Lemon Tahini Dressing Recipe
Since Adam and I have been trying to make healthier dinners at home recently, I’ve started adding a side salad back into rotation. It’s funny – I grew up eating a salad with almost every dinner, but I stopped doing it sometime in my 20’s. I’m pretty sure it’s because I lived alone, so I liked to keep dinners really simple – but now that I have someone to share with, adding a salad makes so much more sense!
The only thing is, I don’t want to make a salad that we’ll both pick at and end up throwing away… but this dressing is perfect for making salads a little bit more interesting. And delicious!
The star of this dressing is tahini, which is a paste made from sesame seeds. You could find a tahini recipe online if you want to make it at home (you’ll need a food processor!), or it’s available at most grocery stores. I got mine at Trader Joe’s!
For my tahini dressing, I add fresh lemon juice and garlic cloves to compliment the sesame flavor. I’ve seen people add maple syrup for a little sweetness if you like that, or you can add less water to make it a thicker tahini sauce for buddha bowls (YUM!).
We love it over arugula if it’s a side salad with dinner, but I like it with kale if I’m eating it for lunch! It’s easy, gluten-free, and so delicious. Here’s how you make it!
Lemon Tahini Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
1/3 cup tahini
1 lemon, juiced
pinch of kosher salt
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp water
1.5 tbsp olive oil
Directions
- Add tahini, lemon juice, salt, garlic, water, and oil to a small bowl.
- Whisk until all ingredients are combined.
- If the dressing is too thick, add a little bit of water until it is your desired consistency.
- Store in an airtight container (like a mason jar) in the refrigerator!
Nutritional Information
If you split this dressing over 4 salads, each serving will have about 169 calories, 16 grams of fat, and 3.6 grams of protein. I know it seems like tahini has a lot of fat, but only 2 of the 16 are saturated. The rest are unsaturated fats, which are actually good for you and your heart.
The sesame seeds in tahini contain phytosterols that can lower cholesterol and block cancer – and those aren’t the only nutrients in there! They can also help your heart health, bone health, and arthritis symptoms.
Normally it’s hard for the body to absorb all of that goodness because of their outer layer, but the seeds are ground up in tahini, you can absorb the nutrients more efficiently.
Kale Salad With Tahini Dressing
Not everyone likes raw kale – and I totally understand why. It can be tough and a little bitter, but nothing a quick massage and killer salad dressing can’t fix! I love a simple vinaigrette, but it just doesn’t hold up against kale the same way this tahini dressing or my homemade caesar dressing does.
If you don’t like kale at all, this dressing is also DELICIOUS with arugula – that’s what we eat it with most nights we have a side salad with dinner!
Ingredients
Raw Kale
1 tsp olive oil
Lemon Tahini Dressing
Dried Cherries
Slivered Almonds
Parmesan Cheese (optional)
Directions
- Wash the kale you want to eat and and add to a bowl with a tsp of olive oil. Massage the leaves for 2-3 minutes until they start to soften.
- Add dried cherries and slivered almonds.
- Pour lemon tahini dressing over the top and toss to coat.
- Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top!
Other Toppings
If you don’t like dried cherries or slivered almonds, don’t worry! There are SO many different toppings you could add to a salad with this dressing. If it’s just a side salad, I usually keep it simple. But if you’re making this for lunch or a bigger portion of your dinner, bulk it up!
- sweet potatoes
- walnuts
- cucumbers
- avocado
- beets
- tomatoes
- feta cheese
- red onion
- pepitas
- lentils
- quinoa
- tofu
- sugar snap peas
And that’s just a start – the possibilities are endless!
Lemon Tahini Dressing
This Lemon Tahini Dressing is perfect on kale, arugula, or any of your favorite salad greens!
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup tahini
- 1 lemon, juiced
- pinch of salt
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp water
- 1.5 tbsp oil
Instructions
- Add tahini, lemon juice, salt, garlic, water, and olive oil to a bowl.
- Whisk until all ingredients are combined.
- If the dressing is too thick, add a little bit of water until it is your desired consistency.
- Store in an airtight container (like a mason jar) in the refrigerator!
Notes
Great on kale, arugula, or other salad greens!
We like to add dried cherries, slivered almonds, and a little parmesan to the salad.
Want to remember this Lemon Tahini Dressing later? Pin the image below!
PS. Have you tried my Kale Caesar Salad with Chicken Cutlets?
