโs best served fresh, but some say it tastes better after a day or two). I like to let my leftover baba ganoush warm to room temperature before serving, but others prefer it chilled, so Iโll leave this up to you.
For a lighter dip: You can reduce the olive oil to as little as 2 to 3 tablespoons. Your dip wonโt be as rich and creamy, but it will still be very good!
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Absolutely delicious and easy! My boyfriend is already asking I make a bigger batch
This recipe is great! I used the food processor which made it even easier!
I agree it would be great to know how much pulp should be used in the final process.
itโs all in the lemon juice! I will confess that I do not like garlic. So, I made it without. Was stupendous!! Thank you, Kate :)
Youโre welcome, Kathleen!
Yummy! Really like the method. So much easier to cut the eggplant in half and roast, rather than roast whole and peel off the skin. Will make again, soon. My only regret is that I discovered your recipe at the end of eggplant season.
This recipe truly is epic. And thanks for the tip about buying smaller eggplants. It wasnโt bitter at all. Thatโs a tip that will serve me well with the recipes also.
Great to hear, Jennifer! Iโm glad you loved it.
The best Baba Ganoush that I have ever tried! My whole family loved it! Thank you!
When the recipe calls for tahini, does it mean plain crushed sesame paste or that which is prepared with added water, salt, and lemon juice?
Yes, tahini. I hope you enjoy it.
grill it skin side down . period stop full stop
grill the cloves of garlic, squeeze & the meat pops out
learned from watching the Lebanese woman chef, 45 years ago , who did this on big black cast iron stone in the dining room of the CEDARS restaurant in Boston.. smokinโ the grill was my add.. double smokinโ
This is the best thing Iโve made in my kitchen in a hood while. The recipe is well written and it makes such delicious baba ganoush, better than store bought!
Iโm happy you enjoyed it, Matthew! I appreciate your review.
Great easy recipe. I speed up by stabbing eggplant and microwaving for 5mins and char on bbq for 10 mins. Comes out a treat.Thanks for all your recipes. Cheers Kim
Great tip! Thanks for sharing, any excuse to use my grill Iโll take!
Delicious!!
I had a surplus of โIchibanโ eggplant and wanted to try making baba ganoush.
I followed the recipe but didnโt have tahini so subbed in chopped pistachios.
I think it turned out well, I didnโt blend it but used a potato masher to mix and meld flavors.
I think the โIchibanโ is dryer as it didnโt need draining much, and is a milder type of eggplant
Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Thank you for sharing how you made this, Jonathan.
Too much tahini, I would put half from that.fortunally I had roasted more eggplants what corrected the taste
Great recipe. Slightly different than Baba Ghanoush I tried for the first time at a restaurant last week, but delicious nonetheless.
Lovely recipe! I sometimes tweak it by adding charred roasted carrots. Eggplant and carrots are so good together.
Yours is my familyโs favorite baba ghanouj recipe. Love the addition of cumin! We add extra garlic and lemon, and a few extra dashes of paprika, sometimes a little Tajin Mexican seasoning (which is mostly salt, red chilli and dehydrated lime). So so good and I love that I donโt have to use the food processor!
Thank you for sharing your experience, Kalika! I appreciate your review.
Instead of buying my monthly baba ghanouj fix from the local middle eastern market Iโm going to make this myself and see how it comes out. Iโll LYK!
This recipe is awesome. The only adjustment I made was to roast the garlic alongside the eggplant. I find raw garlic to be too much. I wrapped the garlic in tinfoil with salt and olive oil. I used the garlic roasted olive oil instead of the plain olive oil. Iโll definitely use this recipe over and over. Thanks for sharing!
Youโre welcome, Barbara! Thank you for sharing how you made it.
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. It truely is epic. I first had Baba Ganoush at an African restaurant in Edinburgh. I fell immediately in love. I make the pitta bread and the Baba Ganoush, chop up some veg and Iโm one happy girl. Your recipe is fantastic, thank you. Yes you can call your own recipe, EPIC XX
Iโm glad you loved it, Jooli!
Truly lovely! Cumin had run out so I used curry powder and I used 3 tbsp of olive oil. It worked fabulously and Iโll definitely will be making this recipe again many times! :)
Half of it may be gone already
i ALWAYS double this recipe and finish it myself in a few days. but i find the olive oil is only really necessary for roasting and garnish. i like the consistency nice and thick. i also simplify by just squeezing in 2 small lemons (for the double recipe). today iโm adding three spears finely diced celery and half a jalapeno for the first time. i also cheat with la machine.
Made this for a party last night! Everyone LOVED it. I quadrupled the portions for a big party appetizer. So good, thank you so much. Great recipe (no doubt Iโll use this time and time again)
Thatโs great to hear, Poppy! Thank you for your review.
I bought a couple of eggplants from the vegetable clearance shelf at my grocery store and decieded to make Baba Ganoush with them, which led me to your recipe! Wow. My heart cries for all the eggplants that died in my fridge before I found this recipe! I didnโt realize it would be so easy and still so delicious! This will be a go-to for me going forward! Thank you for sharing!
