Creamy Tahini Dressing
You're going to love this delicious creamy tahini dressing recipe! It's simple to make, full of nutritious ingredients and goes with everything.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 27, 2024
My friend Erin requested a tahini dressing recipe, and here it is! This tahini dressing is luxuriously creamy yet plant-based (no mayo!). It’s a fun alternative to your standard vinaigrette.
This tahini dressing is versatile and goes with a wide variety of salad ingredients. I listed a bunch of those ingredients below to help you craft your own salad. The tahini dressing will bring it all together.
I shared my go-to tahini sauce recipe a couple of months ago (have you tried it yet?). This salad dressing is similar but designed specifically for drizzling on salads, rather than using as a dipping sauce or on sandwiches.
For this salad dressing, I omitted the garlic and made up for the lost flavor by adding Dijon mustard. I also incorporated some olive oil in this dressing to make it extra luxurious. It’s easy to whisk together at a moment’s notice, and keeps well for about a week. I think you’re going to love it!
Watch How to Make Creamy Tahini Dressing
Tahini Dressing Tips & Notes
Buy good tahini! They vary a lot in flavor and consistency. The best tahini comes from Ethiopia, and my favorite brands of Ethiopian tahini are Soom Foods (affiliate link) and Trader Joe’s organic tahini.
Ice-cold water is key. Fill a glass with water and ice before you make this dressing so your water is very cold. The cold water ensures that the mixture emulsifies instead of getting all gloppy and weird. It also turns an already-creamy mixture into a remarkably creamy dressing! You’d almost think there’s mayonnaise in this dressing, but there’s not.
Balance tahini’s bitterness and tang with a little sweetener and some extra salt. A little bit of maple syrup or honey go a long way in making this salad taste well-balanced, complex, and totally delicious. This dressing also calls for a little more salt than most of my other dressings. Salt helps balance bitterness and brings out tahini’s best.
Tahini Dressing Salad Suggestions
This tahini dressing would be great on a salad with any of the following ingredients:
- Greens: kale, arugula, romaine, spring greens
- Tomatoes
- Bell pepper
- Radish
- Fennel
- Cucumber
- Carrots
- Cabbage
- Summer squash
- Red onion or green onion
- Fresh herbs: basil, cilantro, chives, dill, parsley
- Beans: chickpeas, lentils
- Whole grains: quinoa, farro, wheat berries
- Nuts and seeds: almonds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds
- Cheese: goat cheese, feta
Please tell me how you like this dressing in the comments! I’m so eager to hear how your salads turn out!
Looking for more homemade dressings to liven up your salads? Don’t miss my mint dressing, basic vinaigrette with variations, healthy honey mustard dressing, or carrot ginger dressing.
Creamy Tahini Dressing
You’re going to love this delicious creamy tahini dressing recipe! It’s simple to make, full of nutritious ingredients and goes with everything. Recipe yields about ¾ cup.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup tahini
- 2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup or honey
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons ice-cold water, more as needed
Instructions
- In a liquid measuring cup or jar, combine the olive oil, tahini, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, mustard, maple syrup, salt, and several twists of black pepper. Whisk until thoroughly blended.
- Add the cold water, and whisk again. The dressing should become remarkably creamy. Taste, and add more lemon juice (for zing) and pepper, if desired. If your dressing is too thick to drizzle, whisk in more cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Serve!
- This dressing will keep well in the refrigerator, covered, for about 1 week. It may thicken with time; simply thin it with a little more cool water as needed.
Notes
Make it vegan: Use maple syrup instead of honey.
Change it up: You can stir in a couple of tablespoons of finely chopped fresh herbs (dill, basil, mint, cilantro or parsley) for an herbed tahini dressing. For full-blown green goddess flavor, see the herbs and amounts suggested here.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I just wanted to thank you Kate for the flavorful recipes! I’ve got your cookbook as a birthday gift from my husband….it’s the best! There hasn’t been a recipe that has failed in flavor or presentation…I know there won’t be!
You’re so welcome! What a thoughtful husband too, Emma. :) You’re so sweet, thank you. That is my goal! Let me know what you think of the cookbook too. I would love a review on Amazon if you do love it.
Sure! I will definitely leave a positive review on Amazon. I loved it! :)
I love this dressing. I use it on salads or to dress canned beans. I have made it with half the oil or oil free altogether and it is just as good as the original recipe.
Need some vegan replacements for eggs milk etc can u include this in your recipes?
Hi Marianne! Check out the notes below the recipe instructions. I try to put substitutions for common dietary needs there. Hope this helps!
YUM! This looks fantastic!!
Thank you!
Hi – would it work with Wholegrain mustard instead of dijon? Just curious if I should omit or if it would be an ok substitute. :)
Hi! I haven’t tired it with this and it does tend to offer slightly different flavor.
Yum! I love tahini dressing on salads with sweet potatoes, too! I just picked up some tahini from TJ’s- this is going on next week’s meal prep list :)
Wonderful! Let me know what you think of the recipe. Way to be on top of meal prep for next week already!
Sooo … what do you think this dressing might be like drizzled over top roasted cauliflower that has turmeric/paprika seasonings ???
