Lebanese Recipes for Lent
Feb 22, 2023, Updated Feb 14, 2024
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These Lebanese recipes for Lent hit all of the marks for fasting from meat: hearty, simple, and so flavorful. Plus, they are humble in their own special ways, just what we look for while fasting during Lent. Get the right ingredients, including lentils, bulgur, spices, olive oil and more in my online shop here.
Practice fasting in Lent with an array of healthy Lebanese recipes. There is a long and special tradition of Lenten practices in Lebanese culture and faith life. Out of this comes recipes and menu ideas to carry us through the 40 days. These recipes truly define the Mediterranean diet, with their emphasis on grains, legumes, healthy fats, plant-based protein, yogurt, and lots of herbs and spices.
Lentil Bulgur Soup with Mint Olive Oil
This vegetarian and vegan soup is tops on the healthy-delicious list for including grains, legumes, herbs and olive oil. Serve the soup as a main course with a salad and some garlic toast or pita chips. Also great as a starter or a sustaining lunch mid-day.
Garlic Tahini Eggplant
Golden brown eggplant drizzled with garlic tahini sauce is a Lebanese recipe favorite. Eat right out of the pan hot, warm, or room temperature–you won’t go wrong in any direction here, just wait to drizzle with sauce until just before serving.
Lebanese Baba Ganoush
So simple yet so packed with deliciousness! Roasted eggplant with a smokey flavor, garlic, lemon, tahini.
Lebanese Salad (Salata)
My traditional Lebanese Salad (salata) is a crisp salad of romaine, cucumbers, onion, and tomato with a garlicky, lemony vinaigrette.Mouthwatering! We eat this one almost every day.
Authentic Lebanese Falafel
This authentic falafel recipe is packed with fresh herbs, giving the little fried fritters a fabulous flavor and texture.
Lebanese Hummus Recipes
Any and all hummus makes for an excellent addition to your Lenten recipe repertoire!
Roasted Cauliflower Shawarma
Cauliflower is given the shawarma treatment with a spiced marinade, then roasted to golden brown. Hearty, delicious.
Mujadara, Lebanese Lentil Pilaf
This vegetarian/vegan pilaf is made with lentils, caramelized onions, and rice or coarse bulgur. A Lenten Friday favorite for it’s humble ingredients as a satisfying meal.
Vegetarian Stuffed Koosa
Vegetarian stuffed koosa is based on the classic Lebanese dish of hollowed-out, stuffed summer squash poached in tomato (or yogurt).
Vegetarian Grape Leaves (gluten-free and vegan too…)
Vegetarian grape leaves are stuffed with a delicious mix of rice, onion, chickpeas, and peppers. Simple adjustments make this gluten-free, and vegan.
Potato Kibbeh
Potato kibbeh is deeply savory with a lemony spinach filling. Very delicious on its own or served with a garlicky yogurt sauce with mint. We’ve had this conversation before, about dishes that are traditionally made with meat that are then turned into something new, vegetarian-style. The inspiration for the change-up had to be rooted in
Lebanese Pumpkin Kibbeh
This delicious blend of pureed pumpkin, bulgur, onion and spices with a lemony spinach and onion filling is one of the many versions in the great Lebanese kibbeh tradition. Use canned pumpkin puree or make your own. Use chopped frozen spinach or fresh.
Easy Cabbage Salad with Garlic and Lemon
My easy cabbage salad with garlic and lemon is a winner onall scores: the salad comes together in 10 minutes tops, packs incredible fresh flavorin just a few ingredients, and is at home with most every grilled meat, vegetable,and wrap you can think of.
Lebanese Fattoush Salad
I could eat this salad every single day and still want more! See how it’s done in my video, right here! Get the Fattoush Kit for the vinaigrette here! Find the recipe for the pita chips here. You can add cucumbers and any other vegetables you have on hand to this salad. The more the merrier!
Toasted Bulgur Pilaf with Zucchini.
Think of bulgur pilaf the same way you do rice pilaf–except so much healthier with all of the protein and fiber in bulgur. Use coarse bulgur, known as “#3.” So nutrient-rich that it makes a great main dish.
Crunchy Cucumber Salad
This is laban khiyar, using lots of herbs and cool laban, or yogurt. Such a delicious side with any and all mains, especially mujadara.
Garlicky Lebanese Lentil Soup with Swiss Chard and Lemon; dressed up Rushta
Lebanese lentil soup, or rushta, is a Lebanese staple. I love to ramp my Lebanese lentil soup up with plenty of garlic, a healthy and delicious addition of swiss chard, and lemon. Warming, good for you, and always a hit especially during Lent.
Avocado Tabbouleh, the original chopped salad!
This Lebanese chopped salad is a labor of love! SO worth it! I use a blend of parsley and mint as the foundation of this salad, along with diced tomato, sliced green onion, cucumber, and my special twist: avocado! Be sure to select firm-ripe avocados that aren't too soft for this recipe. Serve the salad in little lettuce cups, Lebanese-style.
Lebanese Cabbage Slaw, Malfouf Salad
This simple, no-mayo slaw is adaptable–use as many or few ingredients as you like, starting with cabbage and onion and going from there. Very flavorful with the vinaigrette and crunch.
Tomato Bulgur Soup with Mint.
Such a flavorful soup packed with the goodness of bulgur and red lentils. Flavor comes from olive oil, mint, and tomatoes.
More info about ingredients for Lebanese Recipes for Lent
Take the guesswork out of speciality ingredients like bulgur. Knowing just how to handle herbs and vegetables makes your cooking faster and easier! Here’s all kinds of helpful information to get started:
Here’s how to prep parsley for tabbouleh
Here’s what to know about grape leaves
Core and cut cabbage like this for slaw
