39 Dinners, Dips, & Desserts Inspired By The Mediterranean
Eat like you're by the sea from breakfast through dessert.
We know it’s not always easy to travel as often as you’d like, but don't let wanderlust get you down! One of our great dreams is to visit the Mediterranean, home to many distinct cultures and cuisines replete with lots of seafood, fresh produce, simple preparations, and innovative flavor combinations. While we may not be able to travel to Greece or the Middle East right now, we can let our taste buds experience those different cultures from our own kitchen. Join us in getting inspired by these 39 incredible recipes for your own kitchen journey along the Mediterranean—we can practically taste the salt air already.
Officially, there are around 20 countries that make up the border along the Mediterranean Sea, including the western portion of the Middle East, southern Europe (Greece, Spain, France, and Italy), and North Africa (Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria). There are also some outlier countries that sometimes get included, like Portugal, that don’t actually touch the Mediterranean, since they’re also largely influenced by the food trends found there. All these countries bring distinct recipes and techniques to the Mediterranean table, so you can enjoy them pretty much for any meal, any day of the week.
Looking for easy recipes for simple weeknight dinners? Try our Mediterranean chicken, our French ratatouille, our Italian risotto, or our one-pot shawarma chicken & orzo skillet. Want something flavorful and filling for a healthy lunch? Check out our Greek orzo salad, our French Niçoise salad, our homemade falafels, or our gyro sandwiches (proof you can tuck anything into a homemade pita for a lunch you’ll look forward to all morning). Throwing a party and need some innovative snacks (that don’t take too much effort)? You’ve gotta turn to Mediterranean-inspired dips, like our Middle Eastern hummus (a classic!), Sicilian caponata (good on everything), Greek skordalia, or Levantine baba ghanoush. We’ve even included a couple of dessert recipes here, like our Turkish baklava, our Greek loukoumades, or our Sicilian pineapple and rum granita.
For more region-specific ideas, check out our favorite Asian recipes and Mexican dishes too.
Dolmas (Stuffed Grape Leaves)
Traditionally stuffed with a meat and rice mixture, dolmas can also be made vegetarian (known as yalancı dolma, or “fake dolma”). Here we stick to rice with lots of herbs and spices, plus some currants for flavor and pine nuts for texture.
Get the Dolmas (Stuffed Grape Leaves) recipe.
Louokoumades
These Greek donuts were given to Olympic winners in Ancient Greece. Too bad this isn’t a reward anymore! Now they're eaten around special occasion, but we say make these just for fun or to impress your guests at the next dinner party.
Get the Loukoumades recipe.
Mediterranean Chicken
This one-pot recipe is the perfect way to spruce up chicken breasts with bright Mediterranean flavors without dirtying all the pots and pans in your kitchen. Serve this up with your favorite sides, like orzo or couscous, to soak up all the sauce.
Get the Mediterranean Chicken recipe.
Greek Lemon Potatoes
Greek lemon potatoes—aka patates lemonates—just might be the ideal way to make potatoes. Crispy yet tender, tangy and bright, these potatoes are the perfect pairing to countless dinner mains.
Get the Greek Lemon Potatoes recipe.
Garlicky Greek Chicken
The best part of this herby, garlicky dream? Your sides and main will both be ready in under an hour, making this an ideal last-minute, filling dinner. We paired this one-pan meal with roasted zucchini and asparagus, but feel free to switch it up.
Get the Garlicky Greek Chicken recipe.
One-Pan Greek Chicken Drumsticks
Drumsticks are the unsung hero of dinner in this easy-to-execute, one-pan, Greek-inspired chicken meal. A tasty sprinkle of tomatoes, Kalamata olives, and dill give the whole dish a fresh finish—think main and salad all in one!
Greek Orzo Salad
This easy, fresh recipe is filled with all of our favorite bright Mediterranean flavors and mix-ins, like sweet tomatoes, briny olives, cucumber, and tangy feta, but you can toss in any veggies, cheese and dressing you like.
Get the Greek Orzo Salad recipe.
One-Pot Shawarma Chicken & Orzo Skillet
The flavors in this recipe take their cues from shawarma, the popular Levantine dish that features thin cuts of seasoned meat. The traditional street food is turned into a family-friendly meal where each bite of flavorful chicken is nicely balanced by the tomato-cucumber-feta salad and chewy orzo.
