Muhammara Spicy Red Pepper Dip Recipe

Muhammara Spicy Red Pepper Dip is a delicious vegan appetizer recipe packed with flavor. Easy to make, this will soon become a go to recipe for you, too! Read on for more detail and our wine pairing tip, or click here to jump down to the recipe. Originally published in 2012, updated December 2019 with new recipe tips and wine pairings.

This Muhammara spicy red pepper dip has become a holiday standby for me. I made it again for Thanksgiving and thought it would be a perfect time to re-share with some updated photos and recipe notes.

This Muhammara recipe would be a perfect healthy dip recipe to bring for Christmas, New Year’s or gathering to watch a big football game! This dip always gets rave reviews when I bring it, and it is something a little different. This Middle Eastern dish has its roots in Syria, and is popular in Turkish and Egyptian cooking.

You can be the star of a January party by bringing this healthy and flavorful dip to serve alongside heavier options filled with cream and cheese. Not that we don’t like cream and cheese here, but some folks are looking for healthy options these days–without sacrificing on flavor!

Don’t be deterred by the “spicy” in the title. Certainly plenty of flavor with garlic and red pepper flakes, but it’s not super-hot. Flavorful is more like it. But Muhammara typically gets translated as “spicy red pepper dip” so I went with that. If you want something a bit hotter, try our Super Easy Spicy Green Onion Dip! Our Super Easy Appetizers recipe collection will give you more ideas.

Looking for other healthy dips to take along to a party? Try my Spicy Eggplant Dip, or indulge in a bit of bacon while eating your greens with this recipe.

One more dip idea is our Roasted Red Pepper Dip with Fresh Herbs. Although this is similar to Muhammara in that it starts with red peppers, the flavor profile is very different with the herbs and cream cheese.

One other recipe note. The walnuts are an important ingredient, but toasted pumpkin seeds can be substituted to make a nut free dish. I tried with good results the last batch I made.

How to make Muhammara

Below are a few tips on how to make muhammara dip. Click here to jump down to the recipe card to get the complete step by step instructions.

• Get your food processor ready with the metal chopping blade inserted at the bottom. I’ve had good luck and a lot of use of my Cuisinart food processor (Amazon affiliate link provided).
• The first step (unless you are making your own breadcrumbs as noted below) is to mince the garlic in the food processor. If the garlic gets added with everything else, you might wind up with some big pieces of garlic.
• After the garlic gets minced, you add all the other ingredients besides the olive oil to the food processor, as shown above. They get chopped up to an even consistency.
• Finish the spicy red pepper dip by gradually adding the olive oil with blade running.
• I often make my own breadcrumbs for the Muhammara recipe. To do so, coat two pieces of bread with oil spray and toast the bread until browned. Let the bread cool, then place it in the food processor. Pulse the food processor blade until the bread is broken into coarse crumbs. Measure out the ⅔ cup needed for this recipe, then store any remaining bread crumbs for another use.
• You can substitute 2 tablespoon toasted pumpkin seeds instead of the walnuts to make this a nut free recipe.

What to do with leftovers?

Sometimes there is a lot of food at the gatherings that prompt me to make Muhamarra. So sometimes that means coming home with a good bit of leftover Muhamarra.

Refrigerate any leftover of the red pepper dip in a sealed container.

Often we simply nibble on the leftover Muhammara with some pita chips, just like the we serve it originally. But I had quite a bit leftover the other day, and had the idea of tossing some of it with some ziti. That was a tasty repurposing of the dip!

I added a bit of basil and some pieces of leftover to round out a simple meal. If you try this, reserve about a quarter cup of pasta cooking water to add along with the leftover Muhammarra. This will help the Muhammara spread out evenly over the pasta.

Jeff from Make It Like A Man suggests in the comments below that leftover Muhammara can also make a nice sandwich spread.

How long will this dip keep?

Store leftover Muhammara in a sealed container in the refrigerator. It will keep a week to ten days. Give leftover Muhammara a good stir prior to serving to re-incorporate the ingredients.

Wine Pairing

I was first introduced to this recipe at Pairings Wine and Food. They were serving it with Pinot Noir, explaining that the Pomegranate Molasses in the dip pairs well with Pinot. I repeated this pairing on Christmas, sipping some Banshee Pinot Noir with the Muhamarra.

I noted the pomegranate molasses in the underlying flavor of the dip, minus the spices, which paired well with the fruitiness of the pinot. Pinot Noir also stands up well to moderate spice, so it works on that front, too. A great pairing! You could try it with any pinot you like, but I do recommend trying the Banshee from Sonoma count if you get a chance. Very good quality for under $30.

Updated wine notes: I believe the Banshee Pinot is still around though I haven’t had it recently. As shown in the photo, we recently enjoyed the spicy red pepper dip with a bottle of Eversham Wood Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley. If you want to treat yourself, we loved the 2016 Harper Voit Strandline Pinot Noir (appx. $45, 14.3% ABV) from the Willamette Valley we opened recently. Eric Kent Pinot Noir is also excellent.

Hahn Family Vineyards Pinot Noir is a good value option we get regularly. I also sampled the Decoy Pinot Noir recently and that was pretty good, too.

Thinking about taking this to a football party where they might not appreciate the finer points of a good wine pairing? Fear not, the dip tastes good enjoyed with a beer, too!

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Recipe card

I’ve included links for the pomegranate molasses, as you might not have it in your pantry! These are Amazon affiliate links, meaning I receive a small commission if you choose to get your pom molasses via one of these links.