The 20 most famous dishes of Saudi Arabia
Saudi cooking is a cuisine of generosity and hospitality, led by spiced rice-and-meat platters, with distinct flavours from Najd, the Hejaz, the south and the Eastern Province.
1Kabsa
Saudi Arabia's national dish: basmati rice cooked in chicken or lamb broth with kabsa spices and tomato,…
2Mandi
Spiced lamb or chicken cooked slowly above rice in a pit or sealed oven, so its juices drip into the rice and…
3Jareesh
Cracked wheat slow-cooked with laban and chicken or meat until creamy, topped with onions caramelised in ghee…
4Mutabbaq
Paper-thin dough filled with minced meat, egg and leek (or banana), folded and griddled — a beloved Hejazi…
5Saleeg
White rice cooked in chicken broth and milk until creamy like risotto — a Taif and Hejazi favourite served…
6Harees
Hulled wheat and meat cooked for hours until they melt into a smooth porridge, finished with ghee and…
7Margoog
A Najdi stew of meat and vegetables in which thin sheets of dough are cooked, making a warming winter meal.
8Matazeez
Flattened dough rounds cooked in a spiced meat and vegetable broth — a Najdi cousin of margoog.
9Saudi Chicken Shawarma
Spiced chicken marinated in garlic and yoghurt, grilled and wrapped in thin bread with toum and fries — one…
10Haneeth
Spiced lamb slow-cooked in a sealed pit or tannour until it falls off the bone — a classic of southern Saudi…
11Masoub
A southern breakfast of torn bread mashed with ripe banana, ghee and honey, topped with cream.
12Areeka
A dense wholewheat dough cooked and kneaded with ghee, served with honey and dates — an emblem of Asir and…
13Sambousek
Thin pastry triangles filled with minced meat or cheese, fried until golden — never missing from the Ramadan…
14Tamees Bread
A large dimpled flatbread baked in a tandoor, brushed with ghee and eaten with fava beans, cheese or honey.
15Saudi Fava Beans with Ghee
Saudi-style fava beans with tomato, cumin and ghee, eaten in the morning with hot tamees bread.
16Kleija
Qassim's famous cookies filled with dates or cardamom sugar, baked golden and fragrant with saffron and…
17Luqaimat
Small dough balls fried until golden and crisp, drizzled with date syrup or sugar syrup and sesame.
18Hininy
A Najdi winter sweet of crumbled wholewheat bread with dates, ghee and cardamom, served warm.
19Maamoul
Semolina cookies filled with dates, pistachios or walnuts, pressed in wooden moulds and served at Eid with…
20Madhbi (Stone-Grilled Chicken)
Spiced chicken or lamb grilled on hot stones or a griddle over embers, crisp outside and juicy inside, served…