Tahini sauce is one of our go-to toppings for a variety of savory dishes. It’s made from tahini, a dense paste made from crushed sesame seeds. Tahini sauce is a mixture of tahini paste, lemon juice, garlic, and water. This traditional sauce is served in Israel and in Arab countries throughout the Middle East. The sauce is used as a condiment to accompany dishes like hummus, falafel, and babaganoush. It can also be served alongside a kosher meat meal as a dairy-free alternative to cream sauce.
Tahini Sauce Recipe & Video – How to make creamy, delicious tahini sauce with garlic and fresh lemon juice. Step-by-step video below!
Tahini paste can usually be found in the peanut butter aisle or the Middle Eastern section at the grocery store. Middle Eastern stores sell pre-mixed tahini sauce, but my husband swears by making it from scratch. The flavor of homemade is fresher, creamier, and more delicate. My husband walked me through the process, step by step, just like his mother used to make it when he was a child in Ramat Gan, Israel.
While I would love to give you the definitive tahini sauce recipe, making it properly is a bit of an art form. It’s best learned in the kitchen beside somebody who has been making it their whole life. I have included the basic process and ingredient measurements here, but bear in mind that each batch of tahini sauce is different. Ingredients must be added slowly, and the cook should keep a close eye on consistency and flavor throughout the process.
Once prepared, this recipe can be stored in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks in an airtight container. This sauce is gluten free, vegan, healthy and tasty. Enjoy!
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Video by Entice Films
Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup tahini sesame seed paste - I prefer the paste made from light colored seeds
- 3/4 cup lukewarm water, or more for consistency
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
- 2 teaspoons fresh parsley, minced (optional)
NOTES
Instructions
- Grind tahini paste, lukewarm water, garlic, lemon juice and salt together in a food processor or blender until sauce is creamy and ivory-colored. A food processor is the easiest way to make this sauce; scrape the sides of the processor periodically during processing. If using a blender, you may need to use a long-handled spoon to break up the thick part of the sauce once every 30 seconds; this will keep it from clogging your blender blades. After a few minutes of blending, sauce will turn into a rich, smooth paste. If mixture is too thick, slowly add more water until it reaches the preferred consistency. You may need quite a bit of water depending on the thickness of your tahini paste.
- If using tahini to top hummus or a meat dish, keep it thick and creamy. As a condiment for pita or falafel, a more liquid sauce is usually preferred. Taste often during the blending process; add more lemon juice or salt, if desired.
Nutrition
Easy and delicious! Took me back to the tahini sauce we ate with falafel in Israel. Will definitely make again!
This is pretty much the Lebanese/Egyptian way. The influence is everywhere. 🥰🥰🥰
Delicious as a mayo replacement on roast beef or turkey sandwiches.
I add about a quarter teaspoon of ground cumin and it gives it a little something extra. Sometimes I also blend in a peeled tomato. I learnt these extras from a Yemenite friend.
Tori, I would eat this with a spoon! Okay, truth told, I already have! Tangy and smooth, nutty and garlicky. I’ve used it as a sauce, a spread and a dip for veggies. I will look no further for a good tahini sauce. I found it here! Thanks Tori!
Excellent!!
Tori,
Thanks for this recipe. I have been searching for the secret ingredient that makes the foodcourt Falafel Pitas so special. My search is over. This is the sauce! A must add for Falafel Pitas. Did it all from scratch and now eating it with a spoon.!!
An immersion blender works great!
It seems people don’t make their own tahini. That’s a pity as it’s very easy to make. However the one and only time i made tahini sauce i didn’t like it at all. That was a pity as it sounded great. I thought I’d found a really nice sauce. I’ll try it again in case it was me and something i did wrong..i hope it was.
Guess what I’m going to make this evening. What a wonderful recipe short and sweet! Can’t wait to try it. Will let you know later on ie. tomorrow. Thanks a million I’m going to be a little piggy at the BBQ tonight!
Thank you for the lovely recipe!! It is delicious.
This is absolutely amazing.. especially during this time I I’m a pediatric nurse and welcome any and all.. good recipes! Ty!!
This recipe is amazing!!! Thank you for sharing. I added a bit more water to this because the consistency is more of a dip. Very tasty!
How do you store tahini that has been mixed?
In a covered dish in the refrigerator.
I put it in a squeeze condiment bottle – like the ones for ketchup or mustard. I have one with a little top on it, works perfectly to squeeze a little sauce out onto whatever I need.
I made this in just a few minutes In the food processor and it was delightful! Smooth, creamy and wonderful with my falafel. I would add a little more water to thin it out if I were using it in a pita pocket. I was just using it as a dip.
Wonderful!
Your ingredients are fine. I just don’t understand why people on the web suggest using a blender for this simple task. I mix it in the serving bowl, a few spoon full of tahini paste, some mashed garlic, freshly pressed lemon, mix with a small spoon, add water, mix, add more water, done, less than 3 minutes, and no washing your mixer, and make only as much as needed for the meal. Fresh is a key word, it may keep in the fridge for days, but lemon juice looses it’s magic in hours.
Have you tried in a blender? Gives it a light whipped texture that is so lovely. The hand mixing method works perfectly well and we use it often, but the texture provided by a blender is really special.
The real thing! Thank you!
I am about to attempt making my own falafel. Your tahini sauce recipe looks easy enough to make. I want to add parsley, but wonder how the stuff in a jar would do instead of fresh?
Sorry I don’t understand your question… parsley in a jar? Or tahini in a jar? Tahini that comes in a jar is not tahini sauce, it needs other ingredients added to it. I’ve never seen jarred parsley.
oh, i understand this question… it depends what else is in the jar, usually a veg oil and sometimes with other spices.
try it with + without, the parsley is an accent so see if you like it your way. maybe if you have jarred mint.
but neither taste as good as the fresh thing ;D