Traditional Toum (Lebanese Garlic Sauce)
A bold, creamy garlic sauce and dip, Lebanese toum is easy to make at home with the help of a food processor and a little good technique.
- Total time
- 20 min
- Active time
- 20 min
- Yield
- Makes 1 quart
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Equipment
- 3 required
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Ingredients and Constraints
Ingredients
Ingredient watchpoints1 watchpoint
Short requirements and tradeoffs to check while gathering ingredients; detailed source notes stay expandable.
Neutral oil
3 cups (600g) neutral oil, such as grapeseed or canola, divided
The source ingredient row lists alternatives.
Details and source
Acceptable alternatives: such as grapeseed; canola; divided
Additional ingredient notes
Required setup
Equipment
Linked because the source step mentions this equipment.
Linked because the source step mentions this equipment.
Linked because the source step mentions this equipment.
Source video
Source video
Method Timeline
Prep
ActivePrep
20 min
Source Recipe JSON-LD prepTime.
Finish
ActiveFinish
Not listed
Final serving step and finishing actions from the source directions.
Step 1
Using a paring knife, split each garlic clove in half lengthwise. With the tip of the knife, remove the germ from each garlic clove half.
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Image detailsUsing a knife to de-germ garlic.Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik · Traditional Toum (Lebanese Garlic Sauce)Dev reference Inputs and tools2
Uses
- 1 cup garlic cloves (4 1/2 ounces; 130g)
Equipment
Step 2
Food Processor Method: Place the de-germed garlic and kosher salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse garlic in short bursts until finely minced, occasionally removing the lid to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a flexible rubber spatula. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice and continue processing until a paste begins to form. Add another tablespoon lemon juice and process until completely smooth and slightly fluffy.
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Image detailsOverhead view of garlic and salt in food processor before and after processing into a smooth paste..Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik · Traditional Toum (Lebanese Garlic Sauce)Dev reference Visual cue
until a paste begins to form
Checks1
TextureInfoTextureuntil a paste begins to form
Expected state: until a paste begins to form
Inputs and tools4
Uses
- 1 cup garlic cloves (4 1/2 ounces; 130g)
- 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt (for table salt, use 1 teaspoon)
- 1/4 cup (60g) fresh juice from about 2 lemons, divided
Equipment
Why and source
This step has reviewed source-backed guidance.
Step 3
With the food processor running, slowly drizzle in 1/2 cup oil in a very thin stream, followed by 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Repeat with another 1/2 cup oil and remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Continue the process, alternating 1/2 cup oil and 1 tablespoon water, until all the oil and water have been incorporated. Transfer toum to a container and store in the fridge for up to 1 month.
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Image detailsOil pouring into a food processorSerious Eats / Vicky Wasik · Traditional Toum (Lebanese Garlic Sauce)Dev reference %3Amax_bytes(150000)%3Astrip_icc()%3Aformat(webp)%2F__opt__aboutcom__coeus__resources__content_migration__serious_eats__seriouseats.com__images__2017__10__20170919-toum-garlic-sauce-vicky-wasik-5-f6a06a53d78d43ad8a4e674ab4bec2fe.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
Image detailsOverhead view of toum in food processor; the garlic has been processed to become a smooth puree.Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik · Traditional Toum (Lebanese Garlic Sauce)Dev reference Troubleshooting1
WarningBroken EmulsionStep 3Broken toum emulsion
The toum separates or looks loose instead of smooth and fluffy.
The oil was not worked in slowly enough, so the garlic paste could not hold the emulsion.
Prevention
Drizzle the oil in a very thin stream while the processor runs, alternating with lemon juice and water as the recipe directs.
Recovery
Start 1 egg white with a little broken toum in the food processor until fluffy, then slowly stream in the rest.
Inputs and tools4
Uses
- 1/4 cup (60g) ice water, divided
- 3 cups (600g) neutral oil, such as grapeseed or canola, divided
- 1/4 cup (60g) fresh juice from about 2 lemons, divided
Equipment
Step 4
Mortar and Pestle Method: Depending on the size of your mortar, you may need to make the recipe in smaller batches, halving or quartering the ingredient amounts. In the mortar, combine garlic and salt and grind until it becomes a smooth paste. Work oil into paste 1 teaspoon at a time. After adding 1 tablespoon oil, work in a few drops of lemon juice. Repeat until all the oil, lemon juice, and water have been incorporated.
Mortar and Pestle
Troubleshooting
Reviewed failure and correction notes from process controls.
Thin, dense toum from the wrong tool
The sauce looks closer to mayonnaise or dressing than fluffy toum.
A blender or immersion blender works the mixture differently than the food processor or mortar method used here.
Prevention
Use the food processor method or the mortar-and-pestle method for the light texture this recipe is built around.
Recovery
If the batch is stable but dense, use it as a sauce; for the intended fluffy texture, remake it with the listed tools.
Handling and Storage
Reviewed hold, storage, make-ahead, and service-timing guidance.
How to Fix Toum When It Breaks
Combine one egg white with a quarter cup of the broken emulsion and process until fluffy before slowly pouring in the rest.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Toum may be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
Learn More
Extra cooking notes, tests, and source details kept out of the step-by-step method.
Testing notes
Useful tests and side-by-side notes after the method is clear.
What Is Toum?
Toum is essentially a mayonnaise, but it's stabilized with garlic instead of egg.
Just like mayo, toum is an emulsion of oil into water, made possible with the help of a third-party emulsifier. Emulsifiers and stabilizers help droplets stay dispersed by coating each one and reducing the surface tension, preventing them from coalescing.
How to Make Toum
This first step is to make a smooth and fluffy garlic paste.
For the most flavorful toum, start with the freshest garlic: Pre-peeled cloves sold in bulk lose much of their pungency, while old, sprouting heads of garlic can be bitter and harsh. The garlic needs to be fully broken down in order for the proteins and stabilizers to be released from within its cell walls.
Recipe structure
Components and intermediate outputs created by the method.
Main recipe
Recipe card ingredients and steps.
Makes 1 quart
Extra useful notes
Short source-backed recommendations and facts that do not need a step.
For the ideal light and fluffy texture, stick with either the food processor or mortar-and-pestle method described here.
For the ideal light and fluffy texture, stick with either the food processor or mortar-and-pestle method described here. Trying to make the toum in a blender or with an immersion blender will result in a thin and dense texture closer to that of a mayonnaise or dressing than traditional toum.
If the emulsion breaks, it can easily be brought back together with the help of an egg white.
If the emulsion breaks, it can easily be brought back together with the help of an egg white. Combine 1 egg white with 1/4 cup of the broken emulsion in the bowl of a food processor until fluffy. With the food processor running, slowly pour in the remaining broken emulsion.
Toum may be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
Toum may be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
More source notes
Useful article notes that do not need to interrupt the cooking method.
Notes
Trying to make the toum in a blender or with an immersion blender will result in a thin and dense texture closer to that of a mayonnaise or dressing than traditional toum.
Recipe Utilities
Account actions, source details, export, and reporting stay available without interrupting the cooking flow.
Source and Origin
Origin declaration
Adapted from source
Imported from the Serious Eats page for dev review.
Copy risk: Unchecked
Traditional Toum (Lebanese Garlic Sauce)
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