The BEST Creamy Tahini Sauce Recipe | Ambitious Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

Why is my tahini not creamy? ›

Adding a few tablespoons of mild-tasting oil is helpful.

This helps the tahini become more smooth, creamy, and drippy.

Knowing that tahini seizes, and how to fix it, is the key to how to make a great sauce with the desired consistency: smooth! Fix the seized mixture with the addition of ice cold water. ​You may only need a little water to smooth out the mixture; it's best to start with less water and add more as needed.

If your tahini is dry, or if you prefer a thinner sauce, add more water, as needed, to reach your desired consistency. Then, taste and adjust your seasonings. If you prefer a brighter sauce, add more lemon.

The seeds continue to 'cook' even when taken off the heat, so be careful not to over toast them. Transfer the cooled toasted seeds to a food processor (ideally 600W or more) and blend for 5 - 7 minutes**. The key to smooth and runny tahini is to give it time, so keep blending.

Much of its makeup is carbohydrates, and when a small amount of juice (or any water-containing liquid) is added to tahini, a portion of each carbohydrate molecule is drawn to the water. As a result, clumps of carbohydrates appear.

Once you get your jar of tahini home, you want to open it up and give it a stir to make sure it's incorporated. (If the oil has fully separated, such as in the photo above, Food editor Joe Yonan uses an immersion blender to reincorporate it, after which he says it stays emulsified.)

Because tahini contains no extra ingredients or emulsifiers, it can—and usually will—separate into oil (on the top) and solids (at the bottom), just like an all-natural peanut butter. A quick stir or shake should be enough to return it to a cohesive pourable or spoonable state.

If you purchased tahini that seems dry and crumbly, you may want to thin it with oil so it develops a creamier texture. Whisk or stir in 1 tablespoon (15 ml) at a time of your favorite oil. Keep adding any of these oils until the tahini is smooth and thin: Sesame oil, which gives a nutty flavor.

The very simplest sauces can be made by whisking tahini with an acid (ex: lemon juice or apple cider vinegar) and a little salt/pepper. I also like to add just a smidgen of maple syrup or agave to balance the bitterness – just a touch.

Once opened, tahini can be refrigerated to maintain its freshness. Expect it to last from three weeks to one year, depending on its composition and storage conditions. You can also keep it in the pantry after opening the jar, but it may spoil more quickly.

Is tahini sauce healthy? ›

Tahini is an excellent source of minerals and heart-healthy fats and additionally, a versatile food that can be featured in every meal of the day, for five very good reasons. Sesame seeds contain sesamin and sesamolin, two powerful antioxidants that protect cells from free-radical damage and may prevent heart disease.

If you suspect that you may have an allergy to sesame seeds, avoid eating tahini. Tahini is rich in omega-6 fatty acids and could cause an adverse reaction in those who are allergic to sesame seeds.

Whisk the water and add the cumin at the end and which it in. taste and adjust salt, cumin or more lime to your taste. Then adjust thickness to your taste, add more water if you need to thin it out and add more tahini paste if you need to thicken it out.

Tahini can go bad, especially if it's exposed to moisture or direct heat. It will have a noticeable, sharp rancid smell.

Tahini that hides in the fridge for too long (or stored in fridges that feel more like freezers) can turn chunky and hard. So hard you'll feel like you need a cement mixer to get things moving again. That's why, if you are storing your tahini in the fridge, make sure the temperature of your fridge is not too cold.

Generally, pure tahini should last for several months after opening. The oil may separate and come to the top, but you can mix it back in with a teaspoon. This flavorful spread can also thicken over time, especially when refrigerated.

The velvety smooth texture is achieved by using raw, HULLED white sesame seeds. You can also buy them unhulled, which means the thin outer shell is left on, but you will end up with a grittier end result.