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Close up of rotini pasta tossed with creamy tahini sauce and oregano garnish.
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Tahini Pasta Sauce

This tahini pasta sauce recipe is easy to make, packed with flavor and creates a rich, creamy sauce that can be served hot or cold!
Course Main Course, Sauce
Cuisine Vegan
Keyword Pasta with tahini sauce, Tahini pasta sauce
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 4 Servings
Calories 289kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil (30 milliliters)
  • 1 small onion , finely diced (85 grams)
  • 6-7 cloves garlic , finely minced (22 grams)
  • ½ large tomato , chopped (100 grams)
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (20 grams)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon dry basil
  • 1 teaspoon dry oregano
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼ - ½ teaspoon red chili flakes
  • ½ cup tahini (120 grams)
  • 1-2 cups pasta cooking water *
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice (30 milliliters)
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (30 milliliters)

Instructions

Step 1: Cook Pasta

  • The amount of sauce this recipe makes will coat about 400 grams of dry pasta.
  • Cook your pasta of choice according to package directions. Before draining the water, reserve 2 cups of the pasta cooking water.
    1-2 cups pasta cooking water

Step 2: Prepare Sauce

  • Warm olive oil in a sauce pot or pan over medium heat. Add minced onion and cook for 5 minutes, until the onion starts to soften.
    2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 small onion
  • Add minced garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
    6-7 cloves garlic
  • Add chopped tomato, nutritional yeast, salt, dry basil, dry oregano, black pepper and red chili flakes. Cook until the tomato is completely broken down into a paste; about 5 minutes.
    ½ large tomato, 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon dry basil, 1 teaspoon dry oregano, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ¼ - ½ teaspoon red chili flakes
  • Add tahini, lemon juice and balsamic vinegar along with about 1 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water.
    ½ cup tahini, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • Stir until the sauce is smooth. Add additional pasta cooking water to reach your desired sauce consistency (I typically use 2 cups of pasta water).

Step 3: Toss and Serve

  • Toss the tahini pasta sauce with your cooked and drained pasta.
  • Serve hot or cold, topped with optional vegan parmesan cheese and/or fresh chopped herbs of choice.

Notes

*Can use plain water or vegetable broth if not cooking pasta.
Nutrition analysis performed based on tahini sauce only and does not account for pasta or other ingredients not listed in recipe card.
Accuracy of nutrition information cannot be guaranteed (certain ingredients may not have all nutrients listed in the database); amounts may vary (and will vary depending on brands of ingredients used); all nutrition fact values rounded to the nearest whole number.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Serving (¼ of recipe) | Calories: 289kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Sodium: 930mg | Potassium: 266mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 14IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 166mg | Iron: 4mg