Yogurt salted and hung in cloth until it loses its whey and turns thick, tangy and spreadable, like a fresh cheese. Spread on a plate, pooled with olive oil and dusted with za'atar or mint, it is the heart of a Lebanese breakfast.
Labneh is one of the oldest ways of preserving milk in the Levant, born of the need to keep dairy from spoiling in a warm climate by straining and salting it. In Lebanon it appears at nearly every breakfast table, swirled onto a plate with olive oil and scooped with bread, and rolled into little balls stored under oil for the lean months. It is everyday food and deep tradition at once, a taste of the Lebanese morning.
Thick and luxuriously creamy, labneh is more tangy than yogurt and almost cheese-like on the tongue. The grassy olive oil and the lemony, herbal za'atar turn each bread-scoop into something savory, bright and deeply satisfying.
Salt draws moisture out of the yogurt while straining through cloth removes the liquid whey, concentrating the milk solids into a thick, tangy spread. The longer it hangs, the more whey escapes and the firmer it becomes, eventually firm enough to roll into balls and preserve under oil.
Variations
Rolled into oil-preserved balls; whipped with garlic as a dip; with mint or chili; spread under fatteh; sweetened with honey
On the Palate
Where Labneh sits in the Lebanese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6How it's made
8 steps · 10 min
- 12 min
Stir a good pinch of salt into thick, full-fat plain yogurt.
Watch outUse thick full-fat yogurt and a good pinch of salt — the salt is what pulls the whey out; skimp on it and the labneh stays loose and watery.
- 23 min
Line a sieve or bowl with a double layer of cheesecloth or a clean cotton cloth.
- 32 min
Pour in the salted yogurt and gather the cloth into a bundle.
- 43 min
Tie the bundle and hang it over a bowl, or weight it in the sieve, in the refrigerator.
- 51440 min
Let it drain 12 to 24 hours until it reaches a thick, spreadable consistency.
Watch outDrain until a scooped spoonful holds its shape and stops dripping — for a spread, 12 hours; hang it longer and it firms up enough to roll into balls.
- 62 min
Scrape the labneh out of the cloth into a bowl.
- 73 min
Spread onto a plate and make swooshes with the back of a spoon for the oil to pool.
- 82 min
Drizzle generously with olive oil and finish with za'atar, dried mint or fresh herbs.
