Tahini Sauce

Tahini sauce isn’t one of the 5 French mother sauces, but it’s a wonderful staple of Middle Eastern cuisine. Here’s my recipe.

Tahini sauce is one of my favorite condiments, hands down. It’s buttery, creamy, and nutty with a hint of acidity from the lemon to brighten it up. This recipe is a great basic tahini sauce that you’ll be making over and over again, so enjoy!

There are two types of tahini: unhulled and hulled. Unhulled, or whole, tahini, is made from sesame seeds and their black outer shell. This is why it’s a bit darker than hulled tahini, which is made from only the white seeds. You can use whichever you’d prefer for this tahini sauce.

There are so many things you can serve tahini sauce with, the options are endless! I love eating it with veggies like eggplant or carrots, or drizzling it on top of barbecued poultry or meats. Try my recipe for Eggplant with Tahini, Pine Nuts and Fresh Herbs.

Tips for Success:

• Tahini can separate in the jar over time, with the paste falling to the bottom of the jar. There will be a thinner liquid on top. It also depends on the brand of tahini you have. If you only use the thinner liquid for this recipe, it won’t work and it won’t be flavorful. So make sure to scoop up some of the paste at the bottom.
• Depending on how much paste you use, you may need more water than the recipe calls for. This is totally normal. Whisk in water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency.
• Feel free to play with the ingredient amounts here: part of the recipe depends on the tahini you use and its quality. You may find your sauce needs more tahini, more lemon, more honey, more water, or more salt. Keep tasting and evaluating.
• If your tahini is old, it will turn bitter, instead of buttery.

What to Serve it With:

You can drizzle this sauce on almost anything you’d like! From grilled or roasted proteins, veggies, or something fried and crispy. But I do have a few recipes for you. Try it with my delicious Eggplant recipe, Falafel, or Lamb Kofta Kebabs.

Ingredient Notes:

• Tahini – High quality tahini paste matters. Some taste more bitter than others. You really will taste the difference in this recipe. I also love Seed + Mill, which is linked here, but you can also buy at many grocery stores, including Whole Foods.
• Extra-Virgin Olive Oil – Same as the tahini, the better the quality olive oil you use, the better tasting your sauce will be.

Tahini Sauce

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 0 minutes mins

Course Sauces

Cuisine Israeli, Middle Eastern

Servings 0.5 cup

Equipment

• Medium Bowl
• Whisk

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ¼ cup tahini paste
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice or more if needed
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon honey
• ½ teaspoon Kosher salt or more if needed
• 1 tablespoons water or more if needed

Instructions

 

• Place the tahini paste, lemon juice, olive oil, honey, and Kosher salt into a medium-sized mixing bowl and whisk to combine. It may be grainy at first, this is okay. Add water and whisk again. The mixture should lighten up in color and smooth out as you continue to whisk. If the mixture is too thick or pasty, add more water, half a teaspoon at a time, until mixture reaches desired consistency. Taste and add more lemon juice or salt, if necessary.

Notes

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week. You may need to add more salt before serving, so taste and add more, if needed. 

Keyword Creamy, Lemon, Tahini, zesty

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!