Just a basic + awesome, easy tahini sauce! With just a couple ingredients, you have an all-purpose sauce for drizzling on anything.
If you like hummus and creamy, healthy sauce recipes, you're in the right place my friend! At my house, we are all sauce people because sauce can magically tie any combination of ingredients together in texture and flavor. We also make a lot of grain bowls, so having an all-purpose creamy sauce makes grain bowl night so easy.
Lately, this tahini sauce has been my go-to for roasted veggie side dishes. I'm obsessed with these Moroccan-spiced roasted carrots and these harissa roasted sweet potatoes, which have a tahini sauce variation drizzled over the top to serve. Once you learn how to make this all-purpose sauce, you can level up whatever dish your heart desires!
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Ingredients
Probably the best thing about this sauce (besides the wonderful flavor) is that it's made with a handful of simple, pantry/fridge staple ingredients. Tahini is the key ingredient here, which I typically keep stocked because we make homemade hummus almost weekly. If you don't usually keep tahini on hand, hummus and sauces are two very good reasons to start!
Substitutions & Variations
Because this recipe is made from just a few essential ingredients, I don't recommend any substitutions. However, you can vary the flavors and consistency by adding spices or adjusting the ingredient ratio. Here are some of my recommendations:
- Maple syrup - Tahini + maple = DELICIOUS. Drizzle in about one tablespoon of pure maple syrup and whisk it in with the other ingredients.
- Spicy - Whisk in some harissa paste, red chili paste, or ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper to bring some heat.
- Cumin + coriander - Add in some additional flavorings to mix it up a bit. I love the combination of cumin and coriander.
- Adjust the consistency - use less water for a thicker consistency, or more water for a thinner consistency. You might want it slightly thinner for use as a salad dressing, but thicker to smother on a sandwich or burger. Totally up to you!
Let's Make This Yummy Tahini Sauce
Step 1: First, you'll combine tahini, minced fresh garlic, lemon juice, and salt in a small mixing bowl. Use a fork or mini whisk to combine.
Step 2: Add some cool or room temperature water (not warm), and whisk it together. It will look chunky and awkward at first, but just keep whisking.
Step 3: Almost there... keep whisking! It should take about 30 seconds total.
Step 4: THERE it is. Once the tahini sauce becomes smooth, taste and add salt to your liking, and more lemon if desired.
At this point it usually takes all my will power not to just keep eating this stuff by the spoonful!
Tahini Sauce FAQs
Nope! Basic tahini sauce sauce is free from dairy and nuts. It does contain seeds (tahini is made of ground up sesame seeds).
Yes; since we make tahini sauce with a bit of fresh garlic and lemon juice, it does need to be refrigerated.
I recommend storing the leftover tahini sauce in an airtight glass jar or container in the fridge for up to two weeks.
How to Use Tahini Sauce
Because this sauce is a basic, no-frills sauce (that's also delicious), it can go with almost anything! Here are some ideas:
- Spread onto wraps and pita sandwiches
- Spoon over hummus before serving (have you tried my lemon dill hummus??)
- Drizzle over chickpea shawarma
- Serve as a salad dressing
- Roasted veggies - either drizzle on top or dip (think honey roasted parsnips, air fryer parsnips, or simple roasted sweet potatoes)
- Use as a special sauce on burgers, like these smoky turkey burgers
- Pour onto grilled proteins as a sauce
- Use as a sauce for grain bowls
Pairing
Tahini sauce is amazing drizzled into other salads, as well as a dip for roasted veggies! Below are some recipes you may want to try with .
Did you make this Tahini Sauce? Don't forget to leave a star rating 🌟 and comment below, and tag me on Instagram and Pinterest so I can see what you made!
📖 Recipe
Basic + Awesome Tahini Sauce
- Total Time: 2 minutes
- Yield: ~1 cup
Description
An easy and delicious all-purpose tahini sauce. Drizzle over roasted veggies, your favorite grilled protein, burgers, wraps, shawarma, grain bowls... whatever your heart desires!
Ingredients
- ½ cup tahini
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (plus more to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt (plus more to taste)
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Combine tahini, garlic, lemon, and salt. Add tahini, garlic, lemon juice, and salt to a bowl. Use a small whisk or fork to whisk the ingredients a few times.
- Add water. Add the water to the tahini mixture and begin whisking everything together.
- Whisk! It will look a little lumpy at first, but keep whisking until it becomes smooth.
- Taste and adjust. Taste, and add more salt or lemon if desired.
Notes
- Storage. Store leftover tahini sauce in an airtight glass jar or container in the fridge.
- Serving. Tahini sauce is so versatile! I love it as a sauce for grain bowls and salads, drizzled onto roasted veggies, as a sauce for falafel sandwiches, even drizzled onto hummus.
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Stir
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 tablespoons
- Calories: 90
- Sugar: 0.1 g
- Sodium: 78.6 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 3.5 g
- Fiber: 0.7 g
- Protein: 2.6 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
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