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15 Mediterranean Foods That Are Easy to Make at Home

Fifteen simple, everyday Mediterranean dishes — no special equipment, no hard-to-find ingredients.

By · · 2 min read

A table set with many small Mediterranean mezze dishes, including stuffed vine leaves, hummus and salads
Photo: Jj saezdeo / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Mediterranean cooking has a reputation for being healthy, but the real reason people love it is that it's simple. Most dishes rely on a few good ingredients — olive oil, vegetables, beans, yogurt, cheese, herbs and lemon — treated with a light hand.

Here are fifteen dishes from around the Mediterranean and the Balkans that anyone can make at home. Where we have a full recipe, it's linked.

Salads and small plates

  1. Greek village salad (horiatiki) — ripe tomatoes, cucumber, onion, olives and a slab of feta. No lettuce. Get the recipe.
  2. Shopska salad — the Balkan cousin, finely diced and buried under grated white cheese. Get the recipe.
  3. Hummus — blend canned chickpeas with tahini, lemon, garlic and a splash of ice water until very smooth.
  4. Tzatziki — grated, squeezed cucumber stirred into thick yogurt with garlic, olive oil and dill or mint.
  5. Bruschetta — grilled bread rubbed with garlic, topped with chopped ripe tomatoes, basil, salt and olive oil.

Easy mains

  1. Lemon and oregano chicken — marinate, sear, done in 30 minutes. Get the recipe.
  2. Pasta al pomodoro — tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and basil, cooked down until glossy. Get the recipe.
  3. Menemen — Turkish eggs scrambled into a jammy tomato and pepper sauce. Get the recipe.
  4. Baked feta with tomatoes — a block of feta baked with cherry tomatoes, olive oil and chili until soft, then eaten with bread or tossed with pasta.
  5. Grilled or pan-fried fish — a whole fish or fillets with just olive oil, salt, lemon and oregano.

Vegetables, beans and grains

  1. Roasted vegetables — zucchini, peppers, eggplant and onion roasted hot with olive oil and herbs. Get the recipe.
  2. Bean stew — dried beans simmered with onion, paprika and bay, the Balkan way. Get the recipe.
  3. Lentil soup — red lentils, onion, carrot and cumin, blended smooth and finished with lemon.
  4. Fërgesë — peppers, tomatoes and fresh cheese baked until bubbling. Get the recipe.

Something sweet

  1. Yogurt cake — a one-bowl loaf that's moist for days, baked across Greece, Turkey and the Balkans. Get the recipe.

Five pantry staples that make it all easier

  • A good extra-virgin olive oil for finishing, and a cheaper one for cooking.
  • Canned tomatoes and chickpeas.
  • Dried oregano and sweet paprika.
  • A block of feta in brine.
  • Lemons — always.

Browse more ideas in our Mediterranean recipes and Easy Recipes collections.