What Is Tahini? 10 Ways to Use It, Plus an Easy Tahini Sauce

Tahini, also spelled tahina, is a smooth paste of ground sesame seeds with a nutty, toasty flavour. It goes into hummus, baba ghanoush and the lemony sauce served with falafel and shawarma, and it works just as well in dressings and bakes. This guide covers what tahini is, how to make tahini sauce that doesn’t seize, 10 ways to use our Tahini Sesame Paste, how to store it, and tahini vs hummus vs halva.

What is tahini? Hulled, unhulled, light and dark

Britannica describes tahini as a paste of crushed sesame seeds widely used in Middle Eastern cooking, and Merriam-Webster traces the name to an Arabic word from the verb meaning “to grind”. Tahina, tahineh and tehina are other spellings. Whatever the spelling, tahini contains sesame, one of the 14 major allergens, so avoid it if you have a sesame allergy.

Tahini is traditionally made from hulled seeds that are soaked, stripped of their husks, roasted and ground, giving a pale, smooth paste. Unhulled, or whole-seed, tahini keeps the husks, which make it darker and more bitter. Roasting matters too: light roasting gives a pale, mild paste, and longer or hotter roasting a darker, toastier one. To make your own, blend toasted White Sesame Seeds in a food processor for several minutes until runny.

What does tahini taste like?

Plain tahini paste tastes nutty and toasty, with a gently bitter edge and no sweetness. Stirred, it is runnier than peanut butter and slightly sticky. On its own it can taste flat, so pair it with something sharp, like lemon and garlic, or sweet, like date syrup.

Why does tahini separate?

Over time the sesame oil rises to the top of the jar and the thicker paste settles below. This is normal, so don’t pour the oil away, or the rest will turn dry and stiff. Let a chilled jar come to room temperature, then push a knife to the bottom and stir in circles, lifting the paste into the oil until it is evenly smooth. Stir briefly each time you use it.

How to make tahini sauce that doesn’t seize

Tahini sauce, which Britannica calls taratoor, is tahini whisked with lemon juice, garlic and salt, then thinned with water. It gets thicker before it gets thinner: the first splashes of liquid tighten the paste into a stiff, grainy clump, and more cold water loosens it into a smooth, creamy sauce. Add water, not more tahini. Makes enough for 4 wraps or plates.

1. Stir the jar, then spoon 3 tablespoons of tahini into a bowl.
2. Add the juice of half a lemon, half a small crushed garlic clove and a pinch of salt. For no-chop garlic, use a pinch of garlic powder instead (about ¼ teaspoon replaces a whole clove).
3. Whisk: it will thicken and look grainy.
4. Whisk in cold water a tablespoon at a time until pale, smooth and pourable, usually 3–4 tablespoons. Adjust the lemon and salt, and stop early for a thick dip.

Lebanese wraps often pair beef or lamb shawarma with tahini sauce and chicken with toum, a garlic sauce, but tahini sauce suits both: try it with our chicken shawarma recipe. The sauce thickens as it stands, so loosen it with a little water.

