This garlic labneh is a creamy and tangy Middle Eastern yogurt cheese, made using just three ingredients. The roasted garlic gives this dish a depth of flavour without the spice.

Roasted garlic labneh in a bowl topped with extra virgin olive oil and thyme.

I've used my Air Fryer Roasted Garlic in this recipe, which you can make in half the time of oven roasted garlic!

I love using this creamy labneh cheese by spreading over toast or to dip pita bread into. You could also serve alongside my Air Fryer Meatballs with salad for a flavour filled dinner.

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What You'll Love About This Recipe
What is Labneh?
Ingredients
Equipment
How to Make Garlic Labneh
How to Make Labneh Balls
Serving Suggestions
📖 Recipe
Comments

What You'll Love About This Recipe

This roasted garlic labneh is such a gem of a recipe, you'll want to make it on the regular! I really think you're going to love it and here's why:

this creamy spread is perfect on bagels, sandwiches, wraps or morning toast.
with a lovely tang, this soft cheese is sort of a cross between cream cheese and sour cream.
serve alongside warm pita bread and vegetable crudités for a delicious appetizer.

What is Labneh?

Labneh (or labne) is a dish originating from Lebanon. Its texture is similar to that of cream cheese and can be used as a dip or spread, or served dolloped onto spicy soups. Labneh is made from yoghurt and salt, mixed together and poured into a cheese cloth, for the excess liquid to drain off overnight.

A bowl of garlic labneh on a platter with bagels. The bagels are topped with labneh and smoked salmon.

Ingredients

This homemade labneh is made using just 3 ingredients, all of which can be found at your local grocery store.

Greek yogurt - or other natural yogurt. Make sure to buy good quality yogurt as this is the main ingredient of the dish.
Garlic - for this recipe I have used roasted garlic as it provides a beautiful, robust flavour without the tang from fresh garlic. You could also use garlic confit. Fresh garlic cloves can be used instead of roasted if desired.
Sea salt

Ingredients for Garlic Labneh laid out in bowls on a pink backdrop.

Equipment

cheese cloth - you could also use a paper coffee filter if you don't have any muslin/cheese cloth. I use two layers of cheesecloth.
large bowl
medium sized mixing bowl
fine-mesh strainer or sieve
plastic wrap

How to Make Garlic Labneh

You will love just how easy it is to make this tangy labneh recipe! It takes minimum effort, ingredients and equipment for maximum flavour! Here's how:

STEP 1: Mash garlic. In a medium sized mixing bowl use a fork to mash the roasted garlic within an inch of its life. I'm talking, it needs to be creamed - this way it will evenly disperse into the yogurt.

STEP 2: Mix yogurt. Add the yogurt and salt to the bowl and whisk until creamy and well combined.

Roasted garlic in a glass bowl, mashed with a fork.

All ingredients for garlic labneh in mixing bowl.

STEP 3: Prepare cheesecloth. Place a sieve over the top of a large mixing bowl and then line the sieve with the cheese cloth.

STEP 4: Strain yogurt. Pour the yoghurt mixture into the cheese cloth. Bring each side of the cheesecloth to the centre of the bowl and then twist them together. Next, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place into the fridge. Let the yogurt strain in the fridge for 24-48 hours.

A sieve sitting on top of a mixing bowl, the sieve is lined with a cheesecloth.

Labneh yoghurt mixture poured into the cheesecloth, sitting in a sieve atop a glass bowl.

Tip: The longer you let the yoghurt strain for, the thicker the labneh will be. If you would like to make labneh balls, strain for 48 hours and then follow the below instructions.

How to Make Labneh Balls

Let the yogurt drain for 48 hours before removing from the fridge.
Half fill a jar with extra virgin olive oil.
Add dill seed, fennel seed and whole peppercorns to the oil (or any other desired spices).
Take spoonfuls of labneh (a small cookie dough scoop would work well for this) and roll into a ball with clean hands.
Place each ball into the olive oil - make sure that all of the balls are submerged in oil and add more oil if needed. Store in the refrigerator with the lid on the jar.

Serving Suggestions

Here are some great ways of serving this oh so delicious garlicky labneh:

serve in a bowl topped with extra virgin olive oil, fresh thyme or dill leaves and cracked black pepper alongside warmed pita bread and vegetable sticks as a wholesome appetizer.
serve with meatballs and salad for lunch or dinner.
spread over the top of my butternut squash and sage fritters.
make garlic labneh flatbreads.
spread labneh over toasted bagels and top with smoked salmon and thinly sliced radish.

📖 Recipe