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This easy lemon tahini dressing is perfect on salads, roasted vegetables, and grains. You can easily customize it to your personal taste. Ready in less than 10 minutes!
You may also like my Creamy Balsamic Dressing or this Creamy Pesto Dressing.
I thought it was about time to put a quick guide on here explaining how to make tahini sauce/dressing.
It’s definitely a go-to of mine, especially for veggie-based dishes. It comes together quickly, and you can use it on all kinds of things.
You also don’t have to dirty up your blender or food processor, which is always a bonus for me. 😀
Even if you’ve never cooked with tahini before, chances are that you’re already familiar with it since it’s a key ingredient in most hummus recipes.
Tahini can usually be found in the nut butter section of most grocery stores. If you can’t find it there, try it in the ethnic foods aisle.
It’s also pretty good for you! Research says tahini can help to lower cholesterol (which may or may not be true), but, either way, it tastes good.
How to make tahini dressing
Whisk the tahini, lemon juice, honey (or maple syrup or agave if vegan), garlic, ground cumin, and 1 tablespoon of water together in a bowl. Add more water as needed to thin it out.
You can customize it until it’s the best tahini dressing you’ve ever had. 🙂 I put a couple of suggestions for extra add-ins in the recipe card. I love adding smoked paprika to it, for example.
Love tahini dressing? Try this eggplant and spinach salad with tahini dressing or my vegan barley salad with roasted veggies.
Tahini sauce uses
Tahini dressing/sauce can be used for many different things.
Anything from salads (this lemon tahini dressing would be awesome on a kale salad), to roasted veggies, on grains (like in a Buddha bowl), on falafel, on fish or meat, as a sandwich or burger spread (tahini on toast is great!), as a dip for raw vegetables… the possibilities are virtually endless.
You can slap vegan tahini dressing on practically anything.
More homemade salad dressings to try:
- Homemade Ranch Dressing
- Easy Caesar Salad Dressing (10 Minutes & No Blender!)
- Chipotle Cilantro Lime Ranch Dressing
- Mango Salad Dressing
I hope you love this creamy tahini dressing recipe!
Let me know in the comments below if you’ve made it or if you have any questions.
Easy Lemon Tahini Dressing
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons tahini
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon honey (or maple syrup/agave if vegan)
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
- 3 tablespoons water
- Salt & pepper to taste
More add-in suggestions (optional - use none, one, or all):
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped chives
Instructions
- Give the tahini a stir in its jar if it looks separated. Add the 4 tablespoons tahini to a medium bowl, along with the lemon juice, honey, garlic, cumin, and 1 tablespoon of the water. Whisk together.
- Whisk in 1 tablespoon of water at a time until the dressing reaches your desired consistency. I like mine with 3 tablespoons water, but adjust as needed.
- Taste dressing and season it with salt & pepper as needed. Whisk in additional ingredients if using. The smoked paprika gives the dressing a nice, smoky flavor, and the chives provide a burst of freshness.
Notes
- Everyone's tastes vary, so if you find the dressing isn't sweet enough, add more sweetener. If you want it more lemony, add more lemon juice. My ingredient quantities are just suggestions.
- Store any dressing leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days. You may need to add more water to thin it out again.
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I had to leave out the paprika, garlic and chives–but the dressing is perfectly balanced. A hint of lemon and sweetness. I used about 3/4 teaspoon salt for a double size batch and that is just right for us. Also, I used a mini blender and it whipped it up into the silkiest mousse like texture. I kept adding water to thin it out but it just got creamier and lovelier. Anyway, its divine! Thanks
I’m glad you enjoyed it!!
Excellent!
So glad you liked it!
I just made this with the last of my tahini. Qh My Goodness! It’s delicious. Tonight it will go on a grilled veg salad, but Its good all by itself. Thanks for the great recipe.
I am so glad you liked it, Marilyn!
Love it, added the smoked paprika. Yum! Love that your mum and sis commented. 😊
Excellent!! Haha yes, they sometimes read my blog 😀
just poured a load of this over some quinoa. Delicious.
So glad you liked it!!
I recently had honey lemon tahini dressing on a dish of roasted farm vegetables at Central Market in Petaluma. OMG YUM!!! The vegetables ranged from thin slices of browned delicata squash to root veggies to snap peas to the kitchen sink, but it was so good that we ate it all and mopped up the sauce with bread. If you are trying to coax your young ones to eat their veggies, I can’t think of a better way.
Thank you!!! You’re making me hungry haha.
They liternally have the BEST roasted vegetables in the WORLD….Have you tried this sauce? Does it taste similar? I am dying to recreate this at home.!!!
Is that the handsome bowl I got you?
Nope! Got this one in San Francisco.
All these possibilities for this dressing, yet you’ve made it with exactly zero things for me. Will you soon?
No.