This lemon herb tahini dressing is incredibly quick and easy to make. It creates an ultra-creamy and fresh dressing, sauce, dip or spread. You can use fresh lemon and any herbs you like!
Use this dressing for salad, pasta salad, sandwiches, wraps, burgers, potato salad, pasta sauce or as a dip.
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Lemon Herb Tahini Sauce Ingredients
This recipe uses basic ingredients to create a super flavorful, fresh and creamy dressing, sauce, dip or spread! To make it, you’ll need:
- Tahini: Of course, you’ll need tahini for the base of this deliciously creamy sauce.
- Fresh herbs: Any fresh herbs can create a delicious dressing, so use what you enjoy and have on hand. Great choices for this recipe include cilantro, parsley, basil, dill or mint. Feel free to mix and match different herbs. In the video below I use half parsley and half dill as that’s what I had on hand!
- Green onions: For extra flavor, I love including green onions in this dressing. They add a sharp flavor that I absolutely adore. Chives can also work. Alternatively, you can skip this ingredient and add green or red onions to the salad you serve this sauce with.
- Garlic: I’m a huge fan of garlic, and I like to add raw garlic cloves to this dressing. I typically use 2 cloves, which adds a very sharp, almost spicy flavor. If you’re not a fan of raw garlic, which can be pungent, skip this ingredient or opt for ¼ - ½ teaspoon garlic powder for a milder flavor.
- Lemon zest and juice: For this recipe, you'll need the zest and juice of one large fresh lemon.
- Liquid sweetener: Tahini can be a bit bitter, and lemon is tart/sour, so some sweetness really helps balance these flavors. I recommend using a liquid sweetener like maple or agave syrup, but any type of sugar/ sweetener should work fine (although I haven’t tested anything other than maple/agave syrup).
- Salt: Enhance all the flavors in this sauce with some salt. Add as much as you like to adjust the taste to your preferences. I didn’t add black pepper to the recipe, but feel free to season with that as well.
- Water: You’ll need some liquid to properly blend this dressing. Use as much water as you like to achieve a desired texture/ thinness.
How to Make this Dressing Recipe
This lemon herb tahini dressing recipe is incredibly easy to make and is ready in one simple step. You'll be serving it however you choose before you even know it!
Step 1: Blend Dressing
To make this recipe, just add everything to a small blender (this can work in a full-size blender, but it may be harder to blend).
Scrape down the edges as needed, blending again until everything is super smooth and creamy.
Step 2: Serve
There are endless ways to serve this recipe. Use it as a dressing for any type of salad or grain bowl. It’s also great on sandwiches, burgers, wraps or as a dip for vegetables, crackers or pita bread.
You can also use this as a pasta sauce for hot pasta dishes. The possibilities are endless!
How to Serve a Balanced Vegan Meal
I consider a balanced meal one that contains a good source of plant-based protein, carbohydrates, fats and lots of vegetables or fruits.
This recipe mainly provides healthy fats and some plant-based protein from the tahini (sesame seeds). This combo of fat and protein makes for a very satisfying addition to any meal that will help keep you feeling fuller for longer.
Beyond that, the other ingredients just add flavor to your meal. Flavor is an important addition to any meal because it’s important to enjoy your food!
There will be some carbohydrates in the dressing, depending on the sweetener you use.
Since this is a sauce or dressing, it’s meant to be served with a meal. Pair it with any meal that contains some protein, carbs and veggies to create a deliciously balanced meal.
Tahini Dressing Variations
There are endless ways to prepare tahini dressing. Some of my favorites include:
- Dill tahini dressing
- Classic lemon tahini
- Balsamic tahini dressing
- Orange miso tahini dressing
- Tahini pasta sauce (for hot or cold pasta)
How to Store Leftovers
Refrigerate leftover dressing in an airtight container for up to 5 days. I’ve never tried freezing tahini dressing but imagine it would work if you want to save some for several weeks or up to a few months.
If you make this recipe, please rate and comment below to help others benefit from your experience!
Lemon Herb Tahini Dressing
Equipment
- Small blender
Ingredients
- ½ cup tahini (120 grams)
- ½-¾ cup fresh herbs (15 – 20 grams) *
- ¼ cup green onion (20 grams)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest , zest of 1 lemon
- 3-4 tablespoons lemon juice , juice of 1 lemon (45-60 milliliters)
- 1-2 tablespoons liquid sweetener , of your choice (15-30 milliliters) **
- ¼ teaspoon salt , or to taste
- ⅓-½ cup cold water
Instructions
Step 1: Blend Dressing
- Add all ingredients to a small blender.½ cup tahini, ½-¾ cup fresh herbs, ¼ cup green onion, 2 cloves garlic, 2 teaspoons lemon zest, 3-4 tablespoons lemon juice, 1-2 tablespoons liquid sweetener, ¼ teaspoon salt, ⅓-½ cup cold water
- Blend until smooth. You’ll likely need to scrape down the edges of the blender once or twice to get everything mixed well.
- Add extra water as needed to get the texture you want.
- Season with salt and/or pepper to your taste.
Step 2: Serve
- Serve this dressing over any type of salad (lettuce, pasta, potato, quinoa, etc.), with grain bowls, on sandwiches, wraps or burgers and can be used as a dip for veggies, crackers, pita bread, etc.
- You can also use it as a pasta sauce.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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About Nicole Stevens
Nicole is a vegan Registered Dietitian (RD) and founder of Lettuce Veg Out.
She helps people thrive on a vegan diet with balanced recipes and easy-to-understand nutrition science.
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