How to Make Dukkah Seasoning

Learn how to make dukkah seasoning with this simple guide. This flavorful condiment is easy to customize and a great way to add that extra oomph to your meals.

What is Dukkah?

Dukkah or Duqqa (pronounced DOO-Kah) is an Egyptian seasoning that consists of a blend of herbs, toasted nuts and seeds, and fragrant spices.

The name comes from the Egyptian Arabic word meaning ‘to pound’, which is exactly how it’s made.

Dukkah seasoning adds a nice textural element to your food, taking your meals to the next level, and giving them that extra oomph of flavor!

It’s great on:

• salads: fennel salad, broccoli salad, roasted Brussels sprouts salad
• soups: roasted tomato soup
• eggs or in a healthy breakfast hash
• bread: toasty bread dipped in oil or ricotta toast with roasted grapes
• pasta: margherita pasta or noodles with peanut sauce
• pizza or spaghetti squash pizza boats
• roasted vegetables: sweet and spicy butternut squash
• dragon bowls
• dips such as roasted red pepper hummus

As you can see, it’s an incredibly versatile topping.

Ingredients for Making Dukkah

• nuts: almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, peanuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, walnuts
• seeds: sesame seeds (black or white), pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds
• herbs and spices: anise seeds, cardamom seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cayenne, cinnamon, garlic, paprika, peppercorns, fennel seeds, lavender, rosemary, salt
• extra add-ins: dried rose petals, citrus zest, coconut shreds, dried herbs, curry powder, ground cinnamon, dried garlic, freshly ground nutmeg

How to Make Dukkah

1. Toast the nuts and seeds. Toast the raw nuts and seeds in a dry pan over medium heat until lightly browned and aromatic, about 5 minutes. Then add to the bowl of a food processor.
2. Toast the sesame seeds and spices. Add them to the same dry pan and toast until aromatic, about 1-2 minutes and add to the bowl of a food processor with the nuts and seeds.
3. Salt & Add-ins. Now add your salt along with any optional add-ins.
4. Pulse. Pulse the mixture a few times until it’s coarse with some bigger pieces. You don’t want it to be a powder, it should have some texture.
5. Store. Store the dukkah in a sealed jar for up to 1 month.

Helpful Tips

Use raw nuts, seeds, and spices

You’ll be freshly toasting them to enhance their flavors, so to do this you want to start with a neutral base (which means raw and unsalted).

Using a mortar and pestle?

This is how dukkah is traditionally made. To do this, you add each ingredient to a mortar separately until you’ve pounded it into a coarse texture.

Uncertain if flavors go well together?

Make a small batch to be eaten in a single serving. Once you get more comfortable with making dukkah, you can make a full batch to eat throughout the month.

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