Baba Ganoush - Love and Lemons (2024)

This easy baba ganoush recipe is smoky, savory, and creamy. Made with eggplant, tahini, garlic, and lemon, it's a delicious dip for pita and veggies.

Have you tried baba ganoush? If you like hummus, I have a feeling you’ll love this Mediterranean eggplant dip too. Made with grilled or roasted eggplant, tahini, garlic, and lemon, it’s creamy, smoky, nutty, and bright.

I’m sharing my easy baba ganoush recipe below. It pairs perfectly with crisp veggies and pita bread, but I love it so much that I’ve also been known to eat it straight off a spoon. I hope you enjoy it too!

How to Make Baba Ganoush

This baba ganoush recipe is simple to make. It starts with 6 basic ingredients:

Baba Ganoush Ingredients

• Eggplant – You’ll roast or grill it to create the dip’s smoky base. I recommend using 2 medium eggplants to make this recipe. They’ll cook more quickly than 1 large eggplant would.
• Tahini– This sesame seed paste makes the dip rich and creamy. Be sure to use good-quality tahini in this recipe. Because it has so few ingredients, the tahini’s flavor really comes through. I like Cedar’s, Soom, and Seed + Mill. Each of these brands has an ultra-smooth texture and nutty—not bitter—flavor.
• Lemon juice – For brightness.
• Olive oil– It makes the baba ganoush rich and smooth.
• Garlic– It adds sharp, savory flavor.
• And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

Grill or Bake the Eggplant

The first step in this recipe is grilling or roasting the eggplant.

• To roast the eggplant, pierce each one a few times with a knife or fork and wrap it in foil. Roast at 400°F until very soft and collapsing, 50 to 60 minutes.
• To grill the eggplant, pierce each one a few times with a knife or fork. Place directly on a grill over high heat. Cook, rotating the eggplants as they char, until they’re very soft and charred all over.

Remove from the oven or grill and set aside to cool to room temperature.

• Tip:You can cook the eggplant up to 2 days in advance. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use.

Drain the Eggplant

The eggplant will be very watery after roasting, so the next step is draining its excess liquid.

When it’s cool enough to handle, peel off and discard the skin. As you work, remove any large clumps of seeds.

Place the eggplant flesh in a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl and let it stand for 20 minutes.

Discard any liquid that pools in the bowl, and transfer the eggplant flesh to a food processor.

Blend and Season to Taste

Next, blend up the dip. Traditionally, baba ganoush is mixed together without a food processor. However, I like mine silky smooth. I find that the easiest way to achieve this texture is with a few quick pulses in the food processor.

Add the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, and salt to the food processor with the eggplant. Pulse until smooth and season to taste with more lemon and salt as desired.

• Tip:Add a pinch of smoked paprika for smokier baba ganoush.

Chill until you’re ready to serve. Then, devour with pita and fresh veggies!

What to Serve with Baba Ganoush

I love to serve baba ganoush as an appetizer or snack. I garnish it with a drizzle of olive oil, chopped parsley, red pepper flakes, and a pinch of smoked paprika. Then, I set it out with pita bread (or pita chips) and crisp veggies like peppers and cucumber slices for dipping.

For a larger appetizer spread, add it to a mezze platter. It would go well with other dips like hummus or tzatziki, small bites like olives or feta, tabbouleh or Greek salad, and/or falafel.

More Favorite Dip Recipes

If you love this recipe, try one of these dips or spreads next:

• Hummus
• Muhammara
• Whipped Feta Dip
• Tzatziki Sauce
• Homemade Labneh
• Or any of these 35 Best Dip Recipes!