Labneh

لبنة

Yoghurt drained until it is a cheese — oil, za'atar, and bread. Breakfast that is also mezze.

Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: لبنة.

0 people cooked this in the public kitchen yet. Kitchen-tested by I Want Some Food. Not a purchased rating.

Start cooking
Measurement system
Prep
10 min
Cook
Total
12 hr 10 min
Difficulty
Very easy
Spice
No chilli
Cost
Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price
Source photograph of Labneh. Not official I Want Some Food pixel artwork.
Photo: Karen and Brad Emerson via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 2.0. Source

About

Labneh is salted yoghurt hung until it is thick enough to spread or roll into balls. The recipe is time. If you buy a tub, taste it: it should be sour and dense, not cream-cheese sweet.

Ingredients

Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.

Steps

  1. Step 1

    Stir salt into yoghurt. Hang in a cloth over a bowl, fridge, 12–24 hours, until thick.

    5 min
  2. Step 2

    Plate, oil, za'atar. Bread. The whey is useful in bread or soup.

Adapt this recipe

The canonical recipe stays intact. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are maths, not AI.

Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 24 August.

Substitutions

  • Cloth A coffee filter or lined sieve

    Slower, still works.

Tips

  • Full-fat yoghurt. Low-fat labneh is chalk.
  • Roll balls and cover with oil to keep a week.

History & culture

Breakfast with za'atar and olives. Also a mezze well of oil.

Strained yoghurt is older than any brand. Balls in oil are how it keeps.

Traditional

Provenance: Editorial adaptation. Original editorial adaptation for I Want Some Food. Not copied from another recipe site. Official recipe photography is pending. Photograph: Karen and Brad Emerson via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0). https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Labneh%20(9328907408).jpg

Questions about this recipe

Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips — not a chatbot.

How long does Labneh take?

12 hr 10 min all in — 10 min prep, 12 hr rest. That is the time on this recipe, not a guess.

How many does it serve?

The recipe is written for 6 bowls. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.

How hard is it?

Very easy.

How spicy is it?

No chilli.

What allergens should I watch?

This recipe is labelled for Milk. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.

Does it fit a diet?

The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian.

What does it cost to cook?

Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.

What equipment do I need?

Mixing bowl.

How much salt do I put in?

The recipe lists Salt at 1 tsp.

What can I use instead?

Cloth → A coffee filter or lined sieve. Slower, still works.

Any tips from this recipe?

Full-fat yoghurt. Low-fat labneh is chalk. Roll balls and cover with oil to keep a week.

Can I use an air fryer?

This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.

Similar dishes

In this kitchen

Share card

Explore Lebanon

Before you start cooking

Your pantry, saved recipes and meal plans are stored on this device so the site works — that part can't be switched off. Google Analytics counts page visits. Google AdSense may show ads (not in Cook Mode) and set advertising cookies. Separately, we can count anonymous feature usage in our own database. That part is your call, and it stays off unless you say yes.

What gets stored