Tahini Sauce

Creamy & bright, this easy tahini sauce will become a staple in your kitchen. With 3 fun variations, it's perfect on falafel, bowls, salads & more!

If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you know that I love tahini. In the past, I’ve posted tahini cookies, salad dressings, oatmeal, and even ice cream, but today I’m finally sharing my favorite 5-ingredient lemon tahini sauce.

This tahini sauce recipe is incredibly versatile, as it shines on salads, sandwiches, falafel, bowls, and more! My basic version is similar to what you’d find at any falafel or shawarma restaurant, but I’m also including three delicious variations here. Honestly, I can’t choose a favorite. They all pack a punch of vivid color and bold flavor, and making them couldn’t be simpler. They keep for up to a week in the fridge, so prep one (or more) to jazz up your meals all week long!

If you’re not familiar with tahini, it’s a creamy, nutty paste made from ground sesame seeds. Popular throughout the Middle East, you can find it blended into hummus or baba ganoush, or drizzled over meat or fish. I use tahini in lots of ways in my kitchen, but most often, I add it to this easy, versatile lemon tahini sauce.

Basic Tahini Sauce Recipe Ingredients

You only need 5 basic ingredients to make this easy recipe:

• Tahini – This recipe is all about the tahini, so choose a good quality one that isn’t too stiff or bitter. My favorite brands are Cedar’s, Soom, and Seed + Mill, all of which have a nice runny texture and nutty taste.
• Lemon juice – Squeeze it yourself for the best bright flavor!
• Garlic – I don’t mince garlic for this recipe. Instead, I grate the garlic finely to fully integrate it into the sauce, adding a little kick.
• Water – Add water, as needed, to thin your sauce to a creamy, drizzleable consistency.
• Sea salt – Stir it in to sharpen the sauce’s nutty, lemony taste.

Yum!

How to Make Tahini Sauce

To make this recipe, simply whisk the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and water together in a bowl until they create a luscious, smooth sauce.

When you first add the water and lemon juice to the tahini, it will firm up and look something like this:

That’s totally normal! Continue whisking for a minute or so, and the ingredients will combine to form a smooth, creamy sauce. If your tahini is dry, or if you prefer a thinner sauce, add more water, as needed, to reach your desired consistency.

Then, taste and adjust your seasonings. If you prefer a brighter sauce, add more lemon. If it is too bitter, stir in 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup or honey. And if the flavor is too sharp, mellow it with 1/2 to 1 teaspoon olive oil. Enjoy!

Tahini Sauce Recipe Variations

Like my cilantro lime dressing, I like to make this dressing in more ways than one. The traditional version is delicious, but these colorful, flavorful variations are fun ways to change it up:

• Turmeric – Just stir turmeric, ginger, olive oil, and a drop of maple syrup into the base recipe to make this vibrant, sunny sauce.
• Beet – Beets + tahini are a match made in heaven! Make the entire recipe in the food processor, blending a roasted beet, cumin, and coriander with the base ingredients to give the sauce a sweet, spiced flavor.
• Green Goddess – Like the beet variation, I make this super green sauce in the food processor, adding cilantro, parsley, cumin, maple, and olive oil to the base recipe ingredients.

Let me know what variations you try!

Tahini Sauce Serving Suggestions

Tahini sauce is super versatile, and I use it in all sorts of ways in my kitchen. Most simply, I enjoy it as a dip with fresh veggies or pita, or I drizzle it over my morning avocado toast. Here are a few of my other favorite ways to use it:

• Use it as a salad dressing. I love it on green salads, roasted vegetable salads, pasta or orzo salads, and grain salads too!
• Drizzle it over grilled or roasted vegetables to make a flavor-packed side dish. I especially like it with roasted squash, Brussels sprouts, or cauliflower!
• Top it onto falafel or falafel burgers.
• Add it to a sandwich or wrap, like these chickpea shawarma wraps or these shawarma-spiced tacos.
• Use it as the flavorful sauce for a bowl. I love the turmeric tahini dressing in this buddha bowl!

How do you like to use tahini sauce? Let me know in the comments!

If you love this tahini sauce recipe…

Try another Middle Eastern recipe like hummus, baba ganoush, tzatziki, or Greek salad!

Tahini Sauce

rate this recipe:

5 from 3 votes

Prep Time: 5 mins

Total Time: 5 mins

Serves 4

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This easy tahini sauce recipe and its variations are delicious and versatile! Toss them onto salads, spread them on sandwiches, drizzle them on falafel, and more.

Ingredients

Basic Tahini Sauce

• ½ cup tahini
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons water, plus more as needed
• 1 small garlic clove, grated or pressed
• ½ teaspoon sea salt

Turmeric Tahini

• 1 recipe Basic Tahini Sauce
• ½ to 1 teaspoon dried turmeric
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

Green Tahini

• 1 recipe Basic Tahini Sauce
• Heaping ¾ cup cilantro
• Heaping ¾ cup parsley
• ¼ teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey
• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

Beet Tahini

• 1 recipe Basic Tahini Sauce
• 1 small beet, roasted and peeled
• ¼ teaspoon cumin
• ¼ teaspoon coriander
• Water, to thin, if necessary

Instructions

• Make Basic Tahini Sauce: In a small bowl, stir together the tahini, lemon juice, water, garlic, and sea salt.
• Make Turmeric Tahini: Add the turmeric, maple syrup, ginger, and olive oil to 1 recipe of Basic Tahini Sauce. Stir until combined.
• Make Green Tahini: Place 1 recipe of Basic Tahini Sauce in a food processor and add the cilantro, parsley, cumin, maple syrup, and olive oil. Pulse until combined.
• Make Beet Tahini: Place 1 recipe of Basic Tahini Sauce in a food processor and add the roasted beet, cumin, and coriander. Puree until smooth, adding water if needed.

Notes

I prefer these brands of tahini: Cedar’s, Seed + Mill, Soom

Since tahini brands vary in flavor, it’s important to taste and adjust. If you find any variation too bitter, add ¼ to ½ teaspoon maple syrup or honey to balance the flavor. If it’s too sharp, add ½ to 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil to mellow the flavor.