Toum (Lebanese Garlic Sauce)
Updated Mar 09, 2026
Toum is a traditional Lebanese garlic sauce made with garlic, oil, lemon juice, and salt emulsified into a creamy spread served with shawarma and grilled meats.
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Authentic toum recipe from my lebanese family to yours!
Toum is one of those things that was always on the table when I was growing up. At family dinners, there was usually a bowl of toum sitting next to the grilled lemon chicken, shawarma, or spicy Lebanese potatoes. Someone would scoop a big spoonful onto their plate, and before long, everyone else would start doing the same.
If you’re new to Toum, it’s a popular Lebanese garlic sauce that is often served at Lebanese restaurants or in Lebanese households. It’s made from just 4 ingredients: garlic, oil, lemon juice, and salt, but the process is what makes it special. You have to slowly drizzle in the oil and let it emulsify with the garlic, which takes a little patience. It’s definitely a labor of love, but it’s one of those sauces that really shows what Lebanese cooking is all about, simple ingredients handled the right way.
If you’re nervous about the amount of raw garlic, I completely understand. It sounds intense at first. But once the garlic blends with the oil and lemon juice, it turns into something creamy and balanced rather than harsh. When toum comes together properly, it’s the kind of sauce that ends up on everything on the table.
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
Toum Ingredients
- Garlic: The most important part of the recipe is the garlic. Find the freshest garlic bulbs you can find. Look for firm cloves without soft spots. Slice them in half and remove the green sprout in the center if you see one, since it can make the sauce taste bitter. Pre-peeled garlic works if needed, but fresh heads usually have a cleaner flavor. You will need 1 cup of peeled garlic. You can freeze the remaining garlic.
- Oil: You can use canola oil, vegetable oil, safflower oil, grapeseed oil or any other neutral oil you prefer. While avocado oil is neutral and won’t change the taste of the sauce, it will give it a yellow/green color. I do not recommend using olive oil because it will change the color of the garlic sauce and lend a stronger flavor than than the neutral oil. You want the garlic flavor to stand out more than the oil flavor.
- Lemon juice: The lemon plays a supporting role in this Lebanese garlic sauce, and helps to combine and emulsify so the oil doesn’t overpower the garlic. I use ½ a cup but you can decrease according to your taste preference. The lemon juice acts as a binder, so don’t leave it out. Also, use fresh lemon, don’t use bottled. If you’re going to put all the time into peeling the garlic for the toum, just trust me and go with fresh lemons.
- Salt: Kosher salt helps break down the garlic when it’s first blended and helps the mixture turn smooth. If using fine table salt instead, reduce the amount slightly since it’s more concentrated.
How to Make Toum (Lebanese Garlic Sauce)
Okay, so the biggest tip I can give you for making toum at home is to take your time with it. It takes about 20 minutes, yes, 20 minutes, to fully emulsify, and then add the oil and lemon juice slowly, like snail’s-pace slow. This is how you’ll end up with restaurant-worthy garlic sauce.
Step 2. Slice the cloves in half
Slice the garlic cloves in half lengthwise and remove any green sprouts.
Step 3: Add the Garlic to the food processor
Add the kosher salt to the garlic cloves.
Step 4: Start Emulsifying the Toum Sauce
Process for a minute until the garlic becomes finely minced. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the food processor afterwards.
Step 5: Slowly add the oil to the garlic mixture
While the food processor is running, slowly pour one to two tablespoons of oil, then stop and scrape down the bowl. Continue adding another tablespoon or two until the garlic starts looking creamy.
Step 6: Blend the Toum until smooth and fluffy
You want it to look creamy and emulsified, like the image to the left, before you can speed up the process. Once it becomes airy and fluffy, it’s your cue to continue making the garlic sauce by alternating between pouring in the oil and pouring in the lemon juice. After about 15 minutes, it will look like this.
Recipe Video Tutorial
Toum Recipe (Lebanese Garlic Sauce)
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup garlic cloves peeled
- 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
- 3 cups neutral oil such as vegetable or canola
- ½ cup lemon juice
Instructions
- Slice the garlic cloves in half lengthwise and remove any green sprouts.
- Transfer the sliced garlic cloves into a food processor and add the kosher salt to the garlic cloves. Process for a minute until the garlic becomes finely minced. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the food processor afterwards.