10 ways to use tahini

1. Hummus: blend a drained 400g tin of chickpeas with 2–3 tablespoons of tahini, the juice of 1 lemon, 1 small garlic clove, a pinch of salt and a splash of cold water until smooth; serves 4. For dried chickpeas (kabuli chana), soak about 100g overnight, drain, then simmer for 60–90 minutes until very soft, with a pinch of bicarbonate of soda for extra-smooth hummus. Top with olive oil and sumac.
2. Falafel and shawarma wraps: spoon 1–2 tablespoons of tahini sauce into each wrap with pickles, tomato and parsley.
3. Baba ghanoush: prick 2 aubergines and roast them whole at 220°C (200°C fan) for 45–50 minutes until collapsed, or char them over a gas flame for smokiness. Scoop out and drain the flesh, then mash it with 2 tablespoons of tahini, the juice of half a lemon, 1 small garlic clove, salt and olive oil. Serves 4.
4. Tahini dressing: whisk 2 tablespoons of tahini with 1 tablespoon each of lemon juice and olive oil, 1 teaspoon of date syrup or honey, salt and 2–3 tablespoons of cold water. It dresses a salad for 4.
5. Grilled fish and meat: spoon tahini sauce over fish, chicken thighs or lamb kofta, with lemon and chopped parsley.
6. Roasted vegetables: roast 1 cauliflower, in florets, or 600g of carrots or squash with 2 tablespoons of olive oil at 200°C (180°C fan) for 30–35 minutes. Drizzle with 3–4 tablespoons of tahini sauce and scatter with sumac (see our sumac guide) or za’atar. Serves 2–4.
7. Ful medames: warm a 400g tin of California Garden Foul Medames (sold in cases of 10), mash lightly, add olive oil, lemon juice and cumin, and top with 2 tablespoons of tahini sauce. Serves 2.
8. Tahini and date syrup (dibs w tahini): swirl 1–2 tablespoons of Basra Date Syrup into 2 tablespoons of tahini and scoop it up with warm bread, or mix the two as a spread for toast. Serves 2.
9. Date and tahini spread: mash 2 tablespoons each of Madina Medjool Date Paste and tahini with a splash of warm water and spread on toast (more in our date paste guide).
10. Cookies, brownies and banana bread: swirl 3 tablespoons through the batter for a 20cm square tin of brownies, stir 3 tablespoons into the batter for banana bread in a 900g loaf tin, or swap a third of the butter in cookies for tahini. Tell anyone sharing them that they contain sesame.

Tahini vs hummus vs halva

Tahini links all three: it is the plain paste; hummus is a chickpea dip made with it, which Britannica calls hummus bi tahini; and tahini halva is a sweet made from it. Our Al Nakhla Plain Halva, from Halwani Bros in Saudi Arabia, is made with tahina, sugar and glucose.

How to store tahini

• Fridge or cupboard? Advice varies between makers, so follow the instructions on the jar. If it says to refrigerate after opening, GOV.UK advises a fridge at 5°C or below. Chilled tahini is thicker, so let it come to room temperature and stir.
• Best before date: printed on the pack, it is about quality, not safety. GOV.UK says food is usually safe after this date but may not be of the same quality; use sight, smell and taste.
• Can you freeze tahini? Follow any freezing advice on the jar’s label. If you freeze leftover tahini sauce, GOV.UK’s general advice is to keep the freezer at -18°C, label it with what it is and when you froze it, and use it within 24 hours of defrosting.

Allergens: sesame seeds are one of the 14 allergens that must be clearly labelled within the ingredients list on prepacked food in the UK, as GOV.UK explains. Our Tahini Sesame Paste contains sesame; check the pack label for any “may contain” advice. Every recipe and serving idea in this guide uses tahini, so they all contain sesame too.

You’ll find tahini in our pantry range. We deliver to UK addresses only, free on orders over £45; see our delivery information for timings.

Frequently asked questions

What is tahini made of?

Sesame seeds, traditionally soaked, hulled, roasted and ground into a smooth, runny paste. Unhulled (whole-seed) tahini keeps the husks, so it is darker and more bitter, and roasting ranges from light to dark. Our 340g jar of Tahini Sesame Paste is a smooth paste of ground sesame seeds; check the label for the full ingredients.

Is tahini the same as hummus?

No. Tahini is plain sesame paste; hummus is a dip made mainly from chickpeas, with tahini, lemon juice, garlic and salt. Our recipe above uses 2–3 tablespoons of tahini to a 400g tin of chickpeas. Tahini alone is runnier, nuttier and not lemony, so you can’t swap one for the other.

Does tahini need to be refrigerated?

It depends on the jar: advice varies between makers, so follow the storage instructions on the label. If it says to refrigerate after opening, GOV.UK advises a fridge at 5°C or below. Chilled tahini is thick and hard to stir, so let it come to room temperature and stir well.

Why is my tahini sauce thick or bitter?

Thick, grainy sauce is normal at first: tahini tightens when liquid goes in, then loosens as you whisk in more cold water, a spoonful at a time. Bitterness can come from unhulled tahini, too much raw garlic or an old jar; balance it with more lemon juice and salt, or a little date syrup.

What can I use instead of tahini?

In hummus, leave it out and add a little more olive oil and lemon; it will be lighter and less nutty. For sauces and dressings, try a smooth seed or nut butter, such as sunflower seed or cashew, or thick yoghurt with lemon and garlic. With a sesame allergy, check every label: sesame oil, tahini halva and many za’atar blends contain sesame.