Zhoug is a traditional Middle Eastern hot sauce made with parsley, cilantro, spicy green chilis, and warming spices. Almost like a Middle Eastern pesto, zhoug (or zhug) is bright, fiery, and super herbaceous. You’ll want to spread this on just about everything.
Zhoug is Like My Spicy Middle Eastern Pesto
Zhoug is an herby and bold Middle Eastern sauce, almost like a pesto, made with hot peppers, fresh herbs, garlic, olive oil, and lemon. It has made its way throughout the region for centuries, picking up spellings and pronunciations along the journey. You may hear it pronounced “joog” or “s’hug,” and spelled “zhug” or “skhug,” depending on who you ask.
This vibrant green sauce first originated south of the Mediterranean in Yemen, particularly among the Yemeni Jewish community. Today, it’s used throughout the region including Egypt where I grew up.
I personally like zhoug as a hot sauce for Falafel, Shawarma, and even as a dip for Pita Bread. You can also use it as a meat marinade, sandwich spread, or spoon it over your Scrambled Eggs!
Zhoug Ingredients
- Jalapeño peppers: Add a good heat, particularly if you leave the seeds in. You can use other hot green chilies or a combination of peppers.
- Garlic: Brings yet another layer of fresh, earthy spice.
- Kosher salt enhances the flavor of all the ingredients.
- Fresh herbs: Cilantro and parsley are the primary flavors, adding the fresh herbal quality that makes zhoug so intriguing. I prefer a flat-leaf parsley, which tends to be sweet rather than bitter. And if you don’t do cilantro, replace it with the same amount of parsley.
- Dried herbs: Ground cumin and coriander, and cardamom add a warming, earthy flavor.
- Olive oil: Turns the zhoug from a paste to a sauce, and adds its nuance in terms of flavor. Any high-quality extra virgin variety you have will work well, but I especially love to complement the spice with our peppery Spanish Hojiblanca.
- Fresh lemon juice lifts the flavor, adding a crucial zing for balance. Fresh lime juice is a good substitute.
How to Make Zhoug
You can make zhoug sauce the traditional way with a mortar and pestle, but I always use a food processor to save time. Just be sure to stop when it’s more of a paste than a purée—it’s more delicious with some texture. Here’s how it’s done:
- Chop the jalapeño and garlic. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade, add 6 sliced jalapeño peppers (remove the seeds and ribs for less spice), 2 peeled garlic cloves, and a pinch of salt. Pulse to coarsely chop.
- Add the seasonings. Now add 1 packed cup cilantro leaves, 1/2 packed cup parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon each ground cumin, coriander, and cardamom. Run the processor until a thick, cohesive paste forms.
- Finish. Transfer the paste to a bowl. Add 1/2 cup olive oil and the juice from one lemon, and stir to combine. Spoon onto everything!
What to Serve with Zhoug
You can enjoy Zhoug with bread just like a dip. Or use it as a condiment or hot sauce. Some ideas:
- Fish: I especially love Zhoug on this Baked Red Snapper recipe, or swap it for the Cilantro-Pistachio Pesto in this simple baked cod, but it adds a bold flavor to just about any fish, from mild flaky white fish to tuna steaks and salmon.
- Meat: Add to roast meat, grilled meat, or pan-seared chicken breasts; you really can’t go wrong.
- Eggs: No more boring eggs! Zhoug is delicious on crispy Za’atar Eggs and Egyptian Fried Boiled Eggs (Beid Meza’lil). But it’ll also bring a Middle Eastern flair to your run-of-the-mill scrambled eggs, omelets, you name it.
- Sandwiches: Spread right onto the bread, or mix into Garlic Aioli to make a spicy green aioli.
Storage Tips
A jar of Zhoug sauce never lasts long in my fridge, but it will keep for 2 weeks or more if you store it properly. Store it just like you would pesto:
Zhoug will keep in your refrigerator in a tightly sealed container for up to two weeks. Alwasy use clean utensils when spooning it out of the jar, and create an olive oil “seal” by pouring a thin layer of olive oil over the top to reduce oxidation.
To freeze Zhoug, place it into small containers and leave a 1/2 inch of headspace to allow for expansion, or freeze in an ice cube tray. Once the cubes are frozen, pop them out and place them in a larger container. It will keep for up to 3 months.
To thaw, place in the fridge overnight. The olive oil might solidify. Do not panic! Just let it sit on the counter for 15 to 20 minutes before using, and give it a good stir.
More Mediterranean Condiments
Sauces, condiments, and toppings, whatever you want to call them, are essential to adding flavor to Mediterranean recipes. They range from creamy and garlicy, like Toum, to light and herbal, like pesto and chermoula. Having a range of sauces at your disposal means each person can personalize their meal according to their tastes.
- 5-Minute Chermoula
- Homemade Harissa
- Basil Pesto
- Mast O’khiar (Persian Yogurt Cucumber Dip)
- Tahini Sauce
- Whipped Toum
- Hummus.
Ingredients
- 6 jalapeno peppers or hot green chiles, trimmed and sliced
- 2 garlic cloves peeled
- Kosher salt
- 1 packed cup fresh cilantro leaves
- 1/2 packed cup fresh parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground green cardamom
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lemon juiced
Instructions
- Chop the jalapeno and garlic. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade, add the jalapeno, garlic and a pinch of salt. Pulse to coarsely chop.
