This creamy tahini sauce with fresh herbs is perfect for grilled meats, salads, and veggies. It's a flavor explosion that will become your new favorite sauce.
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Try this recipe to add flair to your salads and tacos, or if you need a fresh dip for your cheese board. Anything you dip or drizzle it over will taste wonderful.
It's Ramadan. I'm fasting. I feel both hungry and thirsty. Despite that, nothing excites me more than setting the table for Iftar, when one breaks their fast at sunset.
I'll put some tahini sauce on the table for dinner with pita bread and veggies such as peppers, radishes, and cucumbers.
Tahini Sauce Ingredients
Tahini
It's so important to use high-quality tahini. The base is made with tahini, so make sure your tahini is nice and fresh. I used the Zyad brand of tahini, and it wasn't good. It tasted as though they had turned stale sesame seeds into tahini. Very disappointing.
My favorite brand that yields the creamiest tahini with excellent flavor for all my recipes is Al Kanater (made in Lebanon). Also, check the ingredients list to ensure that the tahini is made with sesame seeds, and possibly salt, with no added oils or preservatives.
Finally, look for tahini that is smooth and creamy in texture, as this indicates a higher quality product.
Herbs
For this tahini sauce, add fresh basil and parsley. It gives the sauce a freshness and turns it into a pretty green color. For flavor, fresh garlic, and green onion will make the sauce bold and full of umami goodness.
Lemon
The freshly squeezed lemon is going to give the tahini sauce a bright tang and help to thin it out the sauce.
How to Make Tahini Sauce
- Add lemon juice, garlic, fresh basil, parsley, green onion, salt, and tahini in a blender.
- Blend the mixture on high for 60 seconds or until it becomes smooth and creamy.
- I recommend using a smaller blender like a Nutribullet for the best results.
- Taste the tahini sauce, and adjust the seasoning by adding a pinch of sea salt, if necessary.
Substitutions & Variations
This tahini sauce is so delicious and has loads of flavor as is. However, here are a few variations and substitutions to give it fun a twist.
- Citrus - instead of lemon add lime for a Tex-Mex inspiration. Make sure to swap out the basil for cilantro.
- Spicy - Add a serrano pepper, seeds removed, for a spicy kick.
- Onion - Instead of green onion use fresh chives.
How to Store
Tahini sauce should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator to maintain its freshness for up to 3 days. Be sure to give it a quick stir before enjoying it.
More Crave-Worthy Sauces
- Cacik (Turkish Cucumber Yogurt Sauce)
- Beet Tzatziki Sauce
- Zucchini Tzatziki Sauce
- Green Zhoug Recipe (spicy cilantro sauce)
Tahini Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- ¼ cup lemon juice about the juice of 1 large lemon
- 1 small clove garlic
- ¼ cup fresh basil, lightly packed
- ¼ cup lightly packed parsley, no stems
- 1 spring onion or scallion, thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅓ cup tahini use creamy, runny tahini, free of clumps
Instructions
- In a blender, add lemon juice, garlic, fresh basil, parsley, spring onion, salt, and tahini.
- Blend the mixture on high for 60 seconds or until it becomes smooth and creamy.
- For the best results, I recommend using a smaller blender like a Nutribullet.
- Taste the tahini sauce, and adjust the seasoning by adding a pinch of sea salt, if necessary.
- Serve as a dip with fresh vegetables or drizzle onto tacos, chicken, or kabobs.
Mariam says
I made this recipe for iftar as well. How much cilantro do I need to add for a cilantro lime flavor?
Ashley says
Replace the basil with 1/4 cup lightly packed cilantro, with no stems. Replace the lemon juice with 1/4 cup lime juice. Hope that was helpful, Mariam.