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    Home » Recipes » Condiments, Sauce, Dips

    Easy Homemade Lemon Herb Tahini Sauce

    Published Apr 6, 2022 · Modified: Jun 2, 2022 · by Jacqueline Piper · Leave a Comment · This post may contain affiliate links

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    Lemon herb tahini sauce in a jar.
    Lemon herb tahini sauce in a jar.

    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.

    Lemon herb tahini sauce in a jar.

    Use the table of contents below to jump to any section of this blog post. You can also use the jump to recipe link above to get right to the recipe card.

    Jump to:
    • What does lemon herb tahini sauce taste like?
    • What can you use this lemon herb tahini sauce on?
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • Substitutions
    • Equipment
    • Storage
    • Tips + FAQs
    • More dressing recipes
    • Recipe

    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.

    Lemon herb tahini sauce in a jar.

    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.

    4 photo collage of mixing tahini sauce in a mini blender.

    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.

    Lemon herb tahini sauce in a jar.

    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.

    Lemon herb tahini sauce in a jar.

    Tips + FAQs

    What is tahini?

    Tahini is a paste made from grinding sesame seeds. The seeds can be hulled or unhulled, and roasted or unroasted.

    What does tahini taste like?

    Tahini has a strong, nutty, and earthy flavor and can taste slightly bitter. Tahini doesn't taste like nut butters, which are usually sweeter.

    What herbs can I use?

    Use your favorite savory herbs like rosemary, thyme, basil, parsley, or cilantro.

    Can I use dried herbs?

    Yes, you can make lemon herb tahini sauce with dried herbs, just use half of the amount listed for fresh herbs.

    What do you put lemon herb tahini sauce on?

    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.

    Why does tahini seize when liquid is added?

    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

    • Honey Balsamic Dressing with Thyme
    • Homemade Ranch Dressing
    • Avocado Cilantro Dressing

    Recipe

    Lemon herb tahini sauce in a jar.

    Lemon Herb Tahini Sauce

    Jacqueline Piper
    5 from 3 votes
    A creamy and bright sauce made with tahini, Greek yogurt, lemon juice and fresh herbs. Use for dipping vegetables into, as a spread on sandwiches or as a salad dressing for salads or grain bowls.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe Recipe Saved!
    Prep Time 2 mins
    Total Time 7 mins
    Servings 6

    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
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    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

    I use a mini processor for this recipe although I imagine a small blender cup like a bullet, or an immersion blender, would probably work.
    You could also make this recipe by hand by chopping the garlic and herbs well with a knife and then whisking everything together. It doesn't take that much longer to whisk tahini and water together than it does to blend.
    To roast garlic, cup the top off of a whole head of garlic to expose the cloves. Cover with olive oil and then wrap in foil. Bake on a baking sheet at 400°F (200°C) for 30-40 minutes until browned and soft.
    Tahini seizes up when liquid is added. This is normal and a reaction between the high fat content and the water. Keep added water and stirring and it will eventually emulsify. Tahini thickens dramatically at first when liquid is added.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 0.25cupsCalories: 146kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 5gFat: 11gFiber: 3g

    Nutrition Disclaimer

    Nutritional information is an estimate. Values vary based on products used.

    Read our full Nutrition Disclaimer.
    Keyword easy homemade dressing, homemade condiments
    Have you tried a recipe? Tag @pipercooksblog or tag #pipercooksblog!

    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.

    Lemon herb tahini sauce in a jar.

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    Lemon herb tahini sauce in a jar.

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