Tahini Sauce

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May 17, 2024

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This authentic tahini sauce is easy to make with only a handful of ingredients. Just whisk together tahini, water, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and cumin for the best flavor. Then, drizzle it on falafels, kabobs, and roasted vegetables for one fantastic meal!

A bowl of tahini sauce with a spoon. — *Photo: Gayle McLeod*

The Best Tahini Sauce — Here’s Why

I’ve enjoyed tahini sauce paired with a variety of foods while traveling to Egypt, Israel, and Jordan. It’s a staple item served at virtually every main meal in the Middle East and often accompanies falafel, hummus, baba ganoush, tabbouleh, lentil salads, roasted vegetables, and more. When you’re dining mezze-style, you drizzle it, dip it, and enjoy it on a variety of foods! But no store-bought tahini sauce can compare to this homemade version. Here’s why:

It’s packed with fresh, authentic flavors. A classic tahini sauce should be tangy, garlicky, and nutty, and that’s exactly what you’ll get with this recipe. But if you want to switch things up, I’ve got a few tasty variations below.
It has the perfect consistency. The sauce should be smooth and creamy – not too thick and not too watery. The texture should be similar to a drizzly almond butter.

Tahini Sauce Ingredients

Tahini: This is the main ingredient, so go with the highest quality (I’ve linked my favorite brand in the recipe card notesbelow). But even better? Make your tahini at home – it’s super easy!
Lemon Juice: Always use freshly squeezed lemon juice for the best flavor (jarred lemon juice tastes muted).
Water: You can add more or less water to achieve the right consistency, so feel free to tweak this to your liking.
Garlic: While you can use garlic powder in a pinch, I do recommend using freshly minced garlic for the most robust flavor.
Sea Salt and Cumin: The seasoning duo that ties this sauce together.

Find the printable recipe with measurements below.

How To Make Tahini Sauce

Whisk the tahini sauce ingredients together, until it’s creamy and smooth. When you first start whisking you’ll notice some separation due to the water. Don’t worry, just keep whisking. After another minute, it’ll come back together for an ultra-creamy sauce.
Taste it and make any variations based on your personal flavor preferences. Want it tangier? Add more lemon. Want it spicier? Add some cayenne powder. Want it green? Add some herbs.
Use it immediately or store it for up to two weeks in the fridge. This recipe makes a little over one cup of sauce, so you should have plenty to enjoy!

FLAVOR Variations

Roasted Red Pepper Tahini Sauce: This version is smoky and nutty with a simple blend of tahini, roasted red peppers, lemon juice, and garlic.
Green Tahini Sauce: Add your favorite green herbs, such as parsley, cilantro, dill, or mint, and the tahini sauce to a food processor and pulse until smooth.
Spicy Tahini Sauce: Whisk in some cayenne powder, chili powder, za’atar spice, or more cumin. You could also blend the tahini sauce in a food processor with a jalapeno or serrano pepper for a spicy kick.
Garlic Tahini Sauce: If you’re a garlic lover, you could always add another clove or two of minced garlic. For a sweeter, milder garlic flavor you could roast a whole head of garlic and then add that to a food processor with the tahini sauce and blend until creamy.
Tahini Dressings: I’ve shown you how to make this lemon tahini dressing (which is simply a thinner version of this classic recipe) and maple mustard tahini dressing (which is slightly sweeter). The thinner consistency of the dressings make them perfect to drizzle on all your favorite salads.

A spoonful of tahini sauce next to falafels.

Ways To Use Tahini Sauce

Falafels: Falafel dipped with tahini sauce is the dreamiest pairing. And if you haven’t tried my falafel flatbread yet, whip a batch up! Add your favorite toppings, then drizzle tahini sauce on top.
Shawarma: This is a classic sauce to enjoy with shawarma. If you’re gluten-free, you can enjoy the shawarma ingredients a la carte and drizzle the sauce on top.
Toss with salads. Add this to almost any salad for a creamy, nutty touch. My favorites are lentil salad, broccoli and chickpea salad, or tabbouleh!
Drizzle on vegetables. Amp up cooked vegetables such as roasted broccoli, roasted cauliflower, air fryer carrots, or cabbage steaks. In my Healthy Meal Prep Cookbook you can also see how I drizzle different flavors of tahini sauce on cauliflower steaks and stuffed eggplants – so yum!

More Recipes You’ll Love

Shakshuka: My favorite easy breakfast packed with flavor!
Mediterranean Lentil Soup: A fan favorite around here.
Beef Shish Kabob: Perfect for summer grilling days.
Or this delicious list of Mediterranean diet recipes!

I can’t wait for you to start using this tahini sauce in your cooking! If you make it, I’d love to know how it turned out in the comment box below. Your review will help other readers in the community.

The Best Tahini Sauce Recipe

4.98 from 42 votes

Prep: 5

Total: 5

Servings: 8 servings

Author: Lisa Bryan

Print Pin Review Save

Description

This authentic tahini sauce is easy to make with only a few ingredients. Drizzle on falafels, kabobs, roasted vegetables, and more! Watch how I make this in my kitchen in the video below!

Video

Equipment

Stainless Steel Citrus Juicer A must-have kitchen tool for juicing citrus ingredients!
Glass Mixing Bowls I've had these bowls for ages to mix all sorts of things.

Ingredients

▢ ½ cup tahini
▢ ¼ cup water, or more for a thinner consistency
▢ ¼ cup lemon juice, from about 2 freshly squeezed lemons
▢ 2 garlic cloves, minced
▢ ½ teaspoon sea salt
▢ ¼ teaspoon cumin

Instructions

Whisk together. Add the tahini, water, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and cumin to a mixing bowl. Then whisk together until it's creamy. It may look a bit separated at first, but keep whisking until it's creamy. Alternatively, you could add all of the ingredients to a food processor and blend together.
Taste it. Taste the tahini sauce and adjust any flavors as desired to your liking, before serving.

Lisa’s Tips

If you use store-bought tahini, I recommend an organic brand like Kevala.
But don’t forget that it’s easy to make tahini at home, especially if you have a Vitamix blender. Check out my tahini recipe and video for more information.

Nutrition

Course: sauce

Cuisine: Middle Eastern, North African

Keyword: How to Make Tahini Sauce, Tahini Sauce, Tahini Sauce Recipe

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Recipe originally posted July 2019, but updated to include new photos and information for your benefit!

About the author

Lisa Bryan

Lisa is a bestselling cookbook author, recipe developer, and YouTuber (with over 2.5 million subscribers) living in sunny Southern California. She started Downshiftology in 2014, and is passionate about making healthy food with fresh, simple and seasonal ingredients.