Best Tahini Sauce
Learn how to make ultra creamy tahini sauce! The best tahini sauce is ultra creamy, deliciously tangy and irresistible. This recipe is easy to make, too. You'll just need a whisk!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 28, 2024
I see you looking skeptical over there. Can tahini sauce really be “the best”? Isn’t it all the same? Au contraire, my friend! This tahini sauce is the best I have ever encountered.
This tahini sauce is rich, creamy, perfectly smooth, nutty and tangy. Its subtle garlic flavor enhances the toasted sesame flavor, rather than overwhelms or detracts.
This tahini sauce adds irresistible creaminess and tang to anything it touches, whether that be fresh or roasted vegetables, salad, falafel or pita bread.
When I set out to make tahini sauce, I read everything I could about the subject, like I do. Chef Michael Solomonov gave me some clues, via Serious Eats. (I don’t know the guy, but his techniques also guided my hummus recipe, which has been a smashing success.)
Are you ready to over-analyze tahini sauce with me? Hope so.
How to Make the Best Tahini Sauce
First, marinate the garlic in lemon juice for 10 minutes. The acidity of the lemon juice prevents the garlic from becoming too harsh (here’s why). This way, your lemon juice is infused with delicious, mellow garlic flavor.
Strain the garlic out of the lemon juice. I know, this sounds like extra work, but it’s worth it (I tried both strained and non-strained versions). This step ensures perfectly smooth tahini sauce and prevents the garlic flavor from stealing the show after all.
Time saver: If you’re in a hurry, skip the garlic altogether and whisk in the lemon juice during the following step.
Whisk in tahini, salt and cumin. You can’t make tahini sauce without tahini, and the salt and cumin enhance the other flavors.
Whisk in ice water until the mixture is gloriously smooth and creamy. When you add the tahini to the bowl, it will seize up. It loosens with the addition of sufficient amounts of ice water. It’s a really cool transformation, just wait!
Adjust to taste, if necessary. Add more water for a thinner consistency, more salt for more overall flavor, and/or more lemon juice for more tang. Your tahini sauce is good to go!
Watch How to Make Tahini Sauce
Uses for Tahini Sauce
Generally speaking, tahini sauce complements other Middle Eastern recipe components and flavors. Use it as a dip or a sauce. It’s also lovely with vegetables and other fresh, herbed flavors. Tahini sauce goes well with the following:
- Falafel
- Fresh vegetables
- Roasted vegetables
- Flat bread or toasted pita wedges
- Whole grains, such as farro
- Used as salad dressing (thinned with water as necessary)
- Served as an appetizer with hummus and/or baba ganoush
The Best Tahini for Tahini Sauce
The best tahini comes from Ethiopia. Solomonov recommends Soom Foods, which I bought on Amazon (affiliate link). It’s delicious and I can see why it’s his favorite.
My other go-to? Trader Joe’s organic tahini, which is made from Ethiopian sesame seeds like Soom’s. Whole Foods 365 used to be my go-to, but I encountered a few bad jars that tasted so bad, I’m afraid to try again.
Variations on Tahini Sauce
If you want to change up your traditional tahini sauce, just add herbs! You can whisk in chopped fresh, leafy herbs, such as fresh parsley, cilantro, dill, or basil. If you would like more of a uniformly green sauce, just blend the herbs with the tahini sauce in a food processor or blender. See recipe note for more details.
Please let me know how your tahini sauce turns out in the comments! I bet you come up with some more delicious variations and I’m looking forward to hearing about them.
Best Tahini Sauce
Learn how to make ultra creamy tahini sauce! The best tahini sauce is ultra creamy, deliciously tangy and irresistible. This recipe is easy to make, too. You’ll just need a whisk! Recipe yields 1 to 1 ¼ cup; double if desired.
Ingredients
- 4 medium-to-large cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ½ cup tahini
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Pinch of ground cumin
- 6 tablespoons ice water, more as needed
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the garlic and lemon juice. Let the mixture rest for 10 minutes, to give the garlic time to infuse the lemon juice with flavor.
- Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into another medium bowl. Press the garlic solids with a spatula to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the garlic.
- Add the tahini, salt and cumin to the bowl. Whisk until the mixture is thoroughly blended.
