Simple and delicious gluten-free muhammara dip recipe – a smokey, savoury roasted red pepper dip with walnuts, almonds, olive oil, lemon and seasonings.
Muhammara (or mhammara) is a red pepper dip originating in Turkish and Levantine cuisine. It is traditionally made with a combination of the red peppers, breadcrumbs and olive oil with seasonings. However, I’ve made a muhammara dip with a bit of a twist – omitting the breadcrumbs for almonds and my own special seasonings blend.
By omitting the bread crumbs and using ‘nut crumbs’ instead, you quickly have a gluten-free dip with all the flavour of the original muhammara (and possibly, even more!) but none of the gluten.
Not only is this roasted red pepper walnut dip a wonderful addition to any party/mezze platter, but it is also a great dip alternative for when you’re getting bored of your usual hummus. It’s wonderful when served alongside homemade pita bread, or crackers – I’ve also used is as a spread within wraps and sandwiches too and served it alongside greek yogurt or labneh and bread!
Plus, I’ve even added a cheeky splash of pomegranate molasses to balance the savoury and smokiness – for a delicious, flavour-packed dip.
The Muhammara Recipe How-To
With this being a red pepper dip, obviously the most important ingredient of all is the peppers. This time around, I used long red peppers, which were a sweet chilli pepper with almost no heat, similar to bell peppers. These peppers have a delicious sweet and smoky flavour, when roasted and a perfect for this dip.
However, you can also use red bell peppers instead (or other peppers with moderate heat level). I normally use red bell peppers and get just as much depth of flavour, especially after roasting.
The Ingredients
- Red peppers
- Raw walnuts and almond
- Lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and pomegranate molasses
- Garlic, chilli powder, smoked paprika (optional), salt and cumin
- Garnish: parsley, chopped walnuts, pomegranate seeds, a drizzle of olive oil, or even red pepper flakes for heat
- Enjoy with homemade crackers or pita bread
The Steps
Start by roasting the peppers. First, slice them in half lengthways and remove the seeds. Place them on a baking tray lined with baking pepper, inner side down, and roast for 12-15 minutes at 220ºC.
The skins will char easily so keep an eye on them, so they don’t burn completely (although you want some charring).
For additional smokey/charred flavour to your dip, as soon as the peppers are roasted, put them in a glass jar and close the lid.
Let them steam like this for about 10 minutes – the smokey flavour from the charred skin will infuse the flesh more and create wonderful depth of flavour to the dip.
Once the peppers have cooled down enough to handle, carefully peel the skins.
You’re now ready to prepare the muhammara dip. Begin by blending the almonds and walnuts in a food processor/blender, to a rough crumb texture.
Next, add the spices and blitz again to mix them with the nuts. Then finally, add the roasted peppers, and ‘wet ingredients’ (olive oil, lemon juice and pomegranate molasses) and blend again to incorporate them.
The dip is meant to be slightly chunky/crumbly with a bit of bite. For this – don’t over-process the mixture.
Of course, you can make it with various textures – so, if you want it to be very ‘loose’, with larger chunks of red pepper then transfer your blended nuts and seasonings into a mortar & pestle and lightly ‘crush’ the red pepper until your desired consistency. You can also blend the dip more than I have for a smoother, hummus-like texture.
The muhammara is now ready.
It’s best served at room temperature. Garnish with some extra chopped walnuts and some parsley or even some chilli flakes, for additional heat.
How To Store The Dip
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
This is also a freezer-friendly recipe as no breadcrumbs are used. You can freeze the dip for up to a month and simply leave to thaw when ready to eat.
Other Dip Recipes You Might Like
I don’t know about you, but I love having a few dips on-hand for whenever I’m feeling peckish and want a simple snack. And, it has to be multiple ones, so I don’t get bored with any particular one. With that in mind, I have a few dip recipes you might like – like this Rainbow Hummus (6 ways), Simple Yogurt Spinach Dip (Borani) or even this Vegan Moutabal Aubergine Dip.
If you have any questions, leave a comment below Also, I love seeing your recreations so feel free to tag me on Instagram @AlphaFoodie.
Homemade Gluten-free Muhammara Dip
Ingredients
- 3 red peppers
- 1/2 cup walnuts raw
- 1/4 cup almonds raw
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 lemon juice
- 2 tBsp pomegranate molasses recipe on my blog
- 2 tBsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika optional
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cumin powder
Instructions
- Slice the peppers in half, lengthways, and remove the seeds. Then place them on a baking tray lined with baking pepper, inner side down, and roast for 12-15 minutes at 220ºC.The skins will char easily so keep an eye on them, so they don't burn completely (although you want some charring).
- For additional smokey/charred flavour to your dip, as soon as the peppers are roasted, put them in a glass jar and close the lid.
Let them steam like this for about 10 minutes - the smokey flavour from the charred skin will infuse the flesh more and create wonderful depth of flavour to the dip. - Once the peppers have cooled down enough to handle, carefully peel the skins.
- Blending the almonds and walnuts in a food processor/ blender, to a rough crumb texture.
- Add the spices and blitz again to mix them with the nuts. Then finally, add the roasted peppers, and 'wet ingredients' (olive oil, lemon juice and pomegranate molasses) and blend again to incorporate them.
I like my dip to be slightly chunky/crumbly with a bit of bite For this -don’t over-process the mixture.* - The muhammara is now ready. It's best served at room temperature. Garnish with some extra chopped walnuts and some parsley or even some chili flakes, for additional heat. How To Store The Dip:Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. This is also a freezer-friendly recipe as no breadcrumbs are used. You can freeze the dip for up to a month and simply leave to thaw when ready to eat.
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Notes
Nutrition
Looks great! How’s the taste like?
Hi Nadia,
If you like roasted peppers, you would love this recipe, it tastes great 🙂
Hi there,
Just want to make sure, are those red chilli peppers or red bell peppers?
Hi! What could I use to replace the molasses? Maple syrup? Sugar?
Thanks!
Hi Sisi, I would use maple for this recipe. I rather not add any sugar. The molasses I used is homemade without any added sugar just simply from pomegranate and is really great for salad dressings (recipe is on my blog). Hope you like it.