You will fall in love with this muhammara recipe that takes less than 10 minutes with minimal cleanup! Made in one bowl with a store-bought jar of roasted red bell peppers, healthy toasted walnuts, tangy pomegranate molasses, and delicious spices. This versatile muhammara dip is accidentally vegan and full of flavor!
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🇸🇾 What is Muhammara and Where Is It From?
Muhammara is a roasted bell pepper & walnut dip whose roots are mainly associated with the Syrian city of Aleppo.
It is also very popular in the southeastern region of Turkey and goes by the same name.
Muhammara is very similar to my other pepper & walnut dip recipe: Turkish acuka. The main difference is that acuka uses store-bought "kapya" pepper paste (which can be difficult to source) and no pomegranate molasses or breadcrumbs.
I love them equally, but muhammara is a lot more accessible and just as quick when you make it with already-roasted bell peppers! I love dipping Turkish flatbread (gozleme) into muhammara.
It also goes so well with side dishes like roasted carrots and a white bean salad for a complete Mediterranean feast!
🌶 Muhammara Recipe Ingredients
The main ingredients of muhammara are roasted bell peppers and walnuts.
The rest of the ingredients differ based on locality, but the best version I ever made has pomegranate molasses, breadcrumbs, tomato paste, and a few special spices like Aleppo & Urfa pepper flakes and sumac.
Roasted Bell Peppers
I often use store-bought roasted peppers for muhammara, and it works great! If you have an immersion blender, you could even make the entire dip in the same jar after draining it.
If you'd like to roast peppers at home instead, see the section right below for all the relevant tips and tricks on roasting veggies!
Toasted Walnuts
Toasting walnuts is the part that takes the longest in this recipe! I've tried muhammara with both toasted and untoasted walnuts before, and the toasted version has always been the obvious winner.
I wouldn't recommend skipping this step!
Pomegranate Molasses
You may substitute the pomegranate molasses with half its volume of lemon juice, but I'd recommend getting a bottle if you can.
It packs so much flavor in each drizzle and I guarantee you'll easily use it up on dishes like this Mediterranean bean salad or the beloved Turkish raw bulgur "meatballs": cig kofte.
Seasoning & Special Spices...
If you've perused this website before, you know that we use tons of Aleppo and Urfa pepper flakes, as well as sumac!
All three are unique spices and can't be substituted for in a recipe without affecting the outcome a little bit.
I'd say this stands for muhammara as well, but the 5-star New York Times recipe for muhammara omits sumac completely and the special pepper flakes are only a suggestion.
And the people who didn't use them still seem to enjoy their muhammara a lot!
We'll also use some sugar to balance the acidity. Regarding salt, check the tomato paste you're using before adding the entire amount of salt listed on the recipe card.
Some tomato pastes, like most Turkish ones, include a lot of salt so this may throw off the seasoning. If that's the case, start low and add more if needed.
Olive Oil
I highly recommend using the BEST extra-virgin olive oil you have access to for making muhammara.
Our family has a membership for the freshly-pressed olive oil club (not sponsored) and I always open a new bottle for dips like this.
Think of olive oil like juice, the longer it sits on store shelves, the less flavor (and polyphenols) it will have!
Having said all that, regular EVOO will work too, of course. I just like to make suggestions to make things even more flavorful. 🙂
See the recipe card below for exact quantities.
🔥 Optional: How to Roast Peppers
If you have extra time and want to play with open fire, do try roasting your own peppers for an even more flavorful muhammara!
Similarly to roasting eggplants, I recommend roasting all vegetables on open fire. All you need to do is to turn the burner up as high as it will go and place the pepper directly on the flame.
Turn the pepper with a pair of tongs until it's almost completely blackened.
Once roasted, place the pepper into a bowl and cover with cling wrap to loosen the skin. After 5 minutes or so, the pepper will be cool enough to touch and you can then remove the skin with your fingers or a fork.
I don't like to get rid of the entire skin as some of the blackened bits help deepen the flavor with their smokiness.
Unfortunately, with this method, the cleanup is a mess! I've tried everything from using aluminum foil atop the burner to a special roasting gadget, but all forms take some elbow grease to clean up.
Still, the "gadget" leads to the least amount of cleanup. The famous chef and editor Christopher Kimball of Milk Street is also obsessed with roasting veggies on an open flame, so their store actually sells it: Közmatik. A rough translation from Turkish for this pan is "ember machine".
The main downside of Közmatik is that it won't work on an electric stove; the other is the price.
The markup, without exaggeration, is more than a hundredfold between the Milk Street store and the bazaar in Izmir that I bought it from ($40 vs. ¢30). But it is still totally worth it if you like to roast and char vegetables often!
Roasting the peppers in the oven is another option, but it isn't ideal. The one exception is if your oven has a strong broiler. The broiler could produce similar enough results to open fire.
📝 Instructions for the Muhammara Recipe
Once you gather all the ingredients, the rest is a breeze!
Toast the Walnuts:
Place the walnuts into a small pan on medium-high heat, and toast for 5-7 minutes until fragrant. Make sure to move the pan around frequently so that the walnuts don't burn!
Blend Everything:
Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender, and blend until mostly smooth, about one minute.
If you have an immersion blender, you can mix everything in a bowl and blend there—or simply use the roasted pepper jar after draining it.
The Trader Joe's 340-gram roasted pepper jar works perfectly.
