MAIN INGREDIENTS
This internationally popular, beige-colored spread is traditionally made with mashed chickpeas, tahini sesame paste, lemon juice, and garlic. People across the world love hummus for its tangy flavor and the fact that it is filled with nutrients.
When served, it is typically dressed with a drizzle of olive oil, and is then used as a dip for vegetables or a flavorful filling for flatbreads such as pita. Even today, not much is known about its origins, although the earliest mention of hummus dates back to 13th-century Egypt.
VARIATIONS OF Hummus
Blatjang is a South African chutney that is usually served with barbecued meat as a condiment. The thick chutney is made with fruits, sugar, vinegar, and various spices. Traditionally, it contains dried apricots, raisins, walnuts, ginger, allspice, garlic, and dried onions.
After the ingredients have been simmered, blatjang is poured into jars and left to cool down.
Creamy texture and mild flavor are the main attributes of labneh; a traditional Middle Eastern strained yogurt that is prepared with yogurt and salt. No strict guidelines are used to produce it; plain full-fat yogurt is mixed with salt and left to strain for twelve to twenty-four hours.
During straining, the yogurt whey separates, and what is left is a thick and firm cheese-like product. Its texture can vary from creamy to dense, but it always has a relatively mild and slightly salty flavor. The name labneh is native to the Middle East, but strained yogurt varieties are found in numerous other countries and regions such as Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Central Asia, the United States, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.
Zaalouk is a traditional salad made by cooking eggplant, tomatoes, garlic, and flavorings such as cumin, paprika, coriander, and parsley. Although it can be served on its own, zaalouk is also often served as a side dish, a spread for sandwiches, or a dip, when it is paired with crusty bread.
MOST ICONIC Zaalouk
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Bissara is a comforting Egyptian and Moroccan dish made with puréed beans – either split peas or dried fava beans. It can be prepared in the form of a soup or porridge, while the thicker versions are commonly used as a dip. The puréed beans are typically seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic, and the dish is often served with paprika and cumin on the side, while crusty bread is almost mandatory.
Bissara is traditionally served for breakfast, and it is especially popular during winter.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Chermoula is a North African marinade consisting of lemon juice, olive oil, coriander, parsley, garlic, cumin, paprika, chili peppers, and salt. The final result is a rough-textured paste that is traditionally used with fish or seafood dishes. Although it is mostly used to give flavor to fish, chermoula might also be used on meat and vegetables, as a dipping sauce, or as a dressing for salads.
Amlou is a traditional spread made from toasted almonds, argan oil, and honey. It has a rich, nutty flavor and a creamy texture similar to natural peanut butter. The preparation of amlou starts with raw almonds, which are toasted to enhance their flavor and crunchiness.
Once toasted, the almonds are ground into a smooth paste. The next key ingredient is addition of argan oil, extracted from the kernels of the argan tree and renowned for its nutritional and medicinal properties. This rare oil is prized for its rich, nutty flavor and a host of health benefits, including high levels of Vitamin E and essential fatty acids.
Taktouka is a healthy and nutritious Moroccan salad consisting of cooked tomatoes and green peppers mashed into a purée. The salad is often served as a side dish to grilled meat and fish dishes, although it can also be used as a dip, when it's consumed with crusty bread, used for scooping up the salad.
It is recommended to garnish taktouka with freshly chopped parsley or coriander and a drizzle of olive oil.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Buticha is a flavorful Ethiopian dip or spread made with chickpea flour combined with olive oil, water, onions, lemon juice, and jalapeño peppers. The preparation process is quite simple – all of the ingredients are blended until the concoction develops a smooth texture.
It is then chilled and can be served as an accompaniment to main dishes or injera flatbreads.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Salata aswad be zabadi is a traditional eggplant-based dip originating from South Sudan. The dip is usually made with a combination of eggplants, tomato paste, peanut butter, garlic, lemon juice, yogurt, salt, pepper, bell peppers, tomatoes, and vegetable oil.
The eggplants are peeled, chopped, and fried in a pan until soft. The tomato paste is mixed with peanut butter, salt, yogurt, lemon juice, diced tomatoes, bell peppers, garlic, and black pepper. Once cooled, the fried eggplant is stirred in, and the dip is mixed until everything is well-blended.
TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “Top 12 African Dips” list until April 15, 2025, 2,806 ratings were recorded, of which 1,205 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.