Lemon Herb Tahini Sauce | A creamy and bright sauce made with tahini, Greek yogurt, lemon juice and fresh herbs. Fresh thyme and rosemary give this silky smooth sauce a great savory flavor. Use this lemon herb tahini sauce for dipping vegetables into, as a spread on sandwiches or as a dressing for salads or my Mediterranean Grain Bowls.
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So what is lemon herb tahini sauce? It's pretty much as it sounds, a tahini sauce flavored with lemon and fresh herbs. It's creamy and savory, bright with the taste of lemon and herbs. I use fresh thyme and rosemary.
What does lemon herb tahini sauce taste like?
Tahini itself has a nutty, earthy flavor that can lean towards bitter (which I like). The lemon juice, herbs and roasted garlic in this recipe merge well with the taste of the tahini, creating a well rounded savory flavor. The Greek yogurt and cold water help to make the flavor mild and not too overpowering.
What can you use this lemon herb tahini sauce on?
The beauty of this recipe is that you can customize it with your own choice of fresh herbs and with the amount of water you add.
If you leave the sauce a bit thicker it makes a great dip for vegetables or crackers. A thicker lemon tahini sauce also makes for a great spread on toast, sandwiches, wraps and pitas. I really like it on a pita with my chickpea patties, lettuce and pickled onions. *chefs kiss*
If you thin it out a bit you'll have a lemon herb tahini dressing that's perfect on salads or grain bowls like my Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Bowl and my Mediterranean Grain Bowl.
Ingredients
Learn more about the ingredients for this recipe. See the recipe card below for exact amounts.
- Tahini - Use the best tahini you can find, the flavor will be better.
- Greek yogurt - Greek yogurt is common in my recipes, especially sauce or dressing recipes. The yogurt gives the sauce a bit of tang, creaminess, and some added protein.
- Lemon juice - Lemon juice helps brighten and freshen up the flavors. Use fresh squeezed lemon juice if you can, or bottled if you have it.
- Fresh Herbs - I like rosemary and thyme, they're one of my favorite herb combos.
- Garlic - I use roasted garlic for this recipe (roast garlic in foil at 400°F (200°C) for 30 -40 minutes). You can you a fresh garlic clove if you want to, instead of roasting, but understand your sauce will have a garlicy bite to it. Roasted garlic has a more mellow, deeper flavor without the zing.
- Water - I use very cold cold water, as I think it makes the tahini whip into a lighter consistency.
Watch the video in this post to see how to make lemon herb tahini sauce.
Instructions
Prep Tips
- Squeeze the juice from a lemon.
- Roast garlic (see below the instructions for a tip)
- Pull the herbs off of the stems.
Note: I image you could use something like an immersion blender or something like bullet blender here. My Ninja has smoothie cups with it, similar to a bullet style blender and I think that would be fine. I haven't tried it, but I think it should work fine.
I'm not sure a large blender would work that well though because the blender jar is so big for this small amount of sauce. This recipe makes 1 ½ cups of sauce.
Step 1. Add the yogurt, roasted garlic, fresh herbs and lemon juice into a mini food processor.
Step 2. Blend well until the herbs and garlic are well chopped and everything is smoothly combined.
Step 3. Add the tahini and blend. The sauce with thicken up and look quite pasty. This is where you start adding water, a little bit at a time. I add the water in about 3 portions.
Step 4. Keep adding water and blending until you get a whipped and silky smooth sauce.
How to roast garlic: Use a sharp knife and cut the top section off of a whole head of garlic, exposing the cloves. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil overtop. Wrap the garlic in foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 30 - 40 minutes, until soft and browned. I usually do this while roasting something else, like potatoes.
Substitutions
✔ This is vegetarian
Equipment
I like my little mini chopper for recipes like this. It's part of a 3-in-1 immersion blender set.
Storage
Store this Lemon Tahini Herb Sauce recipe in the fridge in a covered container for 5-7 days.
Tips + FAQs
Tahini is a paste made from grinding sesame seeds. The seeds can be hulled or unhulled, and roasted or unroasted.
Tahini has a strong, nutty, and earthy flavor and can taste slightly bitter. Tahini doesn't taste like nut butters, which are usually sweeter.
Use your favorite savory herbs like rosemary, thyme, basil, parsley, or cilantro.
Yes, you can make lemon herb tahini sauce with dried herbs, just use half of the amount listed for fresh herbs.
Lemon tahini herb sauce can be used from everything from a dip for vegetables or crackers, a spread for sandwiches and burgers, or a dressing on top of salads and grain bowls.
Tahini seizes when mixed with liquids because of the high fat/oil content. It's just a emulsion that hasn't inverted yet. As the tahini is mixed with more liquid the emulsion will invert and the sauce will become smooth.
More dressing recipes
Recipe
Lemon Herb Tahini Sauce
Equipment
- Immersion Blender I use the mini processor
Ingredients
- ½ cup tahini
- ¼ cup plain greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme leaves
- ½ sprig rosemary leaves
- ½ cup cold water (more or less as needed)
- 3 cloves roasted garlic
Instructions
- Add yogurt, lemon juice, garlic and herbs to a mini processor. Blend well.
- Add tahini and blend. The sauce will thicken dramatically.
- Add the water, little by little until the sauce thins out again. It will get thicker before it gets thinner. This is normal.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate. Values vary based on products used.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you.
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