How To Make Lebanese Garlic Sauce (Toum)

This Lebanese garlic sauce (Toum) is thick, creamy, absolutely packed with garlic flavor, and ready to eat with everything! Plus, this toum recipe is naturally gluten-free and vegan, and similar to garlic aioli!

This Lebanese garlic sauce has been long requested on Instagram, so I thought I’d finally share one of my favorite sauces from my childhood – toum sauce.

I’ve been slowly introducing you to some of my favorite Lebanese recipes over the last couple of years. I’ve shared Traditional Tabbouleh Salad (Tabouli Salad), Simple Stuffed Makdous Recipe (cured eggplant), and Creamy Lebanese Cucumber Yogurt Salad (Kh’yar bi laban) already. Now it’s the turn of this Lebanese garlic sauce (aka Toum sauce).

Toum is like the ultimate condiment for anyone who loves garlic and creamy sauces similar to mayonnaise. All you need are just 4 ingredients, a  food processor, and a bit of patience. 

What Is Garlic Aioli vs. Toum Sauce?

Garlic aioli and Toum are both types of creamy garlic sauce – so what exactly are the similarities and differences?

Both aioli sauce and Toum sauce were named after their star ingredient. Aioli means ‘garlic’ and ‘oil’ in Catalan/Valencian and Provençal and is popular within Mediterranean and European cuisine (mainly Spain, France, and Italy). In comparison, Toum (also called toumya/salsat toum) is from the Arabic word for garlic ‘thoum’ and is known as a Lebanese garlic sauce.

Both are made with a base of garlic, salt, and oil (often olive oil though vegetable oil is also used), though aioli sauce can sometimes contain egg too as a stabilizer. In contrast, toum relies solely on the garlic as the stabilizer.

Traditionally, the toum recipe was made by crushing the ingredients with a mortar and pestle. However, this recipe (and many modern recipes) use an emulsification process (like mayonnaise) by a food processor.

In fact, the significant difference between the two now is how much garlic is used (with Toum sauce being like an intense vegan garlic aioli if you want to compare). Toum is definitely more heavy on the garlic – which also means it can be tricky to emulsify – but follow my tips, and hopefully, you won’t fail!

Fun Fact: In many restaurants now, you’ll see people adding even more ingredients to their toum to stabilize it easier: potatoes, corn starch, mayonnaise, etc. While this may work – it’s definitely not traditional!

The Ingredients

• Garlic: avoid pre-peeled cloves and old garlic heads that are sprouting (which will be bitter). You want firm heads with no signs of spoilage, bruising, or sprouting – younger garlic will taste better overall! Elephant garlic is more mellow than other types. 
• Oil: olive oil is the traditional choice for this recipe (if you want the authentic flavor). However, it can also be a bit too strong in flavor and create a denser dip. I prefer to use a neutral-tasting vegetable oil like canola or sunflower oil. Avocado oil could work but may affect the color and turn it green, it’s also not super neutral.
• Lemon: use fresh lemons, not concentrated lemon juice. Not only does it taste better, but the bottled versions may ruin the emulsification process since it acts as a binder in the recipe.
• Salt
• (Optional) Mint leaves: fresh mint is a popular addition to toum sauce. Chop it finely and add it at the end of the blending process once the mix has already emulsified. 

How To Make Toum

Before we jump right into it, let’s get one thing sorted; this isn’t a recipe I’d describe as ‘easy.’ The truth is, any time there is emulsification involved, there is a chance of something going wrong, and this Toum is trickier than mayonnaise to emulsify.

However, hopefully, following my tips and tricks, we can get you making this delicious Lebanese garlic dip right the first time round!

Step 1: Make a garlic paste

First, peel the garlic and, optionally, remove the ‘germ’ (green sprout) from each clove’s center (which is bitter).

I’ve used several garlic peeling hacks, but at the moment, I’m enjoying just smashing down on the clove with the flat side of a knife and my fist – it’s easy and doesn’t take much effort.

Add the garlic and salt to the food processor (or a bowl if you’re using an immersion blender). Process well until you obtain a smooth garlic puree/paste, stopping to scrape down the sides of the jug if necessary.

Step 2: Start to add the oil and lemon juice

Once you have a puree, it’s time to start adding the oil. If you have a steady hand, you can drizzle it in from the bottle – otherwise, use a tablespoon measuring spoon.

Slowly adding one spoonful at a time, allowing the machine to run throughout this time. Leave plenty of time between each spoonful for it to fully incorporate.

