Lebanon is a country whose aromas and flavors will linger long in your memory. Its cuisine fuses the best of Mediterranean food with the most attractive aspects of the Arab diet. So what you find in Lebanon is a healthy cuisine rich in flavors that will feel both familiar and at the same time new and refreshing.
What to expect from Lebanese food
Many of the traditional dishes you'll find in Lebanon are based on olive oil, sesame, legumes, cereals, vegetables, and fruit. It is a rich and fertile country, but the ingredients of Lebanese food are not infinite. However, the way they are prepared makes each dish absolutely unique.
Some of the most typical products you must try not to miss are aubergines, cheeses, and yogurts. But don't expect the flavors to be the same as the ones you're familiar with.
One of the good things about Lebanese cuisine is that there are options for omnivores, vegetarians, and even vegans. Unlike other countries, Lebanon offers a wide variety of vegan-friendly dishes, so you won't have to always order the same thing. And confirmed carnivores will enjoy rich meat, fish and shellfish dishes.
Every Lebanese meal starts with a mezze or Mezza.
When you're in this wonderful country and thinking for the first time about what to eat in Lebanon, you'll see that most restaurant menus include the word mezze or Mezza. Rather than being a typical dish, it's a small appetizer that's served as a starter. It consists of several different dishes and is usually shared.
The Lebanese are used to going out to bars and eating mezze, but they also do it at home. A little bit like the tapas that are eaten in Spain.
The Lebanese dishes comprising mezze usually include chickpea hummus, cheeses, fried foods, salads, olives, and bread.
If you are in Lebanon and you order several dishes to eat, traditional restaurants will serve them with spring onions, mint, tomatoes, olives, and pita bread. This is usually included in the price and is the real Lebanese mezze.
Lebanese hummus
Hummus is a paste with the consistency of pâté that is made with chickpeas, olive oil, seeds, and lemon juice. It is usually eaten with pita bread and in Lebanon also with nuts such as cashews.
Labneh
It may remind you of hummus the first time you see it, but labneh is made with thick strained yogurt and olive oil. Its remarkable taste varies depending on whether it's made from sheep's, cow's or goat's milk.
Lebanese-style tabbuleh
This salad, whose origin is disputed between Lebanon and Syria, contains mint and parsley leaves, wheat, and olive oil.
It is usually part of the mezze, accompanied by pita bread, chopped onion, lemon, and cucumber. Just mentioning the ingredients makes it clear that it's a very refreshing dish.
Baba ganoush and bathenjan makli
Aubergines are the basis of many of the dishes you eat in Lebanon. When fried, they're called bathenjan makli. They can be fried with honey and accompanied by lettuce, fresh tomato, parsley or other types of sauces.
Baba ganoush is an aubergine purée that is eaten with pita bread.
Fatteh
This is a typical dinner and breakfast dish that also falls into the category of traditional Lebanese mezze. It's made from the bread of varying degrees of freshness. To conceal the flavor of the stale bread, it is spread in a spicy sauce with olive oil, yogurt, cumin, pine nuts, and chickpeas. A real treat.
Fattoush
This salad rests on a base of fried and cooled pita bread on which garlic, onion, radish, lettuce, cucumber, and tomato are placed.
What to eat for breakfast in Lebanon: manakish with za'tar sauce
Manakish is a bread whose dough looks a lot like that of pizza. It's very thin and seasoned with olive oil and za'tar sauce, made of sumac, thyme, and sesame seeds. This bread can be found in all Lebanese bakeries and its price makes it really affordable.
What to eat in Lebanon
Chicken kibbeh
When you see this chicken dish it may remind you of typical croquettes. The chicken is coated with bulgar wheat and there is a vegetarian version that instead of chicken has potato, tomato and pumpkin.
It's amazing with yogurt or hummus.
Lebanese shawarma
Shawarma is one of the most typical Middle Eastern dishes. This is meat that turns as it cooks on a spit and in Lebanon may be made of chicken, lamb, beef, or a mixture of these.
Lebanese fried cauliflower
For every meat dish, there's a vegetarian one to eat in Lebanon, and in this case, we're referring to fried cauliflower. It's usually accompanied by a salad and can also be eaten in a sandwich.
Kofta and falafel
Whereas kofta is minced meat that comes in the form of a meatball or hamburger, falafel is made with chickpeas or beans spiced with cumin. Kofta is served with pita bread and potatoes and falafel with vegetables and yogurt sauce.
Desserts to conclude a meal in Lebanon
Ma'amoul
This biscuit filled with nuts and fruit is the star of many Lebanese parties and celebrations. It is usually round or shaped like a pyramid.
Baklava
These delicacies from Turkey are made with almonds, honey, and puff pastry. They have become very popular in Lebanon and throughout the Mediterranean in general.
