Middle Eastern Grocery Staples
A practical guide to the pantry staples that anchor Levantine, Persian, Egyptian, and Gulf home cooking. If you're shopping at a Middle Eastern grocery store for the first time — or stocking a kitchen for hummus, tabbouleh, mujadara, fattoush, or Persian rice — these are the ingredients to buy first. Need tahini, za'atar, sumac, or pomegranate molasses? Browse Middle Eastern grocery stores near you to find a shop that stocks them.
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Pure sesame paste. Lebanese (Al Wadi, Al Arz) and Palestinian brands are smoother than supermarket versions. Base of hummus and dressings.
Wild thyme, sumac, sesame, salt. On labneh, on flatbread with olive oil (man'oushe), on roasted vegetables.
Tart, lemony deep-red spice from sumac berries. On fattoush, grilled chicken, hummus, roasted onions.
Thick, sweet-tart syrup. Stirred into stews (fesenjan), drizzled on roasted vegetables, in dressings.
Cracked parboiled wheat. Fine grade for tabbouleh and kibbeh; coarse for mujadara and pilafs.
Long-grain aged basmati for Persian chelow and tahdig, and Gulf machboos and kabsa.
Dried Persian/Omani limes — pierced and dropped whole into stews and rice for sour funk. Essential for Iraqi and Persian cooking.
Persian saffron (Iranian Sargol or Pushal) for chelow, sholeh zard, and tahdig.
For mahalabia, baklava syrup, qatayef, and Persian sweets.
Brined cheeses that fry without melting (halloumi) or soak for cheese knafeh (akkawi).
Strained yogurt — eaten with olive oil and za'atar, or rolled into kefta-style balls in oil.
Kalamata, Nabali, throuba, plus extra virgin olive oil from Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Tunisia.
Fresh Lebanese pita, Saudi tameez, and Persian sangak and lavash — usually baked in-house at the market.
Medjool, Deglet Noor, Sukkari, Ajwa — for everyday snacking and Ramadan iftar.
Lipton Ceylon, Persian Earl Grey, Arabic coffee (lightly roasted with cardamom), Turkish coffee.
Baharat (Levant), 7-spice (Lebanese), advieh (Persian), ras el hanout (North African), kabsa spice (Gulf).
Chickpeas, brown and red lentils, fava beans (ful medames), split peas — the protein base of mujadara, ful, and shorba.
Tahini, sumac, za'atar, pomegranate molasses, bulgur, 7-spice, halloumi, kalamata olives.
Basmati, saffron, dried limes (loomi), advieh, rosewater, barberries (zereshk), tahdig oil, sangak.
Basmati, kabsa spice, loomi, ghee, dates, Arabic coffee, lamb cuts.
Ful medames, dukkah, molokhia (frozen or dried), Egyptian rice, hawawshi spices.
If you can only buy ten things: tahini, za'atar, sumac, pomegranate molasses, bulgur, basmati rice, olive oil, kalamata olives, Medjool dates, and a baharat or 7-spice blend. From there you can cook hummus, tabbouleh, fattoush, mujadara, and roasted vegetables.
Arab markets, Persian grocery stores, Mediterranean specialty shops, and broader international markets. See our Middle Eastern Grocery Stores Near Me directory.
Sumac is a single spice — the tart, dried, ground sumac berry. Za'atar is a blend that contains sumac along with wild thyme, sesame seeds, and salt.
Loomi are limes that have been boiled in salt water and sun-dried. Pierce them and drop whole into stews, soups, and rice for a sour, fermented funk — essential in Iraqi, Persian, and Gulf cooking.