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!
What is baba ganoush?
Baba ganoush is a Middle Eastern dip made from roasted or grilled eggplant, tahini, lemon juice, and garlic.
Grilling or roasting the eggplant imparts the dip with rich, smoky flavor, and the tender eggplant flesh gives it a silky, creamy texture.
It’s a must-try dish. Learn how to make it with this recipe!
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:Â 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:Â 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.
How to Store
Store baba ganoush in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. I love to keep it on hand for snacking or make it ahead for parties and gatherings.
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!
Baba Ganoush
Ingredients
- 2 medium eggplants, pierced with a knife or fork
- ¼ cup tahini
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
- 2 garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- Finely chopped fresh parsley
- Smoked paprika
- Red pepper flakes, optional
- Pita bread, for serving
- Veggies, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and wrap the eggplants in foil. Roast for 50 to 60 minutes, or until they are soft and collapse to the touch. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- Once cool to the touch, peel the skin from the eggplants, removing any big clumps of seeds. Place the flesh in a strainer set over a bowl and let stand for 20 minutes to remove excess water.
- Place the eggplant flesh, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and salt in a food processor and pulse until smooth.
- Transfer the baba ganoush to a serving dish and sprinkle with parsley, smoked paprika, and red pepper flakes, if using. Serve with pita and veggies.
Notes
Love this recipe! Now making it for the second time. Glad to know it can be frozen!
Hi Lois, I’m so glad you loved it! I haven’t tried freezing it, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work.
Just made this recipe!!! It was a breeze. I used one large eggplant, 3 T tahini and the rest was according to the recipe.
I can’t wait to try this on a slice of sourdough!
This is the second recipe I’ve tried from your site and am excited to try more!!! Thank you!
I have made the falafel many times, delicious.
Best recipe for Baba Ganoush, absolutely delicious. We also ate it straight out of the food processor!!!
I have to say that every single recipe I have tried has been outstanding. I’m a big fan! Thank you for all the great recipes.
I’m so glad you’ve been loving the recipes!
This was fairly easy to make and was so delicious! It was better than I thought it would be!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Will this work the same in a Vitamix? I don’t have a processor anymore.
i changed this a wee bit leaving the olive oil out by accident so i didn’t rate it a 5 because of that…however, i loved it without the oil! i used white eggplant instead of purple bc the gal at the farm stand said it was creamer so that could be a difference, too. beside the olive oil i followed the recipe and will continue to do so when i made this again. oh, and i used Whole Foods brand tahini as it was the only one i could find. definitely going to investigate finding a toasted option as i know it would be better!
We don’t use tin foil is it possible to wrap in parchment paper?
Hi Allie, if you wrap it well in parchment, it should be fine. The reason for the foil is to make sure it doesn’t burst in the oven.
Allie, i used parchment paper – i cut the eggplants in half and roasted with the cut side down. it was perfect!
When roasting whole you can also prick the eggplant with a fork a few times around the exterior, this prevents it from exploding.
Yum, so good! Super easy and delicious. I have a bunch of eggplants growing in my garden, can’t wait to make this recipe again.
Can this be frozen?
Hmm… I haven’t tried, I think it should be fine. It might be a little watery as it thaws.
Yes, it freezes very well. I put a piece of parchment on the top after filling the container and pulled it off before thawing to remove the ice crystals that had collected on top. There was no water separation and it was just as good as when fresh. I froze it right after I made it because I made a big batch and I had it frozen for about 2 months before eating it.
It is not often that I can make something that my wife truly loves. This recipe made that happen. I’m keeping it secret.
I’m so glad she loved it!
Delicious!!
Excellent!! Used 3 cloves of garlic to put zing in this great recipe. Ate with onion pita, scrumptious
this is my favorite BG recipe so far. funny because it’s a simple thing to make, but small changes can make a big difference in the end product. i used just a wee bit more garlic for my personal taste, but not much. Using the FP and adhering to your conservative amt of olive oil gave me the ideal consistency. my only suggestion is that if you decide to make this…do a double recipe and thank me later!
Hi what weight is considered 2 medium eggplant. I’ve got one I’d consider medium at 19oz, should I half the recipe?
Hi Madeline, I’d say about 1 pound each (you need 2 here). If you’re making this with your 1 eggplant, I would roast the 1 whole eggplant, half the recipe, and adjust the seasonings to taste after it’s processed. It’s a flexible recipe, a slightly large eggplant will be fine. Hope that helps!
Hi, we make your hummmus and love it. I always thought baba ganoush was eggplant added to hummus…have you ever tried just adding the eggplant to the hummus since they are practically all the same ingredients of flavoring? Would love to know your thoughts. Getting ready to roast an eggplant later today.
You could – but the eggplant makes a creamy dip all on its own here.
the garbanzos in hummus would make this a distinct dish, not BG. Having both authentic dishes on a snack table would make a much better statement imo.
In my country, we don’t have these medium sized eggplant. There are only small ones available.
How many grams of small eggplant should I use for this recipe?
Hi Althea, you could use 2 small eggplant.
If you crave the classic smoky flavor of a roasted/grilled eggplant like I do, I have found that about 1/4 tsp (or more) of Liquid Smoke to the finished product really enhances the flavor.
Omg amazing suggestion!!!
This sounds great, although I’m not sure my husband would eat it. I’m curious to know if you use raw tahini or the stuff made from toasted sesame seeds. I’ve been using the Joyva brand of toasted sesame tahini, which I was introduced to by a Lebanese friend, for 50 years or more, and I recommend that one, too.
I would also like to know if you use raw or roasted tahini. Thanks!
I use raw tahini – I like Cedars brand or Seed + Mill (of the ones that I’ve tried). The most important thing is that you use a tahini that you like the taste of because it’ll really shine though in this simple recipe. I find some types of tahini to be a bit bitter. If you have a great roasted tahini that you love, it’ll work here!
I love eggplant but every time I make it at home, it’s bitter. How do I pick out a fresh one as t the market?
Hi Laurie,
In this recipe, I use 2 medium sized eggplant instead of 1 large globe eggplant. Small/medium eggplants have less seeds and tend to be less bitter. You’ll also notice in step 2, I scoop out any visible big clumps of seeds, this helps since the bitter flavor comes from the seeds.
My other best recommendation is to just get fresh ones from the market while they’re in season. Although, in this recipe, once the eggplant is cooked super soft, blended with a good tahini and seasoned well, I don’t find it to be bitter. I hope this helps!
One trick to de-bitter your eggplant is to season it with plenty of salt (once you’ve cut it in half) and leave it on the counter for 20ish minutes. Salt will bring some of the bitterness out together with water. You should see your eggplant sweat, pat it with kitchen towel and continue with any recipe you are making.