Keep this lemon tahini dressing on hand in the fridge, and you'll eat more salad than you ever have before! It's creamy, nutty, bright, and delicious.
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Of all of the homemade salad dressings out there, this lemon tahini dressing might be the one I make most often. It’s really versatile – it tastes just as good with tomatoes and cucumbers in the summer as it does with roasted sweet potatoes, cauliflower, or broccoli in the fall. It consists of a short list of ingredients that I always keep on hand, and it’s super easy to stir together. No blender or food processor required!
Nowadays, most home cooks I know are familiar with tahini, but in case you haven’t heard of it, it’s a paste made from ground sesame seeds that originated in the Middle East. It’s what makes dips like hummus and baba ganoush so velvety and rich, and if you’re a fan of falafel, there’s a good chance you’ve drizzled nutty tahini sauce on top. In my kitchen, I use tahini on oatmeal, in cookies, ice cream, and more, but I especially love it in this simple tahini dressing recipe. It’s creamy, rich, nutty, and bright. I like to keep it on hand at all times, and once you try it, I think you will, too.
Tahini Dressing Recipe Ingredients
Ready to make tahini salad dressing? You’ll need these simple ingredients:
- Tahini – It makes up the dressing’s creamy base. For the best results, use really smooth, runny tahini here, not the dry, stiff stuff that you might find at the bottom of a jar. Tahini’s consistency can also vary from brand to brand; my favorites are Soom, Cedar’s, Trader Joe’s, and Seed+Mill.
- Fresh lemon juice – It makes the dressing nice and bright.
- Sesame oil – It highlights the tahini’s rich, nutty flavor.
- Garlic – For sharp depth of flavor.
- Maple syrup – For balance! It tames the bright lemon juice and sharp garlic.
- Extra-virgin olive oil – It adds body and richness.
- And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Add the ingredients to a small bowl along with 3 tablespoons of water, and whisk to combine.
As the dressing starts to come together, the tahini will seize up, and the sauce will thicken. Don’t worry about it! It’s totally normal. Keep whisking, and you’ll have a smooth, creamy tahini salad dressing in no time.
If the dressing is still thicker than you’d like it to be, add more water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches your desired consistency. Season to taste with more lemon juice, salt, maple syrup, or sesame oil, and enjoy!
How to Use Lemon Tahini Dressing
Clearly, this lemon tahini dressing is fantastic on salads. I call for it in this Sweet Potato Salad recipe, but it’d also be great on this kale salad, this roasted cauliflower salad, this pomegranate salad, this beet salad, or this butternut squash salad. Not in the mood for salad? No problem. Here are a few more delicious ways to use this tahini dressing:
- Drizzle it over roasted veggies like Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, acorn squash, cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes, or beets. I also love it with grilled eggplant, zucchini, and mixed grilled vegetables in the summertime.
- Spoon it over falafel or a chickpea shawarma wrap.
- Add it to a bowl. Try it in this Buddha bowl or this sweet potato quinoa bowl, or make your own bowl with your favorite veggies, a grain like farro, quinoa, or brown rice, and a protein like baked tofu, lentils, or roasted chickpeas.
How do you like to use lemon tahini dressing? Let me know in the comments!
More Favorite Dressings and Sauces
If you love this tahini dressing recipe, try one of these flavorful dressings next:
- Lemon Vinaigrette
- Homemade Italian Dressing
- Greek Salad Dressing
- Vegan Ranch
- Green Goddess Dressing
- Homemade Caesar Dressing
- Cilantro Lime Dressing
- Coleslaw Dressing
Tahini Dressing
Ingredients
- ¼ cup smooth tahini*
- 3 tablespoons water, plus more if needed
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 small garlic clove, grated
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the tahini, water, lemon juice, olive oil, maple syrup, sesame oil, garlic, and salt until smooth.
- If the dressing is too thick, add more water, ½ tablespoon at a time, until it’s a drizzleable consistency.
This was good but improved with about 1/2 tbs of low sodium tamari. Next time i will not use or reduce the sweetener to a small dash. Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you Phoebe! I’m so excited to try this dressing! It could be my new favorite thing! By the way… I’m guessing you can do the same with a lime for a slightly different taste if you wanted to? Also, what is the shelf life of this dressing? How long will it be fresh in the refrigerator?
