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Tahini Dressing – Salad Perfection

Hi Folks!  I am back to share a salad dressing that is AMAZING and my favorite dressing in the whole wide world. I first had this dressing at Inn Season Vegetarian Cafe in Detroit, MI a few years ago.  Inn Season is also one of my favorite restaurants in the whole wide world – if you are ever in the area – you MUST go.

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If you make this dressing – you’ll see why I am so enthusiastic about it. The taste is incredible, makes any type of raw vegetable extremely satisfying and it has so many healthy all star ingredients – One of which is Apple Cider Vinegar. This powerhouse vinegar has been used for centuries as a natural remedy to cure allergies (including pet, food and environmental), sinus infections, acne, high cholesterol, flu, chronic fatigue, candida, acid reflux, sore throats, contact dermatitis, arthritis, and gout.

Additionally, apple cider vinegar can burn some serious booty. It is widely used for weight control, it helps break down fat in the body and can boost your metabolism. It lowers glucose levels – reducing insulin spikes that can lead to weight gain. If you have never tried it in a salad dressing – start today! Remember to buy the good stuff – Bragg’s makes a great version that is organic, raw and unfiltered. The pasteurized version doesn’t have the same qualities so you will be missing out if you don’t buy the right kind.

This recipe makes A LOT of dressing – a huge big bowl that you can use throughout the week. It works well as a dip for chopped veggies too!  Yum.  It would be perfect to dress your greens this holiday season for friend and family gatherings!  Enjoy!

Food Babe's Tahini Dressing
 
Prep time
Total time
 
Serves: 10 - 12
Ingredients
  • Juice of one large lemon
  • 1 garlic clove minced
  • ½ cup water
  • ½ cup raw tahini
  • 1 tsp maple syrup or honey
  • 1 tbsp and 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 and ½ tsp tamari soy sauce
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 2 tbsp hempseed oil or olive oil
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • 1 tbsp raw sesame seeds
Instructions
  1. Combine lemon juice, garlic and water into a blender and puree for 15 - 30 seconds
  2. Add all remaining ingredients and puree again until smooth
Notes
Stays fresh in the fridge for one week. ***Please buy all organic ingredients if possible***

 

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I have a habit of eating this dressing always on the side of my salad… I like to taste the dressing in each bite! Mmmmm.

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XOXO,
Food Babe

P.S. If you want more info or have any questions – Please join my Facebook Fan Page!

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90 responses to “Tahini Dressing – Salad Perfection

  1. A year or two ago, I sampled a salad dressing at Whole Foods that was very similar to this, and I have been looking for a recipe to make it from scratch at home. Your recipe sounds perfect, I’ll definitely be trying this out.

    1. Alisa – Let me know how it turns out and if it is close to Whole Food’s version! I know you will love it regardless… I’m eating some now! 🙂

      1. WE love the Food Babe too, you are the best in the whole wide world at what you do and please keep up this important work. We thank you!!

      1. Okay, wondering if you can help me out. I can NEVER find Tahini at Earthfare…where the heck is it? I love that store but I can spend hours in there and never find the things I need! I see from your post below that you get it from Healthy Home Market – maybe I’ll just stop over there.

      2. Check the raw section of the market – At the end of the coffee isle….or near the almond butter. HHM – has the raw kind for sure in the same section near the almond butter. Good Luck – I also tend to buy it in bulk from Amazon a lot too! 🙂

  2. Do you know of any salons in Charlotte that use henna? I used to get together with a friend and we would do each other’s hair, but since moving here in the summer I haven’t attempted to do my own. (I am horrible at doing these kinds of things on my own hair!!)

  3. Vani this dressing is amazing! The Inn Seasons Cafe is my favorite restaurant as well. I have already visited that restaurant 3 times and I can never get enough of the deliciousness served there!! You are truly amazing yourself- helping us change our lifestyle from not so healthy to healthy eating….one blog at a time.

  4. This dressing sounds delicious! What grocery store did you find the Raw Tahini at? Also, what kind of sprouts are you using on your salad? Thanks!

    1. I went to Home Healthy Market for the Raw Tahini – you can also order it online at Lucky Vitamin or Amazon… The sprouts are “crunchy mix” from sunny creek farms – you can get this from HHM or Earth Fare – they are a mix of sprouted aduki beans, lentils and peas – Delish! Although my husband HATES them, so I get the whole box to myself!

  5. Hi Food Babe! I am trying to buy the tahini from amazon, what brand would you recommend? Also where can I find the tamari soy sauce at? Trying to make this dressing please help!

      1. Vani,
        That Tahini that you linked is not raw. Is that okay? Why is Raw better?

  6. This is delicious! At first glance, I thought it was too many ingredients for a ‘simple’ dressing. But it’s just perfect, Vani! I sometimes use a dash of cinnamon when I make similar tahini based dressings. Thanks for this 🙂

  7. Hi I just made this dressing and have been looking for a good alternative to make at home and I think its fabulous!! I havent added the salad yet, (tasted it on its own) but put it into a jar in the fridge waiting for a salad in the near future!! Thanks for the recipe!!
    Shaz

  8. This dressing is delicious! I’ve used it as a dip for raw veggies in addition to a dressing!

  9. I cannot use tamari, should I just leave it out or can you suggest a substitute?

  10. I cannot use soy either so I’m wondering the same as Kathy. Do you think the dressing is worth making without the soy? I’m looking for a good home made salad dressing.