- While the food processor is running, slowly pour one to two tablespoons of oil, then stop and scrape down the bowl. Continue adding another tablespoon or two until the garlic starts looking creamy.
- Once the garlic looks emulsified by the few tablespoons of oil, increase the speed of pouring the oil and alternate with the ½ cup of lemon juice until all the oil and lemon juice is incorporated. This will take about 15 minutes to complete.
- Transfer the sauce into a glass container and cover with a paper towel in the fridge overnight. Makes about 4 cups.
- The next day, replace the paper towel with an airtight lid and keep in the fridge for up to 3 months.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Recipe Tips
- Soak the garlic in ice water for 30 minutes for a less potent taste. Some readers have mentioned that the taste of the garlic was really strong. One way to reduce that potency is by soaking the garlic with ice water. Make sure to dry them thoroughly though afterwards if you do this.
- Make sure to alternate the lemon juice with the oil. I’ve had the garlic sauce fail on me a couple times when I tried leaving the lemon juice until the end, but the oil becomes too heavy to support the garlic that way. The lemon juice helps keep the consistency light, so I suggest alternating it as soon as the mixture is initially emulsified.
- Don’t use a blender. It’s really difficult to get the mixture to emulsify in a standard blender or immersion blender. A blender also doesn’t allow the ease of slowly drizzling in the oil while the motor is running over a large surface area. I do not recommend a blender.
Serving Ideas
The possibilities of how to serve toum are endless. I mostly enjoy it with grilled meat and chicken. But it works really well with grilled fish, in sandwiches, in pasta. It also works as a dip with pita bread and crackers. Or you can use it as a base for a garlicky salad dressing. Here are some great recipes that work with the garlic sauce.
- Shish Tawook (Chicken Skewers)
- Broccoli and Shrimp Pasta Alfredo
- Chicken Shawarma Salad
- Roasted Cauliflower Pitas
- Shawarma Pita Pizza
FAQs
It has happened to me a couple of times when I left the lemon juice at the end or when I added the oil too quickly. So it’s important to alternate the oil and lemon juice and don’t rush the process. If the mixture didn’t get fluffy and looks more liquid, it’s possible that it didn’t emulsify.
I would recommend adding 1-2 boiled potatoes to the food processor and allowing the potato to help emulsify it. In that case though, be sure to only store the garlic sauce no more than 7-10 days.
Before making the garlic sauce, you can soak the garlic for 30 minutes in ice water. After making the garlic sauce, you can whisk in some lemon juice to mellow down the flavor. I find it mellows down with time though.
The oil has to be added very slowly at the beginning so the emulsion forms properly. Once the sauce starts looking creamy, you can pour the oil a little faster.
If the oil goes in too quickly early on, the sauce won’t thicken.
Yes, but it takes more effort. Traditionally, toum was made using a mortar and pestle, where the garlic and salt are crushed into a very smooth paste before slowly incorporating the oil and lemon juice.
If using a mortar and pestle, make sure the garlic is completely smooth before adding any oil. Then add the oil a few drops at a time while continuously grinding so the mixture emulsifies properly.
You can also use a blender, but you’ll need to add the oil very slowly and stop occasionally to scrape down the sides so the garlic blends evenly. A food processor is usually the easiest option because it gives you better control over the emulsification.
Comments
I used a blender and it came out fine. What I did differently – chop garlic small and blend with the lemon juice. Once smooth, add 1/8tsp xanthum gum and blend. Then drizzle oil while it blends the final time. (I have a blender you can pour things through the lid.)
So happy to hear it worked for you in the blender! It’s a labor of love, but definitely worth the wait!
I used olive oil as it was all I had and it is sooo tasty! Definitely a labor of love. Can’t rush this. Thanks for the great breakdown of how to prepare. Will be making this again soon as I can already tell that this won’t last long in my house! Sahtein!
I love this comment! It’s definitely a labor of love, but so worth the wait. I’m glad the instructions worked for you. Toum never lasts long in my house, either! A’albek!
I made it today. It came out broken at first, but I managed to salvage it by starting a second emulsion and slowly working in the broken one.
It turned out great!
I’m so glad you were able to salvage it! The emulsion can be tricky, I’ve definitely broken it before, too. So happy it turned out great in the end!
