Rich, creamy, nutty, and incredibly nutritious, tahini sauce is a favorite drizzle-on everything sauce. It adds umami, creaminess, and a silky mouthfeel to any dish.
Learn how to make the best and most authentic tahini sauce, one that is not bitter, with just 5 simple ingredients.
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If there's one thing we'd like you to take away from this blog post is this:
"Source tahini made from hulled sesame seeds and light in colour, and typically made in the Levant region in countries such as Lebanon or Palestine. Avoid unhulled sesame pastes that are dark and gritty. We can't stress enough how important it is to seek out authentic tahini. The key to creamy dreamy is in the tahini, really."
Yotam Ottolenghi and Noor Murad, Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love: Recipes to Unlock the Secrets of Your Pantry, Fridge, and Freezer: A Cookbook. Page 19.
Ottolenghi and Murad are some of the greatest middle-eastern chefs and this single piece of advice literally changed our life overnight. It was a huge aha moment.
For years, prior to reading their book, we had been buying the "wrong" tahini. The thick, dark, gritty, bitter one. We thought raw, unhulled, organic, and cool hipster packaging were the things to look for. We were so wrong.
What to look for in Tahini
Tahini should be light in color. Imported. Possibly with Arabic text on the package. Made with 100% sesame seeds. Pure. Hulled. Stone-ground if possible. It doesn't matter if you have to FedEx it in from Beirut. Trust us. Getting the right type of tahini really was the single biggest game-changer in our plant-based diet ever.
All of a sudden recipes like this tahini sauce, hummus, baba ghanoush, and anything tahini-drizzled made sense. They went from bitter, gritty, and overpowering to silky smooth, rich, nutty, and I-want-to-eat-this-thing-with-a-spoon-like-Nutella kind of thing.
And when you eat mostly plant-based, it's so important to find tasty nutrition-dense foods like tahini, rich in calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, protein, and good heart-healthy mono- and poly-unsaturated fats to keep you satiated and energized through the day.
You can find good tahini in ethnic food stores; middle eastern or Asian grocery stores are your best bet. Some supermarkets also keep imported tahini. Generally, I would stay away from western brands, unless you have tried them before or you are ready for some try and error.
And now that you learn how to get the best tahini, let's have a look at how to make this easy tahini sauce recipe from scratch in 5 minutes. We follow Ottolenghi and Murad's ratios for this recipe. It's the best tahini sauce we've ever had.
Ingredients
Tahini: if you haven't read my rant above, I'll write it again here because it's too important. Get tahini that is made with hulled sesame seeds. 100% pure. Light in color, not dark and gritty. It should possibly be imported from Lebanon or Palestine.
Picking the right type of tahini is the most important step when making tahini sauce.
The wrong tahini is bitter and gritty and you'll have to correct the recipe with sweeteners like honey or maple syrup, which is a shame cause they cover the flavor of the tahini. Tahini made with 100% sesame seeds is naturally vegan and gluten-free.
Lemon juice: freshly squeezed.
Garlic: It should be crushed, not grated or minced. Just crushed. Tahini sauce should be smooth. The crushed garlic infuses the tahini sauce with a little garlic aroma without making the sauce gritty.
Water: cold tap water is fine.
Salt: to boost the sesame flavor. Kosher or sea salt is best.
Instructions
Take the jar of tahini and stir the content with a spoon. It's possible that if you haven't used it in a while the sesame oils and the sesame paste separate, so giving it a quick stir before using it helps.
Pour the tahini paste into a medium bowl, then add fresh lemon juice, water, a peeled and crushed garlic clove, and salt.
Whisk for about a minute or two, until ingredients are combined and the tahini changes color and goes from light brown to beige.
Taste and adjust for salt and lemon juice. Tahini sauce should be creamy but quite runny.
Keep in mind that as it sits, the sauce thickens up slightly. You might need to add a little more water until you reach your desired consistency.
Tip
Garlic: tahini should be smooth so don't mince or grate the garlic. It is enough to crush it and add it to the sauce. The aroma of the crushed garlic will infuse the tahini sauce without overpowering it and without making it grainy.
