A creamy homemade Yogurt Labneh dip flavored with Middle Eastern Za'atar seasoning and topped with zesty olive oil.
I show you how to make creamy thick Labneh with Greek yogurt in this appetizer recipe.
TL;DR
When it's hot, we like to sit outdoors in the evening with a lovely drink and a dip as an appetizer. The Labneh dip is cooling, and I recommend it when the temperatures are rising.
Middle Eastern Labneh is made of thick hung curd, and it's always topped with olive oil.
This dip can be part of a Meze platter. In the Middle East and the Mediterranean, it is customary to serve various dips as an appetizer. They are known as Meze, which means to “relish” and “taste.”
This includes the all famous chickpea Hummus, the eggplant Baba Ganoush, the red bell pepper Muhammara and the Labneh.
Ingredients
- Greek Yogurt or Hung Curd — Labneh needs to be thick, like the consistency of cream cheese. Most yogurt isn't thick enough, so you will have to hang the curds. If you can find hung curd in stores, use that instead.
- Salt
- Za'atar Seasoning — I use my homemade Lebanese style Za'atar Seasoning.
- Olive Oil — I highly recommend cold-pressed olive oil that is zesty and spiced. All high-quality olive oils are naturally spiced.
- Mint Leaves — Fresh, to top the dip.
Equipment Tips
To strain the yogurt, you will need a cheesecloth and kitchen twine to hang it.
The idea is to get all the excess liquids out of the yogurt or curds and by hanging it in a cheesecloth it separates the solids from the liquids.
It leaves you with a thicker yogurt for your Labneh dip.
If you can't get a clean cheesecloth, you can use brand-new washable baby cloth diapers. That's what I used in the video because it's more readily available where I live.
Both are usually made of fine cotton material, which strains yogurt really well.
How to make it?
Step 1
Combine salt and yogurt in a bowl.
Step 2
Place a cheesecloth over a bowl and drop the yogurt into the center.
Gather the edges of the cloth, tie it together so that it forms into a pouch.
Step 3
Hang the cheesecloth pouch with the yogurt over a bowl so that excess liquids can drop over a period of about 2–3 hours. The yogurt should be thick.
Step 4
Take out the yogurt from the cheesecloth and place into a serving bowl.
Top with olive oil, zaatar and fresh mint. Serve cooled.
📖 Recipe
Za'atar Labneh Dip Recipe
Ingredients
To make thick hung yogurt
- 2 cups Greek Yogurt *see Notes
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
To prepare the dip
- 2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 2 Teaspoon Zaatar
- Mint Leaves fresh to garnish
Instructions
To hang the curds/yogurt
- Combine the yogurt with the salt in a bowl.2 cups Greek Yogurt, ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- Place cheesecloth over a large bowl.
- Place the yogurt curds into the center of your cheesecloth. Gather the edges of the cloth together and tie them securely with a kitchen twine to make a pouch.
- Hang the yogurt and keep a bowl under it. You can hang it over your kitchen tab too so that it drops into your sink. Keep it hanging until the yogurt is thick and that can take 2–3 hours as the liquids come out drop by drop.
To prepare the Labneh
- Open the cheesecloth pouch with the yogurt and take out the thick yogurt and place it into a serving bowl.
- Pour olive oil over the hung curd in your bowl, and sprinkle the za'atar evenly over the olive oil. Top with fresh mint as well.2 Teaspoon Zaatar, 2 Tablespoon Olive Oil, Mint Leaves
- Serve up refrigerated, cooled. I like to cover it with a lid or a clean wrap until serving time.
Notes
- 16 oz Greek Yogurt = ½ a 32 oz tub or 2 cups or 450 grams.
- You might not need to hang your yogurt if it's super thick and creamy. Most Greek yogurt are thick but not as thick as a Labneh is meant to be, and therefore they need to be hung. Please refer to my video to see the consistency. The consistency of hung yogurt is heavy, compressed, thick, and creamy. In fact, hung yogurt is like French Petit Suisse or German/Austrian Quark or Topfen (these are high in fat). Some Icelandic Skyr might be as thick as hung curd. If your yogurt is thick enough, you can just mix in the salt and top it with the ingredients as described.
Equipment
- Cheesecloth to strain the yogurt curds
- Kitchen twine to hang the yogurt
Nutrition
Serving
At home, we love our cooling Labneh with vegetable dippers such as small colorful bell peppers, carrots, and cucumbers.
You can also offer lavash chips or other non-traditional dipper options such as tortilla chips or crackers.
Truthfully, the simplicity of this yogurt dip should shine through, and most dipper options will go nicely with the dip.
My secret obsession is Labneh with surimi imitation crab sticks!
Storing
You can prepare your za'atar labneh in advance. That can be the night before, a few or 2 days earlier.
Just place the labneh into a rectangular glass container with a lid and add the topping with the olive oil, za'atar over that before you refrigerate it.
Once you are ready to serve or enjoy the dip, sprinkle fresh mint over the top.
The dip will remain edible for as long as the marked Best Before Date on your yogurt labeling.
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