This Savory Lemon Herb Tahini is a great way to add flavor to salads or grains like rice, quinoa or farro or use it as a sauce for chicken, fish or falafel.
Made with tahini paste, lemon juice, pine nuts, garlic, fresh parsley, chives and dill. You'll love this dip if you're a fan of bold Mediterranean flavors!
I love having homemade sauces or dips on hand that are infused with fresh herbs because they're an easy way to add flavor.
This recipe is a creamy vegan dip thanks to the tahini paste and gluten-free, so a great sauce to have on hand for all dietary needs!
Fresh Herbs
In this recipe, we got Mediterranean herbs: parsley, chives and dill. They complement the bright flavors to the lemon and work well with the garlic cloves and creamy tahini.
But the best part of this recipe is that you can easily get creative and swap the herbs for something else - swap the parsley, chives or dill for other herbs like rosemary, cilantro, thyme or oregano.
The flavor will be a bit different, but it's a fun way to change it up!
Never had these herbs before? Here's a quick idea of their aroma and flavor:
- Parsley: earthy, vibrant, a little peppery - very common as a garnish in Mediterranean cooking. A great balance to the sweet maple syrup and creamy tahini.
- Chives: has a mild onion flavor with garlicky notes - perfect for a dip!
- Dill: similar to parsley with an earthy flavor but also has lemony/citrus notes too - pefect to go along with the lemon juice!
Steps to Making the Sauce
This recipe is easy peasy to make if you have a food processor or a high quality blender.
- Start by blending the pine nuts, fresh herbs and garlic cloves.
- Blend until you get a fine paste like consistency.
- Add the liquids - tahini paste, lemon juice, maple syrup.
- Blend until well incorporated!
The dressing will be thick! It's perfect consistency for dunking chicken or falafel in but if you're going for more of a dressing consistency, add a few tablespoons of water until you reach your desired consistency.
Use the dressig on leafy green salads, grain bowls or use it as a dipping sauce for crusty bread!
Serving Suggestions
This recipe, in my opinion, is a great way of adding flavor to dishes. It's versatile and can work with different meals, so having some on hand makes adding flavor to dishes super easy!
Ever find rice or quinoa boring? I feel like this is so common!
If you ever just cook rice or quinoa in water, it's pretty boring - let's be real. Next time, add a dollop of this sauce into your grain and it'll make it creamy and full of savory flavor!
I love making Mediterranean grain bowls and adding it as a sauce with hummus or tzatziki makes everything so flavorful!
Recipe Tips and FAQs
I wouldn't recommend either. The slightly dried herbs won't create the right consistency and I personally find the squeeze tubes don't have the best flavor. If you can't get the exact 3 herbs I used in the recipe fresh, I would recommend substituting for another fresh herb you can buy like rosemary, thyme, oregano or cilantro.
I use around 2 tablespoons when I use it as a flavoring for rice or quinoa or dunking chicken.
Lemon Herb Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- ¼ cup chopped chives
- 2 tablespoons chopped dill
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- ⅓ cup tahini paste
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a food processor or high speed blender, blend the pine nuts, parsley, chives, dill and garlic cloves until the herbs are chopped up finely and a thick paste forms.
- Add the tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, maple syrup and salt. Blend until incorporated well.
- If wanting to make the consistency thinner like a dressing, add a few tablespoons water and blend until you get your desired consistency. Otherwise, it'll be a dipping sauce consistency.
Notes
- If needing to swap the herbs in the recipe, try rosemary, oregano, thyme or cilantro.
- I won't recommend using the squeezable herb pastes as a substitute or slightly dried herbs.
- Use the sauce on meats like chicken or fish or plant-based options like for dunking tofu or falafel.
- Thin the sauce into a dressing to use in salad bowls or grain bowl. The dressing works well in adding a ton of flavor and creaminess to rice, quinoa or farro.
Nutrition
(Nutrition values are calculated by third-party software and an estimate that can vary based on product brands and cooking methods.)
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