Tahini paste is a staple ingredient in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines. With just two ingredients and less than 30 minutes you can have a full jar of fresh homemade tahini that is better than the store bought ones.
Be sure to checkout the video and step by step instructions for how to make vegan tahini recipe.
Next time, try this homemade Alfredo sauce recipe.
There are so many ways to use tahini, such as making hummus, tahini sauce and mutabal. Next time use it and make this delicious baba ghanoush.
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❤️ Why You'll Love It
- A 2 ingredients recipe that takes only 30 minutes of your time.
- Creamy, delicious tahini paste that is 100% approved.
- No more bitter homemade tahini, I will show you my trick.
- This is a vegan, gluten free, Halal and keto tahini recipe. Suitable for may diets.
The best tahini, IMHO as a girl who lived with tahini her whole life, should be mildly nutty, creamy and stir-able with light beige color. The problem with many homemade ones is that they are too sesame-y meaning they usually have a sharp intense sesame flavor that might as well bring an undesirable bitter taste.
Making smooth and creamy tahini paste in -not so- expensive gadget is a challenge. People usually complain about their homemade tahini being gritty and not as smooth. Using a coffee grinder along with your everyday blender solved that problem leaving you with a silky creamy tahini paste.
📝 Ingredients
Note: This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
📋 Ingredient Notes
- For the sesame seeds, most available variety is the hulled sesame seeds which are the type we are using. You can make tahini out of unhulled sesame seeds which we call " tahina hamra" translates for red tahini for its color.
- I recommend using light tasting olive oil or avocado oil. Any neutral oil would work and un-toasted sesame oil works as well.
🥄 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Lightly toast sesame seeds ( only half the sesame seeds), in a large dry pan on medium heat. Take care at this step we do not want them to get too dark or burn just lightly golden color.
- Working in batches grind ⅓ rd of the toasted sesame seeds with another ⅓rd of the raw seeds in your coffee grinder.
- Grind until it reaches the consistency of a play dough, you will need to stop a couple of times scrapping the sides of the grinder then grind again.
- In your blender add oil then the ground sesame paste that we already made and blend well.
- Check the consistency of your tahini to see if you need more oil. If so, add more oil through the opening of the blender while it is working. Mix in salt if using.
💡 Tips
- Toasting sesame seeds in the pan is better than toasting them in the oven as they might easily burn.
- You will need to stir the sesame seeds while toasting to prevent any burning and ensure almost even color.
🧺 Storage
I always store tahini in my pantry making sure it is away from any heat source. This means I do not store them near my stove but I also do not store them in the fridge. I have never actually store my tahini in the fridge nor seen my mom does that. Homemade tahini should be safely stored this way for a couple of months. If you are in doubt then you are welcome to store yours in the fridge.
👩🍳 Variations
Some people like mixing in peanut butter with the sesame seeds for a more nutty tahini and to give it another depth of flavor. Also many add toasted all purpose flour to reduce bitterness but you do not need that with this recipe.
💬 FAQs
You will need a powerful blender for a creamy and smooth tahini, like Vitamix or Blendtec otherwise it will not be as smooth. I haven't had luck getting it done properly in my food processor but you are welcome to try.
You can make tahini out of raw untoasted sesame seeds if you like it that way. I've tried them all and this is the version I like more. Untoasted sesame seeds made a very pale tahini and the smell was honestly weird to me. Making it out of only toasted sesame made it taste too sesame-y as well and the color was too dark. You might want to try and check which version you like the most. Here is a color comparison.
Toasting sesame seeds makes them nuttier and releases some of their natural oils. I have found that 8-10% of the sesame weight is lost after toasting. It is recommended that you at least compensate for that with a little bit of oil.
With this recipe it should not. There are three ways that people use to make tahini less bitter. First the use of half toasted and half untoasted sesame seeds. Second, is adding flour which I used to do before trying to limit my carbs. I used to add ½ cup of lightly toasted all purpose flour for each cup of toasted sesame seeds along with the oil. Third method is by grinding peanuts along with the sesame seeds. I felt this might change the taste of the tahini so I figured out that the first method is better.
Traditional way of making tahini starts by washing tahini in water with a little salt. Then it is roasted then milled. Check out this youtube video for more.
Ways To Use Tahini
- Oh the possibilities are endless we love making tahini sauce, baba ghanouj, hummus, tahini chicken, halva, tahini cookies, or simply drizzle it over molasses and eat with feteer, yumm.
- Check out this post about these tahini recipes.
📣 Related Recipes
- Muhammara is a delicious Middle Eastern roasted red pepper dip. It's perfect for serving with pita bread, crackers, vegetables or as a topping for meat and fish.
- A tasty and easy Harissa recipe made with fresh ingredients is always welcomed on my morning eggs!
- Chermoula, a traditional Moroccan sauce loaded with fresh herbs, earthy spices and deliciousness.
- Tahini pasta is a quick delicious vegan pasta recipe or a side dish. This creamy lemony tahini pasta sauce is a wonderful alternative to the traditional tomato pasta sauce.
If you like this recipe do not forget to give it a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ star rating and attach a photo of your finished dish. It is always a pleasure of mine to see your photos and check your own take of the recipe. Thank you.
Vegan Tahini Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw hulled sesame seeds 260g, divided.
- ¼ - ⅓ cup neutral oil.
- ¼ teaspoon salt.
Instructions
- Add one cup of sesame seeds to a dry pan over medium low heat. Stir to toast for about 5 minutes keeping an eye on it so it will not burn.
- Remove pan from heat and start working in batches adding about third of the toasted sesame seeds to another third of the untested sesame seeds to your coffee grinder and grind.
- You will need to stop in between scrapping the sides and bottom then grind again until you get a smooth dry paste that you can shape in your hands much like a play dough.
- Most probably you will repeat this step for 3 times for each batch and each time will take about 5-7 seconds.
- In your blender pour ¼ cup of oil then add the paste that we’ve already made.
- Blend well to combine then check consistency.
- If you feel it is too thick for your liking, turn your blender on and drizzle more oil through the opening of your blender until it reaches the right consistency.
- Mix in salt if using, then pour the tahini in a clean container or jar with a lid.
Video
Notes
- You can make tahini out of unhulled sesame seeds which we call "tahina hamra" translates to red tahini for its color. I prefer using hulled and it is widely available in US stores.
- I recommend using light tasting olive oil or avocado oil. Any neutral oil would work and un-toasted sesame oil works as well.
- Toasting sesame seeds in the pan is better than toasting them in the oven as they might easily burn.
- You will need to stir the sesame seeds while toasting to prevent any burning and ensure almost even color.
- If you cannot get your grinder to turn the sesame seeds into a paste you might want to add a bit of oil to get things running.
- Storing tahini: I always store my tahini in my pantry making sure it is away from any heat source. This means I do not store them near my stove but I also do not store them in the fridge. I have never actually store my tahini in the fridge nor seen my mom does that. Homemade tahini should be safely stored this way for a couple of months. If you are in doubt then you are welcome to store yours in the fridge.
Nutrition
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First published March 4, 2017 . Last updated October 3, 2022 with important tips, clear step by step instructions and readability.
Aby
Made this a couple of night for a tahini sauce also from your site. This is such an informative post, you seriously know what you are talking about. The tahini came out full of flavor and worked very well in the sauce.