Tahini Recipe (Super Easy & Creamy) (2024)

FAQs

Why is my tahini not creamy? ›

Use a high-powered blender.

Food processors are great, but they're just not as powerful as blenders, so can't deliver the creaminess (without double or triple the oil) that makes for the best tahini.

The acid in the lemon juice causes a very runny tahini sauce to thicken up and become stiff and solid.

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.

Add a few tablespoons of mild-tasting oil.

This helps the tahini become smooth, creamy, and drippy. You can use less oil, but the tahini won't be as easy to pour. I find 3 to 4 tablespoons perfect for a texture like store-bought tahini.

Your tahini has expired if it has an unpleasant taste and smell. Additionally, if you see obvious signs of spoilage like a change in color and visible mold growth, it's time to toss the jar of tahini.

Tahini has a long shelf life (2+ years) and can be stored like other nut and seed butters, either at room temperature or in the refrigerator. Always stir before using to incorporate any solids that have accumulated on the bottom.

When tahini is mixed with lemon juice (or any acid), the acid begins to break down the emulsion of oil and solids in the tahini. This can cause the mixture to seize or thicken and clump together suddenly as the oil separates from the other components.

Bitterness is generally part and parcel of tahini - it's how ground sesame seeds taste. What you will find, however, is that some tahini can taste more bitter than others. This is down to a few things; like how that particular tahini is processed, or the levels of something called oxalic acid in the hulls of the seeds.

With just a shake, the nutty condiment is ready to be squeezed onto whatever my heart desires, without so much as a hint of streaky separation. Because tahini is made purely from sesame seeds, which have a high oil content, even the highest quality brands will separate over time.

As I said earlier, tahini has a mildly bitter flavour, so if your hummus is bitter, you've most likely added too much tahini. Also make sure that the tahini you do have is hulled, as opposed to unhulled. Hulled tahini just means that the bitter husks on the outside of the sesame seed have been removed before blending.

What to add to tahini to make it thinner? ›

but, if you would like it to be thinner and more on the drizzling side of spectrum, just whisk a bit of water in a little at a time to get your desired consistency - don't forget to taste it after and season the tahini if need be, the water can dilute it, especially if you add enough.

We recommend storing your tahini in a cool and dry area, away from heat and moisture. Ideally, a pantry a cabinet would be ideal. Like peanut butter, you can also store tahini in the refrigerator if you like it thicker.

That's mainly because sesame paste on it's own is a paste and as you whisk in the water and lime juice it will thicken up and change it's character from an oily seed paste into a smoother lighter paste. Here you need to add some water to thin out this paste.