Creamy, nutty, and bright, this easy tahini sauce will become a staple in your kitchen. Drizzle it over falafel, grain bowls, salads, and 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 recipe.
This tahini sauce 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 Middle Eastern 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, it’s a key ingredient in spreads like hummus and baba ganoush. These days, you can find it in most well-stocked grocery stores. 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 – Instead of using minced garlic, I finely grate it so that it fully incorporates into the sauce, adding a kick of garlic flavor.
- Water – Add water, as needed, to thin your sauce until it has a smooth, creamy texture.
- 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 Tahini – Stir 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger, 1 teaspoon olive oil, and 1 teaspoon maple syrup into the base recipe to make this vibrant, sunny sauce.
- Beet Tahini – Beets + tahini are a match made in heaven! Make the entire recipe in the food processor, blending a peeled and roasted beet, 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander with the base ingredients to give the sauce a sweet, spiced flavor. Add water as necessary to thin.
- Green Goddess Tahini – Like the beet variation, this super-green sauce comes together in the food processor. I pulse a heaping 3/4 cup fresh cilantro, a heaping 3/4 cup fresh parsley, 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon maple syrup, and 1 teaspoon olive oil into 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 bread, or I drizzle it over my morning avocado toast. Here are a few more of my favorite ways to use it:
- As a salad dressing. I love it on green salads, roasted vegetable salads, pasta salads, grain salads, and more.
- On grilled or roasted veggies. I especially like it with roasted cauliflower, squash, or Brussels sprouts!
- On sandwiches or wraps, like falafel wraps or chickpea shawarma wraps.
- On a grain bowl. I especially 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 any of these flavorful sauces or dressings next:
- Tahini Dressing
- Green Goddess Dressing
- Tzatziki Sauce
- Carrot Ginger Dressing
- Sesame Ginger Dressing
- Easy Peanut Sauce
- Romesco Sauce
- Or any of these 15 Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes!
Tahini Sauce
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
- Maple syrup or honey, as needed
- Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together the tahini, lemon juice, water, garlic, and salt. Season to taste. If you find the tahini sauce 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. If it's too thick, add water, as needed, to reach your desired consistency.See the blog post about for the turmeric, beet, and green tahini sauce variations.
Notes
Haven’t made yet. Can’t find Cedar’s brand anywhere even on company website. Also Soom tahini is jarred and looks thick but the Seed + Nut brand is in a squeezable bottle and labeled as a sauce? Which to use for your recipe? Confusing.
Tahini Sauce recipe. At the end of the ingredients list you say Extra virgi olive oil as needed. When would you add more? Why would you add any?
If you scroll down to the very next paragraph, Instruction #1 answers this: “If it’s too sharp, add ½ to 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil to mellow the flavor.” 🙂
I love this recipe! I made the turmeric tahini sauce and it was a nice balance of tangy, sweet, and salty flavors. It reminds me of a similar salad dressing I love from Erewhon market. I used it on a salad and with roasted veggies. I’ll definitely make it again!
Hi Justine, I’m so glad you loved it!
Hi! How long does this last in the fridge?
I made it and it was great! I wish I could put a pic here. I put on roasted veggies and fish, it was really good. But this recipe is for way a lot of sause, next time I will make three times less. Thank you!
Good basic recipe, have made it multiple times.
All 6 tb of water at once was a bit messy, so the next time I started with 4 tb and added 1 tb at a time until I got where I wanted (about 7 tb water total).
Will try tweaking it with black sesame paste that I have for next time.
Hi, I’m so glad you’re enjoying the tahini sauce! Great tip to add the water a little at a time.
I just can’t seem to get this thin. Tasty, but like a paste. More water just made the oil separate out.
Hi Amy, it will separate when you add the water, if you keep stirring, it’ll eventually come back together.
Yum. I just made the green goddess version without paying too much attention to measurements.. I forgot to add the cumin but I threw in a green onion and half a jalapeño I had sitting in the fridge for a bit of a kick. So good!
Hi Shannon, so glad you loved it!
I made this for the first time at Christmas and it was more than awesome! I put it on roasted broccoli along with pomegranet seeds.
At first I was afraid of all the water the recipe called for, but I followed the recipe and it turned out perfectly. I used Roland brand tahini. I think this would likely be good on roasted carrots and sweet potatoes or sweet potato fries as a dip.
Hi Laura, I’m so glad you loved the tahini sauce!
Hi Jeanine,
Could you please tell me where you store your jar of tahini once it has been opened? Is it safe to store in a cupboard or should it go in the fridge?
Thank you!
Hi Stacey, We store it in the fridge!
Thank you, Phoebe!
I love Tahini sauce over my Doner kebab, lots of salad and chili sauce
I love this recipe. Just made it today for Hummus, and the outcome is fantastic.
Big thumbs up to you for this brilliant recipe.
I’m glad you loved it!
I love this recipe. Just made it today for Hummus, and the outcome is fantastic.
Big thumbs up to you for this brilliant recipe.
It’s true: this is the best and most versatile use of tahini I have found. Love it!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Have you ever made your own tahini? I make mine all the time. I buy my white seeds at sprouts because they are super fresh than I roast a huge tray of the at 350 for 20-35 minutes stirring them occasionally so they don’t burn. You need to keep your eye on them.
When they cool down a bit throw them into a food processor and add salt. After it is completely blended I add a date or two. A bit of sugar cuts down if there is any bitterness. Usually when you make it from scratch it’s not bitter. I have a sweet tooth. Enjoy it’s so delicious
That sound delicious!
Great idea Ally, I love the date idea, I plan to try roasting the seeds as you do. Thank you, Amy R
Delicious with some harissa added for a bit of heat!
oh yum!
Basic one was so good….I will discover the other ones later
Thank you
I’m so glad you enjoyed!
I made your basic tahini sauce to go with some falafel pitas. I served them with the tahini and a cucumber/tomato combo. Delish!
I can’t wait to make your other tahini recipes.
I’m so glad you loved it!
I’m totally new to tahini sauce! I prefer lime to lemon, would using lime instead of lemon in the basic sauce work or would it be totally gross?
Hi McKenzie, I haven’t tried it so I’m really not sure! It’s delicious with lemon though, a classic pairing.
I did this with lime & it was great. Not quite as shard as lemon.
Felt like the 6 tablespoons of water was a bit much but I always like to follow a recipe as written before changing things. Had it said up to 6 tbls of water I would have been more cautious. Still a good sauce. Next time I’ll just as water to desired consistency.
Thanks for the tip, I’ll add “up to.” It’s possible my tahini was more thick.