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.
Love all your recipes you make it super easy to follow instructions
Thank you Cindy
Kate,
Another fabulous recipe. I always bring salads for my work lunches and decided to try your tahini dressing. Wow! Amazing!
David
This was delicious thank you!❤️ I love all your recipes.
Thank you, Amber! I appreciate your review.
I absolutely loved this recipe and used it with some Lamb Koftas and Chick Pea Salad. I did add some Smoked Honey which was a winner for me. The spiciness of the Koftas and the Chick Peas were offset by the creaminess and smokey flavours of the dressing. Wonderful.
Do you recommend raw or roasted tahini? I seem to see options for both. Thank you!
Hi Amanada, whichever you prefer. I tend to lean toward raw. It depends on your preferred taste.
Tried it love it. Made it and let it sit for a while before serving with chicken kabob and rice. Since I didn’t have Dijon mustard use garlic instead. Thank you for this recipe
I made this dressings last night and it was delicious! It tasted so much like honey mustard. Thank you for sharing it!
You’re welcome, Julia!
Followed the recipe exactly & was very disappointed, it has a bizarre banana like flavor….very mustardy. Trying to figure out how to save it now.
Hi Tammy, I’m sorry to hear that! What type of tahini and mustard did you use? I find those can really impact the overall quality.
I just returned from the middle east and craving the flavors I enjoyed there, found your recipe. Thank you for sharing this delicious salad dressing. I used my food processor, but he ice cold water trick really works! I will thin it out a bit and drizzle it over chicken tonight!
You’re welcome, Lesli! Thanks for your comment and review.
Yum! This works so well & fits in with all my dietary requirements
Great dressing. Have made it several times. I use extra lemon and cut back the maple syrup. It’s a perfect dressIn for rice bowls
Thank you for your comment and review!
I’ve just made this and I’m restraining myself from eating the whole thing before putting it on my steamed vegetables who seem taking forever to cook. This is so delicious!
This is the nicest tahini dressing I’ve ever made my family love it !!!
I just made this and it was absolutely amazing! I love tahini and was searching for a recipe that balances out its bitterness and this did exactly that. I’ll be making this on repeat! Thank you ✨
You’re welcome, Marinna!
This is delicious!! I tried it on falafels and a garden salad. I will be making this on a regular basis. Thanks so much!!
You’re welcome, Stephanie!
I forgot the maple syrup/honey but it was really good without it. Great recipe! I only rated it a four because I forgot the sweet element.
I’m glad you still enjoyed it! I appreciate your review.
Loved it! I was able to make it with what I had on hand and few dirty dishes (other recipes that call for the food processor).
Excellent ! I make this all the time. Just made two double batches to gift to my neighbours along with buddha bowl contents.
Thanks so much!
A little more honey, add balasmic vinger, and a very small amount of chili paste. Super good!
This was my favourite salad dressing ever, I think. I will definitely be making this more and eating more salad as a result. Thank you!
I’ve made this recipe more times than I can count! I love the smooth texture and perfect blend of ingredients. Perfect for any kind of salad!
I’m not sure what happened, but I tried making this twice (once with ice cold water and once with warm water just to see)and each time I added the water the dressing split and became a gloppy, separated mess. Do you know why this may have happened?
Hi Erin, how long did you try to mix it for? Did you use a whisk?
Thank you! So delicious and easy!
New family favorite recipe for Buddha bowls.
I have made it 3 times in the last 2 weeks! However, last night instead of being silky it became grainy and lumpy. I’m wondering what went wrong…I added more water. It didn’t help. I made another batch and again it was grainy. Do u have any clue why you think???
(The only ingredient I omit is the maple syrup)
Hi Shannon, assuming the water was ice-cold? Omitting the syrup could have impacted, but my assumption would be the temperature of the water.
OK, so this is the SECOND recipe I have read of yours, and I love it. Well, I love the concept, as it is midnight, and I am in my bed, and not in my kitchen. But I LOVE your taste buds, and I love the recipes in reading form, to the point that my mouth is watering. I KNOW I will try this, as I have all those ingredients in my fridge. I am always looking for a great dip for artichokes, and THIS will get me through the weekend. Thank you!!!
This is terrific! Lots of flavor. Made it twice since I found it a couple weeks ago.
Wow! I went looking for a nice tahini-based salad dressing to use on my coleslaw. I tried one last week but it was quite thick and didn’t really work well. Your recipe is absolutely delicious and works out to be the perfect consistency. Thank you so very much! My only complaint : i have just put the leftovers in a jar, and now I keep going back and eating it by the spoonful ;-) It is so creamy and really nicely balanced flavours. Thanks so very much!