Gyro Sandwiches
Ticket for one to Greece please! What's that? Too expensive? Sigh. We'll have to settle for these epically tasty homemade sandwiches. Pronounced YEE-roh or ZHEE-roh (it rhymes with hero), gyro sandwiches are packed with delicious spiced lamb, crunchy fresh lettuce, tomatoes, and tangy herb-and-cucumber tzatziki sauce.
Get the Gyro Sandwiches recipe.
Chicken Souvlaki
A classic Greek street food, souvlaki consists of tender pieces of marinated meat that have been skewered (in Greece “souvla” means skewer) and cooked on a grill. What results is a tender, flavorful main that’s perfect to be served alongside veggies for the easiest summer dinner or added to a salad for a healthy lunch.
Get the Chicken Souvlaki recipe.
Risotto
There's nothing as creamy and decadent as Italian risotto. This easy rice dish is as comforting as it comes and isn't as intimidating as it seems—follow our tips for success, and trust us, each time you make it, it will get better and better!
Get the Risotto recipe.
Niçoise Salad
According to food historians, the first Niçoise salad (from Nice, on France’s southeastern coast) contained only tomatoes, olive oil, and anchovies. Over the years, ingredients have been added and subtracted, so we figured we’d follow our stomachs and gather some of our favorites: crunchy cucumbers, tender boiled potatoes and green beans, briny black olives and capers, jammy boiled eggs, tuna, and a punch of salty umami a la anchovy fillets.
Get the Niçoise Salad recipe.
Chicken Shawarma
Shawarma refers to the Middle Eastern method cooking where thin slices of meat are stacked on a vertical rotating spit in front of a fire or other heat source. The outside meat is slowly cooked and then shaved off to serve. Our version varies a little by being baked in the oven but still mimics the traditional tender, juicy, and well-spiced meat.
Get the Chicken Shawarma recipe.
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
The lemon-parsley vinaigrette perfectly ties together all the Mediterranean-inspired ingredients here. Feel free to sub in or out your favorite ingredients, including adding some hard-boiled eggs or canned salmon to turn it into a full meal.
Get the Mediterranean Chickpea Salad recipe.
Halloumi Salad
We think it's due time that halloumi, the brined Cypriot cheese, got its time in the spotlight. Besides the delightfully squeaky texture (where the cheese curd lovers at?) and the tangy, salty flavor, the high melting point is really what makes this cheese stand out—when heat is applied, it develops a delicious golden crust that is so delightful in this salad.
Get the Halloumi Salad recipe.
Hummus
Hummus is one of our favorite dips, made even better by how simple it is to make. Made from blending chickpeas, tahini, and a few other simple ingredients in a food processor, it’s the easiest last-minute appetizer or satisfying snack to throw together.
Get the Hummus recipe.
Baba Ghanoush
We like our eggplant-based, Levantine baba ghanoush GARLICKY. If you don't, skip grating the raw clove in at the end. Without it, you'll have a more subtle (slightly sweet) garlic flavor that will still make everyone very, very happy. Accompanied by crudités and pita chips, you really can't go wrong.
Get the Baba Ghanoush recipe.
Pasta Alla Norma
Pasta alla Norma is an easy Sicilian pasta dish with pan-fried eggplant, lots of ricotta salata, and a quick marinara sauce. The homemade sauce incorporates the oil that the eggplant is cooked in, which adds incredible flavor and mouthfeel.
Get the Pasta Alla Norma recipe.
Shakshuka
Originating in North Africa and now strongly associated with Israeli cuisine, shakshuka typically involves cooking eggs in a sauce of tomatoes and red peppers. Ours is mildly spicy, full of flavor, and has perfectly runny eggs.
Get the Shakshuka recipe.
Mediterranean Grilled Chicken Salad
Cucumbers, tomato, feta, olives, and avocado combine to create a salad that may just be your go-to office lunch from here on out. Hot tip for taking this salad to go: Ditch the whisking and throw all the dressing ingredients into a jar or small container. Right before you eat, give the jar a good shake, and you will have a perfectly emulsified vinaigrette.
