You will love this recipe for Lemon Tahini Dressing. Not only is it vegan and dairy-free, but it’s also easily adaptable to be oil-free! Tasty, creamy and a little zesty, you’ll be licking the side of the jar for more!
Published: 13 January 2020
Updated: 07 June 2021
Disclosure – I only recommend products that I love and use myself and all opinions expressed on this post are my own. This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you click the link and make a purchase I may receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you.
| Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 |
| Why You’ll Love This Recipe |
Lemon & Tahini Dressing Nutrition |
Recipe FAQ’s & Tips |
| Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 |
| Tips for the BEST Lemon & Tahini Dressing |
What to serve with Lemon Tahini Dressing |
Recipe |
I love the idea of reflecting and setting goals. But it’s important to do it in a mindful way.
At the beginning of the year, I decided not to make any resolutions for the year. You know the kind – lose x amount of weight, make x amount of money etc. Although I’m an advocate for goal-setting, many resolutions fail to consider the complexities of our beautifully messy lives.
I’ve met many incredible people who punish themselves for shifting away from their goals for many reasons. An operation, an illness, or the reality of navigating a household with a screaming toddler. Rather than celebrate the journey of life, the emphasis shifted to that they didn’t achieve everything they set out to.
For this reason, it is so important to set ‘intentions’ in a mindful, flexible and loving way.
Life changes and priorities evolve. What may have worked at the start of the year, may not be realistic in 12-months time. While looking forward, please remember to treat your intentions as a goal and not as an unrealistic or definite standard. Enjoy the journey and appreciate that not everything goes as planned. The focus of our lives changes frequently.
After a few weeks of Christmas feasting, my intention is to eat healthier.
If you have a similar goal, this Lemon Tahini Salad Dressing recipe is perfect.
Prepared in under 5-minutes, this recipe is filled with flavour that livens almost any recipe. The benefit is there are many simple variations. It can be prepared into a thick tahini sauce perfect for falafels, or as a dip served with carrot sticks. Alternatively, you can make a thinner version that is absolutely delicious drizzled over some kale as a salad dressing. Being gluten-free and vegan, this recipe is perfect for those who have allergies or dietary preferences.
Please remember that you’re perfect just the way you are! I’m looking forward to spending another year with you.
Thank you for your support and wishes! And most importantly, good luck mindfully setting goals! 🙂 x
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
- EASY – this easy 7-ingredient dressing is prepared in under 5 minutes, making it a simple way to liven up any meal.
- DAIRY-FREE – deceptively creamy, you’ll be surprised to learn that this recipe caters for most dietary preferences.
- HEALTHY – this delicious recipe is filled with nourishing ingredients that have anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties, which helps support the immune system during the cold and flu season.
- ADAPTABLE – this recipe will become a staple in your household that will bring flavour to any dish. Drizzled over lightly charred asparagus, serve with falafels or your favourite kale salad – this dressing is versatile and delicious.
Lemon Tahini Nutrition Facts:
Lemon Tahini Dressing contains many beneficial ingredients that are nourishing for the body. Some of my favourite ingredients are:
- TAHINI is rich in antioxidants, with antibacterial and anti-inflammatory compounds, tahini is thought to reduce the risk of certain conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and high cholesterol.
- LEMON JUICE is a fantastic source of vitamin C, which is beneficial for your heart health, and reduce high cholesterol levels.
- GARLIC contains potent medicinal properties and powerful anti-inflammatory and antiviral effects, known to boost the function of the immune system, reduce blood pressure and aid in recovery from the common cold or flu. Due to its antioxidant properties, garlic is also thought to reduce the risk of common brain diseases such as dementia.
REFERENCES:
Lemon Tahini Dressing FAQ & Tips
Tahini Dressing is prepared using just a handful of ingredients, which can be adapted to suit your personal tastes. While you can mix and match the ingredients to make the recipe your own, the main ingredients are:
1. TAHINI is a paste prepared from sesame seeds. It tastes savoury, nutty, with a mellow bitterness and a natural oily texture. The sesame seeds used to create the paste vary from raw, roasted, hulled or unhulled, which depending on the kind you use, will adjust the taste of the tahini. Be sure to purchase good quality tahini, because lesser quality brands can be excessively bitter.
If you’re preparing Tahini Dressing for the first time, I recommend choosing a variety that uses raw and hulled sesame seeds as the flavour is more delicate, compared with roasted or unhulled varieties.
