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Easy Gluten-Free Middle Eastern Recipes You’ll Love

A couple of months ago, I talked to you about how you can follow a plant-based diet using a 7-day meal plan containing only Middle Eastern dishes. Today, I want to share with you those Middle Eastern recipes that are not only wholesome and delicious but also gluten-free.

Whether you follow a gluten-free diet for medical reasons (such as coeliac disease or gluten intolerance) or as a matter of personal preference, there are many ways in which Middle Eastern cuisine caters to your dietary needs. 

quinoa tabouli

Many dishes in our culture use a lot of vegetables and beans, which make them gluten-free by default, while others can be easily adapted. While the famous hummus is already gluten-free and simply amazing, foods such as grazing cheeseboards can be made gluten-free without much effort and then shared with family and friends.

If you love gluten-free homemade food, but you’re getting tired of cooking the same food over and over again, keep reading. Here are 14 gluten-free Middle Eastern recipes that will help you prepare a healthy, filling lunch:

1. Whole Baked Cauliflower with Tahini Sauce

baked cauliflower with tahini sauce

Crispy cauliflower infused with Middle Eastern flavours and sprinkled with tahini sauce is the easiest lunch you’ll ever make. It’s also completely gluten-free, including the tahini which is a paste made from ground sesame seeds.

2. Quinoa Tabouli

quinoa tabouli

The gluten-free alternative to the traditional tabouli made with cracked wheat. Besides bringing this whole dish together, quinoa is a super grain rich in proteins, iron, fibre, and magnesium.

3. Lamb Tartare – Herbed Kibbeh Nayeeh

lamb tartare

authentic festive Middle Eastern dish made with raw lamb mince, fresh herbs and just the right amount of spices. Make sure that the meat is very fresh (very important!) and you serve and eat this the same day you prepare it. 

4. Chickpea and Eggplant Rice

Skip your mid-week takeout with this delicious and easy-to-make rice dish. You can enjoy it alongside a herb salad or with plain natural yogurt.

5. Super Herb Salad

super herb salad served in a bowl

Packed with healthy ingredients and a perfect side dish for dozens of recipes, this herb salad is every cook’s best friend.

6. Baked Eggplant with Tahini Sauce

eggplant with tangy tahini sauce

Baked eggplants never tasted better with this flavoursome modern twist. This recipe is another winning tahini dish you can’t miss.

7. Chicory with Sauteed Onions – Hindbi

chicory with onion

A healthy addition to your diet and an excellent side dish for meat recipes, hindbi can be served either with sauteed onions or dressed in garlic and lemon.

8. Arabian Spicy Nut Rice

arabian spicy nut rice served

The ultimate aromatic rice recipe enjoyed by both adults and children. Throw in a herb salad as your side dish and lunch is served!

9. Spinach and Lamb Rice Pilaf

lamb cutlet with rice

A savoury one-pot meal made with pantry essential that doubles as the perfect dish for dinner parties.

10. Eggplant and Chickpea Stew – M’nazaleh

Eggplant And Chickpea Stew (M'nazaleh)

You’re only going to need four ingredients to prepare this wholesome vegetable stew.

11. Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder Roast

If you want to step up your lunch game, this recipe is exactly what you need. After all, who can resist a tender lamb roast that bursts with rosemary and garlic flavour?

12. Herb Char-grilled Lamb Backstrap

lamb backstrap

Cook this tasty dish in just two steps: 1. Marinate the lamb with fresh herbs and spices for 4 to 5 hours. 2. Fry it for 5 minutes on each side. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice before serving it, and your lunch is ready.

13. Spicy Roast Potatoes – Batata Hara

batata hará potatoes

These crispy potatoes tossed with garlic, chilli, and spring onion go great with the lamb roast mentioned above. The best part is they take just 5 minutes to cook.

14. Lentil and Spinach Soup

spinach and red lentil soup

Are you looking for some easy comfort food recipes for your lunch? Try this nutritious and super filling one-bowl recipe that’s packed with delicious brown lentils and fresh spinach.