Serving suggestions
Tahini sauce pairs well with most veggies, legumes, and vegan salads. We make a fresh batch every week, as it's handy with a ready-made jar of dressing in the fridge. Here are our favorite pairings with tahini sauce:
- Serve with veggies: potatoes, carrots, zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, asparagus, and cauliflower. Most grilled, oven-roasted, and even raw vegetables are great with tahini sauce. Use as a dip or drizzle on top, it makes most vegetable side dishes pop.
- As a marinade with legumes: give pulses and legumes a flavor boost by mixing them with tahini sauce. It's perfect with beans, chickpeas, fava beans, and lentils.
- With other dressings: combined with vegan tzatziki (a Greek yogurt-based dressing) is pretty incredible. Or with Italian salsa verde made with green herbs (mostly flat-leaf parsley and optionally mint or dill) and with our cilantro lime dressing.
For example, take canned cannellini beans, drain them, and boil them in water for 5 minutes. Toss them in our Italian salsa verde. Serve with mashed roasted carrots with tahini drizzled on top, chili oil, and some more Italian salsa verde. - Sandwiches: Falafel in pita bread is a classic in the middle east. But drizzled in wraps is equally delicious.
- As a salad dressing: it's perfect as a salad dressing too. Try it in our tofu salad and couscous salad.
Questions
Tahini should be made from 100% ground sesame seeds.
Tahini sauce is made with tahini, water, lemon juice, garlic, and salt whisked together.
Yes. We recommend refrigerating tahini once opened because the sesame oils become rancid after a while at room temperature, especially if you live in warm climates. You can refrigerate tahini for 5 to 6 months.
The only downside of cold tahini is that it gets harder to handle and to stir. If that's the case for your tahini, take it out of the refrigerator 10 minutes before using it, and stir well with a spoon.
Tahini and peanut butter taste different as tahini is made from sesame seeds while peanut butter is made from peanuts. However, like most seed and nut butter, they both have a rich, sticky, and silky texture and a similar macronutrient (fats, carbs, and protein) content.
More sauce recipes
If you're looking for more inspiration for vegan dressings and sauces, take a peek at our selection here:
- Cilantro lime dressing: for a light and refreshing Mexican sauce perfect with salads and roasted veggies.
- Romesco sauce: the perfect condiment for anything grilled.
- Chipotle sauce: a dressing that pairs with most sides from french fries, to baked vegetables, fajitas, and flatbread pizza.
- Chimichurri sauce: herby and bold flavors in this tex mex favorite; a great addition to roasted veggies and legumes.
- Mustard dressing: a classic salad dressing and great marinade for steamed veggies, such as asparagus and artichokes.
- Vegan mayo: creamy, thick, and perfect as a dip.
- Green goddess dressing: indulgent and creamy and bright green addition to most healthy meals.
- Chili oil: perfect for a zesty infusion in soups, tofu recipes, and most pasta recipes.
What are your favorite sauces for salads and veggies? Let us know in the comments below, we'd love to hear from you!
Storage
Store tahini sauce in a jar in the fridge for up to 5 days. Stir well before serving it. Also, you might want to add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice or a dash of water after a couple of days to thin it up a little.
You can freeze tahini sauce if you like. To do so, transfer it to ice cube trays and freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
For more condiment ideas, check out our dressing and sauces category page.
Recipe
Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup tahini made with 100% hulled sesame seeds, light-colored
- ⅓ cup water
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Take the jar of tahini and stir the content with a spoon. It's possible that if you haven't used it in a while the sesame oils and the sesame paste separate, so giving it a quick stir before using it helps.Pour tahini into a medium bowl, then add fresh lemon juice, water, a peeled and crushed garlic clove, and salt.
- Whisk for about a minute or two, until ingredients are combined and the tahini changes color and goes from light brown to beige.
- Taste and adjust for salt and lemon juice. Tahini sauce should be creamy but quite runny.Keep in mind that as it sits, the sauce thickens up slightly. You might need to add a little more water until you reach your desired consistency.
Video Recipe
Notes
Nutritional Values
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