Easy Lemon Tahini Sauce (With Recipe Variations)

This easy lemon tahini sauce is the ultimate sauce for falafel. But it is so much more versatile than that! Serve it with any Middle Eastern or Mediterranean dishes, use it as a dip, or add it to your next mezze spread.

The homemade tahini sauce is light and airy with a creamy texture and luscious lemon flavour. And it happens to be dairy-free, gluten-free, nut-free, oil-free and naturally plant-based.

This simplified version of Michael Solomonov’s tahini sauce relies on fresh lemon juice to mellow the garlic flavours. And it delivers perfectly creamy tahini sauce every time.

What is tahini?

Tahini is a ground sesame paste made from hulled white sesame seeds. It has a mild, nutty taste and a creamy texture.

Buy the best quality tahini for the best lemon tahini sauce. And be sure it says tahini on the label. Tahini may be sesame paste, but all sesame paste is not tahini. Read more about the difference between tahini and Chinese sesame paste. 

If you can’t find tahini in the grocery store, it is easy to make tahini at home.

Ingredients and Substitutes

If you hang out here often, you know I adore citrus. And this luscious lemon sauce has everything a citrus lover desires.

As with any recipe using such simple ingredients, quality is essential. 

• Garlic cloves: I grate three fresh garlic cloves with a Microplane, but you can use the smallest side of your box grater too. Alternatively, finely chop the garlic or blitz it into the lemon juice with a blender.
• Lemon juice: Use freshly squeezed lemon juice for the freshest lemon flavour. Or use the salty lemon brine from preserved lemons (use half the amount of fresh lemon juice and omit the salt).
• Ground cumin: The ground spice adds an earthy flavour that complements the tahini. But you can omit it if you prefer. Or instead, sprinkle the sauce with za’atar before serving.  
• Tahini paste: Use good quality tahini. Check the label and ingredients list. It should be tahini (or tahina) made from only ground sesame seeds. I always look for Israeli tahini. But you can make homemade tahini from hulled sesame seeds using a food processor or high-speed blender.
• Cold water: Adding the water a little at a time, and mixing thoroughly between additions, results in the creamiest tahini sauce. It is ridiculously light and incredibly smooth.
• Sea salt: Use the salt you have on hand. I use about a teaspoon of ground sea salt or kosher salt. Taste and adjust it to your liking.

Michael Solomonov’s tahini sauce

Kenji López-Alt first introduced me to Solomonov’s amazing tahini sauce via serious eats. 

He strains a blended mix of whole garlic cloves and lemon juice through a fine mesh strainer. And after the tahini, he adds ice cold water, a little bit at a time.

The result is a light, creamy tahini sauce with surprisingly mellow garlic flavours and gorgeous citrus notes.

If you have the time (and don’t mind the extra washing up), go ahead and use Michael Solomonov’s method. I include instructions in the recipe card note and step-by-step instructions. 

But by finely grating the garlic, we can recreate the mellow garlic flavour and light creamy texture without requiring extra equipment. And without wasting the garlic pulp.

Step 1: Prepare your ingredients. Squeeze the juice from about three to four lemons into a medium bowl. You need half a cup of fresh lemon juice (or a bit more if you want it super lemony). 

Finely grate three peeled cloves of garlic into the lemon juice. If you don’t have a microplane, use finely chopped garlic.

Step 2: Add the garlic to the lemon juice. Let it rest for at least 10 minutes. The acidic lemon juice allows the pungent garlic flavours to mellow.

Step 3: Add the tahini. Grab a large mixing bowl and add the garlicky lemon juice and tahini. Use a fork to combine the ingredients. The mixture will seize up and turn thick and stodgy.

Don’t worry. The sauce will turn creamy in the next step!

Step 4: Add the water, two tablespoons at a time, stirring with the fork between each addition. Once the sauce loosens, swap the fork for a whisk. 

Keep adding water two tablespoons at a time, whisking the sauce between each addition. The sauce will turn smooth and creamy. 

You don’t need to add all of the water. Stop once the tahini sauce reaches the desired consistency. Half a cup of water works perfectly for my tahini but you may need less water.

Step 5: Season to taste. Whisk in the ground cumin and taste the sauce before adding salt. I add a teaspoon of sea salt or kosher salt.

Storage

Transfer the creamy sauce to an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to five days.

I love to make a double batch for meal prep. The flavour of the lemon garlic tahini sauce continues to develop as it sits.

And I haven’t tried freezing the sauce because I use it up too quickly! Let me know in the comments if you freeze yours!

Tasty Recipe Variations

I love this easy tahini sauce. But once you have the basic tahini sauce method down, there is so much room for experimenting.

Why not try?

• Green tahini sauce: Add a large handful of fresh herbs like parsley, cilantro and mint. Then process in a food processor for a fresh lemon herb tahini sauce.
• Preserved lemon tahini sauce: Swap the fresh lemon juice for preserved lemon brine (the liquid left behind when you remove all the preserved lemons). Or use preserved lemon puree. Use a quarter cup of preserved lemon brine or puree to substitute the half cup of lemon juice. Taste the lemon tahini sauce before you add more salt.
• Harissa tahini sauce: Spice up this lemon tahini sauce with a tablespoon of rose harissa paste (or your favourite harissa paste). The sauce turns a beautiful pink hue with a fragrant, spicy harissa kick.

Serving suggestions

This tahini sauce adds a flavour burst to any Middle Eastern or Mediterranean dish. Make a double batch of the lemon tahini sauce to boost healthy midweek dinners. 

It is, of course, delicious over grilled meat and fish. But you can also use it to boost roasted vegetables or salads. 

Here are some lemon tahini sauce serving suggestions:

• Middle Eastern falafel: It is the ultimate falafel sauce. Drizzle it over falafel pitas or use it as a dipping sauce for crispy Middle Eastern falafel. You can also make convenient baked falafel using canned chickpeas.
• Grain Bowls: Whisk in water or extra virgin olive oil until you have a salad dressing consistency. Use your lemon tahini dressing in this bulgur wheat salad with tahini, or generously poor lemon tahini dressing over quinoa kale chickpea salad.
• Roasted vegetables: Lemon tahini sauce is the perfect accompaniment to roasted eggplant wedges, oven-roasted sweet potatoes, charred broccolini, harissa roasted cauliflower or shawarma-spiced roasted cauliflower.
• Cold salads: Use it instead of mayonnaise for healthy potato or egg salads. Or drizzle it over a no-mayo herbed potato salad.
• Middle Eastern salads: Use it as a salad dressing for Israeli-style tahini salad. Or add it to fresh salads like fattoush, tabouleh or this Arabic chopped salad.
• Tahini Dip: Serve it as a dipping sauce for fritters or fresh crudités.
• Mezze: Try it as part of a mezze spread alongside creamy lemony hummus, labneh (strained yoghurt cheese) and spicy Middle Eastern sauces like zhoug or shatta.