Bonus: Here, you have a few traditional gluten-free Middle Eastern desserts that you can try when you’re craving something sweet:

Caraway spice pudding served in glasses

The perfect creamy and crunchy combination, this fragrant dessert can be served both warm or cold.

These ricotta-filled sandwiches are one of the most aesthetically pleasing and simple to make Middle eastern desserts. Try them all or choose your favourite flavour here: coconut, date, and pistachios.

Mamoul Walnut Energy Bites

The traditional Ma’amoul festive cookies just got a modern, gluten-free look. You can make these protein-packed snacks in just a couple of minutes with the help of a food processor. No baking needed.

sahlab bowl

This recipe is one of my friend’s favourites (she’s gluten intolerant). Topped with nuts and fresh fruit, this fragrant milk pudding is a healthy treat and the easiest gluten-free breakfast recipe you’ll try. 

If you enjoyed this article, don’t forget to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for weekly new recipes that celebrate the unique flavours of the Middle East. 

With Love  

 

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Creating magic and happy memories with food are my gift for you!
xx Rouba

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That’s me at the age of 32 with Merlin, who worked closely with Palestinian families. Together, we were so excited about the project. After that unforgettable visit with Auntie Suad, I was filled with excitement about the project. The women I met were inspiring, and together we had even come up with a name for the cookbook: Taste of Palestine. 🥰🇵🇸 It was a name that captured the heart of what we wanted to share—stories, recipes, and traditions tied to the land and its people.

But for many reasons, the project didn’t go ahead. At the time, I wasn’t prepared for the reality that not everyone would understand or support what I was doing. There were people who gossiped, joked, and made me question myself. Looking back now, I see that they were the minority, but their words had a way of making me doubt myself 🥺

if this happened now—I would not have let anything stop me. This was for a good cause, but I also believe that everything happens for a reason. The project was meant to be set aside, and I needed to focus on my boys, who were still young.
A couple of years later, we received the heartbreaking news of Auntie Suad’s passing 🥲🙏🏽It felt as though a part of the story had been left unfinished. A few weeks later, something arrived in the mail that would bring me to tears 😭 There’s more 🤗

#recipes #recipeshare #homecooked #homecooking
I walked into Auntie Suad’s home with my tape recorder, my notes, and so much excitement. It was the first time we meet. We made a cup of tea, and she began sharing stories about her favourite recipes. I was amazed to hear how, back in Palestine, she’d make pasta from scratch and hang it on the clothes line to dry 🍝
Our conversation kept drifting between her memories of life in Palestine, the struggles her family endured, and her love for food 🇵🇸🤍
Hours passed without either of us noticing. And Just before I left, I asked her for her favourite recipe. She’d shared so much already, but then she brought out her cookbook. I was in awe—each page covered in food stains, a lifetime of meals captured in that book.  I asked if I can take a photo But Auntie Suad insisted she’d write the recipes out for me instead. “It’s too dirty,” she said, clearly embarrassed. I told her that was what made it beautiful, but I didn’t want to pressure her. I left, touched by her stories. 

The cookbook that would bring me to tears, but I didn’t know it yet - Stay tuned for Part 3.

#food #memories #stories #recipeshare
Dropping the very first photo I ever shared of myself here! But let’s focus on the story, not the changes since then, okay? 😉
Six years ago, I started this journey, so I thought it was time to share the story behind it. This path wasn’t something I simply chose; it felt like it chose me. There were signs, so many signs, all pointing me here. It all started like 20 years ago when I was asked by an occupational therapist—a woman who worked with Palestinian families and visited Gaza with her husband annually to help. She believed a cookbook could raise funds, and since I spoke Arabic and loved cooking, she asked if I’d help put it together.
My role was to gather Palestinian women, listen to their stories, and collect their recipes. That’s how I met incredible women, each with unique memories tied to their food. But one visit, in particular, stood out—a visit to an 80-year-old Palestinian woman named Auntie Suad. She wasn’t my biological aunt, but her passion for food and tradition was inspiring. I was excited to meet her, but I was told to keep it short—she tired easily and needed rest.
Little did I know, this visit would spark something I hadn’t even imagined yet.  Stay tuned for Part 2 ❤️

