After living in Israel for over six years, I have come to love the Israeli kitchen like no other. Did you know it's very vegan/vegetarian friendly? It's a mix of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern, with lots of healthy recipes that are easy to make at home! If you have visited Israel, you have probably tried the famous falafel and shakshuka. Personally, you can wake me up for a plate of freshly made hummus and for jachnun; this typically Yemenite breakfast dish is my favorite weekend brunch. For a taste of Israel in your own home, here are the top ten recipes of typically Israeli food that you can easily make at home!
All about the best breakfast places in Tel Aviv you can read here and you can also get lots of food inspo here from an article I wrote about the best vegan Israeli restaurant in Tel Aviv.
Hummus
Shakshuka
This mouthwatering dish is traditionally eaten for breakfast/brunch and popular in Israel on weekends, but honestly it is delicious for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I usually replace the eggs with spiced tofu and add some chickpeas and spinach to make the sauce richer.
If you can get challah (the Jewish traditional bread eaten on Shabbat), this is most delicious with shakshuka. But any other kind of bread fits with shakshuka, because what bread isn't tasty when dipped in a delicious tomato sauce with tahini?
Israeli salad
Falafel
Eating falafel is high on everyone's list when visiting Israel and no wonder why! These mouthwatering, crispy chickpea snacks are the perfect street food in Israel, affordable and delicious. They're traditionally eaten inside a pita, but you can eat them without the pita too, with tahini and salad. I love to eat it in a pita with spicy schug and lots of tahini and pickled vegetables, exactly like it is served at Falafel Frishman, one of the local's favorite falafel places in Tel Aviv.
For my favorite and super easy-to-make recipe of falafel, click the pin on the right to go to Tori Avey's website.
Cauliflower with tahini
Malabi
The taste of the Middle East in a cup! This dessert is not originally Israeli, but eaten all over the Middle East. In Tel Aviv it became particularly popular because of The Malabia, a chain of laid back cafes where they only serve malabi with all kinds of syrups and toppings. When I lived in Florentin, the Malabia on Florentin street was my daily hangout where I sat with my laptop working on the blog while drinking their delicious coffees (and eating their malabia obviously) -
Malabi is actually made from rice pudding, but this recipe is with coconut and I really love this version.