I think that is a great problem to have! Thank you for sharing, Shirl. :)
This dressing was stunning! Will be drenching all my summer veggies in it. THANKS!
Oh but, I did have to use 4tbs water rather than 2, but no biggie.
I’m glad you loved it! Thank you for sharing, Molly.
I made this today and this is this will be my go to from now on absolutely delicious ! Thank you
This recipe looks so good…I love tahini dressing, however when I made it, it was super creamy up until the point I added the cold water! It had the opposite effect that you mentioned. It actually all globby and granulated. Not sure if I did something wrong, but I followed it exactly. :(
What can I use instead of dijon mustard?
The mustard really helps bring these flavors together. You could try another brown mustard.
Hi! This looks great! How long will it keep in the fridge?
Hi Susan! See step 3, 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.
I make this regularly and it pairs well with so many different things, thank you!
You’re very welcome! I love that this is a regular dressing for you Katelyn.
Absolutely loved this recipe! Added a wonderful addition to my dinner.
I’m happy to hear that, Susan! Thanks for your review.
Such an easy recipe to make and delicious!
This is so good I could drink it! Thank you!!
You’re welcome, Katie!
I love the flavor of this dressing! For some reason, as soon as I added a tablespoon of water, all the ingredients separated. Not sure why?
Hi! Did you keep whisking it together? It will become creamy after you keep stirring it.
I have been making the same dressing for a zillion years. It’s fabulous but I needed something new so badly…. and wow! This recipe is just the best… my partner is very much the fussy pants and he also loved this tonight, which is good as I plan to never be without it! So tasty, a fabulous consistency and texture… I made a lentil salad with grilled peppers, goji berries. toasted nuts, herbs and goat’s cheese and served it with this dressing… just so good it’s not funny! Thank you so much, thrilled with this beauty!
I’m excited you love it, Charlotte! Thank you for your review.
My dietician just recommended this recipe can’t wait to try it out!!!
I hope you love it!
This dressing is absolutely fabulous! It’s just what I was looking for! The flavor & consistency are perfect. It will be my go-to tahini recipe from now on
Wonderful, Sandi!
So good! I’ve made Tahini Dressings before that were too thick and not quite right. This was delicious.
I am addicted to this dressing! No other dressing even compares!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe Kate! I just made it quickly this morning and I’m so glad that we will keep all week in the fridge for more use throughout the week.
I made it with Blue Agave Syrup instead of honey as it was what I had available, and it worked out great. I imagine this dressing will go along with just about any salad, as well as on potatoes, stir fried veggies, tofu, and more :-)
Thank you, Stash! I appreciate you taking the time to review.
This dressing is simple and quick to make – a perfect alternative to shop bought salad dressings The recipe is enough for 4-6 portions. I’m enjoying mine drizzled over a cous cous salad with baked tofu, roast sweet potato, and toasted kale – delicious!
Thank you for sharing, Nerys! I appreciate the review.
This is absolutely FABULOUS! It has become my go-to tahini dressing & it is perfect. So easy & delicious!
YES!! This is my new favorite tahini-based dressing! I love it on my “deconstructed falafel” salad (greens, parsley, cilantro, grains, chickpeas, feta, and whatever veggies we have on hand). Can’t wait to try it drizzled on spiced & roasted cauliflower or eggplant. Seriously, it is delicious. I think the small amount of sweetener is a worthy indulgence because it really offsets the tahini bitterness.
I love that idea! Thank you for sharing, Melissa.
My first time to try one of your ideas and I’m impressed. This is a delicious recipe. Salad is my favorite food. I used the maple syrup which was a great alternative. I will look at your other creations. Thanks and have a happy New Year
I’m glad you love it! I hope you try others.
Hi Kate,
This Tahini dressing is absolutely divine. I served it with the salad ingredients that you recommended and it was a big hit with the family.I have also tried the ginger dressing and the green goddess and they also were a huge hit.
Thank you for your amazing recipes Kate.
Sue
Australia
I’m happy you loved it, Su! Thank you for your review.
Would this work without lemon? I don’t have any but I really want to try a tahini salad dressing tonight
Hi! The lemon is really important in the taste and texture. How did it turn out? Did you try it.
This is a delicious dressing on any of my greens- spinach, kale, lettuce. I love it. It makes an excellent addition to my salad rotation. Thanks for the great recipe!
You’re welcome, Teresa! Thank you for your review.
I tried another tahini dressing recipe that was so awful I had to toss it out. Then I found and made your recipe. It was love at first taste. It is perfection!
Thank you so much!!!
You’re welcome, Lynne! Thank you for your review.