- Add water 2 tablespoons at a time, whisking after each addition until smooth. (It may seize up, don’t worry.) After about 6 tablespoons, you will have a perfectly creamy and smooth, light-colored tahini sauce.
- If desired, thin with additional water for a more drizzly sauce. Adjust if necessary—if you’d like more tang, add more lemon, or for more overall flavor, add another pinch of salt. Your tahini sauce is ready to serve!
Notes
Recipe adapted from Michael Solomonov’s cookbook, Zahav, via Epicurious.
Shortcut option: Simply skip the garlic altogether and stir the lemon juice in with the other ingredients in step 3. You’ll end up with a great, basic, tangy tahini sauce this way.
Storage suggestions: This tahini sauce keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for about 1 week. The tahini may thicken with time; whisk in additional cold water as necessary to thin. Solomonov suggests that the tahini sauce can also be frozen for up to 1 month.
Herbed tahini sauce: Whisk ¼ cup (or more, to taste) chopped fresh, leafy herbs into the tahini sauce. Great options include fresh parsley, basil, dill and/or cilantro. If you would like a well-blended green sauce, simply blend the tahini sauce and herbs together in a food processor or blender.
Food processor option: (This makes more sense if you’re doubling the recipe and/or making the blended herbed sauce option.) You can actually toss unpeeled garlic cloves into the food processor, blitz until finely chopped, add the lemon juice, and let it rest for 10 minutes. Then strain the garlic out of the mixture in a strainer as described, and return the garlicky lemon juice to the food processor. Add the tahini, herbs (if using), salt and cumin and blend until creamy. Thin with cold water, added 2 tablespoons at a time, until you have a perfectly smooth sauce.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
This sauce was deeeelicious! I understand the suggestion to infuse the garlic and will be doing that from now on! I have just started a FODMAP elimination diet and this is something that I can do with it, so I’m even more excited!
I’m happy to hear how much you loved it!
I had a very garlicky hummus, compliments of a friend (yum) so I didn’t need garlic in the tahini sauce, but… what I DID need to know was to whisk it (Trader Joe’s) together with the lemon juice and then add cold water! Sometimes we don’t know just the basics! Came out delicious and creamy. Thanks!
Thank you for sharing, Cindy!
I lived in Cyprus for several months and loved that I could find ready-to-eat Tahini Sauce at any grocery store. Now that I’m back in N. America, I was craving these flavours. I made your recipe today and it was exactly the way I like it – lots of garlic flavour, and plenty of tang from the lemon. And unlike anything I might find in local grocery stores here, this homemade stuff is free of preservatives and so, so fresh!
Awesomely smoothe!
Thank you so much for this recipe! It came out creamy and flavourful.
Fantastic recipe. I also added 1/2 tsp of tumeric and a pinch of black pepper and its great!
Thank you, Richard!
Thank you Kate for this great recipe. I am loving it!
OMG – I made this receipe last night…Wow was it delicious!!! The only difference was I crushed the garlic mixed it with the lemon and added it ALL into the Tahini (I didn’t take the garlic out)..
the taste was this Garlicky Amazing Goodness!!! It also saved me from having to create a separate garlic spread…. so brilliant leaving the garlic in the lemon for 10 min first, what a difference!! This is my go to from now.
Thanks For Sharing Kate!!)
Hooray! I’m glad you loved it, Kimberly.
This just might make my day! I haven’t tried this yet but am looking forward to it. Over the last 2 weeks I have developed an anaphylactic shock allergy to all things that come from the water (fish, shellfish, carrageenan and other seaweeds, algaes, and kelps – which btw are in everything from your toothpaste, chewing gum, lotions, most dairy products). This allergy then spread to all nuts and eggs as well!!
So, needless to say, my good food options are limited … I’m looking for something to put in a sandwich or at least make my food less boring!! Thank you!!
Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that. I hope this works well for you, Lisa.
Hi
This recipe was so easy to make and very delicious…thank you for sharing:)
The tahini sauce looks like a winner, I will make some this week. As much as I love TJ’s I had high hopes for their tahini. It is good and I was looking for a substitute for Joyva because I dislike their can. You have to shake it off and on for days and turn it upside down and right side up or the tahini is very difficult to stir once you open it. But whatever they use and wherever it comes from the seeds are toasted and it just makes all of the difference so I will continue as I have since likely before you were born ;<} (70's). The can has been the same all of that time. Now I see the last comment is also about toasting the seeds to make it from scratch. If I can toast millet I guess I can try sesame but don't know how fine I can get it. The Joyva is perfectly creamy.
