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This Moroccan zaalouk recipe is actually an upgrade to the way my wife learned to make it in Morocco. It’s been improved upon to be even more tasty, and the process tweaked to be quite a bit less messy. Charred eggplant and flame-roasted tomatoes mash up with cumin and coriander for an absolute bombshell of North African flavor you are going to freak out about.
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When my wife, Joey, was backpacking all over Morocco with our infant daughter in the early 2000s, she was taken in and given a place to stay by a woman named Saida.
They cooked together, cleaned together, and Saida showed her how to make zaalouk. This recipe is a pretty close, just slightly tweaked version of the recipe my wife has been making ever since, which has become a real family favorite. I hope your family falls in love with it too.
Zaalouk holds its own alongside Middle East dip royalty—Lebanese baba ganoush, spicy red muhammara, and jammy matbucha. Together, they make different dishes in a mezze lineup that could humble even the most stacked charcuterie board.
The technique of flame-charring the tomatoes using an open fire and dry-cooking the fresh eggplant develops a depth of flavor and smokiness that simple roasting on a baking sheet can't touch, even with a ten-foot pole.
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🥰Why you’ll adore this zaalouk recipe
✊ Vegan AF & GF: No eggs, no yogurt, no wheat—just bold, smoky flavor from charred veg and toasted spice. It rolls deep with my other vegan Middle Eastern recipes, and it’s a no-brainer if you’re a fiend for vegan gluten-free recipes that don’t skimp on flavor.
⏱️ Weeknight Wonder: Ready in about 40 minutes, this Moroccan bad boy slides into your din din rotation without throwing your night off track. It can be served as a side dish or even a main dish, depending on your personal preferences.
🌱 Pantry-Friendly: Built with easy-to-find stuff—no treasure hunts through obscure spice markets needed! Just simple spices and fresh ingredients.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all my go-to vegan recipes, this one’s been fine-tuned and tested by hundreds of recipe testers.
🤘Learn to make killer vegan Middle Eastern food
This guide to my most popular plant-based Middle Eastern recipes is 100% FREE, & you'll love the actual heck out of it 🥰
🍆Zaalouk Ingredients
Eggplant
Eggplant is the star of zaalouk, providing a creamy, substantial base. When charred, it develops a beautiful smokiness that forms the foundation of this dish. Traditional Moroccan dishes often use large eggplants, but it's fine to make with regular purple Italian eggplants, one of my favorite vegetables. To prepare, slice the eggplant and place the cut side down on the grill.
It’s also pretty phenomenal with white eggplants, which I grow a lot of to use in Turkish şhakşhuka and soslu patlıcan. Don’t use slender Japanese or Thai eggplants, which have too high a skin-to-meat ratio, and are better off for making Filipino ensaladang talong and Thai eggplant curry, respectively.
Cumin Seeds
Whole cumin seeds toasted in oil unlock way more aroma and depth than ground cumin ever could. Ever since someone gave me a bottle of it as a gift, I’ve got a real soft spot for the wild mountain cumin from Burlap & Barrel—it’s floral and woodsy, with this wild aroma that regular cumin just doesn’t bring. I’m seriously obsessed with this stuff—I hoard jars of it like a spice goblin.
If you’ve never tried it, just trust: it’ll ruin you (in the best way) for basic cumin forever. But TBH, any decent cumin seed will work in this recipe. If you’re swapping in ground cumin, just use half the amount.
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Aleppo Pepper Flakes
These mildly spicy, fruity red pepper flakes are the low-key hero of so many dips I mess with. They're a staple in my lineup—acılı ezme, cranberry ezme, zhoug sauce—you name it. In this recipe, they slip in with that warm, tomato-friendly heat.
Gochugaru makes a great substitute, or you can use a smaller amount of crushed red pepper flakes (which are hotter). You can also use chili pepper or cayenne pepper for a different heat profile.
Smoked Paprika
This brings a mellow smokiness that makes zaalouk even yummier. I reach for Spanish pimentón de la Vera when I’ve got it on hand, but even basic smoked paprika will round things out and deepen the flavor.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Harissa Zaalouk
Replace the Aleppo pepper with 2-3 teaspoons of harissa for a spicier version common in northern Morocco and Tunisia. The heat’s deeper and smokier, with a subtle funkiness that plays especially well with the charred veg and spices.
Mutabal
Mutabal is an ultra-silky eggplant dip made with tahini, garlic, and lemon—less smoky than zaalouk but just as scoopable. It’s got that same roasted eggplant vibe, but smoother, creamier, and a little more laid back on the smokiness.
📖 How to make zaalouk
Crush this eggplant dip on your first try by following these step-by-step photos and tips. Or, if you’re all about saving time, just scroll down for the easy-to-print recipe card. Either way, you’re about to make a dip that’s slaps so hard, you’ll slather it on anything from pita bread and crusty grilled sourdough bread, to possibly your own face...
Step One
Burn Baby Burn:
Heat a large, dry skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the eggplant slices in batches, ensuring they don’t overcrowd the pan. Cook for 6-8 minutes, turning occasionally, until tender and slightly charred. Remove and set aside.
