Lebanese 7 Spice (sabaa baharat) is a pantry ‘must-have’ spice blend. It is widely used in Lebanese cooking, found in many dishes. It is aromatic with a hint of bitterness and sweetness.
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Baharat is an essential Middle Eastern pantry staple. It’s the most used spice blend in my cooking.
Baharat is pronounced as ‘bah-ha-raht’, which is the English word for ‘spices’.
Lebanese seven spices are also known as ‘sabaa’ baharat’ which translates to 7 spices from Arabic into English.
Lebanese 7 spices really add volumes of flavour to any recipe. It is used in soups, stews, braising, rice, salads, kibbeh and more.
😋Why you’ll love this recipe
- Homemade - It’s the freshest way to enjoy spices
- Easy to create and store
- Handy to have on hand
✔️What You’ll Need
🥘Ingredient Notes
I’ve listed the ground spices in alphabetical order, these should be used in equal parts to make Lebanese seven spice.
You can purchase quality organic spices through Thrive Market* (below links) or via Amazon* (recipe card links).
- Allspice* (بهارحلو - Filful Franjy 7iloo) - also known as Jamaica pepper, pimento, pimento or myrtle pepper. Allspice is a brown berry from the Pimenta dioica. It was given its name ‘allspice’ as it resembled the flavouring of cinnamon, nutmeg and clove.
- Black pepper* (فلفل اسود - Falful aswad) - made from a dried peppercorn fruit of a flowering vine, this is a common spice used across with world.
- Cinnamon* (قرفة -Kirrfeh)- used in both savoury and sweet dishes, cinnamon is made from the bark of various cinnamon trees.
- Clove* (كبشقرنفل - Karinful) - dried flower buds, can be used in both sweet and savoury dishes.
- Coriander* (كزبرة - Kizbra)- Whole dried coriander seeds are ground up to create this spice. Fun fact - in Australia we call the entire cilantro plant coriander.
- Cumin* (كمون - Kamoon) - a dried fruit seed pod, widely used throughout the Middle East and Asia.
- Nutmeg* (جوزةالطيب - Jawzat altayib) - either seed or ground spice of several species of Myristica. Can be used in both savoury and sweet dishes.
🔪Step by step guide
Step 1 - In a bowl, combine all ground spices.
Step 2 - Store in an airtight jar in the pantry, ready for anytime usage. I like to use recycled jars as per the photo below.
🍳Variations
Lebanese seven spices blend can differ between regions of Lebanon or even families. Other used spices are fenugreek, cardamon, ginger to name a few.
There are other Middle Eastern 7 spices (which contain different spices to make the blend) out there such as;
Arabic 7 spice
Egyptian 7 spice
Syrian 7 spice
Iraqi 7 spice
Beirut 7 spice - this is a new one I recently came across in a Lebanese grocer in Sydney, it’s a bright orange-ish colour, and tastes fabulous - it contained paprika.
💡Recipes using Lebanese 7 Spices
- Molokhia - my favourite comfort food of jute mallow leaves
- Bamia - wholesome stewed okra
- Kibbeh - the ultimate potato and bulgur on a bed of onion and sultanas.
- Malfouf - stuffed cabbage leaves
- Ejjeh - a vegan herb omelette
- Lebanese rice - the best vegetable and nut rice ever
- Fasoulia - a hearty red kidney bean stew
- Moghrabieh - aromatic pearl couscous with chickpeas
- Batinjan Mahshi - eggplant stuffed with a veggie and pine nut rice
💭Pro Tips
Use, where possible, whole spices and grind them up yourself using a spice mill*. This will result in a fresher baharat blend which will last longer.
If you can’t obtain whole spices, using ground spices is fine.
If purchasing baharat from the supermarket, be sure to check the ingredients. I recently came across one which contains so many unnecessary ingredients such as natural flavours, colour additives and acidity regulators.
❓FAQ
No, allspice is a single berry with a combination of flavours akin to cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. I often tell people to use ground allspice in place of Lebanese 7 spice when it isn’t available.
No, baharat (Lebanese 7 spices) is not a hot spice blend. It is a fragrant blend that's slightly bitter and sweet. However, as there many different baharat blends across the Middle East, there are some that may be hot with the addition of ginger, chilli, paprika and peppercorns.
🥘Related recipes
Did you enjoy learning how to make Lebanese 7 spices? I would love to hear from you, leave me a comment below and give me a rating if you made this spice blend. This will help me sustain Plant Based Folk.
Alternatively, did you happen to take a photo? Tag me @plantbasedfolk on Instagram to be featured via stories.
Janelle x
📖 Recipe
Lebanese 7 Spices (Baharat)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Ground Allspice
- 1 tablespoon Ground Black pepper
- 1 tablespoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon Ground Cloves
- 1 tablespoon Ground Coriander
- 1 tablespoon Ground Cumin
- 1 tablespoon Ground Nutmeg
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine all ground spices.
- Store in an airtight jar in the pantry.
Notes
💡Recipes using Lebanese 7 Spices
- Molokhia - my favourite comfort food of jute mallow leaves
- Bamia - wholesome stewed okra
- Kibbeh - the ultimate potato and bulgur on a bed of onion and sultanas.
- Malfouf - stuffed cabbage leaves
- Ejjeh - a vegan herb omelette
- Lebanese rice - the best vegetable and nut rice ever
- Fasoulia - a hearty red kidney bean stew
- Moghrabieh - aromatic pearl couscous with chickpeas
- Batinjan Mahshi - eggplant stuffed with a veggie and pine nut rice
- Use, where possible, whole spices and grind them up yourself using a spice grinder. This will result in an aromatic fresh baharat.
- If you can’t obtain whole spices, using ground spices is fine.
- If purchasing baharat from the supermarket, be sure to check the ingredients. I recently came across one which contain so many unnecessary ingredients such as natural flavours, colour additives and acidity regulators.
Angel
Used Baharat in molokhia. Please keep sharing
Janelle
So fresh right!?
Minou
I just made zucchini dolma with meat and rice with store bought 7 spices from a well-known brand. I think the taste of clove was pungent and the tastes of the other spices just faded due to this strong taste.I just felt the taste of clove. Unfortunately my husband doesn't like cloves at all. I had the dolma with plain yoghurt.
Should 7 spices really taste like that? I think I'll try your recipe and take just a little cloves in it. Maybe it helps to half it? But really, is it normal that there is such a strong taste of clove in it?
Janelle
Unfortunately, 7 spices are not all created equally or the same. There are several variants. I always prefer homemade baharat because you can control spices' measurement or even take out the ones you do not desire.
I say give it a go and adjust to suit your tastebuds. You'll have the best results.
J 🙂