Thanks for sharing! I’m glad you were able to make it work.
It’s delicious but a bit too salty. We doubled the recipe.I like the garlicky taste, very smooth.
I lived in Israel years ago & now live in Vermont. Can’t get good tahini sauce here & this recipe nails it! Easy & delicious!
beautiful and creamy sauce, very tasty and goes perfectly well with fluffy homemade falafel. Thank you
This is the best tahini sauce I’ve ever tasted
I followed the recipe exactly and it’s amazing I use on falafel wraps for lunch
I’m giving pots of this to all my friends to try
So easy and cheap to make ♥️
This tahini sauce is incredible!!
Thank you, Jodey!
Country club chef looking for a great Tahini dressing recipe and yours was perfect. Loved the info on how to handle the garlic, great results!
Thanks Kate!
If I wanted to add tahini sauce to tahini sauce I wouldn’t need a recipe for tahini sauce.
I use Tamari sauce instead of salt. I use this on so many things. Great go-to sauce!
Wonderful! Thanks for your review, Joan.
This tahini sauce is truly the best! I’ve made many of Cookie+Kate recipes that call for tahini sauce and I always enjoyed it. Last night I added C+K’s Best Tahini Sauce to buddha bowls with wild rice, roasted sweet potatoes, crispy chickpeas and red onions and it was super yummy! I had leftover parsley so I added that as mentioned in the recipe notes. I will definitely add this to many buddha/wellness/nourish (or whatever you choose to call them) bowls to come :)
I made this yesterday and it was freakin delicious! Dipped roasted cauliflower in it and later made quinoa bowls with veggies and tofu for dinner and drizzled it on top.
That sounds like the perfect way to use it! Thank you for sharing, Tanya.
I make this recipe 2x per week and I love it!
I add the garlic minced and love the spiciness is gives.
I also add lots of fresh parsley!
Love it on everything!!!
Twice a week, I love it! This sauce can go with so much. Thanks for your review, Hannah.
Hello! The first time I made this recipe it was fantastic! I made it with maple syrup and added water to get it to the consistency I wanted. It was delicious! The next time I tried honey instead of the maple syrup. It was really thick, so I added water to make it thinner. This did not work! It got so thick that I couldn’t stir it. It has a terrible consistency, and it separated. I can’t figure out what to do!
Hi KP, I’m not sure honey would work in this as you have discovered. Sorry to not be of more help!
This was super easy to make and complimented our falafel and couscous dinner wonderfully! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
YUMMMMY! I’ve had a hard time making a good tahini sauce and this is amazing. Finger licking good :)
OK this tahini sauce is amazing. So incredibly simple to make and yet what flavor. I have to be honest I added garlic back in and made garlic tahini and it was astounding
So much better like this than with the garlic puréed in. Thanks!
I added enough ice water to make the tahini a good salad dressing consistency. I also added sea salt to taste, and Curio Kozani Spice, about 1 tablespoon, and 1/2 teaspoon chili powder.
Delicious! All the flavors are so subtle,and blend perfect together! just what I was looking for :) thanks!!
This is delicious! I had it with roasted Brussels sprouts, as suggested. I also discovered that the garlic strained from the lemon juice is delicious. It became pickled and mild and was perfect scattered ontop of raddichio salad with olives and capers. Thanks for the recipe!
So good, so easy!!
As soon as I read you let the garlic sit in the lemon juice I knew you know your stuff. I learned this tip from ATK yrs ago and it makes such a difference. Your recipe, in my opinion, is flawless, plus you encourage to make it one’s own. This got me to check out your other recipes…you’ve got a new fan
Made this with dark tahini paste, included all the zesty pressed garlic that had soaked in lemon juice beforehand (at least an hour) and upped the cumin…results were truly DIVINE. Paired amazingly with crunchy orange bell peppers and carrots, thank you!!
I made it exactly how you said, I think it’s terrific! After straining the garlic, I saved it in the fridge, I’m sure I can use it in another recipe! (We were ordering out from our favorite middle eastern restaurant, when I saw they were charging for tahini sauce, I decided to make my own! I have 2 gallons of tahini, since I make my own hummus and baba!)
