From a party dip to a traditional sandwich, a spread on toast, or alongside scrambled eggs, the variations to labneh (strained yogurt) are endless. Labneh is traditionally served with a sprinkle of paprika or dried mint, drizzled with generous amounts of olive oil, and eaten with Arabic flatbread. I love my labneh with honey as well. The avocado sprinkled with dukkah is also amazing. Beetroot labneh is my recent creation and only requires 3 ingredients.
So what exactly is labneh? Labneh is a strained yogurt that has a creamy cheese-like texture. All you need is natural yogurt so my homemade labneh couldn’t be easier to make. I use Greek natural yogurt as I find it’s creamier and sweeter in taste. If you’ve never tried it before, now it’s time to give it a go.
Step 1.
To make the labneh, you’ll need to thicken the yogurt by straining the whey.
Pour the yogurt into a muslin cloth/bag or anything that resembles this. Add salt and mix well. Place in a strainer for 5 hours (place in the fridge if the weather is hot) until the whey strains out. Leaving it for longer than 5 hours is fine too. You’ll have a thicker and firmer Labneh similar to the consistency of cream cheese. I prefer mine soft and smooth (remember, it will always slightly thicken once in the fridge).
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One Response
I made this using paper towels in the strainer, but have since gotten a Muslin cloth. The paper towels work surprisingly well – I just change them midway. This is such an easy recipe and I’m enjoying Labneh with olive oil and za’atar for iftar. Thanks for sharing.