We both love this tahini dressing. Of all the salad dressing recipes we have shared, this tahini-based dressing is the one you will most likely find in our fridge. It’s creamy, flavorful, and works drizzled over just about anything. Think hearty salads, grain bowls, roasted veggies, and even as a sauce for meats or seafood.
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We have all sorts of homemade salad dressings on Inspired Taste, but this tahini dressing is the one I have in my fridge the most often. It’s not too different from our Dreamy Tahini Sauce, which we also love.
This easy salad dressing features tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and toasted sesame oil. It’s creamy, flavorful, and perfect for greens, cooked grains, or used as a sauce for veggies and meats. A total keeper! Here’s one of our favorite ways to use it: Tahini Lemon Quinoa Bowls!

How to Make Tahini Dressing
To make our tahini dressing, all you need to do is whisk everything together. You might notice that the tahini thickens a little on you, but as you whisk in the water and other ingredients, it should relax and turn into a creamy sauce.
To make this dressing special, start with homemade tahini. We first started making our tahini when we shared this hummus recipe. Since then, we’ve always preferred homemade tahini over store-bought.

Our Favorite Uses for Tahini Dressing
Use this simple tahini dressing on just about anything, but here are a few of our favorites:
- Greens like kale, romaine, or baby lettuce
- Crunchy veggies like bell peppers, carrots, and cucumber
- Toss with cooked or canned beans, like chickpeas
- It’s fantastic drizzled over cooked grains like quinoa or farro
- Spoon it over roasted vegetables
We hope you try this tahini dressing; it’s perfectly creamy and made without any dairy or mayo!
More Salad Dressing Recipes
- Honey Mustard Dressing
- Homemade Ranch
- Creamy Blue Cheese
- Herby Italian Dressing
- Our Favorite Caesar Dressing

Easy Tahini Dressing
- PREP
- TOTAL
We both love this tahini dressing. Of all the salad dressing recipes we have shared on Inspired Taste, this tahini-based dressing is the one you will most likely find in our fridge. It’s creamy, flavorful, and works drizzled over just about anything. Think hearty salads, grain bowls, roasted veggies, and even as a sauce for meats or seafood.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1/4 cup well-stirred tahini, try homemade tahini
1 small garlic clove, grated or finely minced
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon honey, maple syrup or agave
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
3 tablespoons cold water, more if needed
Directions
1Whisk everything but the water in a small bowl. Don’t worry if the mixture seems clumpy at first. Once you whisk in the water, the dressing will relax and become creamy.
2Add three tablespoons of cold water, and then whisk until creamy. For a thinner consistency, add a little more water.
3Season to taste with additional lemon juice or salt.
4Store the dressing in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Making for my parents tonight with Seared Ahi Tuna on top. Added cherry tomatoes for a pop of color. Thanks for the helpful hint massaging the kale with salt and lemon juice. Worked like a charm!
I have tried half a dozen different recipes for Tahini dressing and now the search is over. This is delicious and takes only minutes to make. I like the Inspired Taste recipes so much, thank you!
This dressing is delicious. I cut to 1.5 tsp olive oil and no sesame seed oil as I am pre diabetic and need to watch fat. I put 1 tablespoon over your quinoa salad. Love, love love!!!