Tangy Tahini Salad Dressing, Sauce, or Dip

Tangy tahini salad dressing or dip makes any salad shine, and is delicious on steamed, roasted, sautéed, or grilled vegetables as a sauce, too. It’s a vegan tahini sauce recipe you’ll want to keep on hand — see some easy and delicious ways to use it following.

This is hands-down my personal favorite salad dressing or dip. It makes even the simplest salad shine, and can be used as a sauce for all kinds of cooked vegetable dishes as well — steamed, roasted, or sautéed. And it’s absolutely delicious on grilled vegetables, including eggplant and squashes.

As a dip: This is delicious served with all kinds of cut raw vegetables — carrots, bell peppers, celery, turnips, cauliflower, broccoli — whatever you have on hand. You can use it as a dip for pita chips, potato chips, tortilla chips, and other crunchy carbs.

See more easy vegan salad dressings.

With falafel: And of course, this is an ideal dressing to serve with falafel and other mezze platter favorites. 

Drizzle on roasted vegetable dishes: Here’s a simple sweet potato and kale combo. Tahini dressing takes them from tasty to incredible.

Use as a topping for stuffed baked potatoes or sweet potatoes: Simply drizzle generously on your grain-and-veggie stuffed spuds.

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Yield: 1 cup

Tangy Tahini Salad Dressing, Vegetable Sauce, or Dip

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Tangy tahini dressing makes even the simplest salad shine, and can be used as a sauce for all kinds of cooked vegetable dishes as well — steamed, roasted, or sautéed.

Prep Time 8 minutes

Total Time 8 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup sesame tahini (see note)
• 1/3 cup vegan mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• Juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon, to taste (2 to 4 tablespoons)
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• Pinch of salt

Optional (use any or all)

• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced and sautéed in olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
• Dried hot red pepper flakes

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk together. 
2. If you intend to use as a dressing for raw or cooked vegetables and the consistency seems too thick, whisk in a tablespoon of water at a time until you get the consistency you like — this will vary according to the consistency of the tahini. In fact, if your tahini is on the dry side, you might need to blend the ingredients in a food processor.
3. Transfer any of the tahini dressing that’s not used at once to a small lidded container or jar, where it will keep well in the refrigerator for several days (if you can resist it for that long!).

If you like tahini, you might also enjoy …

Avocado, Spinach, and Tahini Dip

See lots more easy vegan sauces & dressings.