Perfectly creamy, garlicky, and tart—this four-ingredient tahini sauce recipe makes everything taste better!
Tahini sauce–or “awesome sauce” as my girls like to call it–is a rich and savory condiment that’s loved all throughout Mediterranean and the Middle East. It’s a blend of nutty tahini paste with fresh lime or lemon juice, raw garlic, and a little bit of water.
Just like with hummus, good tahini paste gives the sauce a velvety quality that’s totally addictive. In this easy recipe, I also add freshly chopped parsley, a popular twist where I grew up in Egypt called tahini bqaudoonis. The parsley adds a nice freshness but is optional. You can also easily switch it up with fresh mint or dill if you prefer!
Use this tahini sauce as a vegan dip for falafel or fresh veggies, or drizzle on grilled meat–lots more ideas below. Trust me: you’ll want to put it on everything!
What is in Tahini Sauce?
Real-deal tahini sauce does not have sweetener, and you don’t need it. No surprise but the VIP ingredient here is the tahini–seek out the good stuff. It should taste smooth and mildly nutty (bad tahini is bitter and chalky). Here’s some tips for what to buy:
- Garlic: I use 2 garlic cloves, but you can always do more or less to your taste.
- Kosher salt: Perks up the flavor.
- Tahini paste: A creamy, rich paste made by finely grinding roasted sesame seeds until buttery smooth.
- READ MORE: What is Tahini?
- TRY IT: My favorite is this organic tahini by Soom, but you can also check your local Middle Eastern market.
- Citrus: Use lime or lemon juice, whatever you have on hand.
- Parsley (optional): Swap with dill or mint, or use a combination.
How to Make Tahini Sauce
Here’s how to make this authentic tahini sauce recipe:
- Make a garlic paste. Using a mortar and pestle, crush 1-2 garlic cloves with 1/2 teaspoon of salt to make a paste. (Or mince the garlic and season with salt.)
- Combine. Scrape the garlic paste into the bowl of a food processor. Add 3/4 cup tahini paste and 1/2 cup fresh lime or lemon juice. Blend. It will be thick as it emulsifies, so add a splash of cold water and blend again until you reach your desired consistency (you’ll use about 1/4 cup cold water). Tahini sauce should typically be runny like salad dressing, but if you prefer it more as a dip, simply use less water.
- Season and serve. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more citrus juice and salt if needed. Transfer the tahini to a serving bowl, and stir in the parsley (if using). Enjoy!
Mix it Up
This tahini sauce recipe can very much be a base to add other flavors. A few ideas:
- Make it spicy: Add a pinch of cayenne, or Aleppo pepper for a milder heat.
- Make a “green tahini”: Check out my green goddess dressing recipe.
What to Serve with Tahini Sauce
There are so many ways to enjoy tahini sauce. Some of my go-tos:
- Part of a big mezze table.
- As a salad dressing.
- To jazz up sandwiches like falafel pitas or chicken shawarama.
- Drizzle on top of grilled meat, like my grilled chicken kabobs.
- On lunch bowls, like my falafel bowl.
- I also serve it just with a few fresh veggies and some warm pita bread.
Try These Mediterranean Sauces Next!
We’re all about the sauce in the Mediterranean! I always say they’re what takes a meal to next-level delicious. Here are 4 more to try:
More Ways to Use Tahini Paste
Dips and Condiments
Vegan Green Goddess Dressing with Tahini (5 minutes)
Breakfast
Tahini Date Shake
Dips and Condiments
Cucumber Tomato Tahini Salad
Appetizer and Mezze
Hummus Recipe (2 Ways!)
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Ingredients
- 1-2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup tahini paste
- 1/2 cup fresh lime or lemon juice
- Cold water (about 1/4 cup)
- 1 cup chopped parsley (optional)
Instructions
- Make a garlic paste. Using a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic cloves with the salt into a paste (or mince or finely grate the garlic and season with salt).
- Combine. Add the crushed garlic, tahini paste, and lime juice to the bowl of a food processor and blend (it will be thick as it emulsifies). Add the water, a little bit at a time, until you reach your desired consistency.
- Finish and serve. Transfer to a serving bowl and stir in the parsley (if using). Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients, including the tahini paste used in this recipe.
- Use only a little bit of water at a time until you reach your desired consistency. Generally, tahini sauce should have a runny, salad dressing-like consistency. But, if you prefer tahini more as a dip, simply use less water.