Step Two
Char-ley’s Angels:
Place the tomatoes on a wire rack over an open flame. Turn occasionally until the skins are completely charred and blackened, about 6-8 minutes. Remove and let cool.
Step Three
Skin City:
Once cool enough, peel off the skins and roughly chop the tomatoes. Set aside.
Step Four
Sauté-Braham Lincoln:
In a wide, non-reactive skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. After 90 seconds, when the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and garlic. Sauté for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly to avoid burning.
Step Five
Ringo Stirr:
Add the charred tomatoes, Aleppo pepper flakes, smoked paprika, and charred eggplant slices to the skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10-12 minutes.
Step Six
Mashes to Mashes, Dust to Dust:
Mash the eggplant and tomatoes with a spoon, potato masher, or spatula, creating a coarse, thick mixture.
Step Seven
Mixin’ Impossible:
Continue cooking uncovered for an additional 6-7 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the excess liquid evaporates and the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, parsley, and salt.
💡Serving Ideas
If you're making zaalouk, you’re already halfway to an epic Middle Eastern spread. Pair it with creamy harissa chickpeas, a pot of Moroccan loubia, or a pile of kısır, bulgur pilaf, or taboule to keep the parade going.
More of a sandwich situation? Load up on vegan shawarma with baharat roasted oyster mushrooms drenched in tarator and shatta sauce, or go full flavor overload with vegan kofta.
Top off your meal with vegan pistachio baklava or irmik helvasi, because vegan dessert isn’t a dang crime!
👉Top tips
- Char It For Realsies: Char the eggplant thoroughly. Those blackened bits are flavor gold, not mistakes! The deeper the char, the smokier your zaalouk will be.
- Wide and Shallow Wins the Race: Use a wide, shallow pan for cooking down the mixture – this increases the surface area and helps evaporate liquid more efficiently, resulting in that perfect thick consistency.
- Minimize the Mayhem: If you’re charring tomatoes indoors, throw a wire rack over your gas burner to keep things a wee bit more tidy, or go with a stovetop grill pan. Got an outdoor grill? Even better. Less cleanup, more flavor.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Zaalouk is traditionally served at room temperature as part of a mezze spread with bread for dipping, but it's also delicious warm as a side dish or cold as a sandwich spread.
You can char tomatoes under a broiler set to high, or even roast them in the oven at 450°F (230°C) until the skins blister and blacken. For even better results, try using an outdoor charcoal grill or a stovetop grill pan—the extra smoke takes it up a notch. And if you're charring indoors, a wire rack over your gas burner helps keep the mess to a minimum.
Traditionally, zaalouk has some texture—it's a lot coarser than baba ganoush but not nearly as chunky as caponata. Adjust the mashing to your preference.
🧊 Refrigeration: Store zaalouk in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. The flavors even improve after a day or two!
🔥 Stovetop Reheating: Place the desired amount in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add a small splash of water if it seems dry. Stir occasionally until heated through, about 5 minutes. Add a fresh drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon before serving to refresh the flavors.
⚡️ Microwave Reheating: Place a serving in a microwave-safe bowl, cover with a plate or paper towel, and heat in 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until warmed through. Be careful not to overheat, as this can cause the olive oil to separate.
Only if you're an actual scumbag and trying to commit a crime against eggplant! It will turn grainy, watery, and the little bits of eggplant will be kinda rubbery and nasty when thawed. Don’t be the absolute scum of the Earth by freezing this. Please. I am begging you.
✌️You’ll love these vegan Middle Eastern recipes too:
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Zaalouk
Equipment
- Potato masher optional
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb. Eggplant peeled and cut into 1 cm thick slices
- 1 lb. Ripe tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup parsley chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
Optional Garnishes:
- Olive oil
- Aleppo pepper flakes
- Kalamata olives
- Lemon wedges
- Parsley leaves
Instructions
- Heat a large, dry skillet over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, working in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan, add the eggplant slices in a single layer. Cook the eggplant for 6 to 8 minutes, turning occasionally, until the slices are tender and lightly charred. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
- To char the tomatoes, place them on a wire rack over an open flame. Cook the tomatoes, turning occasionally, until the skins are fully charred and blackened, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and let them cool.
- Once cool enough to handle, peel off the charred skins and roughly chop the tomatoes. Set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a wide non-reactive skillet over medium heat. After 90 seconds, when the oil is hot, add the garlic, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and garlic. Sauté for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Add the charred, chopped tomatoes, Aleppo pepper flakes, smoked paprika, and the charred eggplant slices and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10-12 minutes.
- Mash the eggplant and tomatoes with a spoon or spatula until a coarse, thick mixture forms.
- Continue cooking uncovered for an additional 7-8 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the excess liquid evaporates and the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, parsley and salt.
- Serve warm or at room temperature. If desired, garnish with olive oil, additional Aleppo pepper flakes, Kalamata olives, lemon wedges, and parsley leaves.
Notes
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