I use this garlic tahini sauce on everything! Use this quick and easy sauce as a dip or salad dressing, drizzle it over vegetables and meats, and serve with pita and wraps.
Watch the video
Since sharing our recipe for making homemade tahini, we’ve been experimenting with more ways to use tahini. Tahini is a staple when making hummus, but there are many more ways to use it. This easy dairy-free tahini sauce is one of them. I keep a jar in my fridge at all times!
I love serving this creamy sauce over salad and roasted veggies, like these honey-roasted carrots. And always serve it next to crispy falafel and pita bread. For a different spin, try this tahini salad dressing with maple syrup and toasted sesame oil (so delicious).
Tahini sauce ingredients
We’ve made a few different tahini sauce recipes over the years. Still, this Middle Eastern inspired lemon garlic version is the recipe I go back to over and over again.
- Tahini — The base of our dressing. Tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds. Before measuring your tahini, give it a good stir so that it’s runny and smooth. Buy it or make it yourself. Here’s how we make tahini.
- Fresh garlic — A must for me when making tahini sauce. I like to grate it using a microplane or use my knife to turn it into a paste (I’ve shared a photo below).
- Fresh lemon juice — Keeps our sauce fresh and bright.
- Olive oil — Makes the sauce smooth and luxurious.
- Cumin, cayenne, fresh parsley, and salt — Season and add flavor.
- Warm water — The secret ingredient for making the smoothest, creamiest tahini sauce.
Tahini sauce is much more than the sum of its parts. The tahini, lemon, and water combine to make the dreamiest, most delicious sauce. It also happens to be dairy-free and vegan. Not to mention, easy to make.
How to make tahini sauce
We’ll start by stirring tahini, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and a pinch of salt in a bowl. It starts creamy and then might seize up on you — see the photo below. Don’t worry if it looks lumpy. We will fix that when we add the water.
As you whisk in the warm water, the tahini sauce turns into a creamy sauce. You can add as much or as little water as you like — it all depends on what you plan to use it for. For spreads, add less. Add a bit more if you want to use the sauce as a dressing or for drizzling.
To finish the sauce, add extra flavor with spices and fresh parsley. I love a slight smokiness from ground cumin, some spice from cayenne, and a fresh pop of color and flavor from parsley.
Storing tips
Keep homemade tahini sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Still, we’d be shocked if you didn’t find ways to enjoy it by then!
Recipes with tahini sauce
We use tahini sauce as the salad dressing for our kale and bean salad and love serving it with roasted veggies. Look at these honey-roasted carrots and this roasted asparagus with tahini sauce. I’m also partial to this chicken hummus lettuce wrap recipe with a tahini sauce drizzle (so good!).
Creamy Tahini Sauce
- PREP
- TOTAL
Use this easy lemon garlic tahini sauce on anything. Try it as a dip or salad dressing, drizzle it over vegetables and meats, and serve with pita and wraps.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1/3 cup (80ml) well stirred tahini, try our tahini recipe
1 garlic clove, finely grated or made into a paste, see note
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, half of a large lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
Pinch fine sea salt
2 to 6 tablespoons lukewarm water
Pinch cumin, optional
Pinch cayenne, optional
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, optional
Directions
1Whisk tahini, garlic paste, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt in a bowl until combined — the mixture may thicken and look lumpy.
2Whisk in the water, a tablespoon at a time, until you have your desired consistency. If making a spread, look for the consistency of peanut butter. For a sauce, add enough water to resemble the consistency of runny yogurt.
3Stir in the optional cumin, cayenne pepper, and parsley. Taste for seasoning and adjust with additional salt or lemon juice.
4Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- How to make garlic paste: Use a fine microplane and grate the garlic or make a paste with your knife. Peel and finely mince the garlic clove. Sprinkle the garlic with a pinch of coarse salt, then use the flat side of a knife to drag it over the garlic, scraping it across the cutting board’s surface. Pile up the garlic again, then repeat a few more times until the garlic is a smooth paste.
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.
Delicious, easy and fast. great dip for roast chicken and veggies.
I’m very new to cooking, please be kind. What is tahini?
Hi Jennifer, Tahini is a sesame seed paste. Here’s our detailed explanation of tahini and how to make it.
I make a really good tahini dressing. Just my own creation, no recipe. However, I do enjoy looking up recipes for things I already make to see what others do or come up with. That’s how I landed on this recipe. My tahini dressing is very good, but this one absolutely blew me and my husband away. Going forward, this is the tahini dressing that I will continue to make.
My family loved the lemony tahini sauce! It was perfect with your falafel recipe. A welcome change from the traditional tzatziki and hummus. Flavourful, fast and fresh. Can’t wait to make it again.
Thank you for this easy recipe. I have just made it and it has turned out great! I am going to try your falafel recipe next!
Tahini is one of those ingredients we always have in the cupboard but I never quite know how to use it. This dressing was so simple and delicious. I poured it over baked pumpkin, feta and spinach. I will be making the dressing again and again, thank you!
Thank you for making the tahini sauce so simple. I have spent 2 days trying to figure out how to make it. You could of saved me so. much money. Every sight had more or different ingredients. I am a loyal fan from now on. Thanks for sharing.Pamela
Great taste
The sauce came out bitter… 🙁 any tips on how to fix that?
Hi there, Certain brands of tahini can be more bitter than others so changing the brand of tahini or making your own might be best. You can also try adding a little more olive oil to balance it out a bit.