Simple to make and tastes amazing! I used sicilian lemon (only option I had at home) and served it with veggie chickpea burgers and it was perfect.
Thank you for sharing the recipe!
You’re welcome, Flavia!
Great recipe and easy to scale. I did need to add more lemon for the tang that I prefer, but the garlic-infused fresh lemon juice trick is genius! Perfect for home-made falafel plates…
Wonderful to hear, Cheree! Thanks for your review.
How long will this tahini last in the fridge?
STORAGE SUGGESTIONS: This tahini sauce keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for about 1 week. The tahini may thicken with time; whisk in additional cold water as necessary to thin. Solomonov suggests that the tahini sauce can also be frozen for up to 1 month.
This IS the best recipe I’ve found. Granted I’ve only tried maybe 4 others. But this was the one. I followed exactly and used ice cold water and it’s like a sauce I’d get in a restaurant. It’s sooooo good. My recipes tend to turn out OK but they never really taste quite as good as the restaurant version and I what is assignments because I’m not adding as much junk to them but this one really just taste so authentic and delicious.
Hello,
This weekend I bought (and made certain other) Middle Eastern dishes that we enjoy, and once home I realized that I forgot to buy the tahini sauce that is so good with them. I googled a recipe and found yours…it was fabulous!!! Funny, I use the same garlic “trick” for what my former husband calls “your world famous vinaigrette”. I quite liked the cold water effect, very interesting, thanks for the tip. I will never buy tahini sauce again, yours is perfect, merci!!!
I’m so glad you loved it! Thank you for sharing.
So good! I used this over the stuffed sweet potatoes in your cookbook and it was the perfect finishing touch instead of the cheese because I don’t eat dairy :)
This really is delicious, best Tahini Sauce I’ve made! A tangy taste and also great consistency. So yum on veggies. This fills a half pint jam jar, great way to store in fridge.
I made this tonight and it turned out great! I skipped the soaking garlic in lemon juice and just added it in steps in the mini food processor with 1/2 tsp cumin. It was delicious! Loved it!
This is one of the greatest things I have ever tastest, legit!
If we want some garlic flavor but don’t want to go to the trouble of straining out fresh garlic, do you think garlic powder would work? If so, how much would you recommend? Thank you!
Hi Deb, you won’t get the same flavor result here. Sorry! The straining really helps make this recipe the best.
Tasty and really easy sauce! I added Berbere seasoning for a little kick.
Yum, so good on falafel. We were almost eating tahini sauce with a side of falafel and not the other way around we liked it so much.
OMG! Kate is right, best tahini sauce ever & so easy to make. I invited friends over for warm falafels stuffed into pitas w/lettuce, sprouts, radish, cucumber, pepperoni I, parsley, tomato (all sliced thin & chilled). I drizzled the tahini sauce over the Warm stuffed pitas, placed extra sauce on the table on table for everyone to take 2nds & then we all went silent eating & enjoying & then everyone asked for the Sauce recipe! Thanks Kate, can’t wait to try your other dishes.
Hooray! I’m happy to hear that, Julie. Thanks for sharing you loved it and how you used the sauce. Sounds perfect!
Okay, that was easy and delicious!!
I have to tell you that I just love your recipes!! If I google a recipes, and there is one by you it is always the one I go to. I have been vegetarian for over 30 years but married to and raising meat lovers. It is always refreshing to find something new that you have put together to try myself or share with the whole family. Thank you!!!
I have made a lot of tahini sauce in the last 6 months, since going vegan and this one is hands down THE absolute best one!!!
Thank you for another awesome recipe, I have yet to try a recipe of yours Kate that I have not loved!
You’re welcome, Shelia! I appreciate the review.
Best Tahini recipe ever!! It’s a hit every time I make it for dinner and pair it with my chicken Shawarma’s.
I love this recipe! Before this recipe, my tahini was never great. Often enough we would just go without. But the recipe & directions have changed our dinners! The garlic infused lemon juice gives such great flavor without being too overpowering. I add a dash of cayenne for a little heat and serve it with some falafel that I make with cilantro and easy beansy spice mix, tomatoes, lettuce, shredded cabbage and– pickles! So good!