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If you haven’t made much Lebanese food this easy chickpea dip is a great way to start: Balila, a humble comfy Lebanese warm dish, made with cooked chickpeas, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil or ghee and seasoned with salt and cumin powder; balila is made it with pantry ingredients and served with Arabic bread for a mouthwatering breakfast, though I would happily eat it any time of the day, naturally vegan, packed with protein, nutrient-dense and thoroughly delicious \u2014\u00a0the final result is greater than\u00a0the\u00a0sum\u00a0of\u00a0its parts.<\/p>\n
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If I had to eat one breakfast for the rest of my life it would be balila: Creamy, healthy and cheap, yes it has it all. This Lebanese style chickpeas are extremely tender and rich enough to serve as a whole meal, with some Arabic bread<\/strong><\/a> for dipping into the silky . Olive oil, garlic and lemon juice are the key ingredients and a pinch of cumin powder add extra depth of flavor. Watch the detailed video tutorial below.<\/strong><\/p>\n Canned chickpeas are always mealy and dry and would never deliver the correct consistency of balila;\u00a0 I recommend dried chickpeas, while home cooked chickpeas need planning they don\u2019t require much work either. Dried chickpeas result in a creamier, more natural flavor and a better texture, especially for a recipe like balila.<\/p>\n If you want to keep it vegan, olive oil is your way to balila, but if you don’t mind a less healthy option, ghee is something you should consider, especially if you are using a good brand, the taste is incredible; melt\u00a0 ghee over\u00a0 low heat and add it to your balila, mix everything up and enjoy with warm Arabic bread<\/a>.<\/p>\n You don’t need to to turn balila into a puree, balila is meant to have that chunky rustic look, roughly, mash it after cooking with a masher and add just a bit of the chickpea broth (don’t go heavy). It is not meant to be a soup, i<\/span>t should be soft enough to require no chewing and thick enough to hold its shape on a spoon.<\/span><\/p>\n Storage:<\/strong> Balila stores and reheats beautifully, it can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.<\/p>\n If you like seeing my recipes subscribe via email or, connect with me on my social media platforms:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Instagram<\/a>,\u00a0YouTube<\/a>\u00a0,\u00a0Pinterest<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n and\u00a0TikTok!<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n![\"balila](\"https:\/\/hadiaslebanesecuisine.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/balila-hummus.jpg\" "\\"balila")
<\/p>\nIngredients needed to make balila<\/h1>\n
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Why will you love balila?<\/h1>\n
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Canned chickpeas or dried chickpeas?<\/h1>\n
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<\/p>\nOlive oil or ghee in balila?<\/h1>\n
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<\/p>\nChunky Consistency!<\/h1>\n
Looking for a foolproof hummus<\/strong> <\/a>made from scratch, don’t miss our recipe:<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nLet\u2019s stay in touch<\/h2>\n
More Lebanese breakfast:<\/h2>\n
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