How to Make the Perfect Lebanese Garlic Sauce Toum
Lebanese · Medium · 20 min · 16 servings
A fluffy cloud like garlic sauce made with just four ingredients blended into a thick white emulsion. Toum is the essential condiment for shawarma, grilled meats and roasted vegetables.
Why this recipe works
This Lebanese Garlic Sauce Toum recipe has been crafted to deliver restaurant-quality results in your home kitchen. At just 20 minutes from start to finish, it fits perfectly into a busy schedule without sacrificing flavor. Each serving comes in at 95 calories with 0g of protein, making it a balanced choice for any meal.
What you will need
This recipe uses 5 simple ingredients that you can find at any grocery store:
- 1 cup garlic cloves peeled
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 3 cups neutral oil such as sunflower or canola
- 0.33 cup fresh lemon juice
- 3 tbsp ice water
Step by step instructions
Step 1: Process the garlic
Remove the green germ from the center of each garlic clove as it causes bitterness. Place the garlic and salt in a food processor and process until the garlic is very finely minced, scraping down the sides frequently. The garlic should form an almost paste like consistency.
Step 2: Begin the emulsion
With the food processor running, drizzle in the oil in an extremely slow thin stream, almost drop by drop at first. After adding about a quarter cup of oil, add a small splash of lemon juice. This alternating method builds a stable emulsion.
Step 3: Build the sauce slowly
Continue alternating between very slow streams of oil and small additions of lemon juice. Add a tablespoon of ice water if the mixture begins to look greasy or broken. Do not rush this process as adding oil too quickly will cause the emulsion to break and the sauce will become oily and flat.
Step 4: Check the consistency
The finished toum should be brilliant white, very thick and fluffy like whipped cream. It should hold stiff peaks when you lift a spoon. If it is too thin continue processing while adding a slow drizzle of oil. If it breaks, start fresh garlic in the processor and slowly add the broken sauce back in.
Step 5: Rest and store
Transfer the toum to a clean glass jar. The flavor will mellow and become more balanced after resting in the refrigerator for at least one hour. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to one month. The sauce will maintain its thick fluffy texture throughout storage.
Easy substitutions
Missing an ingredient? Here are some swaps that work perfectly:
- sunflower oil → light olive oil but do not use extra virgin as it causes bitterness
- fresh lemon juice → white wine vinegar for a slightly different tang
- ice water → aquafaba for a slightly more stable emulsion
Common mistakes to avoid
Watch out for these pitfalls that can affect your results:
- Adding the oil too quickly which breaks the emulsion and results in a greasy separated liquid instead of a fluffy sauce
- Using extra virgin olive oil which makes the toum extremely bitter due to the polyphenols being overprocessed
- Skipping the green germ removal from garlic cloves which makes the final sauce unnecessarily harsh and pungent
Nutrition facts
Per serving: 95 calories, 0g protein, 2g carbs, 10g fat, 0g fiber.
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