2. GARLIC is naturally warming and adds a natural spice to the dressing. For tips to reduce the dressing from being too pungent or spicy, refer to my tips below.
3. LEMON JUICE is a citrus fruit that adds a delightful zestiness to the dressing. In addition to being fresh, the acidity helps counteract any spiciness from the garlic or any residual bitterness from the tahini.
4. SALT enhances the natural flavours and tastes of the ingredients.
5. HONEY / MAPLE SYRUP includes a subtle sweetness that helps balance the flavours of the dressing and brings everything together nicely.
Depending on the recipe, Tahini Dressing has a distinct but well-balanced flavour. The tahini provides an earthiness that pairs harmoniously with the tart lemon juice and sweet honey or maple syrup.
Creamy and delicious, Lemon Tahini Dressing is perfect served as a dip, dressing or accompaniment to most modern or Middle Eastern-inspired recipes.
Be sure to check the ingredients listing of any store purchased tahini or tahini dressing to ensure it’s aligned with your nutritional restrictions.
If preparing the recipe on your own or from scratch, while the creaminess is deceptive, tahini dressing is vegan containing no animal or dairy products.
Be sure to check the ingredients listing of any store purchased tahini or tahini dressing to ensure it’s aligned with your nutritional restrictions.
If prepared from scratch, tahini is similar to a “nut butter” only prepared from sesame seeds. If prepared in an environment free from gluten, and if there are not any additional ingredients, Tahini Sauce is gluten-free.
Tips to make the BEST Lemon & Tahini Dressing:
Like most simple recipes, making the Best Lemon and Tahini Dressing from scratch requires good-quality ingredients and an understanding of the techniques to balance the flavours.
Some of my favourite hints and tricks include:
1. Good Quality Tahini – Tahini can vary in texture, flavour and consistency so finding good quality tahini is so important. My favourites are Mayver’s Tahini or Australian Organic Unhulled Tahini from the Australian Bulk Food Store.
I personally prefer Unhulled Tahini because it’s more nutrient-dense and stronger in flavour, which may not suit everyone’s personal taste. If you’re using tahini for the first time, a hulled variety may be better suited.
2. Balance the Flavours – Taste the sauce as it’s being prepared to check it’s well-balanced before serving. To counter any bitterness, gradually add pinches of sea salt, honey or maple syrup. Stir, and repeat until it’s perfect!
3. Be careful with the Garlic – If you want to reduce any sharpness created by the garlic, the key is to change how you prepare your garlic.
As explored in the post by Serious Eats, the more cells which are damaged while preparing garlic (ie. sliced vs. grated) the more potent the garlic will smell and taste.
After peeling the garlic, I push down on it using the flat end of my knife and roughly chop it into pieces. Once included in the tahini dressing, the pieces of garlic infuse the mixture beautifully without creating the residual hotness typically known from eating raw garlic.
If you want to be super careful, 1/2 tsp of ground garlic should also be fine.
What Do You Put Tahini Dressing On?
Not only is tahini sauce simple to prepare, but it goes with so many other recipes. I love to eat it as a dip with veggie sticks, drizzled over my falafels, or stirred through my pasta.
I also love this dressing drizzled over the following salads.
  |
  |
  |
| Broccoli and Quinoa Salad | Quinoa and Sweet Potato Salad with Feta | Roast Cauliflower Salad with Chickpeas |
Lemon Tahini Dressing
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp organic tahini
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (optional)
- cold filtered water
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp organic honey or maple syrup
- 1 garlic clove (optional) peeled and roughly chopped
Instructions:
- In a medium-sized bowl, add the organic tahini and gradually stir through the lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil (optional) until well combined. While stirring, gradually add the cold filtered water by the tablespoon until you reach your desired consistency. For a sauce, I included 6 tablespoons, for the dressing, I included 10.
- Stir through the garlic, sea salt and organic honey or maple syrup, tasting as you go. Adjust the salt and honey/maple syrup to suit your taste and to ensure the flavours are well balanced.
- Serve by drizzling over your favourite salad or cooked veggies! Bon Appètit! 🙂
Notes:
Disclosure:
Equipment: This recipe may contain links to products and equipment that I use and love myself. The links may contain affiliate links, meaning if you click the link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you.
Nutrition: The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and does not include any other condiments or garnishes. Although Curated Life Studio attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered as estimates and do not replace or substitute a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Loved This Recipe?
It would make my day if you left a comment below, or shared this post with your friends and family!
HAVE YOU PREPARED THIS RECIPE?
