Muhammara is a Middle-Eastern roasted bell pepper, tomato, and walnut dip with creamy, tangy and slightly sweet flavor.
We love it with freshly baked pita or homemade bread, but it’s also great as a sauce for grilled vegetables and fish.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Eastern Mediterranean flavors come together in this colorful, vibrant, and flavorful dip from Syria 🌅.
Muhammara will remind you of similar mediterranean recipes like Spanish Romesco sauce or Italian red pepper pesto.
The ingredients are mostly the same (walnuts, tomatoes, bell peppers, garlic), but what makes muhammara unique is the use of pomegranate molasses which add fruity, tangy and slightly sweet flavor.
Now, if you can’t find pomegranate molasses, your best substitute is balsamic vinegar glaze, or plain balsamic vinegar; add a little at a time, taste and adjust.
Louise and I love serving muhammara with other Middle-Eastern recipes, arranging the different plates on the table to create a colorful spread.
You can go for classic hummus and baba ganoush. Or try something a little different like swimming chickpeas (masabacha), crunchy fatteh, and a refreshing Shirazi salad (Louise’s favorite 🥒🍅🍋🟩)
Add falafel, pita, olives, and cubed feta and you are in for a feast!
Ingredients
Find complete ingredient list, quantities, and substitutions in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Onion and garlic
- Red bell pepper: you can roast bell peppers at home or you can use jarred roasted bell peppers.
- Tomatoes: fresh, should be roasted with the bell peppers.
- Tomato paste: for richness and umami.
- Red pepper flakes: substitute Aleppo pepper flakes, red chili peppers, or cayenne pepper for red pepper flakes.
- Cumin: we recommend ground cumin.
- Walnuts
- Breadcrumbs: optional, in some traditions they are added to make the muhammara thithicker, in others they are left out. If you’d like a thicker, more spreadable muhammara you might want to add some breadcrumbs.
- Pomegranate molasses: that’s reduce pomegranate juice with a syrupy consistency and a sweet and sour flavor. It’s not a common ingredient; we buy it online. If you can’t find it you can replace it with balsamic vinegar, balsamic vinegar glaze, or a squeeze of lemon juice.
- Pomegranate seeds: for garnish.
- Parsley: also for garnish. Flat-leaf parsley recommended.
How to make muhammara
Step 1: Roast Vegetables.
Preheat the oven to 400°F or 200°C.
Add largely chopped bell peppers, tomatoes, and onions to a baking tray and season with olive oil, salt, and black pepper.
Arrange on a single layer without much overlapping.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until veggies are slightly charred outside.
Remove the peel that comes off easily from the bell peppers.
Step 2: Flavor base.
While the veggies roast, sauté olive oil, tomato paste, grated garlic, cumin, red pepper flakes, in a small skillet for 3 minutes or until you can smell the fragrant aroma of the spices.
Step 3: Blend.
To a food processor, add the tomato paste mixture, roasted bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, walnuts, and pomegranate molasses.
Pulse a few times until you reach a creamy yet coarse texture. Don’t over-blend the ingredients.
If your muhammara is too liquid add a few tablespoons of breadcrumbs to thicken it.
We make muhammara often and the consistency is always a little different due to the varying water content of the veggies. We usually add 1/2 to 1 cup of breadcrumbs.
Step 4: Serve.
Taste and adjust for salt and molasses, then transfer on a serving platter or bowl, spread it out with the back of a spoon, drizzle with pomegranate molasses, extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds, and chopped parsley.
Important tip if using jarred bell peppers
If you don’t have time to roast the bell peppers yourself, we recommend using jarred roasted bell peppers and tweaking the recipe slightly.
- Omit the tomatoes. Fresh tomatoes are way too watery and acidic to add to this dip without roasting them, so keep them out.
- Chop the onion finely, then fry it in a pan with olive oil for 5 minutes before adding grated garlic, tomato paste, cumin, and red pepper flakes.
- Now add all ingredients, except bread crumbs, to the food processor and pulse until you reach your desired texture.
- Add bread crumbs a little at a time until you reach your desired texture.
More Dips and Spreads
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Hummus Recipe without Tahini
Dips and Spreads
Lentil hummus
Dips and Spreads
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
If you tried this Muhammara recipe or any other recipe on our blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it goes in the comments. We love hearing from you!