- Add the seasonings. Now add the cilantro, parsley, cumin, coriander, and cardamom. Run the processor until a thick, cohesive paste forms.
- Finish. Transfer the cilantro paste to a bowl. Add the olive oil and lemon juice and stir to combine. Enjoy!
Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including the olive oil, cumin, coriander, and cardamom used in this recipe.
- Adjust the spice level: Remove the jalapeños seeds for a milder version, or leave them in if you love heat.
- Not a cilantro person? Feel free to make this with just parsley.
Nutrition
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This post has recently been updated with new information for the readers’ benefit.
Suzy, I think you are so blessed. Your recipes and all the information that you impart to your readers means a lot. You bring a wonderful depth of cooking to us, as not all of us are fortunate to travel and taste such healthy and delicious dishes.
Thank you for the detailed information that accompanies your dishes, as well as, all the spices that go with them.
What a sweet comment, Shirley!! Thank you!
You are amazing, every time I follow one of your recipes which I do frequently it never fails to be so cost effective. another talent you add is alternative ideas which saves a dash to the store. My husband often comments and I just say “It’s a Suzy”
Awww! Thank you, Heather!
Ehhh…We were a little underwhelmed by both the flavor and texture. We were expecting a somewhat thicker texture, like a chimichurri, but ours came out a bit runny.
SO GOOD! I’m obsessed!
I made this recipe and it was better than another I tried. However the one change I made was to use a nutribullet instead of a food processor since that is all I have. I stirred in the garlic, onion, and lemon juice at the end to prevent bitterness but the sauce still seems off. (This same thing happened with the last Zhoug recipe). Do you think it’s the nutribullets fault? Or maybe I don’t love Zhoug – which makes no sense because I love all the ingredients! Lol. I’m trying to replicate a “spicy cilantro sauce” from the local kebab shop.
Sorry I stirred in the oil* not onion
OMG – what a find!!!
I had an abundance of cilantro that I did not know what to do with, and an upcoming dinner from the grill, and was looking up Suzy’s ways of marinating and grilling shrimp and vegetables, and one of the recipes had a link to this sauce. I said, this must be a sign from the universe telling me to make this sauce LOL.
I had no fresh parsley, so I used fresh chives. Had no jalapenos, so subbed a serrano pepper. I did not have exact quantities of fresh herbs on hand, so I made about half of the recipe, using one small serrano pepper.
LIFE CHANGING sauce! It went well with our grilled flank steak, with our grilled shrimp, and with our grilled vegetables. Now I want to put this sauce on EVERYTHING!!!
Thank you, Suzy!
So glad you loved it, Beata! Thanks so much for the great review!
I really like this. It’s like a middle eastern version of chimichurri. I used serranos because I like heat and used it with the pumpkin lentil soup and on steak. Delicious!
This sauce is perfect. I would change a thing! The cumin and lemon really sets it off! Thank you for sharing this delicious healthy recipe.
Our pleasure, Angie! Thanks for taking the time to comment and review!
Love the recipe .
But not a fan of the cumin / coriander .
Next time I’ll try with less or leave out.
Love the Zhoug!!!!
I love Zchug ! This green one is my favorite . There is also a red version but I love the green better. You can find this at any falafel or shawarma joint in Israel . It goes very well in falafel or shwarma pita and another way to use this is to mix it with cheeses . Even labaneh or farmer cheese it’s Particularly good with the soft cream cheese from
Israel which they sell here in Brooklyn, NY . It’s also good with the Yemenite soup called Maraq , I also use it with chicken soup . By the way I love all your videos !
Thank you so much, Rachel!
I made this to go with the Pumpkin Soup and it was amazing. Do you have any other dishes or suggestions for the Zhoug to go on?
Sure! It’s great on falafel sandwiches, on top of creamy hummus, with grilled meats, and I regularly drizzle it on top of omelets… just to give you a few ideas :).
I am curious- my husband cannot tolerate spice at all. I know this is meant to be spicy but if I subbed green bell peppers… would it be a mild form of the same thing or should I just skip it if we can’t do spicy?
Hi Cassi, bell peppers do not work as a good substitute here, unfortunately.
We dine at an Indian/mediterranian restaurant whose signature is a cilantro pesto that takes just like this minus the heat and it is delicious! They serve it along side either mango or pomegranate chutneys with most things on their menu. So I would go ahead and leave the peppers out entirely, adjusting the liquids to get the best consistency. It will be wonderful.
Thanks for sharing, Andi!
This sauce is incredible. Everyone loved it. It was perfect. Thank you
Just want to say to watch it on the jalapeños! Six is a huge number!!! I used two and the resulting mixture is incendiary.
Did you send the jalapeños?
Hi. Do you know if this freezes well?
I would not freeze it. It can stay well for a few days refrigerated in a jar topped with enough olive oil and sealed well.
When serving do you pour off the extra olive oil or mix it in?
You can just mix it right in! Enjoy!
This soups looks beautiful; I plan to make it this week. One of my guests is allergic to fresh parsley. What can I use as a substitute for that ingredient?
I used fresh chives in mine. Hope this helps!