Levantine cuisine

Levantine dishes

Classic

Mezes or small dishes

• Baba ghanoush (بابا غنوج)—a dip made from baked, mashed eggplant mixed with lemon, garlic, olive oil and various seasonings
• Chickpea salad or salatat hummus (سلطة حمص)—an Arab salad with cooked chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic, tahini, salt, olive oil, and cumin

• Falafel (فلافل)—spiced mashed chickpeas formed into balls or fritters and deep fried, usually eaten with or in pita bread with hummus

• Fattoush (فتوش)—a salad of chopped cucumber, radish, tomato and other vegetables, with fried or toasted pita bread
• Ful medames (فول مدمس)—ground fava beans and olive oil also prepared in Syria as a salad with fava beans, chopped tomatoes, onion, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, pepper and salt
• Hummus (حمّص)—a thick paste or spread made from ground chickpeas and olive oil, lemon, and garlic; also common in Egypt
• Kibbeh (كبة)—a dumpling-like dish of ground lamb with bulgur wheat or rice and seasonings, eaten cooked or raw
• Kibbeh nayyeh (كبة نيئة)—a mezze of minced raw meat mixed with fine bulgur and various seasonings
• Labneh (لبنة)—yogurt that has been strained to remove its whey; most popular as a breakfast food
• Lentil soup (شوربة عدس)—may be vegetarian or include meat, using brown, red, yellow or black lentils, with or without the husk
• Makanek—Arabic sausage made from ground meat spiced with pine nuts, cumin, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg and served with pomegranate molasses.
• Makdous (مكدوس)—stuffed oil-cured baby aubergines

• Manakish (مناقيش)—a pizza-like flatbread garnished with minced meat, thyme or za'atar, commonly eaten for breakfast or dinner
• Mfarakeh (مفركة)—an Arab dish made of potato, egg, ghee, cumin powder, salt and pepper, with chopped coriander leaf as garnish
• Muhammara (محمرة)—a hot pepper dip made from fresh or dried peppers, breadcrumbs, olive oil, spices and ground walnuts
• Raheb (سلطة راهب)—a salad with aubergines and tomatoes, popular in the Middle East.
• Sambusac (سمبوسك)—a triangular savory pastry fried in ghee or oil with spiced vegetables or meat
• Sfiha (صفيحة)—open-faced meat pies made with ground mutton, lamb or beef
• Shanklish (شنكليش)—cow's or sheep's milk cheese formed into balls, rolled in Aleppo pepper and za'atar, then aged and dried
• Shawarma (شاورما)—roasted meat, cooked on a revolving spit and shaved for serving in sandwiches
• Tabbouleh (تبولة)—a salad of bulgur mixed with finely chopped parsley, minced onions and tomatoes

Main dishes

• Bamia (بامية)—a stew prepared with chunks of lamb meat with okra in a tomato-based sauce, served over rice
• Dolma (محشي)—vegetables, typically aubergines, courgettes, onions, peppers or tomatoes, stuffed with minced meat and rice
• Fasoulia (فاصوليا)—a stew prepared with white beans and meat served over rice
• Fatteh (فتّة)—chicken over rice, topped with yogurt and pita bread

• Freekeh (فريكة)—a cereal food made from green durum wheat that is roasted and rubbed to create its flavour, then served with cumin, cinnamon, and fresh lamb-tail fat
• Harees–Cracked wheat and meat porridge or gruel with seasoning
• Kabsa (كبسة)—a rice-based dish commonly eaten with meat, lamb or chicken, cooked in a variety of spices and topped with nuts over rice and prepared in Syria and Gaza
• Kebab (كباب)—a dish of ground beef or lamb, grilled or roasted on a skewer
• Kebab karaz (كباب كرز)—a type of kebab made of lamb meatballs in a cherry-based broth with pine nuts and sour cherries over pita bread
• Kousa mahshi (كوسا محشي)—courgettes baked and stuffed with minced meat and rice in a tomato-based sauce
• Malfouf (ملفوف)–rolled cabbage leaves stuffed with rice, meat and spices