I prefer the immersion blender method. There is almost no waste that sticks to a food processor or blender I won't be able to scrape.
Serve:
Finish off with a drizzle of olive oil and use muhammara as a dip for raw vegetables or with a flatbread. You can use muhammara just as you would hummus!
I also like to lather it onto toasts and sandwiches, as well as mixing it with a bit of pasta water to make a quick weeknight spaghetti dish!
⏳ Saving Muhammara
You may save muhammara in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. Drizzle with a bit more olive oil right before serving each time.
❓Muhammara Recipe FAQs
Muhammara is a roasted bell pepper & walnut dip whose roots are mainly associated with the Syrian city of Aleppo. It is also very popular in the southeastern region of Turkey and goes by the same name.
99% of the time, yes, muhammara is vegan! Most store-bought jars or online muhammara recipes, including this one, are totally vegan.
Muhammara is a vegetable dip, so mostly, yes! But of course, exactly "how" healthy will depend on how much olive oil, salt, and breadcrumbs you add.
Muhammara is usually mildly spicy, but you can always add more Aleppo pepper to make it spicier!
Syrian muhammara and Tunisian harissa are similar, but harissa is usually made with dry chili peppers instead of roasted bell peppers. Therefore, harissa is often spicier than muhammara and is more of a condiment (a paste) than a dip.
Muhammara tastes like spicy roasted peppers and toasted walnuts. The texture is silky and very similar to that of hummus.
Owing to the color of the dip, muhammara means "reddened" (محمرة) in Arabic. Red is "'ahmar" in Arabic.
Use muhammara as a dip for raw vegetables or crackers, just as you would hummus. I also like to lather muhammara onto toasts and sandwiches, as well as mixing it with a bit of pasta water to make a quick weeknight spaghetti dish!
Often, no, muhammara is not gluten-free because most recipes use regular breadcrumbs.
🥗 Other Flavorful Recipes on AD
I love dipping zucchini fritters or gozleme into muhammara! These will go so well with side dishes like roasted carrots and a Mediterranean bean salad.
Did you make this muhammara recipe? I'd love to hear about it! Please comment and leave a star🌟 rating below. This helps me run Aegean Delight and I always appreciate it 🙂
Print📖 Recipe
Muhammara Recipe - 10 Minute Spicy Red Pepper Dip
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: (330 grams total)
- Diet: Vegan
Description
You will fall in love with this muhammara recipe that takes less than 10 minutes with minimal cleanup! Made in one bowl with a store-bought jar of roasted red bell peppers, healthy toasted walnuts, tangy pomegranate molasses, and delicious spices. This versatile muhammara dip is accidentally vegan and full of flavor!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (220g drained weight from 1 jar) roasted bell pepper
- 3 tablespoons (45ml) extra-virgin olive oil (+more to top)
- ½ cup (50g) walnuts
- 1 tablespoon (20g) tomato paste (See Notes)
- ¼ cup (30g) breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
- ½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes (or sub regular chili flakes)
- ½ teaspoon Urfa pepper flakes (or sub regular chili flakes)
- 1 teaspoon sumac (or sub ½ tsp lemon juice)
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Place the walnuts into a small pan on medium-high heat, and toast for 5-7 minutes until fragrant. Make sure to move the pan around frequently so that the walnuts don't burn!
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender, and blend until mostly smooth, for about one minute. If you have an immersion blender, you can mix everything in a bowl and blend there—or simply use the roasted pepper jar after draining it. The Trader Joe's 340-gram roasted pepper jar works perfectly. I prefer the immersion blender method. There is almost no waste that sticks to a food processor or blender I won't be able to scrape.
- Finish off with a drizzle of olive oil and use muhammara as a dip for raw vegetables or with a flatbread. You can use muhammara just as you would hummus! I also like to lather it onto toast and sandwiches, as well as mix it with a bit of pasta water to make a quick weeknight spaghetti dish.
- You may save muhammara in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. Drizzle with a bit more olive oil right before serving each time for best results!
Notes
If you'd like to roast peppers at home instead of using a store-bought jar, turn the burner up as high as it will go and place the pepper directly on the flame. Turn the pepper with a pair of tongs until it's almost completely blackened. Once roasted, place the pepper into a bowl and cover with cling wrap to loosen the skin. After 5 minutes or so, the pepper will be cool enough to touch and you can then remove the skin with your fingers or a fork. I don't like to get rid of the entire skin as some of the blackened bits help deepen the flavor with their smokiness. You could also broil the peppers in an oven for 15-20 minutes for similar results. For reference, one medium-sized bell pepper weighs approximately 100 grams, so use two bell peppers for the original recipe.
Check the tomato paste you're using before adding the entire amount of salt listed on the recipe card. Some tomato pastes, like most Turkish ones, include a lot of salt so this may throw off the seasoning. If that's the case, start low and add more salt if needed.
I highly recommend using the BEST extra-virgin olive oil you have access to for making muhammara. Our family has a membership for the freshly-pressed olive oil club (not sponsored) and I always open a new bottle for dips like this. Think of olive oil like juice, the longer it sits on store shelves, the less flavor (and polyphenols) it will have! Having said all that, regular EVOO will work too, of course. I just like to make suggestions to make things even more flavorful. 🙂
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Method: Blend
- Cuisine: Syrian, Turkish, Levantine
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