This luscious garlic tahini sauce recipe is easy to make, gluten-free, vegan, and dairy-free! You'll find this tasty Middle Eastern staple is usually drizzled on falafel, kabobs, or manakish but it can also be served as a dipping sauce or a salad dressing!
This garlic tahini sauce recipe is tested and approved. You can start with the proportions suggested and adjust the ingredients to your preference.
Maybe you are looking for a more intense garlic flavor? Easy fix, toss in a few more garlic cloves. Perhaps you want it more lemony? Simply add a few more teaspoons of lemon juice.
You can also adjust how spicy or mild the sauce is by either adding cayenne pepper or leaving it out.
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🧐 Why This Recipe Works
- Garlic tahini sauce is really easy to prepare!
- You only need a handful of ingredients.
- Garlic tahini sauce is versatile and can be used in so many ways!
- You can serve this sauce the traditional way, with falafel, shawarma, or in an Israeli sabich sandwich. Or serve it as a tahini dressing over your favorite salad!
🛒 What You Need For This Recipe
🔖 Recipe Ingredients & Substitutions
- Tahini Paste: You can purchase tahini paste or make your own with my easy 2 ingredient tahini paste recipe. Tahini paste consists of ground sesame seeds and a touch of oil to allow the paste to be blendable.
- Oil: While most tahini sauce recipes call for olive oil, I like to add some toasted sesame seed oil to really enhance the sesame flavor.
- Lemon Juice: I prefer to use fresh lemon juice but you can substitute bottled lemon juice instead.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is the only way to go here, no substitutions!
- Spices: All you'll need is sea salt and a touch of ground cumin powder, however, if you like it spicy, you can add cayenne pepper.
- Cold Water: Cold water is added to the sauce to make it smooth and pourable.
- Garnish: Chopped fresh parsley is often used as a garnish, however, it's totally optional!
🔪 Tools Required
- Food processor or a blender
- Fine mesh sieve (if you want it extra smooth) but I don't find it necessary!
🧄 How to Make Tahini Sauce
Step 1: Start by adding tahini paste, lemon juice, olive oil, sesame seed oil, garlic, salt, cumin, and cayenne pepper (if using) to a food processor or a blender. Blend until the ingredients are incorporated and smooth.
STEP 2: Add water, a little at a time, and blend until you have achieved the desired consistency. Taste the sauce to see if the seasoning needs to be adjusted. Pour into a mason jar and store in the refrigerator.
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Pro Tip: To thin the sauce, increase the amount of water until you achieve the consistency you're after.
🥙 What to Serve with Tahini Sauce
Garlic tahini sauce is very versatile! Although there are numerous Middle Eastern and Mediteranean dishes that you can serve garlic tahini sauce, you don't have to stop there!
Garlic tahini sauce makes an excellent dipping sauce! Try dipping your french fries or chicken nuggets into a bowl of tahini sauce, you will love it! Pour it over roasted vegetables, stir it into pasta, or use it as a spread on a lamb burger. You're only limited by your imagination.
If you are looking for more authentic ways to use tahini sauce, you know I've got you covered! Here are just a few ways to incorporate it into your menu:
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
The word "tahin" in Arabic means "flour" or "to grind." That's quite a fitting name since tahini is made by grinding sesame seeds.
Tahini is the main ingredient in this yummy sauce but is diluted with a mixture of water, lemon juice, and olive oil. Other ingredients like garlic, salt, and cumin are added to flavor the sauce.
Tahini Sauce can be served as a healthy dip especially when served with sliced veggies for a nutrition-packed appetizer. You can also serve it with pita bread wedges or pita chips.
To use as a healthy spread in sandwiches, reduce the amount of water in the recipe to achieve a spreadable consistency. A falafel or kabob sandwich would be a perfect place to start. You can also spread it on flatbread to make shawarma pizza!
You can also serve tahini sauce as a salad dressing! This includes both green salads, as well as a chickpea salad.
Tahini sauce is very healthy and fits perfectly into the Mediterranean Diet. With natural ingredients like sesame seeds, olive oil, garlic, and fresh lemons, your heart will thank you for it!
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- If you prefer tahini sauce smoother, you can run it through a fine mesh strainer before pouring it into the jar for storage.
- Tahini Sauce needs to be stored in the fridge and used within a few weeks.
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📖 Recipe
Garlic Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
- ⅔ cups tahini paste
- 3 tablespoon cold water (or as needed)
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon sesame oil
- 3 cloves crushed garlic
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon cumin powder (optional)
- 2 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley (garnish, optional)
Instructions
- Start by adding tahini paste, lemon juice, olive oil, sesame seed oil, garlic, salt, cumin, and cayenne pepper (if using) to a food processor or a blender. Blend until the ingredients are incorporated and smooth.
- Add water, a little at a time, and blend until you have achieved the desired consistency. Taste the sauce to see if the seasoning needs to be adjusted. Pour into a mason jar and store in the refrigerator.
Notes
- To thin the sauce, increase the amount of water until you achieve the consistency you're after.
- If you prefer tahini sauce smoother, you can run it through a fine mesh strainer before pouring it into the jar for storage.
- Tahini Sauce needs to be stored in the fridge and used within a few weeks.
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