• Mansaf (منسف)—lamb or chicken cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yogurt and served over rice
• Maqluba (مقلوبة)—a rice-based casserole with meat, rice, and fried vegetables in a pot, which is flipped upside down when served, hence the name, which literally translates as "upside-down"
• Mujaddara (مجدرة)—cooked lentils with groats, generally rice, garnished with sautéed onions
• Mulukhiyah (ملوخية)—a stew cooked with mallow leaves, mucillagenous like okra, eaten with chicken in a thick broth

• Musakhan (مسخّن)—a classic Palestinian dish, a whole roasted chicken baked with onions, sumac, allspice, saffron, and fried pine nuts served over taboon bread
• Qarymutah (القريموطة), a simple way to prepare bulgur in rural areas of Homs, Hama and Salamiyah. Bulgur is cooked with vegetables and wrapped in grape leaves
• Qidreh (قدرة)—a lamb stew with chickpeas, garlic and spices, commonly served over rice
• Quzi (قوزي)—a hearty dish of roasted lamb with raisins, nuts and spices over rice or wrapped in taboon bread
• Shish kebab (شيش كباب)—grilled or roasted chunks of meat on a skewer, commonly served over flatbread or rice
• Sumaghiyyeh (سماقية)—ground sumac is soaked in water then mixed with tahina (sesame-seed paste), water and flour, added to sautéed chopped chard, pieces of slow-stewed beef, and garbanzo beans
• Zibdieh (زبدية)—a clay-pot dish of shrimp baked in a stew of olive oil, garlic, hot peppers, and peeled tomatoes

Breads

• Ka'ak (كعك)—a type of biscuit/cookie shaped into a ring, occasionally sprinkled with sesame seeds
• Markook (مرقوق)—a thin, unleavened flatbread baked on an iron griddle known as saj
• Pita (خبز عربي)—a soft, slightly leavened flatbread baked from wheat flour

Condiments

• Tahini (طحينة)—condiment made of ground and hulled sesame seeds, primary ingredient baba ghanoush and hummus
• Toum (توم)—a paste containing garlic, olive oil and salt, typically used as a dip
• Za'atar (زَعْتَر)—a condiment of dried herbs mixed with sesame seeds, dried sumac, and often salt, as well as other spices

Sweets

• Awameh (عوامة)—a fried-dough Levantine pastry similar to doughnut holes, made of deep-fried dough soaked in sugar syrup or honey and cinnamon, sometimes sprinkled with sesame seeds
• Basbousa (بسبوسة)—a Middle-Eastern small, sweet cake of cooked semolina soaked in rose water syrup, topped with almonds or walnuts

• Kanafeh (كنافة)—a dessert made with shredded filo and melted cheese soaked in a sugary syrup
• Ma'amoul (معمول)—semolina shortbread cookies filled with dates or walnuts, commonly sprinkled with sugar
• Meghli (مغلي)–a floured rice pudding spiced with anise, caraway and cinnamon and garnished with coconut flakes and nuts
• Qatayef (قطايف)—a dessert commonly served during the month of Ramadan, a sweet dumpling filled with cream or nuts
• Warbat (وربات)—a sweet pastry with thin layers of phyllo pastry filled with custard, popularly eaten during Ramadan
• Zalabia (زلابية)—a fried dough pastry shaped as balls or discs, often dipped in a sweet syrup

Drinks

• Limonana (ليمون نعناع)—lemonade made from freshly-squeezed lemon juice and mint leaves
• Qamar al-Din (قمر الدين)—a thick, cold apricot drink typically served during the month of Ramadan

Contemporary

• Malfouf salad (سلطة ملفوف)—a cabbage salad with lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, and mint

Geographical varieties of Levantine cuisine

• Assyrian cuisine
• Cypriot cuisine
• Israeli cuisine
• Jordanian cuisine
• Lebanese cuisine
• Ottoman cuisine
• Palestinian cuisine
• Syrian cuisine