2026-06-12 · 4 min read
How to Use Zaatar: Five Ways Beyond the Manoushe
Zaatar is far more than a breakfast flatbread topping. Five everyday ways to let wild Beqaa thyme perfume your kitchen.
01The classic: bread, oil, zaatar
Warm a piece of bread, pour a pool of extra virgin olive oil, and dip — then into a plate of zaatar. This is the oldest pairing in our kitchen, and still the best way to taste both at once. The oil carries the thyme; the thyme wakes the oil.
02Over eggs and labneh
A spoon of labneh, a thread of olive oil, a heavy pinch of zaatar — breakfast in the Beqaa in three moves. The same pinch transforms fried or soft-boiled eggs.
03Roast vegetables and potatoes
Toss potatoes, cauliflower or carrots with olive oil and zaatar before roasting. The sesame toasts, the sumac brightens, and the thyme crisps into the edges.
04A rub for chicken and fish
Mix zaatar with olive oil and lemon into a paste and rub it over chicken or white fish before grilling. It forms a fragrant, lemony crust that needs no sauce.
05Storage that keeps the aroma
Keep your zaatar in an airtight jar away from light. Naturally dried thyme holds its oils for months — but it is at its most fragrant in the first six.