After you’ve added the first few tablespoons of oil, then start to alternate, adding a little oil and then a little lemon juice (around 1 teaspoon at a time) – while the machine runs. 

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If your food processor starts to get warm, then give it a rest and pause the process. The heat can otherwise cause the toum emulsification to break. 

Continue to alternate between adding oil and lemon juice slowly (this took me between 7-9 minutes) until the mixture emulsifies and thickens and you have a thick, creamy garlic sauce.

I suggest allowing it to marinate for at least 2-3 hours in the fridge before using it.

How To Store

Store the Lebanese garlic sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 months.

Many people only keep it for up to one month, but I’ve found that it’s OK for up to 3 months – so if you want to err on the side of caution, aim to use it within a month. 

You can also freeze leftovers for up to 6 months, though the texture can be affected upon thawing, so I usually use this within sauces and cooked dishes straight from frozen (in place of fresh garlic). 

How To Use

If you love garlic as much as I do, you can use this Lebanese garlic sauce in pretty much anything. However, here are a few of my top favorite ways to use this Toum. 

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• As a spread: within wraps, tacos, and sandwiches (like this falafel wrap – or gyro wraps, within pita, over burgers, quesadillas, etc.).
• As a dip: for fries, crudités, and crackers.
• Toss with roasted vegetables: especially potato dishes, like smashed potatoes (or sprouts), or Easy Crispy Salt-Baked Potatoes (With Rosemary).
• Mixed into soups & stews: like this green bean stew, chickpea stew, and most soups. 
• Drizzled over pizzas: like this Neapolitan pizza, butternut squash base pizza, sweet potato base pizza, or even these zucchini mini pizza bites. 
• Within pasta dishes: instead of fresh garlic. Like this Vegetarian One-Pot Pasta bake or Easy Roasted Cherry Tomato Pasta.
• With proteins: this creamy garlic sauce pairs well with chicken, kebab, and other meats, so it will likely pair just as well with meat-alternatives too. 

FAQs

How To Fix Toum When It Breaks?

Sometimes, no matter how much you think you’re doing everything right, the emulsification doesn’t seem to want to happen. But don’t worry, there are still ways you can ‘save’ this garlic soup mixture. 

The best way to fix this is to add another type of ‘binder’ to encourage the emulsification.

1. Add potatoes: I’ve heard that adding 1/4-1/2 cup of mashed floury white potatoes to the food processor (slowly) will encourage emulsification. This isn’t something I’ve tried. However, if it works, then the shelf life will be reduced to 7-9 days. 
2. Add an egg yolk: I try to keep eggs away from this naturally vegan recipe. However, many sources online describe how an egg yolk can fix broken emulsions. To do this, whisk the egg yolk in a large bowl and add a tiny amount of the broken toum until emulsification forms. From then, continue to add the broken mixture bit by bit, whisking constantly. 

Alternatively, you can add the ‘garlic soup’ to some butter or yogurt for an alternative butter/dip to be used immediately, and try another batch of toum at another time.

Can I Make The Toum Less Bitter?

There are several methods I’ve used previously for mellowing out the harsh flavor of raw garlic. Here are a couple of tips for this Lebanese garlic sauce:

1: Soak the garlic cloves in ice water for at least 30 minutes before preparing the toum. Usually, I’d do this with lemon juice, though I’m not sure if it would have an effect on the emulsion, and you’d need A LOT. Either way, make sure to carefully dry the garlic before you mix the paste.
2. Leave the toum to mellow: I know this may not be what you want to hear, but the garlic will actually begin to mellow after a few days in the fridge. So, if you can be patient, then try it again a few days later (and learn to make it in advance!)
3. It’s worth noting that elephant garlic is more mellow than other types.
4. Make sure to remove the garlic ‘germ’, which is the oldest part of the garlic and very bitter. 

Other Recipe Notes & Top Tips!

• DON’T RUSH THE PROCESS – that’s the biggest tip I can give you. The key is adding the oil and lemon juice in a slow and steady manner – otherwise, the emulsification will fail/ break. 
• This toum sauce is strong! It uses A LOT of raw garlic, so it can be ‘spicy’ and intense. When it’s freshly made, it’s best to use it in small amounts as part of a meal (i.e., in wraps). Then once it mellows in the fridge, you’re usually able to enjoy larger quantities of it.
• Make sure to give your food processor a break if it starts to get warm – the heat can cause the sauce to separate.

Other Lebanese Recipes

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If you try this Lebanese garlic sauce recipe, then let me know your thoughts and questions in the comments. I’d also really appreciate a recipe rating and would love to see your recreations – just tag @AlphaFoodie.