Make this creamy, magical lemon tahini sauce in about five minutes, right in your blender. It's a healthy, flavorful dip or salad dressing!
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This bright, lemon tahini sauce is seriously addictive, but you know what I love almost as much as pouring this on all of the food? That it takes about five minutes to make. In the blender. BOOM.
One batch yields about ¾ of a cup, but you can double, triple, or even quadruple the recipe easily.
Ingredients and substitutions
- tahini - Sesame seed pasta (aka tahini) is the base for your dressing.
- lemon juice - Adds acidity. You can use lime juice or rice vinegar instead, if you prefer.
- low-sodium soy sauce - Use gluten-free tamari for gluten-free lemon tahini sauce.
- fresh ginger - Adds a touch of heat and amazing flavor! You can use a teaspoon of ground ginger instead. You may need to add more, depending on how old your ground ginger is.
- garlic powder - Boosts the flavor with some umami goodness!
- hot sauce - I like the sweet heat that sriracha adds to this sauce. You can also use gochujang or your favorite hot sauce instead.
How to make lemon tahini sauce
OK, y'all, this is a complicated recipe.
Are you ready?
Buckle up...
Puree all of your ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth, and you’re good to go.
Helpful tip
Stir your tahini before measuring! Tahini, like natural peanut butter, separates as it sits, and if you just use the tahini from the top of the jar, your sauce will be runny.
Serving and storage directions
I love this tahini sauce as a salad dressing. You can keep it simple with greens and chopped veggies or add air fryer falafel to the top to make it a meal.
It's also delicious drizzled over roasted veggies or as a dip for baked tofu. Someone on Twitter recently said he uses this tahini dressing as a dip for french fries, and I am all in on that!
Try it on your next Buddha bowl or use it in place of the usual dressing ingredients when you're making a massaged kale salad.
You can really use this sauce anywhere your life could use a bit of bright, creamy, rich goodness. I've even used it as a sandwich spread or in place of sour cream on nachos.
The only limit is your imagination, y'all.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will keep for four to five days.
Frequently asked questions
Tahini, like natural peanut butter, tends to separate. If you're using a new jar of tahini and don't stir well, you'll end up with watery sauce. Stir your jar of tahini well every time, and you'll have a seed butter that's much more predictable in recipes.
If your tahini sauce is thicker or thinner than you'd like, don't worry!
For thicker sauce, add more tahini. For thinner, add more water. Easy peasy!
Lemon tahini sauce multiplies easily, so make as little or as much as you need! Double, triple, etc!
More easy tahini sauces
Lemon Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
- ¼ cup tahini
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
- ½" piece fresh ginger
- ½ teapoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce of your choice - (or more, to taste)
Instructions
- Puree all of your ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth, and you’re good to go.
Hiroe Gunnell
This sauce is amazing. So easy and quick. I like use it for Buddha bowl with tofu and roasted veggies. Add more water for salad.
Becky Striepe
Thank you, Hiroe! Enjoy the bowl and the salad!
Rita
Delicious on the falafel balls. I made a wrap with a couple of romaine leaves, 1/2 avocado, 3 falafel balls (2 oz each) , a couple tablespoons of the tahini a squeeze of lemon (1/4 lemon), and slice of home grown tomato marinated in vinaigrette. It was yummy. I had made falafel balls before with another recipe but they came out very dry..These were quite moist but held together beautifully in the air fryer.
Becky Striepe
Thank you, Rita! I appreciate you taking the time to leave such a thoughtful comment. That wrap sounds ah-mazing!
Lidia
Hi Becky!
I made this recipe with gluten-free soya sauce and I should have halved it, but more lemon juice worked just fine.
Question: how much is a serving? Is it a tablespoon?
Becky Striepe
I'm always a fan of more lemon -- yum! Yes, a tablespoon is a serving.
Debbie
We love it! I make a double batch because my husband loves it!
Kristin
SO good!!!!!!
Becky Striepe
Thank you, Krisin! I appreciate you taking the time to come back and leave a comment and rating!
Nicky
Sounds yummy. I'll try this on salads this year, and everything else I can think of.
How long does it keep?
Becky Striepe
I'd say 3-5 days in the fridge, but I'm very cautious about food safety.
Emily
Hi! How is this only 27 calories!? I thought tahini had A LOT of calories in it?
Becky Striepe
Oh my gosh, I'm so glad you commented. This is not correct -- it was 127, not 27! I just fixed it.
Carla
This is going to be a dumb question but the 1/4 cup of tahini is the “ tahini “ a seed or a sauce I get at the grocery store? Lol
Becky Striepe
Not dumb at all! Tahini is sesame seed paste that is the consistency of peanut butter. You should be able to find it with the nut and seed butters at the grocery store. If it's not in that section, I know the store by my stocks it in their "International" section. Make sure you stir well before using it, because if you use the stuff at the top, you'll end up with a watery sauce and very thick paste left over in your tahini jar.
Sky
So delicious!
And am pleased to advise that It definitely works with cupcakes!
.I tried dipping a bit of an apple, stilton and walnut savoury cupcake in the sauce and it was great......
Double chocolate salted caramel sweet muffin, let's just say it may be an acquired taste *smiles*
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe, have a 2nd bigger batch in the fridge chilling overnight
Becky Striepe
Oh wow - I'll have to try it on sweets!
Jenny
This is my very first homemade dressing and it is DELICIOUS! Didn’t even need to blend. I just shook it up a little in the jar and voila!
Becky Striepe
Oh, I love to hear that! Enjoy it, Jenny!
Denise
Delicious!! The family loved it! I skipped the puree step and just mixed and shook it up in a jar. Served over Buddha Bowls. Wow.
Becky Striepe
Aw that is wonderful! So glad you enjoyed it.
Jessie Costa
This is the best dressing I have EVER tasted and made!!!! Thank you! Love it!
Becky Striepe
Oh my gosh, I love to hear that!
chalynda
Could I just use ground ginger powder?
Becky Striepe
Sure! Start with 1/2 teaspoon and add by the 1/4 teaspoon to taste.