    1. You could just use seasalt – start with a 1/2 tsp and add more if it needs it! Good Luck.

      1. Braggs has soy- but there is a coconut amino blend you could sub. I was wondering if you could use sunflower seed butter instead of the tahini? My son has a soy allergy, but maybe I’ll make some just for me!

  11. I love finding recipes for which I happen to have all the ingredients already. Just made this for the first time this afternoon and it’s DELICIOUS! Perfect balance of creamy, tangy, sweet, nutty….ahh so good! Thanks Vani 🙂

    1. Raw is sometimes hard to find. You can definitely use regular tahini.

  12. I wanted to know if I could substitute Coconut Secret
    Raw Liquid Aminos for the Tamari Sauce for those
    who are avoiding soy?
    Some use it as a substitute for soy sauce.
    It can be found at Whole Foods & Vitacost

    I wanted your opinion on this or anything else I
    could use as a substitute for the Tamari sauce
    to avoid the Soy.
    Thank you

    1. Hi Mary – I have not used it but it should be a great substitute.

    2. I sub the coconut aminos for tamari soy sauce for all my recipes now due to soy is now off limits. Just have to say I don’t feel there is much difference in taste

  13. I just NEED to thank you for this recipe! It has quickly become my favorite dressing! I made it today without needing to look at the recipe!

  14. I have been making the dressing for about two weeks and i love it! I just did the math on the calories in it. Of course, my estimations are rough, considering nutrition facts vary depending on the recipe….but I found that the recipe as stated above has about 1,650 Calories. So if you divide your dressing into 8 servings, that’s still over 200 calories a serving. Of course, these are 200 calories full of nutrients and real whole foods! The good calories! But I am watching my calorie intake so I will just stick to dressing my salads with lemon juice for now. I will return to making the dressing as a ‘treat’ sometimes! Just thought I would share for all the other calories conscious people out there!

  15. I just made this dressing and it is fantastic! It turned out a little thick for my taste, so I just added a little extra water. I also wanted to say a special thank you for all the hard work you do to educate the public. You are definitely making a difference!

  16. What goes into that salad?? It looks great! I’m seeing romaine, sprouts, lentils, raspberries, arugula, peas, pea shoots, or a mixed green?

  17. I’ve been making something similar and use it all the time – mine is based on the house dressing at the People’s Food Coop’s Cafe Verde in Ann Arbor: As I make it, it has lemon, cider vinegar, garlic, tahini, a tad of olive oil, water, sea salt, then I blend it, taste it and adjust (it comes out a little differently every time), add chia seeds and some shopped parsley and refrigerate. The chia seeds gel and make it creamy. I look forward to incorporating some of the other ingredients you have listed- should be great. One other plus for making this dressing once a week is that I just slice the peels off the lemon not bothering to get every speck of the lemon off the peels, and put the lemon, un squeezed, in the blender for the dressing, and then the peels in a pan along with some diced organic ginger (peeled) and water to make a lemon and ginger tea that I also store in the refrigerator. I add hot water to to this mix to have a cup every morning. Everything is organic, so the peels should be fine. Thanks for listing all the benefits of Apple cider vinegar!

  18. I go to Inn Season Cafe every time I’m in the area. One of my favorite restaurants as well! Love their food choices … almost everything. So fresh and delicious. Thanks for sharing!

  19. I’ve been looking for a good Tahini sauce/dressing for my homemade falafels. Can’t wait to try this!

  20. Salad looks delish thanks for the recipe’ what are the salad ingredients? I love your blog/page/site! : )

  21. I absolutely loved this dressing and I soaked my vegetables in it with out feeling guilty! Thank you for sharing.
    I truly appreciate all of your research and advocacy to seek the truth about food.

  22. I have tried several tahini sauces to go in my homemade falafels (with tzatziki sauce, too, of course!) but none have been very good. I found your recipe and am SO glad I tried it. It’s delicious! Thank you for the recipe and I’m so excited to finally have a good one!

  23. Corriander is in the list of ingrediants but cumin is shown in the photo – which should be used?

  24. I am going to try this…maybe my kids will find it to be a suitable replacement for ranch!! thanks!

  25. I’m eating a vegan plus no sugar diet right now and I’ve been wondering about salad dressings. Would this one still be good without the sweetener added??

  26. I love tahini I grew up on it we use it for many different sauces..I use it for our middleastern salad never thought about using it for regular American salad

  27. Wonder if coconut aminos coukd replace the soy and taste as good. I think I may try that. ;). Has anyone tried that?

  28. What is the shelf life of the tahini and soy sauce once you open them, since I assume there are no preservatives? Can you freeze this dressing in single serving containers? Thanks!

  29. This dressing is soooooo soo yummy! and absolutely filled with incredible ingredients! thank you so much for posting 🙂

  30. Can you comment on the use of’coriander powder’ vs. just using fresh cilantro? Is there a difference in flavor?

  31. Just tried this dressing and went back to double check the ingredient list. I like almost anything but this is the worst dressing/ sauce I’ve ever tasted. My Tahini is fresh and I used the other ingredients just as stated. I don’t know where to start to fix it! It is strong, very bitter, just terrible!

  32. I was JUST at Inn Season Cafe for lunch today! It was my first visit and I got the quesadilla…delish! I’ll be sure to try the salad with this tahini dressing next time 🙂

  33. Have you ever heard of anyone being allergic Apple Cider Vinegar? The benefits sound wonderful and my husband uses it everyday, but it causes breathing issues for me?

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