Easy Guide to Middle Eastern Pantry Staples & Cooking Essentials

If you’ve ever been to the Middle East, you probably remember the smell of rosewater, the sound of hospitality, and the taste of spices and honey. To help bring a bit of that delight into your home, we put together a handy Middle Eastern Pantry Staples List that you can download for free below and keep as a handy reference guide when you cook. 

What is Middle Eastern Food?

The “Middle East,” a.k.a. SWANA (Southwest Asia and North Africa), is an extremely diverse region that spans multiple continents and includes many different ethnic groups. Which means that Middle Eastern cuisine is equally as diverse. That’s why we decided to focus this pantry list on smaller sub-regions, including staples that are used most commonly in the Levant (Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan) and the Arabian Peninsula (Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, the UAE).

From fresh falafel to crisp fatayer, there are so many delectable dishes that you can make in your own kitchen if you have the right ingredients.

And, if you look through the list and see a lot of ingredients you aren’t familiar with, don’t get overwhelmed! Our list explains each of the 36 ingredients listed — from grains to condiments to frozen ingredients. Like any skill, being able to create new meals straight from a pantry is something that becomes easier with practice. What we hope is that our list of cooking essentials will help you feel less lost when you pick up new Middle Eastern recipes and eventually help you pull out a great Levantine or Arabian meal any time of day, any day of the week.

Getting Basic Middle Eastern Pantry Staples

The 36 staples above can be used to cook up a vast variety of Middle Eastern dishes, but don’t feel like you need to go out and buy every single ingredient on the list right now. Pantry shelves naturally fill out as you expand your repertoire.

We always love shopping at a local ethnic grocery store when we can, but if you don’t have one nearby and your everyday market doesn’t have what you need, there are several online hubs for authentic ingredients like Damaski.

Now if you’re newer to Middle Eastern cuisine but love Indian food and / or grain bowls, then it would be a great idea to grab versatile basmati rice or couscous from our Grains section. Or if you’re on a tighter budget, swap meats out for ingredients on our Beans & Legumes section.

Since our guide gives some suggestions on how ingredients are used, you can also hone the list by focusing on certain types of dishes you want to make. If you’re in the mood to explore new soups and stews while the weather is chilly out, prioritize ingredients that are commonly used in those meals.

As you start stocking up on your Middle Eastern cooking essentials, make sure that you don’t neglect the Specialty Seasonings section. If you want to enjoy all of the yummy goodness that Middle Eastern cuisine has to offer, seasoning is absolutely crucial.

Now it’s time to start filling your cupboards with great Middle Eastern cooking essentials and be ready to cook delicious, authentic meals on the fly!

Sign up for more free guides

If you like our Middle Eastern Pantry List, we have several others available for download, like our Indian Pantry and Mexican Pantry Guides.

You can also stay tuned for more cuisine-specific pantry lists by signing up for our weekly email below! And, don’t forget to forward this post along to anyone you know that loves Middle Eastern food, too.