Oh, that would be interesting! Sure. Report back on what you think, Susan.
I leave out the sweet honey/maple syrup because I don’t like sweet.. Add a little nutritional yeast! This is a very good recipe.
Thank you, Karen! I appreciate you sharing how you change it up.
Thanks for the suggestion of nutritional yeast as I was looking for a lower carb variation on this recipe.
Everyone needs a good tahini in their dressing arsenal!
Yes! 100%
Yummm I know I’ll love this because I already love the tahini sauce recipe, and dijon mustard obviously makes everything better. You rock!
Yes! I’m glad you are enjoying them better. Thanks for commenting and your review, Nicole!
Hi. I like very much your recipes. Will try this one. One note is : is that possible to link some ingredients with its picture.. for example , what is tahini ? I dont have it in my kitchen. Can it be switched with something else? Thanks
Hi Irina! Love the questions. Tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds. Similarly like a nut butter would be made. For this specific recipe, you really do need tahini. You should be able to find this at your local grocery store. It’s typically found by the nut butters. Hope this helps!
Hi Kate thanks for reply I always note the vegan substitutions. What I was referring to
Was your book which I bought. I’d like to see more vegan options or recipes w/o milk butter etc
Like Baking recipes using applesauce instead of oil etc
Thanks
Marianne
Hi Marianne – Ah, yes! If you look at the bottom of the page in the cookbook, I provide the dietary notes for common dietary restrictions. If possible, I provide how you can make it vegan/gluten free/etc. Hope this helps! But I will keep you request in mind as I’m developing recipes. :) Thanks for your comment!
Loved the dressing. Great recipe. Thank you for sharing.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Sheen! Thanks for your comment. If you would like to leave a star review, I would really appreciate it!
I adore making dressings with tahini; can’t wait to try this one! :)
Tahini makes so many things better! Let me know what you think when you try it, Brittany.
This tahini dressing is so delicious, I started eating it by the spoonful. Had to save enough for my salad. I did mine in a jar with the stick blender from ingredients that I had on hand. Thanks for a great recipe.
Wonderful, Kathey! Thanks for your review.
Yum! Sounds delicious, and as easy to whip up as a simple vinaigrette! I love tahini-based dressings on kale — something about the flavors and the heartiness of both complement each other really well.
Kale is a great way to have this dressing for sure! Thank you, Lilian for your comment.
Is tahini ground up sesame seeds?
Yep! Thanks for the review.
What a great dressing! My son doesn’t eat dairy so it’s nice to find a creamy nodairy dressing to change things up from vinaigrette. Love the tip about ice water, which is totally opposite to what I have done with clumpy tahini in the past. Thanks for another great recipe, Kate.
You’re welcome, Vivian!
This dressing does sound interesting. I’ve always used Joyva tahini, a middle eastern brand I was introduced to about 50 years ago by a Lebanese boyfriend. I would be interested to check out your Ethiopian tahini to see how it compares.
Let me know what you think, Susan!
Tahini is NOT something I could eat by the spoonful–I first dug into it a while ago and almost choked because of the bitterness! HOWEVER. In salads, hummus, and in desserts? MINDBLOWINGLY delicious. That in mind, I definitely want to integrate it more into my diet for its health benefits and for its quality of flavors! This dressing looks superb and so versatile for any seasonal salad!
Hooray! Thanks, Cassie.
OMG YUM! I was pleasantly surprised by the dijon mustard flavor and how it went so great with the tahini. You’ve made boring salads fun again!
I’m glad you liked the dijon touch, Becca!
So delicious. We drizzled it over roasted veggies and now want to put it on EVERYTHING. Thanks!
I want to put it on everything too! Thanks so much for sharing, JP.
This dressing is absolutely delicious! I drizzled some on a rice bowl with sauteed mushrooms and zucchini. Amazing! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Jo!
This is really nice!
Thank you!
I loved the tahini dressing. However, I used way more lemon juice, a litttle more than double and also, half a lime. It is delish! You are the best Thanks
Thanks for sharing, Jeannie!
Finally tried this recipe (with syrup) and it is delicious! What a perfect blend of flavors. It is a definite go-to for me now, thank you!
You’re welcome, Charlene!
I love this dressing! I found the amount of Dijon to be a bit too strong (for me) so I added a generous squeeze of juice from 1/4 of an orange, right at the end. This yummy dressing topped my haloumi Buddha bowl with roast cauliflower, pumpkin and zucchini. Thanks for the fab recipe!
Sounds like a delicious combination, Carmen! Thanks for sharing.
The dressing is delicious! I had it over a kale quinoa salad. How do you recommend storing the dressing?
In an air tight container in the refrigerator. I hope this helps! Thanks for your review, Suzanne.
Kate –
Have not tried this recipe yet, but I will.
Actually I have a question based on an instruction.
You write that honey is not vegan. I’m not vegan (nor vegetarian), so I was surprised to read that statement.
Why is it not? Just curious.
Honey is made for bees, by bees so it doesn’t follow vegan guidelines. I hope this helps!
Thanks for this – it has become our go-to dressing (for just about everything) since we changed our diet to just this side of vegan.
