What to cook for Eid al-Adha: the dishes we always come back to
The night before Eid, my kitchen smells like it always has. Warak enab simmering slowly on the stove. Something sweet cooling on the bench. The kind of cooking that doesn’t feel like work because it feels like love.
Eid al-Adha — or Eid al-Kebir, the Great Eid — is one of the most sacred days in the Islamic calendar. It marks Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice what he loved most as an act of obedience to God, and the mercy shown in return. The Qurbani — the ritual sacrifice of an animal, most often lamb in Lebanon — is observed, and the meat is divided: a third for the family, a third for relatives and friends, and a third for those who have less. It is not just a ritual. It is a reminder that everything we have is to be shared.
Growing up, Eid was all day. Relatives arriving in waves. Coffee going constantly. The good dishes out before midday and not cleared until after dark. It was not a single meal — it was an open house from morning until night. What that table looked like depended on the family. For some, it was all about the food — the lamb, the rice, the pastries arriving before anyone had even sat down. For others, Eid lived in the desserts — the Mamoul tin passed around from the morning, the Ghraybeh that disappeared before lunch. For my Mama, it was always the sweets. The dessert table was where Eid truly announced itself.
Now, when we host, the door is open all day. The food comes in waves. And the lamb — well, that’s my husband’s job.
🕌 The day: what Eid looks like in homes around the world
Prayers are early — the whole family up before the city wakes. Then new clothes (the kids live for this), then relatives arriving in waves through the morning, coffee going constantly, the good dishes out. For most families, food is all day. It is not a single meal with a start and an end — it is a continuous table. People eat, visit, leave, come back. More coffee. More food. The table is never fully cleared because the day is never fully over.
What anchors that table varies by family and by culture. For some it is the lamb — whole, slow-cooked, the centrepiece everything else is built around. For others it is the pastries and sweets that define the day, passed around from the morning with Arabic coffee until the last guest leaves.
Our Eid table — what we cook when we host
When it is our turn to host, this is what the table looks like. The lamb is the anchor. Everything else builds around it — the rice, the pastries, the salads, the desserts that have been baking for days. This is our menu, and these are the recipes we come back to every single Eid.
🔥 The lamb: the heart of the table
Lamb on the spit — our tradition
Nothing signals Eid like a whole lamb slowly turning over charcoal. In our family, this is my husband’s domain entirely. He gets up early, prepares the lamb the night before, and throughout the day he bastes it — brushing a garlic mixture over the meat using a fresh rosemary brush he makes himself. By the time guests arrive, the fat is dripping and crisping and the whole yard smells incredible. People pick at it as it cooks. It rarely makes it intact to a plate. This is exactly how it should be.
Slow-Cooked Lamb Shoulder Roast — the oven alternative
→ Slow-Cooked Lamb Shoulder Roast
For days when the spit isn’t happening, this slow-roasted lamb shoulder is the answer. Rubbed with a rosemary and garlic paste, studded with garlic slivers, and roasted low and slow until the meat pulls away from the bone without any effort. It goes in the oven for hours and fills the whole house with something that says today is different. Serve it over rice or alongside it — either way, it disappears fast.
Lebanese Warak Enab — Stuffed Vine Leaves
→ Lebanese Warak Enab
The pot goes on the stove the night before Eid and it barely needs you after that. This is the dish that was simmering in my opening line — that smell that fills the kitchen before the day even begins. My Mama cooked hers for 18 hours or more, low and slow overnight, and by the time Eid lunch arrived the vine leaves were impossibly tender and the broth was deep and rich. In our family, warak enab and the lamb spit are never on the same table — it is one or the other. When we host and the spit is going, the warak enab waits for another day. But when warak enab is the main event, it owns the table entirely and nothing else needs to compete with it. The recipe here is my mother-in-law’s — a quicker version that still delivers everything you want. The rolling is done ahead, the pot goes on when you are ready, and on Eid day itself there is nothing to do. No mess, no fuss, no last-minute cooking. Just lift the lid, serve, and take the credit.
🍚 The rice: the dish that earns its place next to the lamb
→ Ruz with Lahme — Spiced Lamb and Rice
This is the signature rice of Lebanese celebrations. Spiced lamb mince folded through long-grain rice, topped with golden pine nuts, toasted almonds and pomegranate seeds — served on a large platter, it is one of the most beautiful things you can put on an Eid table. Whether you are doing a whole lamb on the spit or a slow roast from the oven, this rice belongs on the table alongside it. It is the combination that makes people come back for thirds.
🫓 The table: pastries, salads and everything in between
Before the lamb is carved, the table is already full. This is the Lebanese way — you never arrive at an empty table. Pastries go out first, then salads, then everything else builds around them.
→ Sambousek Lamb Pastries
The thing people reach for the moment they walk in the door. Golden, flaky pastry filled with spiced lamb mince, pine nuts and sumac — fried until deeply golden and placed on a platter that empties within minutes. Make a large batch the week before and freeze them. On Eid morning, fry straight from frozen. They are never, ever enough.
Quick Laham B’Ajeen
The Lebanese meat on homemade dough— crisp, spiced, irresistible. This is my quick version of the traditional, and it absolutely belongs on the Eid table. I love having these alongside the traditional pastries because they cover everyone: the ones who want something hand-held and snackable while standing around the spit, and the ones who want to sit and eat properly. These can also be made and prepped ahead of time.
