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These tahini recipes are healthy and delicious ways to enjoy the popular sesame paste, from Buddha bowls to sweet potato fries to cookies!

Tahini Recipes
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Do you use tahini? You might have bought a jar of tahini if you’ve ever made homemade hummus. But it’s not just for hummus! This sesame paste is common in Middle Eastern or Mediterranean dishes, and you can use it in dressings, dipping sauces, and even desserts! Tahini is one of our favorite ingredients to use in foods of all kinds, Here are all our top tahini recipes that make healthy eating undeniably delicious.

And now…the top tahini recipes to use up a jar!

What is tahini, anyway?

What is tahini sauce? Tahini is a paste made of sesame seeds, typically used in Middle Eastern or Mediterranean dishes. Tahini is vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, Paleo, keto, and Whole 30 friendly, so it works for many diets. It’s purely sesame seeds and salt!

Tahini is perfect for making creamy sauces for salads and Buddha bowls, and it’s also fantastic for desserts like cookies or as a replacement for peanut butter for peanut allergies. It’s perfect for use in vegan dishes as a creamy alternative to dairy.

What does tahini taste like?

On its own, tahini has a bitter flavor. It’s not sweet like most nut butters or seed butters! So, tahini is best when mixed with other flavors, especially an acid like lemon juice which brightens it. If using tahini in a dessert, it works well mixed with a sweetener like maple syrup.

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15 Best Tahini Recipes (Tahini Sauce & More!)

Tahini sauce
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This tahini sauce is a vegan lemon tahini dressing that’s perfect on anything: a Buddha bowl, a sandwich or veggie burger, or as a dip!

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 2/3 cup (10 tablespoons) 1x
  • Category: Sauce
  • Method: Stirred
  • Cuisine: Mediterranean
  • Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

Scale
  • ⅓ cup tahini
  • ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice (2 small or 1 1/2 large lemons)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons water

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, combine the tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, maple syrup, and kosher salt and whisk to combine. Add the water and whisk until a creamy dressing forms; you may need to add a bit more depending on the consistency of your tahini.
  2. Serve immediately or refrigerate and bring to room temperature before serving. Extra dressing keeps for about 1 month in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

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Last updated: January 2021

About the authors

Alex & Sonja

Hi! We’re Alex & Sonja Overhiser, authors of the acclaimed cookbooks A Couple Cooks and Pretty Simple Cooking—and a real life couple who cooks together. We founded the A Couple Cooks website in 2010 to share seasonal recipes and the joy of home cooking. Now, we’ve got over 3,000 well-tested recipes, including Mediterranean diet, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, smoothies, cocktails, and more!

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2 Comments

  1. Edith Koren says:

    I cannot find Best Tahini Dressing or any with ginger. The links on highlighted areas are not working as expected. I just purchased Tahini and will be trying your recipes soon.

  2. Christi Cofino says:

    Inspiring recipes!