We substitute a 1/8th of a teaspoon of stevia for the honey. We also double the amount of lemon juice. This is definitely a “to taste” recipe. Brilliant!
I’m glad this is now a go-to, Lori! Thanks for your review.
This dressing looks delicious! I’ve been looking for some good dressing recipes for salads. Thank you.
You’re welcome, Alexia!
Wow! This tahini dressing has become my standard. I have used others, but this one is perfectly balanced. Thank you.
Love to hear that, Oriana! I’m so happy you love it.
I love this recipe, thank you! I make oven roasted veggie power bowls and use this as a dressing so they aren’t too dry. The power bowls have broccoli, onions, garlic, grape tomatoes, cauliflower, asparagus, turnip and sweet potatoes. I add a jammy egg for protein and drizzle this dressing over the top.
That sounds delicious!
I tried it and didn’t care for it (I think only because I didn’t care for the aftertaste of my olive oil AND tahini, something tasted rancid or bitter to me) but hubbie liked it. I will taste both the olive oil and tahini BEFOREhand next time. I used maple flavored monk fruit syrup instead of maple syrup because were are on a VERY low carb diet, trying to get to ketogenic. Thank you so much for the recipe, I’m sure if I had better oil and tahini that I would like it better. I will try it again.
THANK YOU!
You’re welcome, Ann! Thanks for your review.
I rarely rate or comment but this worked perfectly and was delicious on a roasted cauliflower salad with feta, pine nuts and avocado. I love the texture and the balance of flavors.
I’m so happy you did! Thanks, Elisabeth.
Kate: This was delicious. I was looking for a good dressing to encourage me to eat more salads. This is it! Thank you for creating this.
This is the third week in a row that I have made this dressing! I’ve been using it to dress a variety of salads – this week is kale, lentils, roasted radishes and avocado. Thank you for this wonderful and easy recipe!
I love that! Thanks for sharing how you used this dressing, Kira.
Hi..can you please tel me if I can substitute the oil,as I can’t have oil
Thank You
Hi! Oil is really needed for this dressing. You could possibly try adding some water instead to make it more dressing-like.
Lovely dressing .
Plus your recipe for hummus is a big favourite in our house too.
Thank you, Maria!
This was delicious and the flavors developed beautiful over the following days. I added the pulp of a roasted lemon, and only a 1/2 tsp of honey. Paired with oven roasted artichoke halves (475 degrees convection oven for 25 minutes.) next time I’ll add parsley
Sounds amazing! Thank you for sharing, Jenny.
Dressing was looking and tasting great until i added the water. Instantly split. Which is not surprising! Find it a bit annoying that most of the 5-star ratings for this recipe are people who ‘want to try it’
I’m sorry you were annoyed, Rowan. I encourage all types of communication on my recipes as I love to hear what people are excited about.
Mine split as soon as I added water, too. I was able to get it back together for the most part but it still doesn’t seem quite right. I followed all the directions.
Hi Leigh, did you use ice cold water?
I did. Overall, I don’t think you need oil in this recipe, since the tahini is already quite oily. I switched to a recipe that omits the oil, but is basically the same, and it’s much better.
So delicious!
Great to hear, Emma!
Oh my God!!! I love it!! So amazing
I’m glad you love it, Farah!
This was so delicious!! It is delicious as written. Gaby Dalkin also has a really great tahini dressing with her kale avocado ceasar salad! I love the addition of the mustard and maple syrup in this recipe, and I love the garlic in her recipe, so I added 3 cloves of garlic to this!! It was wonderful!!! Thanks so much for the great recipes!!!
Gaby knows her stuff! Thanks for sharing what you loved about this one, Jill.
Made this tahini dressing three days ago, have been making a batch every day since and loving it so much. This dressing is savory and tangy with mustard, yet zesty and spicy from the lemon and pepper. This salad dressing has confirmed my newest salad addiction: spring greens with julienned carrots, falafel balls from Trader Joe’s, some roasted corn, and this dressing. Perfect for the summer time, nutritious, and lip-smackingly delightful.
That sounds like a delicious combination, Nicole! Thank you for sharing.
Can this dressing be mixed into a quinoa salad rather than drizzled on lettuce salad as in the picture? It sounds delicious and I have been looking for a different dressing other than the olive oil and lemon type. Thank you for your reply.
Sure! Use it how you like, Catherine.
Made this last night and used on a Buddha bowl and it was fabulous!!
Thank you for sharing, Kyle!
We returned from a trip to Israel and craved the salads we had there. This hit the spot! I made the dressing as written and it went great with chopped kale/radicchio and ‘stuff’
I’m glad this hit a spot!
That is funny. I lived in Ethiopia, but the only Tahini available there came from the middle east….
Thanks for sharing, Daphne!
We put this on thin ramen-type noodles and topped it with roasted sunflower seeds while camping. It was amazing!! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Lisa!
I’ve made it and it’s super delicious & we used it for salad & sometimes drizzle on kofta or grilled meat. Our favorite dressings. Thanks.
You’re welcome!
This is yummy! I added lots more water to make it more runny, but it tastes delicious. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Carolin!