Youโre welcome, Moxie!
I just made this using a jar of eggplant from a jar. You are right about getting enough salt in the recipe. We loved it on a slice of tomato even more on avacado.
This recipe is DELICIOUS but it does make a lot for one person. Can I freeze it? Or should I just make it for potlucks? :)
I havenโt tried it. Let me know how it works if you try it!
I cook with less salt than most, which is why Iโm wondering if I could sprinkle salt on the two halves of the eggplant and let them sit for half an hour, like I do my eggplant slices before I use it for eggplant parmesan. Then rinse before roasting? Love your recipes!
Italian Eggplant Parmesan
Superb. I made this for my brother who is used to eating Lebanese food as he lives in Sydney. Iโm usually in Melbourne. We both thought it was the best BG we ever had. Have made it again since. The better the olive oil you use the better the recipe turns out.
I tend to use recipes as guides and this was amazing. Put the eggplants on the bbq under the hood for 30 minutes to cook.
Can leftover aba ganoush be frozen?
I havenโt tried it, but it may be ok. Let me know if you try it and how it turns out for you!
This is slightly different than the baba ganoush Iโve made before, and I like it! Iโve always roasted the eggplant whole, but there are some good reasons to cut it in half: less liquid to drain because more evaporates during the roasting, it cuts down on the roasting time, and the eggplant browns on the cut side giving it better flavor. Cumin and smoked paprika are nice additions. I was lazy and used a food processor, but only a few pulses to keep some chunkiness. Yes, epic!
Iโm glad you love it, Jonathan! I appreciate your review.
This recipe is so easy to follow and by far the best baba ghanoush Iโve ever eaten! Thank you!!
Sooooโฆ I canโt stand aubergine (eggplant) but had a gut feeling that I would love Baba ganoush and your recipes have never ever let me downโฆ so I made it. Iโm not gonna lie, when I seen in sitting in the sieve draining, I was really turned off visually, but I persevered to finish the recipe and gosh am I glad I did! It really is epic! So much more flavourful than my usual hummus.
Really epic! We loved it.
Excellent! After making it many times, today is the first day I let the eggplant really char under the broiler. Now it is truly epic! Thank you so much. Love your food.
I first made this recipe a few years ago and let me tell you, my neighbors and I,
now grow eggplant every year specifically so I can make baba ganoush. Itโs wonderful on a hot texas afternoon. Thank you!
This turned out amazing!! Did not use the cumin or parsley because I didnโt have it, but it is 100% better than store bought! Thank you! Will definitely make again and again!!
Thatโs great to hear, Emily!
Absolutely killer. I followed the recipe to a T, including adding salt to taste. Perfect amount of garlic (I was skeptical it would be enough). I took the easy route by dumping the ingredients in a blender and processing to smooth consistency. The best baba ganoush Iโve had.
I love to hear that, Bill!
Can you freeze the ganoush?
I havenโt tried it, but I donโt see why not. If you try it, Let me know what you think!
First time making Baba Ganoush and this was a simple and delicious recipe. Highly recommend.
Delicious! I have a gas stove so I lightly char the outside of the eggplant before I split them and bake them. Adds a nice smokiness in case you donโt have (or in addition to) the smoked paprika.
I make this for every party โ no leftovers (and the batches keep getting bigger)! I use a handheld pastry mixer to break down the eggplant while keeping its texture, and up the lemon and garlic a bit.
Excellent baba ganoush!
Followed recipe and my batch was way oversalted. Also, are you supposed to remove the seeds from the eggplant? I donโt remember seeing seeds in the baba ghanoush Iโve had at restaurants.
Iโm gonna give this recipe another try tomorrow with less salt, no seeds and less oil.
Iโve made this recipe countless times and itโs by far the best!! I usually smoke my eggplant on my pellet grill before I finish it off in the oven. So incredible!
Hi, Iโm not that big of a fan of tahini. Can I use a little bit of mayo instead?
I havenโt tried it, so I canโt say for sure.
I just made your baba ganoush. It is fantastic, and it was so easy to make. Thank you for the recipe! Angela
Youโre welcome, Angela!
Thank you for a delicious, easy recipe to use my first Eggplant and garlic of the season topped with parsley also from my garden! Iโd love to see the nutritional information.
Hi, the nutritional information is below the notes section of the recipe.
I made this recipe a few weeks ago. I had one large eggplant that needed eating, so I adjusted for a smaller yield. So quick and eashy. It was SOOOO delicious. Iโm not usually the cook, but this recipe got me some real cred! Already prepping it again today for a Med-themed pot-luck to go with my friendโs homemade lavash. Iโm sure it will be the star :).
This really is an epic recipe. Iโve made it several times and everyone loves it!
Het best baba ganoush I ever hadโฆreally!
So so so good!!
Iโm happy to hear that!