Let me know in the comments section below, or by tagging #CuratedLifeKitchen on Instagram! I love to see what you have created! 🙂
Hey There, I’m Kylie. My passion is plant-based recipes and I want to help you create something gorgeous!
I believe in taking a slow approach to food – to eat locally, seasonally and consciously.
When I’m not taking photos, you can find me wandering the coastal paths of South-East Australia.
Megan Kerry says
Yummy!!! I love how simple your tahini dressing is! Simple is always best 🙂 Great addition with the maple syrup to add a little contrast to the lemon. Can’t wait to try your vegan salad dressing out!
Kylie - Curated Life Studio says
Wow, thank you so much for your thoughtful words Megan! I would love to hear how the recipe goes! 🙂 x
Kathy Kenny Ngo says
I’m sure this would be a hit with lemon fans. My brothers love lemon dressing so this would be a hit with them.
Kylie - Curated Life Studio says
I hope your brothers love the recipe! Let me know if you try it and how it turns out!
Maartje van Sandwijk says
Yum. I will definitely make this and serve it with a delicious green salad! 🙂
Kylie - Curated Life Studio says
What a perfect idea Maartje, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Joy Della Vita says
Just recently I have had a salad in a “oriental” restaurant but forgot to ask the waitress for the main ingredients in the dressing… have been browsing the web for literal hours until I have found your recipe… it definitely sounds like this is the one I’ve been searching for! aaah, can’t wait to try your instructions tomorrow 🙂 🙂
Lisa fucci says
That looks delicious! I’m gonna have to put this on my must try list!!!
Kylie - Curated Life Studio says
It totally was mouth-watering! I would love to hear how it turns out Lisa!
Alexis says
Oh I love this recipe! I’m definitely going to add this to our next Mediterranean dinner night.
Kylie - Curated Life Studio says
Thats such a great idea – this salad dressing would go perfectly with mediterranean cuisine!
Rose Ann Sales says
Thanks for sharing the recipe and it’s so nice that you’ve mentioned each ingredient’s benefit, and they are all healthy! There’s no reason not try this.
Kylie - Curated Life Studio says
I’m so glad that you enjoyed the nutritional benefits. It makes you think about all the healthy goodies we put into our diet!
Angel says
This sounds super yummy and like something I should definitely try out very soon. The recipe doesn’t seem so bad either.
Kylie - Curated Life Studio says
The recipe is super easy! I would love to hear how the recipe goes! 🙂
Crickette says
Amazing!!! This looks delicious for veggies! I will try this recipe!
Kylie - Curated Life Studio says
It’s amazing with roasted veggies or asparagus! Let me know how the recipe turns out!
Geraline Batarra says
Thanks for sharing such a healthy recipe, I’m going to add this to my weekly diet.
Kylie - Curated Life Studio says
My absolute pleasure! Best wishes! I hope the recipe transforms from a “diet” to a much loved habit! 🙂
Danielle says
This looks so yummy. I can’t wait to try it for myself.
Kylie - Curated Life Studio says
It is completely delicious! I hope you love it as much as I do! 🙂 x
Garf says
Sounds good to me. I want this dip with my favorite chips for the game day.
Rachel says
I’ve always struggled with making tahini dressing, so I’ll have to give this a shot.
Kylie - Curated Life Studio says
Tahini dressing can be a bit challenging, hopefully my suggestions helped you? I would love to hear how it turns out! 🙂
Dana Brillante-Peller says
This dressing sounds amazing. I love that it lasts more than two days. Some homemade dressings don’t last too long in the fridge
Kylie - Curated Life Studio says
I know, right? It can be so annoying! I’m so glad you loved the recipe!
Vanessa says
I always loved finding new recipes. Thank you for sharing this, I have to try this at home and my fam would love this for sure
Kylie - Curated Life Studio says
I’m so glad you found this recipe! I would love to hear how it turns out. 🙂
Marlynn says
This sounds so yummy! I’m going to have to make this with some veggies this week!
Kylie - Curated Life Studio says
Awesome! I would love to hear how the recipe turns out!
Bespoke Traveler says
I find lately that the idea of keeping some key words in mind rather than having specific goals is much easier for me. For 2020, those phrases are “finding delight,” “perspective,” and “allow for dreamtime.” You are always so good at reminding me how important ingredients and taste are to achieving a holistic life.
Kylie - Curated Life Studio says
Wow, thank you so much for your comment, you’ve made my day! I love the idea on having key words, perspective is defiantly one I will revisit and consider. Good luck in the new year! xx