The best Middle Eastern inspired recipes
From a fragrant spiced roast chicken to the silkiest hummus you'll ever make, we've rounded up our Middle Eastern inspired recipes to try now.
Whether you make homemade falafels, hummus, bulghur wheat salads or fluffy pitta breads, there's no denying that Middle Eastern food is varied and full of amazing flavours.
We've rounded up 23 of our favourite recipes to try, with some team favourites like the Middle Eastern spiced roast chicken, our shawarma spiced tofu skewers and our new favourite loaf cake: the Persian loaf cake with a gorgeous rose-scented icing layer on top.
Shawarma-spiced Tofu Skewers
Smoky, spicy and big on flavour. Tofu is the best vessel for absorbing bold flavours.
Recipe: Shawarma-spiced Tofu Skewers
Shawarma Spiced Chicken Traybake
These are seriously delicious DIY kebabs and much healthier for you. The perfect midweek meal option.
Recipe: Shawarma Spiced Chicken Traybake
Chicken Shawarma Pastries
We love a pastry fusion and this one has a shawarma spiced filling, with a sprinkling of black onion seeds on top. So delicious!
Recipe: Chicken Shawarma Pastries
Lebanese Cauliflower Bowls
Crispy, spicy cauliflower florets are served alongside fresh tabbouleh and a smoky yet silky smooth baba ghanoush. Our dream dinner.
Recipe: Lebanese Cauliflower Bowls
Roasted Tomato & Tabbouleh Salad
This speedy and simple salad comes together in only 30 minutes and makes a great side to grilled meat or fish.
Recipe: Roasted Tomato & Tabbouleh Salad
Persian Tea Loaf
This beautifully vibrant loaf cake is made by infusing dried fruits in Earl Grey tea which adds a lovely floral taste to the finished cake.
Recipe: Persian Tea Loaf
Rainbow Carrot and Beetroot Carpaccio
This beautiful dish consists of vibrant rainbow carrot and beetroot, finely sliced and gently pickled. Served on a bed of labneh yoghurt.
Middle Eastern Lamb Burger
This tasty 'burger' is served inside flatbread which perfectly catches all the juicy lamb mince and hummus flavours.
Recipe: Middle Eastern Lamb Burger
Middle Eastern Roast Chicken Traybake
This chicken traybake has all the flavours of the Middle East, with sumac, za'atar, dried apricots, pomegranate seeds and preserved lemons.
Slow Cooked Beef Brisket with Orzo
Melt-in-the-mouth tender beef is speckled with vibrant pomegranate jewels, tossed through orzo pasta. It makes the perfect Sunday lunch.
Za'atar Lemon Chicken and Cauliflower Steaks
Make sure you allow enough time to marinate the chicken and cauliflower for at least 4 hours prior to cooking - it ensures the lovely zingy flavours come through well.
Crab, Harissa and Chickpea Soup
Harissa adds a lovely fragrant taste to this speedy soup and it's ready in just 25min!
Recipe: Crab, Harissa and Chickpea Soup
Falafel Pittas
A fail-safe recipe to have in your repertoire, these falafels are on the chunkier side and we love that you can see whole chickpeas in it. Serve with hummus and warmed pitta bread.
Recipe: Falafel Pittas
Falafel and Bulgur Bowl
We've used shop bought falafel mix to speed through this tasty midweek recipe idea. Serve with bulgur wheat for a healthy dinner option.
Recipe: Falafel and Bulgur Bowl
Mixed Bean Falafel and Sweet Potato Hummus
Leaving the skin on the sweet potato adds extra fibre and flavour in the hummus. But, if you're short on time, feel free to use a shop bought hummus.
Broad Bean Falafel with Wild Rice
Broad beans, pea and coriander are blended into these tasty falafels. They're hearty and delicious.
Pitta Bread
You'll need some fluffy pitta bread to go alongside your falafel and hummus and this is our best homemade pitta recipe, ever!
Recipe: Pitta Bread
Carrot, Chickpea and Falafel Tray Bake
We love a traybake. It's such an easy dinner option when you're stuck on what to make. This one combines carrots, chickpeas and ready-made falafels with a dukkah spice mix.
Falafel and Tabbouleh Traybake
Ready in under an hour and full of lovely spiced and fresh flavours. This is one of our go-to recipes.
Recipe: Falafel and Tabbouleh Traybake
Falafel and Red Pepper Dip
Let the food processor do all the hard work with these tasty falafels which are served alongside a deliciously sweet roasted red pepper dip.
Recipe: Falafel and Red Pepper Dip
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
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