Tahini Sauce

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This tahini sauce (tahina) is my go-to accompaniment for many a savoury meal. It’s perfect with roast veg, meats, to drizzle on salads or to use as a dip. It features heavily in my nourishing bowls, and as soon as one jar is finished the next is made.

The base of a blue and white patterned Moroccan tagine is sitting in the middle of the image on a grey background. Tahini sauce sprinkled with fresh chopped parsley is in the centre of the tahini. Above the tagine on the table and to the left are two dusty pink flower. To the right is the lid of the tagine, which is also blue and white patterned. To the bottom right of the image is a small bowl with plain crackers. A hand with blue nail polish is dipping a cracker into the tahini.Pin

What Is Tahini

Tahini is a paste made from ground, roasted sesame seeds. The seeds may either have been hulled, or remain unhulled before grinding, which produces tahini with distinctive flavour differences. The hulled is my preferred, as it’s much less bitter than the unhulled. The hulled also provides better nutrient absorption with the husk of the seeds removed. This is worth considering when buying, as tahini is rich in calcium and other essential minerals.

Tahini is a staple in many cuisines of the Middle East, North Africa, and The Caucasus. However, it’s now known and loved worldwide so can be found in many countries outside these regions too.

I spoke about tahini at length in my Miso Tahini Dressing recipe so you can pop over to read more about the history and health benefits if you’d like to.

Variety in Tahini Sauce Recipes

Given tahini is used in so many countries around the world recipes can vary greatly. And they definitely do. This version is my family recipe. It’s come straight out of my Nana’s cookbook, into my Mum’s, now mine, and I hope it goes into yours.

I have a lot to thank my Nana for. She was a Maltese woman, who married a Greek (my Papou), they lived in Egypt where my Father was born, and frequently holidayed in Cyprus. With that mix of cultures to draw from, she was a truly incredible cook and one of my greatest influences. I don’t know what she’d think of the internet but I’m quite certain she’d be pleased with people seeing and making her recipes.

The image below is of my Nana’s recipe that was written out by my Mum in her cookbook. I miss them both dearly but love that I can bring all that they taught me to the kitchen at every meal.

An aged piece of paper is behind held by two hands with dark blue nail polish. There is a recipe for tahina on the page.Pin

Ingredients For This Tahini Sauce

Tahina keeps well in the fridge, so I tend to make double the recipe each time. That way you can pull it out and drizzle it on just about anything to jazz up a meal. It pairs well with many savoury foods, but is exceptional over felafel, roasted veg, and roasted meats.

An image showing all the ingredients to make tahini. Various bowls and small jugs are sitting on a grey table. Top left is a small jug of lemon juicer and to its right is a bowl of tahini paste. In the next row below the lemon juice is a small pink bowl with some crushed garlic. To the right and slightly below that is a small jug of water. In the bottom centre of the image is a small green bowl with sea salt flakes.Pin
  • Tahini – always choose hulled over unhulled tahini when shopping. It’s far less bitter and you will retain more of the nutrients tahini has to offer.
  • Lemon Juice – This adds flavour, but the acidity also helps reduce any residual bitterness in the tahini and mellows out the garlic too.
  • Water – This helps the consistency of the sauce, as tahini paste is very thick. Top tip – always stir the tahini in the jar before use. This will help mix back in all the natural oils from the sesame seeds that settles on top.
  • Garlic – There is just a hint in this recipe, in balance with all the other flavours. A little goes a long way.
  • Salt – Helps to enhance the flavour of the other ingredients.
  • Parsley to garnish – Adding a little colour!

Many other recipes call for a lot more garlic than my Nana has used. Each to their own on that front. The small clove is more than enough for me, or it becomes too overpowering. If garlic is your thing though, feel free to taste then add more.

How To Make Tahini Sauce

This is really very simple. I don’t ever recall being told why the garlic and salt were mixed first. I still do it because that’s how I was taught to make tahini sauce. You can definitely just toss it all into one bowl if you’d prefer though.

  1. Mix together the crushed garlic and salt then set aside briefly.
  2. Add the tahini, half the lemon juice and half the water into a large bowl. Mix with a spoon until it thickens.
  3. Stir in the garlic and salt mix then add the remaining lemon juice and water and mix well to combine everything.
  4. Drizzle straight over a meal or if you’d like to thicken it slightly, pop it in the fridge overnight.

This will thicken up when stored in the fridge. If you find it too thick when you next want to use it, just take out what you need and add a little water to it. Stir to combine and it will be back at a pourable consistency.

A green bowl in the shape of a cabbage is in the centre of a grey table. It is filled with roasted meat, rice, roasted vegetables and a hand holding a spoon is drizzling over some tahini sauce. To the bottom right of the image is a decorative silver dragonfly.Pin

FAQ

What’s the difference between tahini and tahina?

Tahini is the sesame paste from which tahina (the sauce) is made. Tahini is really just the base ingredient for tahina. To make it a little confusing tahini and tahina can also be used interchangeably.

What is the taste of tahini sauce?

Tahini has quite a creamy, nutty flavour. When combined with the other ingredients to make this sauce – it becomes quite savoury. You get hints of garlic, lemon, salt and the creaminess of the tahini with every bite. Tahini sauce should not be bitter, this is why I suggest using hulled tahini.

What does tahini sauce go on?

It is the perfect partner for savoury foods. Try it with felafel, baked vegetables, roasted meats or just use as a dip with crackers.

Watch How To Make This Tahini Sauce

A square image showing the base of a blue and white patterned Moroccan tagine is sitting in the middle of the image on a grey background. Tahini sauce sprinkled with fresh chopped parsley is in the centre of the tahini. Above the tagine on the table and to the left are two dusty pink flower. To the right is the lid of the tagine, which is also blue and white patterned. To the bottom right of the image is a small bowl with plain crackers. A hand with blue nail polish is dipping a cracker into the tahini.Pin

Tahini Sauce

This tahini sauce (tahina) is perfect with roast veg, meats, to drizzle on salads or to use as a dip. Recipe video is above!
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Course: Dips, Sauces
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Keyword: Easy, Quick
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 10 people
Calories: 145kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 cup hulled tahini
  • ½ cup lemon juice
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 small garlic clove, crushed (about 1/2 – 1 tsp)
  • ½ tsp salt
  • Fresh parsley (chopped, to garnish)

Instructions

  • Mix together the crushed garlic and salt then set aside briefly.
  • Add the tahini, half the lemon juice and half the water into a large bowl. Mix with a spoon until it thickens.
  • Stir in the garlic and salt mix then add the remaining lemon juice and water and mix well to combine everything.
  • Drizzle straight over a meal or if you’d like to thicken it slightly, pop it in the fridge overnight.

Notes

Store in the fridge, where it will keep for many months (and beyond!).
This sauce does thicken up in the fridge. If you find it too thick when you next want to use it, just take out what you need and add a little water to it. Stir to combine and it will be back at a pourable consistency. Remember though – just add a little water at a time or it will become too runny.

Nutrition

Serving: 50g | Calories: 145kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Sodium: 125mg | Potassium: 124mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.3g | Vitamin A: 17IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 1mg

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This is an image for pinterest with the name of the recipe at the top of the image and the name of the website at the bottom. In the image, the base of a blue and white patterned Moroccan tagine is sitting in the middle of the image on a grey background. Tahini sauce sprinkled with fresh chopped parsley is in the centre of the tahini. Above the tagine on the table and to the left are two dusty pink flowers. To the right is the lid of the tagine, which is also blue and white patterned.Pin

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