My go to 5 minute salad dressing! This lemon tahini dressing recipe is easy to make, vegan and guaranteed to make any vegetable taste delicious!
Key Ingredients
Tahini: Tahini is to sesame seeds as peanut butter is to peanuts. Suddenly feel like I’m taking the SAT’s again lol. But tahini is sesame seed paste. It’s commonly found in hummus, but I also love it for salad dressings! It’s creamy, has a nutty flavor with a hint of bitterness. But don’t worry, the other flavors balance out the bitterness really well!
Lemon Juice: You’ll need a generous amount of lemon juice for this recipe to ensure the best flavor. About two large lemons will do the trick!
Garlic: I often just use pre-minced garlic from the grocery store because it’s easy, but fresh garlic definitely gives the best flavor.
Dijon Mustard: For a little tang that pairs really well with the lemon juice.
Maple Syrup or Honey: We need to balance out the bitterness from the tahini and sour from the lemon with just a splash of sweetener.
Salt & Water: I like a generous amount of salt in this tahini dressing, but you can always add more or less to taste. The water is just there to thin out the dressing so it’s not super thick.
How to make this recipe
Finely mince the garlic and add to a bowl or jar with all ingredients. Start with just 1/4 cup of water.
Shake to combine or whisk together really well. Add the extra two tablespoons of water as needed to thin.
Taste and adjust flavors as desired. Serve with your favorite salad & enjoy!
Does it keep?
Once prepared, this recipe will keep in the fridge for about 2 weeks. The lemon juice acts as a natural preservative, so it stores really well!
Variations
While this vegan tahini dressing is of course perfect as a salad dressing (no surprise there), I also really like it as a dip for veggies. You can easily decrease the amount of water you use so it stays thicker. It’s perfect with sliced carrots, cucumber, peppers or your favorite crackers.
While I love the flavor as is, you can easily spruce it up by adding some fresh or dried herbs like dill, parsley, cilantro or rosemary.
I also love a little spice every now and then, so a pinch of red pepper flakes or a dash of cayenne pepper is delicious! This recipe is very customizable, so feel free to get creative!
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Lemon Garlic Tahini Dressing
by: claire cary
Ingredients
- ½ cup tahini
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice about 2 large lemons
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp water or more as needed
Instructions
- Finely mince the garlic and add to a bowl or jar with all ingredients. Start with just 1/4 cup of water.
- Shake to combine or whisk together really well. Add the extra two tablespoons of water as needed to thin. You may need to use a few more tablespoons, depending on your tahini.
- Taste and adjust flavors as desired. Tahini can be bitter, so you may want a touch more maple syrup to taste. Serve with your favorite salad & enjoy!
Lee says
This is so delicious! I’ve tried other recipes and they were a bit bitter. I think the mustard and the maple syrup is what makes this a winner!
Claire Cary says
Yes! A little bit of sweetness really helps balance out the flavor. So glad you liked it!
Marie says
Oh my, so good. Couldn’t stop tasting what was left in my magic bullet.
Claire Cary says
That’s how you know it’s good!