This Tangy Tahini Sauce is an easy-to-make, creamy sauce that is amazing over vegetables, on sandwiches, over rice, on Buddha bowls, grain bowls, salads, chickpeas, sweet potatoes, and more!

Tangy Tahini Sauce in a bowl with fresh parsley and lemons on the side.

“Yuck! How can anyone like this?” Those were the first words that came out of my mouth the first time I tried tahini. Flash forward a couple decades and I now eat tahini at least once a week.

What happened?

I learned amazing, delicious ways to use tahini. And this Tangy Tahini Sauce is one of them!

What is tahini?

Tahini is a thin, creamy paste made from sesame seeds. It’s quite common in Middle Eastern cuisine.

Where to buy tahini

You can find tahini in some larger grocery stores. But there are varying qualities of tahini. Good tahini should have a smooth, creamy texture and rich but mild, nutty flavor. It should not be excessively oily, too thin, or have an unpleasant aftertaste. Nor should it be overly bitter. (Good tahini has an ever so slightly bitter taste which adds depth of flavor to dishes, but it should not be overly bitter.) And it should always taste fresh – never rancid!

You can learn about my favorite brands of tahini on my tahini ingredient page.

Tangy Tahini Sauce in a bowl with lentils and sweet potatoes on the side.

Is tahini healthy?

Tahini is a healthful food. It is a good source of slimming fiber. Plus it provides heart-healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. It also gives you essential minerals like calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. And it is rich in antioxidants, which have been show to protect against cancer, heart disease, and other diseases.

Because tahini is a whole food that provides healthy fats, it is an excellent substitute for margarine, butter, and oil.

How to eat Tangy Tahini Sauce

Roasted carrots drizzled with Tangy Tahini Sauce

I love to make this easy, creamy condiment at the beginning of the week and keep it in the fridge to add delicious flavor to my meals all week long!

Here’s are just some of the ways to use tahini sauce:

Drizzle it over rice or quinoa.
We love it with Baked Sweet Potatoes.
It’s amazing on this Kale Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad.
Dollop it on roasted or steamed vegetables.
Drizzle it over grain bowls.
Dip raw vegetables into it.
Eat it on sandwiches.
It’s yummy with home-cooked chickpeas.
Use it as a salad dressing.
Drizzle it over these Oil-Free Roasted Sweet Potatoes.

And it’s oil-free, gluten-free, and vegan, so it works with various dietary needs.

We hope you love this deliciously tangy, wonderfully creamy, incredibly easy to make Tangy Tahini Sauce!

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Tangy Tahini Sauce

A simple, tangy sauce that does not require a blender to prepare.

Rate/Comment Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5

Course Condiment, Sauce

YIELD 10 tablespoons

All recipes on jenniferskitchen.com are property of jennifer’s kitchen and cannot be republished without written permission.

Ingredients

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons roasted tahini
3 – 4 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons (approximately) water

Instructions

In a small bowl, stir together all ingredients except water.
Add water to achieve desired consistency.

Notes

This is a very tangy sauce. It goes well with the fresh garlic. If you don’t use as much fresh garlic or don’t like a tangy sauce, use less lemon.

This recipe makes approximately 2/3 cup.

Testing notes:

We tested this recipe many times using various methods and ingredients to make sure it would turn out great for you!

1. We tested this with varying amounts of lemon juice. If you are using fresh garlic, we liked the full 4 tablespoons of lemon. (Be aware: it does have a definite lemon flavor.) But if you use less garlic, you may prefer only 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. We suggest adding lemon juice to taste after the sauce is mixed.

2. We tested this with granulated garlic, and most definitely decided that the fresh was worth the tiny bit of extra trouble.

>> One quick request: if you like this recipe, please leave a rating and a comment. Ratings help more people find these healthy recipes!

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Keywords: condiments, dairy-free, dip, gluten-free, healthy, oil-free, plant-based, vegan, vinegar-free

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3 Comments

Joni says:

January 30, 2026 at 10:01 am

I do not do well with garlic – it makes me sick to my stomach.
I don’t do very well with onions, either.
Do you have other ways to make your recipes sans garlic and onion?

1. Jennifer says:
  
  January 30, 2026 at 10:11 am
  
  That’s a good question. Since onion and garlic add so much flavor, simply omitting them would leave most dishes lacking.
  
  As far as what to use to replace that flavor, I think it would depend on the recipe. For this tahini sauce, I think I would reduce the lemon and maybe (?) add some dried basil. I haven’t actually tried this, so you may want to experiment a bit to get the flavor right for you.
  
  (P.S. I’m assuming you are talking about both fresh and dried (granulated garlic/onion). But if you can eat the dried versions, those would often be a good sub for fresh onion and garlic.)
  
2. Marie says:
  
  February 5, 2026 at 7:13 pm
  
  Hi Joni. If you can, use a little fresh ginger, minced fine or dried ginger powder to taste. Add a small amount, stir and taste, then add more if needed to your taste. Ginger is good for digestion and great in tahini. I usually use dried ginger because it is hard to find fresh ginger here that is golden and not green from being frozen.
  If you use fresh, peel it easily with the tip of a teaspoon. Hope this helps as tahini is very good for natural calcium. Another thing you can try is a little smoked paprika and or coconut milk.