Rich, red and smoky, muhammara, or roasted red pepper dip, is a Middle Eastern delight. The aroma wafting from the kitchen is reminiscent of wandering through the souks at sundown. This versatile and vegetarian sauce brightens up white fish or chicken, or makes for the most exotic chutney substitute on an elegant cheese board.
A luscious sauce like this should not be restricted to mezze night! Make a batch for your next barbecue and slather it on your Greek chicken burger with feta.

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What is muhammara?
Another Levantine dip for your mezze spread! Where Baba Ganoush and hummus are pale and creamy, muhammara is a splash of colour for your Middle Eastern table. Taken from the Arabic word for ‘red’, it’s a vibrant flavoured and hued spread that originated in Syria.
Made from roasted red peppers, garlic and walnuts, it may sound familiar. Perhaps you know muhammara’s saucy Spanish cousin Romesco? The two are distinguished by their trademark nut. Walnuts for muhammara and almonds for Romesco. Both taste incredible as a sauce over firm white fish or grilled vegetables.

How to make it
Like Baba Ganoush, you could take your time painstakingly roasting the peppers and garlic over an open flame to achieve that signature ashy flavour and char. Or, like me, you could opt for convenience and just oven roast them!
After drizzling the whole peppers with oil and carefully wrapping the garlic bulb in foil, roast them for 40 minutes. You’ll know the peppers are ready when they have collapsed in on themselves.
The next step is important- leave them to cool before you handle them. You’re not going to enjoy your finger food with singed fingers. When ready, deseed the peppers and peel them if you wish. Squeeze the sweet sticky garlic cloves from the skin and put all the ingredients into a food processor and blend.
Then toast the walnuts. This releases more fragrance and flavour, it also reduces the bitterness of the raw nuts. Add these to the blender for a final pulse, but not too much as you want them to retain texture.

How to serve it
There is nothing quite as inviting as a table spread with mezze. Whether or not you picked up the matching set of small ceramic bowls that fit neatly together to make a star shape on your last trip to The Grand Bazaar, these glossy dips make the table a work of art all by themselves.
I like to pile the table high with warm flatbreads, mounds of glistening olives, steaming grilled meat, fresh herb-rich salads and of course all the dips! Then everyone helps themselves to what they fancy.
It’s also a great side dish to add next to a main like Spicy Lemon Za’atar Chicken or Chicken Musakhan, with flatbread to complete the spread!

Recipe tips and notes
- Sweet and ripe peppers will make this a mouth-wateringly juicy dip. I’ve used pointed red peppers partly because I adore the rich crimson of them, and because they are sweeter and less watery than a cooked bell pepper. But bell are fine if that is what is available to you.
- The spices can be adapted to your taste. Traditional muhammara recipes use Aleppo pepper, which is a hot, ground chilli pepper from Syria and used in Middle Eastern dishes. I prefer to dial back the heat to allow the other flavours to come through and use smoked paprika. I also like the earthy warmth from cumin.
- You could combine paprika and chilli flakes if Aleppo pepper is not in your stores and you are keen for that spice hit.
- Roasting the garlic with the peppers is an easy step. I roasted a whole bulb in its skin. This protects the cloves from burning. If you don’t want to roast, you can substitute with 2 cloves of raw minced garlic. But take it from me, the sweet smooth taste of baked garlic cannot be beat!
Storage and leftovers
Like many of the mezze dips, muhammara can be made ahead of time as it keeps well in the fridge. And even improves thanks to the roasted garlic. Kept in an airtight container, it will last between 4 and 5 days. But bear in mind the walnuts will lose their bite after a while.
More Middle Eastern Recipes to Try:
- Middle Eastern Fattoush Salad
- Chicken Musakhan
- Middle Eastern Salad Bowl
- Falafel Salad Bowl with Tabouleh and Hummus

Muhammara
Ingredients
- 6 sweet red peppers roasted
- 1 tbsp This is an affiliate link.olive oil
- 1 head garlic roasted
- 1 tsp This is an affiliate link.smoked paprika
- 2 tsp sherry vinegar or balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp This is an affiliate link.olive oil
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 100g/3.5 oz toasted walnuts
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Arrange the whole red bell peppers on a roasting pan and drizzle with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Take a large head of garlic and slice the top off to expose the cloves, place on a sheet of aluminium foil and drizzle with olive oil, wrap the garlic head in the foil and place on the same roasting pan as the peppers. Roast for 40 minutes until the peppers are soft and collapsed and the garlic cloves are very soft.
- Take out of the oven, cover the peppers with a kitchen towel and cool. Once the peppers are cool enough to handle you can either peel them or leave as they are but remove the seeds. Once the garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze the cloves out of their peels.
- Meanwhile, toast the walnuts on a frying pan over low heat for about 5 minutes, stir often to avoid burning, remove from the pan and cool.
- In a food processor combine the roasted red peppers, smoked paprika, sherry vinegar, olive oil, ground cumin, salt and the roasted garlic, pulse until blended.
- Add the toasted walnuts and pulse briefly until it forms a paste but the walnuts still retain some texture.
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