Andee
I hope you love it Andee! Yes, I think lime would work well. It keeps well for 4-5 days in the fridge. It will thicken as it chills, but you can just thin it out with a little water before using it.
Thank you so much Phoebe! I can’t wait!
I am new to eating healthier but just had a salad with a lemon tahini dressing on the salad. It was amazing! So now I have to make it. Since I love your recipes, I thought I would check and see if you had a recipe and here it is. I do have a question about the tahini. The recipe calls for “smooth tahini” which I am assuming is tahini paste? I have Mighty Sesame Co tahini and it says “creamy, squeezable and ready”… can I use that? And if I can, should I leave out the water? Thank you, Andee
Hi Andee, yep, you can definitely use that! I’d wait to decide about water until you see the consistency of the dressing when it’s mixed together. You may or may not need it. We say smooth tahini because, similar to natural peanut butter, the tahini paste at the bottom of a jar can sometimes become dry and stiff. We recommend avoiding that dry part for the best results.
Thank you Phoebe! I’m so excited to try this dressing! It could be my new favorite thing! By the way… I’m guessing you can do the same with a lime for a slightly different taste if you wanted to?
Andee
Looks like a good recipe but too sweet when made exactly as described. Could be the maple syrup but I think the roasted sesame oil might also contribute. Tried to offset with more lemon but still not to my liking.
This was just what I was looking for to top off my chopped up veggie salad. The Tahini I use (Joyva) is pretty runny, even right out of the fridge. So I figured I’d add the water last to thin it out if it needed it. Turns out it didn’t! This dressing is so quick and easy and just the right amount to last through 3 or 4 salads and I’m pretty sure it’ll go on all the different salads I make. Thank you so much!
I’m so glad you love it, Marilyn!
This is absolutely delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
I’m so glad you love it!
Great dressing. I used mine for salad (roasted sweet potatoes, kale, nuts, cranberries…)
Easy to make, if you don’t have sesame oil, don’t panic, it’ll still taste great. The lemon and maple syrup combo with the nutty tahini is the star.
What is the best way to store this dressing? And how long will it last?
Hi Linda, I’m so glad you loved the dressing! Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will keep well for about 4 days. If it thickens in the fridge, just stir in a little water before using it.
Hi. All the recipes that I find on your site are wonderful. Although you often do a nutritional breakdown for a complete recipe you most often do not for your in addition to add ins. Would love it if you did. Thanks
Creamy, lemony, and delicious. Can’t recommend more highly.
So glad you loved it, Tom!
Made this last night. I added more lemon but LOVED it! Thanks!
So glad you loved it, Carrie!
Oops! I had too many browser windows open for my last comment, and remarked on the wrong recipe. I have *also* made this dressing twice, no substitutions, and it is delicious!
I have now made these brownies twice and they are delightful. Then I remember they are filled with fiber and protein, and I have another 😀 I also sub the oil for banana (1:1) — gives a hint of Entenmann’s banana chocolate crunch. Thanks for the recipe!
Yum! Used it as a dressing for Cole slaw and it was great!
I had Brussels sprouts and cauliflower that needed to be used and started a salad recipe. Didn’t care for the dressing so did a quick search for a tahini dressing and this popped up. WOW! I had to make a double batch because we ate so much just with raw cauliflower! But dressed with shredded Brussels, parm, cauliflower, and pistachios made this salad next level! This will definitely be on the rotation!
I’m so glad you loved it, Gena!
I made this dressing exactly as written in the recipe—It was delicious! I drizzled it on roasted broccoli and will use it on roasted cauliflower next. It was so good I drizzled some on a thin, plain wafer type cookie—It was so yummy!
It’s delicious! For me It tastes a little peanuty but I did substitute lime instead of lemon because that’s all I had. I really liked it with my salad.
Amazing recipe!! Salad dressings are often difficult for me to master, this one was so easy to put together. I loved it!
I followed the recipe exactly and it’s fantastic! I’ll be making this often. Thanks for the recipe.
Made this today! I sadly had no maple syrup on hand so i dissolved some cane sugar into the lemon juice instead. It was absolutely delicious, thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Loved it. Left out the maple syrup because I didn’t want any sweetness. It was perfect.
I’m glad you enjoyed it!