Tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds. It is a staple in many cuisines, especially in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. It’s vegan, gluten-free, tastes nutty, and is incredibly simple to make. Store-bought jars of tahini can be expensive. Homemade tahini is not only cheaper, but it also tastes amazing. Use tahini to make homemade hummus, tahini dressing, tahini sauce, and more!
Key Ingredients
Sesame seeds: I use hulled seeds (pictured below on the left) and toast them in a dry skillet to bring out their natural nuttiness. Oil: I add a few tablespoons of neutral-flavored oil to help the tahini turn into a creamy smooth paste. Try avocado oil, extra-virgin olive oil, or vegetable oil. Sesame oil (not toasted sesame oil) also works. Salt: Optional, but I always use it. It just makes the tahini taste better.
How to Make Homemade Tahini
Tahini is incredibly simple to make. You will grind sesame seeds in a food processor with some oil until smooth. If you’ve ever made nut butter like almond butter or homemade peanut butter, the process is very similar. Toasted sesame seeds make our tahini taste even better! Toast them in a dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring often and watching them closely until they turn golden. Toss your toasted seeds into the food processor. Process until they form a crumbly paste. A powerful food processor helps, but most standard ones will work, too. (I’ve included tips for using a blender below the recipe.) It’s going to go through a few stages. First, the seeds break down into a crumbly mixture that honestly doesn’t really look like it’s going to turn into tahini. Then, it eventually breaks down even more and becomes the creamy tahini we are looking for. Adding a few tablespoons of mild-tasting oil is helpful. This helps the tahini become more smooth, creamy, and drippy. You can use less oil, but the tahini won’t be as easy to pour. I find 3 to 4 tablespoons perfect for a texture like store-bought tahini. Process a bit more, scraping down the bowl as needed, and your tahini is now ready to use!
Ways to Use Tahini
The most well-known way to use tahini is to make hummus, but we use it in our kitchen in many other ways. We use tahini to make other dips like baba ganoush (a roasted eggplant dip) and serve it plain next to homemade falafel. It’s also the perfect base for sauces and dressings. Look at our tahini salad dressing or this creamy tahini sauce with lemon and garlic. I also use that creamy sauce for this tahini kale salad, a dip for our garlic asparagus, these chicken lettuce wraps, and a drizzle for honey roasted carrots. You can even use tahini for desserts. Seriously. Drizzle over ice cream or use it instead of peanut butter or butter in your favorite cookies. Once you have tahini in your fridge (it lasts over a month), we bet you will find yourself adding it to a variety of dishes without direction from us! While you can make tahini from unhulled, sprouted, or hulled sesame seeds, we prefer hulled seeds. 2 to 4 tablespoons neutral flavored oil such as avocado, grape seed, vegetable or a light olive oil Pinch of salt, optional 2Add the toasted sesame seeds to the bowl of a food processor, then process until a crumbly paste, about 1 minute. 3Add 2 tablespoons of the oil, then process for 2 to 3 minutes more, stopping to scrape the bottom and sides of the food processor a couple of times. 4Check the tahini’s consistency. It should be smooth, not gritty, and should be pourable. You may need to process for another minute and add 1 to 2 more tablespoons of oil. 5Taste the tahini for seasoning, then add salt to taste. Process 5 to 10 seconds to mix. 6Store tahini in an airtight container in the fridge for one month.