Hello,
I made this recipe. It was so strong and the smell. Ugh, I love Toum so much. I read that you have to remove a green sprout? I didn’t see any on my garlic. where would it be? I want to use pre peeled garlic cloves from Costco. How do I know if they are fresh or not?
So many questions.
Also do you have a recipe for Toum with the Kalamata olives?
Thank you
Hi Jana, I love Toum so much, too! The green sprout starts to show up in the center of the garlic bulb as the garlic gets older. If your garlic is very fresh, you won’t see the sprout as prominently. To check if the garlic is fresh, slice into it lengthwise. If it has a sprout, just remove it. I don’t have a recipe for Toum with Kalamata Olives, but you could blend some into the finished toum sauce. I’d do ¼–½ cup pitted Kalamata olives per 1 cup toum. Let me know if you try it!
This was my first time making garlic sauce. I’m not a fan but the family usually loves it. I paired it with your shawarma recipe. The sauce came out way too strong for some reason. I’m not sure what I did wrong. It was like spicy strong.
Next time, you can soak the garlic in ice water for 30 minutes first to help mellow the flavor. I do find that toum mellows down with time, so maybe try it again in a day or two. You could try adding 1–2 boiled potatoes to the food processor to mellow it out (if you do, be sure to store the garlic sauce no more than 7-10 days). You could also mix the toum with mayo to make a garlic aioli of sorts. Hope that helps!
Hey! I definitely want to make this sauce but I only have a nutribullet & emulsifier. Can i still try it ?
Hi Maryam! I haven’t made it in a Nutribullet, but a few commenters have, and they say it turns out great! Just be sure to alternate portions of the oil and lemon juice per blend and blend it well.
Hi Yumna,
I’ve made the recipe a couple times and while the taste is great, I keep ending up with more of a jelly consistency than creamy. Any idea what I’m doing wrong?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Afnan, if the garlic sauce isn’t creamy, is could be that it didn’t emulsify. Make sure you alternate adding the olive oil and lemon juice. And add the oil very slowly, in a thin stream. It’s important not to rush this process! It takes about 15 minutes. The reference photos in the “How to” section of this post are good visual references. You could also add 1–2 boiled potatoes to the food processor to help emulsify the mixture. In that case though, be sure to only store the garlic sauce for no more than 7–10 days. Hope that helps!
I did what you said but added the oil to garlic and it thickened but as I alternated the lemon juice and oil, I kept having it run and it did not thicken up so right now I have a whole bunch of stuff in the food processor and it’s very liquidy. What should I do?
Hi Sarah, oh no! It sounds like your emulsification broke, which has happened to me before, too. You have to really take your time alternating adding the lemon juice and oil at the end. It really takes a lot longer than you might expect, at least 15 minutes to complete. To fix your sauce right now, you can add 1–2 boiled potatoes to the food processor and allow the potato to help save it. Just be sure to only keep it in the fridge for 7-10 days, since the potatoes will go bad after that. Hope that helps!
I made this recipe about 3+ months ago. I was inspired to “try” making toum myself, which I had tasted at a local Middle Eastern restaurant (Mundlein, IL near Chicago). It was, as you say, “addicting.” However my version of toum had a much sharper edge and wasn’t as good… so I may try soaking the garlic in ice water, as you mentioned. In the meantime, I had all this overly strong toum in my fridge which I couldn’t eat as is. So, I tried using it to make fried eggs… I put a couple tablespoons in my small fry pan, got it hot and fizzled two eggs for about 5 minutes, then covered for about 2 minutes… yum! My eggs have so much flavor. I’ve done this several times. I also mix some into my soups and stews which adds a little of character. Now that big batch of toum is almost gone! It has kept well.
That sounds delicious, Clay! I’m glad the ice water tip worked for you!
Hi! First time making this! It came out thick which I am happy about but I don’t think it blended my garlic enough, there are still small bits of it when you eat it. Could I immersion blend this mixture now that it’s emulsified to make it a smoother texture? Thank you!
Oh I’m so glad you tried it and it turned out well! You can definitely still blend it after it’s been emulsified, but you may need to add a little more oil to it if it starts to split. Next time make sure it’s fully blended as a paste before adding all the oil. Enjoy!
Mine became sour 😞 What do I do? Add more garlic?
Hi there! When you say sour, do you mean lemony? It’s possible that your lemon was underripe.
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