Recipes / Taramasalata Recipe: Greek Fish-Roe Dip (and What to Serve With It)

Taramasalata Recipe: Greek Fish-Roe Dip (and What to Serve With It)

Taramasalata is a Greek meze dip made from cured fish roe (tarama), soaked bread or potato, olive oil, lemon, and onion. UK supermarket jars are often pink; white tarama is typically carp or cod roe. This page describes a home method, not a historical account.

PT15M · 6 servings

Ingredients

• 100g tarama (cured fish roe), white or pink
• 1 day-old bread roll or 2 slices white bread
• 1 small onion, grated
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2-3 tablespoons cold water
• White pepper to taste

Method

1. Soak bread in water for 1 minute, then squeeze out all excess moisture. The bread should be damp but not dripping.
2. In a food processor, combine tarama, squeezed bread, grated onion, and lemon juice. Blend until smooth.
3. With processor running, slowly drizzle in olive oil in a thin stream, as if making mayonnaise.
4. Add cold water 1 tablespoon at a time until dip reaches desired consistency - it should be smooth and spreadable.
5. Season with white pepper. Taste and adjust lemon juice if needed.
6. Transfer to a bowl, create a swirl pattern on top, and drizzle with more olive oil. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

What to serve

Serve as meze with warm pita, cucumber and carrot sticks, olives, and other dips such as hummus. See also Greek salad.

Storage

You can make it up to 24 hours ahead and keep it in the fridge for 3–4 days. The olive oil may firm when cold — let it come back toward cool room temperature and stir before serving.

Variations

• Potato base. Some modern recipes replace soaked bread with mashed potato for a gluten-free base.
• Beetroot / pink commercial. Pink supermarket tarama is often coloured; beetroot can tint a homemade version.

Related

• Greek salad
• Classic hummus
• All recipes
• Kitchen conversions

Last updated November 11, 2026.