All-Purpose Lemon Tahini Salad Dressing

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My tangy tahini dressing is creamy and so versatile, an all-in-one sauce or salad dressing you’ll want to use it on everything! Make the dressing and keep it in the fridge to use all week for salads, as a dip with fresh vegetables, or to sauce chicken or fish.

Lemony, creamy, and savory tahini dressing belongs in your life! I pour it over everything from plain green salads to grilled chicken and fish. It’s pairs so perfectly Mediterranean dishes, and especially this caesar salad with a tahini-based dressing. Stash a jar in the fridge so you can easily assemble an instant salad fix.

Think of tahini sauce as a “base” for other sauces, including tahini salad dressing. It’s a simple mixture of tahini paste, garlic, water and lemon. Naturally vegan and dairy-free, tahini sauce is the foundation for dressings and other quick sauces. My dressing includes olive oil, spices and vinegar to balance the flavors and thin the consistency.

Ingredients in tahini dressing

• Tahini paste: Shake or stir it up before measuring.
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Fresh lemon juice
• Apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
• Garlic
• Hot sauce: Use your favorite brand.
• Cumin: Ground cumin or cumin seed is a common spice in Middle Eastern food. Feel free to leave it out.
• Cayenne or red pepper flakes: Use as much as you like according to your preference. I use just 1/4 teaspoon, which adds a very mild heat.
• Cold water: Ice-cold water makes a super-smooth and creamy dressing. Pro tip: If you’re whisking the dressing by hand, add in 1 or 2 ice cubes and stir until they melt into the dressing.

About tahini paste

Tahini is a paste made from ground sesame seeds. It’s a pantry staple and condiment in the Middle East and parts of the Mediterranean, and a key ingredient in this recipe for homemade hummus. One of my favorite food writers refers to tahini as “Israeli peanut butter.”

• Tahini paste is made simply with one ingredient: Sesame seeds. The seeds are roasted and ground to a smooth paste.
• Sesame seeds are typically hulled before grinding, creating a creamy beige-colored paste. Unhulled seeds make a darker paste with a more pronounced sesame flavor. Tahini made from hulled sesame seeds is what you’ll usually find in supermarkets.
• Tahini tastes rich and sweetly nutty, with a pleasant toasty undertone. It’s not as intense as a nut butter (such as peanut butter) and it has a lovely velvety texture. I eat it straight from the spoon!

Shopping for tahini: Fresher tahini is less likely to separate, and will have a consistency of thick heavy cream. Avoid jars that have a layer of oil on top of the container that don’t budge when you shake them. In the kitchen, you should only need to give the tahini a good shake or stir to blend before pouring or spooning it out.

Happily, because tahini recipes have become popular, it’s easier than ever to find excellent freshly-ground tahini paste in your grocery store or online. My go-to brands are made from fresh Ethiopian sesame seeds and are silky-smooth straight from the jar.

Tahini dressing has a place in your everyday meal plan and it’s so versatile! Here are some ideas:

• Use it as a sauce for cooked proteins like meat, poultry or fish. I love it spooned over gyro-spiced chicken meatballs and these marinated chicken kabobs.
• Use it instead of mayonnaise on a potato salad.
• Serve as a dip with assorted crisp raw vegetables like carrot sticks, cauliflower and broccoli florets, sugar snap or sweet peas.

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All-Purpose Lemon Tahini Salad Dressing

Karen Tedesco

Creamy, tangy lemon tahini dressing is all-in-one sauce or salad dressing that's so versatile you'll want to use it on everything! Make a batch and keep it up to a week in the refrigerator to use as a sauce for roasted veggies and grain bowls.

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5 from 7 community reviews

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 0 minutes mins

Total Time 10 minutes mins

Course Sauces

Cuisine Mediterranean

Servings 10 servings

Equipment

Food processor or blender

Ingredients

Yield: About 2/3 cup

• ▢ ⅓ cup (80 g) tahini paste, stirred
• ▢ ⅓ cup (80 ml) ice-cold water
• ▢ 2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil
• ▢ 2 tablespoons (30 ml) apple cider vinegar, or white wine vinegar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh lemon juice
• ▢ 1 garlic clove
• ▢ 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cumin, optional
• ▢ 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

US Customary – Metric

Instructions 

• Put all ingredients in a work bowl of a food processor. Process until the dressing is smooth and creamy. Depending on the thickness of the tahini, you may need to scrape down the bowl once or twice.
• Pour into a lidded container, such as a glass jar. Use the dressing right away, or store in the refrigerator up to 1 week (shake the dressing to blend if it separates).

Karen’s Notes and Tips

• If you don’t have a food processor, blend the dressing in a blender or whisk all ingredients in a bowl. Tip: If whisking by hand, add in 1 or 2 ice cubes and whisk until they melt into the dressing. They will make the consistency so light, fluffy and creamy!
• Add in a handful of fresh herbs such as cilantro, dill, parsley, basil or mint. They will make a fragrant green tahini dressing!
• If you enjoy a sweeter dressing, add a tablespoon or so maple syrup or honey before blending.
• Blend in ground spices or herbs you enjoy, such as za’atar, cumin, coriander. Improvise a dairy-free “ranch” style dressing by adding in tarragon, onion powder, black pepper and garlic powder.
• Storage: Tahini dressing keeps well in the refrigerator for a week or so. Stir it up to blend before using, adding additional water and/or lemon juice if it has thickened up.

Nutrition

Calories: 74kcal Carbohydrates: 2g Protein: 1g Fat: 7g Sodium: 247mg Fiber: 1g Sugar: 1g

Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.

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• Mediterranean Diet
• Sauces
• Vegetarian and Vegan

Hey, I’m Karen

Creator of Familystyle Food

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I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.