Kafta Puff Pastry Flowers — My Modern Addition
This one is mine — my modern touch to a table full of tradition. Puff pastry folded into beautiful flower shapes, filled with spiced kafta or melted cheese. They look like you spent hours. You did not. I love putting these next to the sambousek because it shows exactly what my cooking is: rooted in Lebanese heritage, but never afraid to do something new alongside it.
Tahini Kafta with Crispy Fries
→ Tahini Kafta with Crispy Fries
Kafta baked in a rich tahini sauce, with crispy fries in the same tray. If the day is long and people are eating in waves — which Eid always is — this holds beautifully, reheats perfectly and makes everyone happy, kids especially. A generous, warming dish that requires almost nothing from you on the day if you prep the kafta and tahini separately, the morning before.
Hummus bi Lahmi — Lamb with Hummus
The most celebratory version of hummus there is. Smooth, warm hummus piled with spiced lamb mince, pine nuts fried golden in ghee, and a generous pour of good olive oil. This is not everyday hummus — this is Eid hummus. It arrives at the table and is gone before you have a chance to sit down with it. Serve it with warm bread, torn and passed around.
Tabouli and Fattoush
Every heavy Eid table needs something bright and sharp to cut through the richness. We make both, without discussion.
Crisp greens, toasted bread, radish, cucumber and a tangy dressing. The crunch of this salad next to the tenderness of slow-cooked lamb is one of the best contrasts in Lebanese food.
All that fresh parsley, fine bulgur, lemon, tomato and olive oil. Eaten by the spoonful, often with lettuce leaves. On Eid, tabouli is not a side dish — it is its own presence at the table.
🍯 The dessert table: the part we actually plan around
On Eid, desserts are not an afterthought. They are a statement. The dessert table is set before guests arrive and stays out all day. Visitors come through in waves, coffee is always freshly made, and something sweet is always passed around. It is as much a part of Eid as the lamb.
We bake in the days before. The Mamoul and Ghraybeh are made two to three days ahead. The Baklawa goes in the day before. The milk pudding is made the day before and set in the fridge. On Eid morning, all that is left to do is arrange everything on platters and let it be beautiful.
Walnut Stuffed Mamoul
The cookie of Eid. Pressed into their wooden moulds, dusted with icing sugar, placed in a tin and passed from house to house throughout the day. My Mama made these. I make these. My boys will one day make these. The recipe has not changed because it does not need to.
Ghraybeh Cookies
Three ingredients. Just ghee, flour and icing sugar — and somehow the result is one of the most perfect things to come out of a Lebanese kitchen. Pale, delicate, melt-in-your-mouth. A slivered pistachio pressed into the centre of each one. My aunty always had a full tray of these ready when we visited her in Lebanon on Eid. I cannot eat one without being right back in her house.
Cashew Filled Baklawa
Layer upon layer of crisp filo, filled with cashews scented with rose water and orange blossom, drenched in just enough sugar syrup — perfectly sweet, not overwhelmingly so. Cut into diamonds and garnished with ground pistachio. This keeps beautifully for days and looks stunning on a platter. Make it the day before and cover it with a tea towel.
Almond Pistachio Cookies
→ Almond Pistachio Cookies
These are my newer Eid addition — chewy, crinkled, floral with rose and pistachio, rolled in icing sugar so they crack beautifully in the oven. After a ma’amoul marathon for Eid al-Fitr, these offer something different: lighter, crispier, a little more modern. They sit beautifully alongside the Ghraybeh and Mamoul and they always get comments.
Aish El Sarayeh — Milk Pudding
→ Aish El Sarayeh (Milk Pudding)
The creamy, cool counterpoint to all the crisp pastries. Rusks soaked in rose water syrup, topped with a thick scented milk pudding, set in the fridge and garnished with crushed pistachios. It is elegant, it is made ahead, and it is deeply, quietly Lebanese. Something about the rose water in this just feels like Eid. Make it the day before and let it set overnight.
📋 How to prep for Eid without exhausting yourself
The secret to an abundant table is not cooking everything on the day. Here is how I spread the load — and how to actually be present for Eid rather than stuck in the kitchen:
— 1–2 weeks before: Make the pastries and freeze. Sambousek, laham b’ajeen, kafta flowers— roll, assemble and freeze. On Eid morning they go straight from frozen to the pan or oven.
— 3-5 days before: Bake the Mamoul, Ghraybeh and Almond Pistachio Cookies. Store in airtight tins. The flavour improves with rest.
— 2 days before: Make the Baklawa. Once cooled, cover with a tea towel — not plastic wrap, which softens the pastry.
— 1 day before: Make the Aish El Sarayeh milk pudding and refrigerate. Marinate the lamb shoulder if doing a roast.
— Eid morning: Fry the sambousek and bake your pastries. The lamb goes into the oven or onto the spit early. Set out the dessert table. Make and dress the salad fresh. You have done the work. Now enjoy the day.
From my table to yours 🌙
Eid al-Adha is not about perfection. It is about gathering. About the smell of lamb and the sound of family talking over each other. About a child reaching for the Ghraybeh tin before anyone else has sat down. About coffee made four times and still running out. About the abundance of it all.
Cook what you love. Make more than you think you need. Keep the door open all day. Set a table that says: there is room for you here, sit down, there is plenty.
Eid Mubarak to you and yours. 🌙
Tried any of these dishes? Tag me on Instagram @roubasfoodjourney — I love seeing your Eid tables.