#journey #foodjourney #mystory #thewhy
The only gift you can give me - Today is my birthday, and I’m reflecting on how grateful I am.  I’m so thankful for the love and support of my family, for my health, for my faith, and for all of you who are part of my journey❤️

But today, there will be no celebrations. Not for me.
If you’re thinking of wishing me well, I ask for just one thing: Wish for peace. Wish for a free Palestine 🇵🇸 Wish for an end to the war, an end to the genocide.
Wish peace for the Palestinians and the Lebanese 🇱🇧- peace for all of us🙏🏽

That’s the only gift I need today 🙏🏽❤️

#birthday #peace #family #wish
It’s with a heavy heart that I continue sharing recipes while knowing that people are being DELIBARTELY STARVED. Please correct the language around you – they are not starving, they are being starved. The guilt weighs heavily, but the reality is, I have to keep posting. I’m not here to justify or explain why, because, honestly, I’m mentally drained.

Today, I’m sharing a recipe that brings comfort in tough times. The best ever pistachio rose brownies and so easy to make. These brownies are just the right amount of squidgy on the inside with a lovely crust on the top. The raspberries add a little tartness and cut through the chocolate nicely, which goes perfectly with the brownie. 

Comment 'Rose Brownies' for your recipe card.  You will receive it instantly in your DM

#recipe #recipeoftheday #brownie #brownies #chocolate
When people ask me, ‘Is your family okay?’ I want to scream that the people you see on your screens are all my family. Every person, every child, every home — they are my people, my family. 💔

We have run out of words for what we’ve witnessed and continue to witness. Today, I’m being honest with you all: my sadness has turned into anger, my heartbreak into frustration. I feel a mix of helplessness, rage, and deep sorrow, wanting to scream at someone, to shout at the injustice. But instead, I need to channel this energy elsewhere.

Let’s help each other out — how do we process this? How do we keep moving forward? What do you do to cope in moments like these? Drop your advice below👇🏾Let’s find strength together. 💪🏾

#family #anxious #community #helpless #
Read to the end... and ask yourself, why?
Look closely at this photo. It may seem like just a building, but if you look closer, you’ll see holes — scars from a bomb that hit our home in 1983 by Isr-ael . But that’s not the story I’m here to tell. I’m here to talk about family, love, and what it means to grow up between two worlds. Scroll through 👉🏽 these photos and videos, and at the end, I hope you’ll ask yourself the same question I do: Why are we seen so differently?

I was born in Australia 🇦🇺 but my father wanted me to grow up in Lebanon 🇱🇧 surrounded by our family, our culture, and our traditions. He believed that we should grow up in the heart of our roots, amongst our people, to learn who we are and where we come from. And while we did, there was always this underlying reality—war, unrest, the world constantly chipping away at the places we call home 🥲

It’s ironic, isn’t it? In the West, there’s often resentment towards migrants and refugees. They ask why we come, but the truth is, we are here because the very countries they live in have been bombing ours for decades. We never wanted to leave our homes; we were forced to. Our families, our homes, and our childhood memories are left behind, often shattered, while we try to rebuild elsewhere❤️

My trip back home only a couple of month ago was wonderful. I spent time with family and created new memories that I’ll always hold dear. Some of the people you see in these photos, though, have already left their homes. Others are now forced to leave as well. And the rest? They wait with anxious hearts, knowing that more bombs will fall, knowing their world will soon be reduced to rubble 💔

I often wonder — why doesn’t the world see us, Arabs, as people who deserve to live in peace? Why is it that when they look at us, they see something different, something “other”? Take a moment to look at these photos and videos. At the end, you’ll see Gus and me, just two normal people, sharing a light moment, having some fun. 

Why is it that the world sees us as anything less than human💔