- Storage: Refrigerate in a tight-lid container for 2 to 3 days.
Nutrition
Try Organic Tahini by Soom
Try Soom’s world-class Tahini, made from from 100% organic sesame seeds.
*This post has recently been updated with new information for the readers’ benefit.
Beautiful dish, full of freshness and zing! The straining of the garlic is genius.
Thank you :).
Mine came out rather bitter despite using mulled tahini. Any suggestions? I added a tiny bit of olive oil, but no luck.
Hard to say. Maybe the tahini was past it’s prime?
Add more lime juice 🙂
That looks delicious!
Thanks, Lisa!
I need to check out
Good recipe for tahini sauce, tastes great with falafel. I did order the suggested tahini and compared it to a Walmart brand. At three times the price, it tasted exactly the same, so I will be using Walmart’s tahini in my future sauce.
Thanks for sharing, Cathy
which one from Walmart did you use?
Amazing recipe! I havent use tahini from shop, i use roasted sesami seeds instead, and it came out just perfect! Thanks
So glad you enjoyed it, Alen!
Followed the recipe and it was sooooo yummy! I’ll be putting that sh*t on everything! ?
Ha! That’s great to hear!!
Thank you, Suzy! We discovered a farm down the road with fresh, local ground lamb! I am using your recipe for lamb burgers, and just made this tahini sauce for them as well. I did not have parsley, being limited with Covid etc…but I have fresh mint from my garden and I had just purchased some fresh spinach. So I chopped and combined them for the sauce and….perfection! Looking forward to dinner.
Love your website, and plan to return often.
Sounds like a great dinner, Jim!!
I add a little ground cumin and cayenne pepper to the tahini sauce. It’s really steps it up.
Great, Kathy! Thank you for sharing
This is delicious! I added some pparikanand cumin to it because I didn’t have any Lesley available. I’m looking forward to trying it as written next time.
Thank you for sharing! So glad you liked it.
I saw a recipe for coconut ice cream call for tahini, would this require sauce or paste and would this way of making work, less the garlic and lime
Hi, Joycelyn. I’m going to guess the recipe is calling for just the tahini paste. You may want to reach out to the original creator and ask to be 100% sure, though.
Loved the flavor! How do you keep the sauce white? Mine came out very green because of the mint and dill.
Hi, Nick. I don’t use mind or dill in my tahini sauce. Just some parsley. That may be why.
stir the fresh herbs in at the end, after your blending is done. then it will be white with a splash of colour.
Hi Suzy!
I made your recipe for falafels a few years ago. It didn’t have onion though but it tasted just like the ones I got in Israel.
I kept the recipe written on paper and now I found your recipe and turns out the same, I even wrote your name on it!
I don’t deep fry anymore, I have an air fryer. Do you think that will work?
I’m so glad I found you!
I will try the air fryer and let you know my results. Toda roba ??
Yes… please let me know! I often get questions about using an air fryer, but have never tried it myself. I’d love your feedback!
i Have a Trader Joe’s organic tahini. It is not white like yours. It’s tan. Is it still basically the same? Will it taste the same? Thanks!
It should work in this recipe, Becky. I don’t know for sure how it will taste, I have not tried TJ Tahini, the one I use is Soom: https://shop.themediterraneandish.com/product-category/tahini/
I’ve made this tahini sauce so many times! Always turns out so good! So simple but so delicious. Thank you thank you thank you! Lots of love from Melbourne, Australia
Wonderful! Thanks so much, Ivy!
Delicious and authentic. Served it with falafels but works great as dip for veggies too. Total keeper!
Thanks, Annette!
Thank you for the great recipes. We do not consume oil. Is there oil in your tahini paste? We want to have tahini without oil, but they all seem to be made with olive oil. Thank you for your guidance.
Hi, Marian! We use Organic Tahini Paste by Soom. Here is the link so you can check out the ingredients: https://shop.themediterraneandish.com/product/organic-tahini-by-soom/
This was AMAZING!! Just like the tahina sauce we used to get back in Middle Easr with grilled chicken! Thanks so much!!
My pleasure! So glad you enjoyed it!
Made this today 🙂 thank you for the recipe …it was delicious….i used it with the chicken gyro recipe
Great! so happy you enjoyed both recipes