Muhammara
Ingredients
- 4 red bell peppers
- 1 large onion
- 2 vine tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 cup walnuts
- 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses sub balsamic vinegar
- ½ to 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon salt + 2 twists of black pepper optional
- ½ cup pomegranate seeds
- 1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley chopped
Instructions
- ROAST VEGETABLES: Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C.Add 4 red bell peppers (quartered), 2 vine tomatoes (quartered), and 1 large onion (cut into 6 pieces) to a baking tray and season with 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 2 twists black pepper.Arrange on a single layer without much overlapping.Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until veggies are slightly charred outside.Remove bell pepper peel that comes off easily.
- FLAVOR BASE: While the veggies roast, sauté 1 tablespoon olive oil, 3 cloves garlic (grated), 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 1 teaspoon cumin, and ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, in a small skillet for 3 minutes or until you can smell the fragrant aroma of the spices.
- BLEND: Pulse tomato paste mixture, roasted bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, 1 cup walnuts, and 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses until creamy.If your muhammara is too liquid add ½ to 1 cup breadcrumbs to thicken it.
- SERVE: Taste and adjust for salt and molasses, then spread it on a platter and top with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, ½ cup pomegranate seeds, and 1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley. Serve with warm pita bread.
Video
Notes
- Extra virgin olive oil: substitute regular olive oil.
- Fresh red bell peppers: substitute pre-roasted jarred red bell peppers. See tip below on how to use them.
- Tomatoes: substitute 4 sun-dried tomatoes for a thicker muhammara.
- Red pepper flakes: substitute Aleppo peppers or cayenne pepper.
- Cumin: you can omit the cumin.
- Breadcrumbs: substitute gluten-free breadcrumbs if allergic to gluten.
- Pomegranate molasses: substitute balsamic vinegar glaze, balsamic vinegar, or lemon juice.
- Omit the tomatoes or use sub dried tomatoes instead. Fresh tomatoes are way too watery and acidic to add to this dip without roasting them, so keep them out.
- Chop the onion finely, then fry it in a pan with olive oil for 5 minutes before adding grated garlic, tomato paste, cumin, and red pepper flakes and frying for another couple of minutes.
- Now add all ingredients, except bread crumbs, to the food processor and pulse until you reach your desired texture.
- Add bread crumbs a little at a time until you reach your desired texture.
- Make ahead: Roast and peel vegetables up to 3 days in advance and store in the fridge.
- Refrigerate: Keep muhammara in an airtight container with a thin layer of olive oil for up to 5 days.
- Freeze: Store in a freezer-safe container for up to 6 months.
- Thaw & Serve: Defrost in the fridge overnight and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
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I made this for a Christmas party tonight, because I wanted to make sure there was something that a vegetarian or vegan could eat, and it ended up being the most popular dish for the omnivores too! I went a little heavier on the flavors – added extra salt, molasses, garlic, cumin and red pepper. Otherwise, followed the recipe exactly. I will make this again!
My husband and I just tried this for lunch on pita bread. So tasty!!!! Excellent combinations of flavors. I love that I now have a unique appetizer to impress friends with. I will check out more of your plant based recipes. Thanks very much.
Wonderful combination, Karen. Muhammara and pita is such a treat 🎉
Thank you for your comment and rating, happy to have you here 🥰 Kindest, Louise
Excellent recipe. Full of flavours, healthy and so easy to make.
thanks.
sb, Oakville, Ontario Canada
Fantastic, Stephanie!
I’m delighted you liked the muhammara. Thanks so much for leaving a comment here.
Kindest, Louise
I tried this recipe for the first time and it’s delicious, I have a plant-based diet and I often look for ways to incorporate proteins, this is very healthy, I hydrated the nuts, which I think is better, and then I baked them a bit, to avoid the combination of starch with protein, I ate it with vegetables, all the recipes on this site worked for me and they are very delicious.
Thank you very much!
Hi Valentina,
I’m so happy to hear that you liked the muhammara. Thanks so much for the tips regarding hydrating the nuts, that is very useful!
Thanks again for taking the time to leave a comment here.
Kindest regards,
Louise