What Is Zaatar and How Can I Use It?

Zaatar is easier to cook with than it looks. Here's how to choose, use, and store it, what to substitute.

What is zaatar?

Za'atar: what it is, how to use it, and what to buy

Two things go by the name za'atar, and that trips people up. There's the wild herb (a relative of thyme and oregano), and there's the spice blend built around it. When a recipe says za'atar, it almost always means the blend: dried herbs, sumac, sesame seeds, and salt. That's what you'll find in a jar, and that's what this page is about.

What it is

Za'atar is a Middle Eastern spice blend with no single fixed recipe. The base is dried thyme or oregano (often both, sometimes marjoram), ground sumac for tartness, toasted sesame seeds for nuttiness, and salt. The simplest blends use just four ingredients: za'atar herb, sumac, and toasted sesame seeds, plus salt. Recipes shift from country to country and household to household, so no two jars taste quite the same. Some cooks add cumin or coriander.

What to look for when you buy it

Look at the color. A good blend reads green and brick-red, not uniformly brown and dusty. Brown usually means old herbs or a heavy hand with cheaper filler. Check the ingredient list: you want recognizable herbs, sumac, and sesame near the top, not flour or citric acid standing in for real sumac. Give the jar a sniff if you can. It should smell grassy and toasty, with a tang behind it. Middle Eastern groceries tend to carry fresher, more interesting blends than the supermarket spice aisle, often at a better price.

How to store it

Keep it in an airtight jar somewhere cool and dark, away from the stove. The oil in the sesame seeds can go rancid after several months, which is the real clock on za'atar, not the herbs. Most blends hold their flavor for three to six months. Smell it before you reach for it: fresh za'atar is fragrant and earthy, and a sharp, paint-like or flat smell means the sesame has turned. Toss it if so.

How to use it

The classic move is za'atar mixed with olive oil into a loose paste, spread on flatbread dough and baked into manakish. Short of that, stir it into oil for a bread dip. It's also one of the best things you can do to eggs, scrambled or fried, and it lifts plain yogurt or labneh into something worth eating with a spoon. Sprinkle it over roasted vegetables, hummus, or chicken before it goes in the oven.

A common mistake is treating za'atar like a cooking spice and dumping it into a hot pan. The herbs scorch and the sumac turns bitter. Add it at the end, or use it raw as a finishing sprinkle. The other mistake is being timid. Za'atar wants a generous hand.

Substitutes

Nothing matches za'atar exactly, because the sumac tang is hard to fake. In a pinch, dried thyme or oregano with a squeeze of lemon and some toasted sesame gets you close in spirit. If you have sumac on hand, you're most of the way there already. Plain dried herbs alone will taste flat by comparison.

Quick reference

1 tablespoon za'atar ≈ 7 g
Basic ratio: 2 parts dried thyme or oregano, 1 part sumac, 1 part toasted sesame seeds, salt to taste
Shelf life: 3 to 6 months for best flavor

Common questions

What is a substitute for za'atar? Dried thyme or oregano plus a little lemon zest and toasted sesame seeds is the closest easy swap. Add ground sumac if you have it for the signature tang.

Is za'atar the same as sumac? No. Sumac is a single tart, lemony spice. Za'atar is a blend that uses sumac as one of several ingredients.

How do you store za'atar? In an airtight container, cool and dark. The sesame oil is what goes off first, so smell it before using and replace it every few months.

Can you eat za'atar raw? Yes, and you often should. It's best as a finishing sprinkle or stirred into oil, since high heat makes it bitter.