Best Tahini Sauce

This incredibly easy 5-minute vegan tahini sauce is sure to be the star of any salad, side dish, or dipping spread! Inspired by Cafe Gratitude, this sauce will be your new staple!

Get ready for the best tahini sauce you’ve ever tasted! You won’t even believe me when I say that this sauce is completely dairy free, soy free, gluten free, paleo, and sugar free…yep, it is that good!

Plus, the best part is that this vegan tahini sauce comes together in the snap of a finger. No stress, no mess, just a whole lot of deliciousness for your weekly meals (free meal prep guide at the end of this recipe!).

So you’re probably wondering what inspired this stroke of genius (ha ha okay I’ll tone it down on the pompousness haha!) right?

Well, let’s find out!

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Inspiration for the best tahini sauce:

So what inspired me to make the best tahini sauce? Well! Jared and I took a trip to Los Angeles, where I finally got to try the famous Cafe Gratitude.

Oh my goodness, you guys. It was insane. Over the course of our 5 day trip, I had Cafe Gratitude 3 times. Yes! We did indeed go every other day haha!

Each time, I just had to get their famous macrobiotic bowl. Of course, because I wanted to try something more on the menu, I would make Jared get something different and we would just share haha! Worked out pretty well 😉

On this macrobiotic bowl, we had purred butternut squash, wild rice, stewed azuki beans, sautéed garlicky kale and veggies, sea veggies, and sprouts, all topped with…the best tahini sauce I’ve ever tasted!

So naturally, when I get home I scan the ingredients…and much like I did with my copycat Cafe Gratitude vegan buckwheat pancakes, I thought, “hey! I can do this better!” (shhhhh that’s our secret haha!).

And so, I looked at the ingredients and decided I wanted to make the best tahini sauce that is: gluten free, dairy free, soy free, nut free, sugar free, and vegan!

And still taste good?! Trust me, I know what I’m doing 😉 Let’s move on to the ingredients!

Garlic Lemon Tahini Dressing Ingredients:

Tahini: a must! For this paleo tahini dressing, I highly recommend using a high quality tahini, like Artisana Organics. Good people on a good mission. That’s what I love when choosing brands to support. Soom is also amazing. It isn’t organic, but it is completely woman founded! Let’s hear it for the ladies!

Garlic: we’re going to be using fresh garlic for this sauce to really amp up the flavor notes. However, if you’re short on time, you can totally swap in dried ground garlic powder for this vegan tahini sauce!

Lemon: I just love lemon, don’t you? Using lemon in this paleo tahini sauce actually acts as a natural preservative as well. That means this sauce will be good in the fridge for at least 1-2 weeks!

Coconut Aminos: so this is how I keep my best tahini sauce completely soy free- it’s all in the coconut aminos! Honestly one of my favorite paleo condiments that really goes well with just about anything! A little goes a long way in this paleo tahini dressing, so don’t fret about sodium. You can pick up your coconut aminos at Whole Foods or most health aisles in your grocery store!

Olive Oil: now I can’t stress enough using a good olive oil that you like and trust because not only will it help the flavor, but it’s also just such a fantastic healthy fat to add to your diet!

Filtered water: this is just to keep everything moving and grooving so that your garlic lemon tahini dressing turns out smooth and creamy!

Garlic Lemon Tahini Sauce preparation:

This garlic lemon tahini dressing comes together so easily, literally in 5 minutes.

All you need to do is begin by sautéing the minced garlic with a little olive oil or coconut oil. Then we basically transfer everything to a food processor or blender!

Now we all know my love for my food processor- it’s really the only kitchen gadget I can’t live without! I really recommend using a food processor over a blender (unless you have a Vitamix, in which case I am so jealous) just because I feel like it blends everything a lot smoother and makes sure that you don’t get chunks of garlic in the sauce!

Once you blend the sauce, it will look so incredibly creamy and yet it’s completely dairy free! Amazing, right? I’ve also noticed that overnight in the fridge, the flavors intensify even more! It’s pretty incredible!

How to use the best tahini sauce:

So this vegan tahini sauce is not just good on macrobiotic bowls, like the one I created here. It works on just so many other dishes!

I highly recommend swapping in this sauce on top of your favorite salad, roasted Brussels sprouts, baked crispy tofu, or drizzled over roasted sweet potatoes!

It also transforms into the most amazing chip or veggie dip. Definitely a crowd pleaser at your next party!

But truly, you know it’s the best tahini sauce when it goes amazingly tossed on top of pasta…I’m serious, do this and you will never go back! Okay, maybe still keep the cheese, like on my vegan macaroni and cheese recipe 😉

What I love most about this 5-minute garlic lemon tahini dressing is that it is truly the perfect meal prep side sauce. It takes just 5 minutes to go and then you have a dressing or sauce for the entire week- or two!

I have a whole guide about how I meal prep to save time and money that will teach you how to make beautiful meals like the one above all while living a stress-free week that doesn’t need to be focused on food!

You can download it for free below 🙂 Other than that, I hope you love this tahini sauce as much as I do! Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below 🙂

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