Beet Dip With Labneh Recipe (2024)

What is pomegranate molasses?What is labneh?

Substitute for pomegranate molasses? Any ideas?

Labneh is just strained yogurt, or even fa*ge or a good Greek yogurt would do. Pomegranate molasses is what it is… a syrup made from pomegranates.

1. Substitute for pomegranate molasses: use boiled-down balsamic vinegar, with a half-teaspoon of red currant jelly. 2. I made this with almost no oil, just a little drizzle over the top of everything, and a sprinkle of Aleppo pepper. It was delicious and beautiful. (and so easy to make!) I served it as a side dish with some grilled chicken and some green beans cooked with tomatoes and onions until soft and Greekish. A yummy, gorgeous, easy and not-fattening dinner.

I live in Velveeta-and-Cool-Whip country, NO Middle Eastern grocers around, so I make my own labneh. It's simple as can be. Take a cup of plain, full-fat Greek yogurt and stir half a teaspoon of salt into it. Line a strainer or colander with linen or cheesecloth and set the strainer/colander over a large bowl. Dump the salted yogurt in and let it slowly drip the whey that remains in the yogurt. in 4 or 5 hours, presto, labneh.

I made this last night as a starter to what turned out to be an epic seven hour meal outdoors under the twinkle lights...It made a huge hit--people just loved it. The platter was very dramatic with the white labneh topped with red beet dip, circled with cucumbers and black olives, topped with walnuts, zest, and olive oil accompanied by a chilled Provence rose and hot naan right off the grill. This is the very heart and soul of summer...

Pomegranate molasses is super concentrated pomegranate juice, many grocery stores and all middle eastern markets carry it. Labneh is very thick yogurt, like if you turned yogurt into a spread. It's delicious and can only be found in middle eastern markets. If possible, get it made from goat's milk, although it's much easier to find it made from cow's milk.

This is a Georgian phkali, although they use cooked beets and 2-3x as much, making it slightly more healthy. The version in _Please to the Table_ uses rehydrated prunes for the sweet/sour taste, and mayonnaise for the extra oil (as always, yum)._

You can make it easily by cooking down pomegranate juice until it's syrup consistency.

Tamarind paste?

I just used half the olive oil called for and just fine. Also subbed some “pomegranate balsamic” vinegar I had on hand and no other sweetener.

Fantastic flavor and gorgeous presentation. My only changes were: used half tsp. red chili flakes and half tsp. smoked hot paprika, and chopped pistachios on top for color contrast. Chopped mint would also be a nice garnish.

A sweet tangy pomegranate reduction found at eastern markets or specialty food stores. Labneh is middle eastern cultured yogurt cheese. Thicker than Greek yogurt. You can strain Greek yogurt in cheese cloth to make a close substitute

I love the color and freshness of this recipe, and the fact that you don’t need to roast or cook the beets. It’s great for my favorite kind of snacky summer meal. Two notes:1) Shredding beets is helpful if like me you don’t have a real food processor. It’s super slow to make this in a tall blender with chopped beets.2) I mistakenly added all the ingredients at once today in the blender with shredded beets, and it came together much more easily. Just start with half the oil. It may be enough.

You could probably substitute a good balsamic for the pomegranate molasses, for a sweet-tart flavor. But it is a wonderful ingredient, lasts for ages, during which time you'd find plenty of opportunities to use it (like in baba ganoush, for ex).

How does this turn out if cooked beets are used?

I made this for a dinner party recently to rave reviews. I make my own yogurt (so easy, especially with ultra-pasteurized milk), and I usually strain it to make Greek-style yogurt, so I just used that with a pinch of salt to make the labneh. I finished it with amazing olive oil from olioveto.com and more pomegranate molasses (which I also use to finish babaganouj).

I substituted Bonne Maman Cherry preserves for pomegranate molasses, worked well.

I wanted it more creamy and the rawness of beets just wasn't great. No matter how much I blended it the beets were just, how shall I say it - raw and rough. Labneh or yogurt are a must. Next time I'll make it with roasted beets.

Can I make this without the walnuts? We have a family member with a nut allergy.

Before I even knew what muhammara was, I had the beet and walnut dip/spread on a regular rotation in our home, growing up in the South Caucasus. It was a dish from the Georgian cuisine (Georgia as a country). The beets are cooked; they add minced garlic to it, and we used to bind it together with a bit of mayo.

Ginger grated

can this be made with cooked beets? I am weirdly intolerant of raw beets....

Wonderful super easy recipe. I added a little liquid smoke to the labneh added a little additional depth to the flavours.

Delicious & beautiful. I made labneh two different ways using store bought Greek yogurt: first with 1/2 teaspoon added salt; second batch without added salt. MUCH better without. Second: Some pomegranate molasses makers (Cortas) use only pomegranates and sugar. Others (Alreef) have added lemon, salt and food coloring. AVOID the latter. It’s a very different, less pomegranite flavor. Third: adjust the oil for thickness. Next time I’ll start with ½ the recommended amount and adjust as needed.

I served this the other night to guests who loved this. The only changes I made were to use less chili flakes and 2 % Greek yogurt because I couldn't find labneh locally.

Can you make this ahead of time?

Delicious -- sweet and nutty! Used pecans and golden beets. Served with pita and cold chicken -- perfect on a broiling hot day. Making labneh out of Greek yogurt was fun and easy but unnecessary because the dip is fabulous without it. DO get your hands on pomegranate molasses. DON'T sweat the amount of oil -- just adjust it to your liking (I used a quarter cup).

I absolutely love beets! And to eat them raw??!Thank you for this phenomenal recipe!

Great flavors - made labneh per directions found in others' notes and grated beets as suggested here. Will make again!