Green Tahini Sauce

Name: Green Tahini Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: ½ cup tahini; ½ cup lime juice; 1 cup packed fresh parsley (thick stems removed); ¼ cup olive oil; 2 jalapenos; 4 cloves garlic (zested); 1 teaspoon fine ground sea salt; ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper

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Finally a green tahini sauce that’s equal parts easy, decadent, versatile and delish! You’re going to love this recipe for tahini sauce that uses 7 ingredients and takes just 5 minutes to make. The green goddess dressing goes on all the things…and tastes incredible.

Green tahini sauce in a mason jar with specks of fresh herbs and crushed red pepper.

This post was updated from the original posted May 30, 2020.

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Ingredients and Substitutions
What is Tahini?
How to make green tahini sauce
What to do with it:
Green Tahini Sauce FAQs
More Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes
📖 Recipe

This Green Tahini sauce is EVERYTHING. A salad dressing, a dipping sauce, a drizzle for your buddha bowl, a spread for your sandwich. It’s all that. AND….it’s all good.

Fresh parsley plus tahini is just WOW. A green goddess dressing that rivals any of the avocado based recipes. Totally winning!

Ingredients and Substitutions

Labeled ingredients: tahini, jalapenos, lime, garlic, parsley, salt, red pepper flakes

Tahini: Buy a brand that has just sesame seeds in the ingredient list. Stir the jar thoroughly before you begin using so your tahini is uniform in texture.
Jalapenos: substitute with habaneros, Fresno peppers or Anaheim peppers if you like a bit more heat. If you remove the seeds and membranes of the jalapenos they’ll add flavor, but not a lot of spice.
Fresh parsley: Adds that earthy fresh taste. You can substitute with fresh basil or cilantro, but you definitely need some kind of fresh herbs for this delicious dressing.
Lime: Fresh lime is great, but use a jar of lime juice if you need to.
Garlic

What is Tahini?

I would put it in the condiment category. It’s made from ground sesame seeds, usually raw. Sometimes they’re toasted before grinding, producing a stronger sesame flavor and that is usually called sesame paste. Tahini has the consistency of other nut butters, but a bit more drippy.

My number one tip for tahini is to STIR THE JAR THOROUGHLY when you first open it. I give the same advice for any nut butter. The worst is when the top of the jar is too liquidy or the bottom is so thick you can’t get it out. Not only that, but using it in recipes like tahini brownies requires a consistent texture to come out right.

Green tahini sauce in a bowl, surrounded by limes, fresh parsley and jalapenos.

My friend Susan recently texted me a photo of an empty sauce container. Did I mention the jar was empty? It did have a sticker with an ingredient list. Tahini, lime juice, parsley, jalapeno, EVOO, garlic, salt/pepper. The text under the photo was simple, “so yummy, can you figure out the proportions?”

Although I didn’t have an opportunity to actually taste the Green Tahini Sauce, she was responsive to my barrage of questions. I needed to know the consistency and whether it was more tangy or spicy. Another important detail: what did she want to use it on. No matter what I suggested, her answer was YES!

That’s how I feel about this green tahini sauce…YES to drizzling it on ALL THE THINGS!!

How to make green tahini sauce

Food processor bowl with tahini, jalapeno, fresh parsley, crushed red pepper, grated garlic.

Place tahini, lime juice, parsley, olive oil, chopped jalapenos, grated garlic, salt and pepper into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth and creamy.

If you’re whole foods plant based with no oil, I’ve got good news. I did make this without the olive oil also. While it wasn’t quite as creamy, it was still really good. I subbed in the same amount of water. No oil, no problem.

Creamy green sauce in a food processor bowl, just blended.

What to do with it:

SALAD DRESSING: Add water 1 Tablespoon at a time until desired thickness is achieved. I poured it over arugula + faro salad and was in heaven. Honestly, this green tahini sauce is so tasty, you could fill your bowl with any greens, pour it on, and call it a day!

Pitcher of green tahini sauce dripping over the edge onto a board with cut up veggies.

It’s also perfect poured onto a BUDDHA BOWL. Fill your bowl with some roasted or raw veggies, a handful of greens, some cooked grains and load on the dressing. So good, you’ll wanna lick the bowl.

Spread it onto your sandwich or wrap. DELISH! Use it in place of mayo. It’s perfect for tuna, potato salad or egg salad.

Large white bowl filled with summer pasta salad that includes cherry tomatoes, spinach, green peas, chick peas, sun flower seeds and fusilli

If you’re a pasta salad lover, but not a fan of creamy sauces laden with mayo or oil, then you will adore this pasta salad recipe. The combo of pasta, veggies, and THIS GREEN TAHINI SAUCE. Seriously DELISH!

Green tahini sauce in a bowl, surrounded by sliced peppers, carrots and cucumbers on a plate.

DIPPING SAUCE: Use this yummy sauce as a dip for crudites. It’s a tasty way to up your veggie consumption. Whenever I leave out cut up veggies—-with something good to dip them in—they are always gobbled up. Pile on some caramelized onions for an incredibly delicious dip. Here’s how to caramelize onions.

More great stuff to dip into this sauce: Veggie Spring Rolls or Sweet Potato Fries,

I’m a total roasted veggie freak. I eat them plain. Sometimes straight from the pan. But I know not everyone loves them as much as I do. Enter the green tahini drizzle. Yup. The perfect flavor enhancer to veggies. Raw, roasted, steamed or air-fried, this will enhance any vegetable dish.

Green Tahini Sauce FAQs

What is green tahini made of?

Tahini is generally a neutral cream color. When mixed with fresh herbs it turns a beautiful green color. Green tahini sauce also contains fresh citrus–either lemon or lime juice along with garlic and spices.

What is tahini sauce used for?

Tahini sauce is a staple in middle eastern recipes like falafel. It is also used in recipes for hummus or baba ganoush. Tahini sauce can be used as a dip, a spread for sandwiches or drizzled over fresh or roasted vegetables.

More Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes

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📖 Recipe

Author: Debra Klein

Green Tahini Sauce uses 7 ingredients, takes just 5 minutes to make and tastes incredible. It's perfect for topping buddha bowls, as a spread for a wrap or sandwich, poured over your favorite green salad, or serve it as a dip with veggies.

4.84 from 24 votes

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Prep Time 5

Total Time 5

Course Condiment

Cuisine American

Servings ½ cups

Calories 105 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

Use a food processor: Remove seeds and membranes then roughly chop jalapenos and throw them and everything else in the bowl of food processor. Process until smooth and creamy.
Use a bowl and a whisk: Mince parsley and jalapenos. Whisk tahini, lime juice and olive oil together until thoroughly combined. Stir in garlic, parsley and jalapenos. Sprinkle in salt and crushed red pepper.

Notes

Variations:

No oil version: Substitute water for olive oil in the same quantity.

Dipping sauce: Cut back olive oil, using only 3 Tablespoons for a little bit thicker sauce.

Spread: Use only 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Test consistency and add more oil, or water as needed.

Salad dressing: Mix in 1-4 Tablespoons water, 1 Tablespoon at a time, until pourable.

Nutrition

Serving: 2TablespoonsCalories: 105kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 2gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gSodium: 183mgFiber: 1g

Note

The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag me @dkhealthcoach or use hashtag #dkhealtcoach on Instagram so I can see it!!

Comments

4.84 from 24 votes (12 ratings without comment)