The short version: hummus is a smooth chickpea and tahini dip, baba ganoush is a smoky roasted eggplant and tahini dip, and muhammara is a sweet and spicy roasted red pepper and walnut dip. All three are on our table, and all three are worth knowing before you order.

We make each one from scratch here at Salma’s Kitchen, so people ask us the difference all the time. Here is the honest side by side.

What is the difference between hummus and baba ganoush?

The base ingredient is what sets them apart. Hummus starts with cooked chickpeas blended with tahini, lemon and garlic, so it is creamy, nutty and mild. Baba ganoush swaps the chickpeas for eggplant, so it is lighter, softer and carries a deep smoky flavour that hummus does not have.

If you close your eyes, hummus tastes round and buttery, while baba ganoush tastes like the fire it was cooked over. Both use tahini, so both are rich, but the eggplant makes baba ganoush the more delicate of the two.

What is baba ganoush made of and why is it smoky?

Baba ganoush is made of eggplant, tahini, lemon, garlic and a little olive oil. The smoky part is not a spice or an additive. It comes from cooking the whole eggplant over open flame or high heat until the skin chars and the inside turns soft and silky.

That charring is the whole trick. Once the burnt skin comes off, the flesh has picked up a gentle smoke that carries through the finished dip. It is why baba ganoush tastes like something that met a grill, because it did.

What is muhammara and how does it compare?

Muhammara is the one people have usually not tried, and it is our favourite to introduce. It is built on roasted red peppers and walnuts, with pomegranate molasses and a touch of chili, so it lands sweet and hot at the same time.

Compared to hummus and baba ganoush, muhammara has no chickpeas and no eggplant, and it is the only one of the three with nuts and a real kick of heat. It is thicker and more textured, with the walnuts giving it body. We wrote a whole post on it if you want the full story, see what is muhammara.

Which dip should I order first?

If you have never had any of them, start with hummus. It is the friendliest, the one most palates already expect, and a good baseline for what tahini brings to a dip.

Then order baba ganoush second, so you can taste the same tahini richness with the smoke added and the chickpeas gone. Save muhammara for last, because its sweet and spicy walnut flavour is the biggest jump and it tends to be the one people remember. Better still, get all three and pass them around, which is exactly how they are meant to be eaten. Our mezze guide covers how they fit a shared table.

Are these dips vegan, and which contain sesame or nuts?

All three are plant based as we make them, with no meat and no dairy. That said, the ingredients matter if you are cooking for someone with allergies:

Hummus contains sesame, from the tahini. No nuts.
Baba ganoush contains sesame, from the tahini. No nuts.
Muhammara contains walnuts, and no sesame in the way we prepare it.

So the sesame free choice is muhammara, and the nut free choices are hummus and baba ganoush. If you are ordering for a group, it helps to know which is which before it reaches the table. When in doubt, get in touch and ask us.

Which is healthier, and what that question misses?

We are not going to hand you calorie counts, because most of the numbers floating around online are guesses, and a dip is not a diet plan. What we can tell you is what is actually in each one.

Hummus and baba ganoush lean on tahini and olive oil, so they carry the richness of sesame and good fat. Baba ganoush is mostly eggplant, which makes it lighter on the whole. Muhammara gets its substance from walnuts, which bring their own kind of fat and a bit more density. None of them is a health food or a guilty one. They are honest dips made from vegetables, seeds and nuts, and the healthiest way to enjoy them is with people and warm bread.

We make all three from scratch and pack them by the half kilo to take home. Browse the full menu, read our menu guide, or order dips for pickup here in the Fraser Valley.

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