Cilantro Lime Tahini Sauce

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A Cilantro Lime Tahini Sauce that will take your meals to the next level. Perfect for roasted veggies, rice bowls, seafood, and more! It’s so good you’ll want to drizzle it on everything!

Whisk in a metal mixing bowl with tahini sauce

Cilantro Lime Tahini Sauce

If you’re a big fan of making your own hummus at home, you’re probably looking for other ways to use tahini since there’s always so much left over.

Cue: Cilantro Lime Tahini Sauce.

I think the majority of you would agree that sauces make everything betterย and this one definitely does!

It’s hard to find a good quality tahini paste, but I really like this one. It’s creamy, nutty, and delicious.

Ingredients for Lime Cilantro Tahini Dressing

  • Tahini paste: This sesame-based paste gives this dressing a unique and delicious flavor and creamy texture.
  • Minced garlic: I recommend using fresh garlic if possible, but jarred minced garlic will work in a pinch.
  • Seasonings: A simple blend of sea salt, paprika, and chopped cilantro provide lots of flavor.
  • Lime: Both lime juice and lime zest add a pop of refreshing citrus flavor.
  • Vanilla extract: For a balance of sweetness that helps to deepen the flavors of this dressing.
  • Oil: Use olive oil, avocado oil, sesame oil, or safflower oil depending on your preference.

Whisk with tahini sauce dripping into a metal bowl

What is tahini paste?

Tahini paste is made from sesame seeds and is a staple in Mediterranean cuisines. It’s also the main ingredient in one of my favorite dips, hummus!

How to make Cilantro Tahini Lime Dressing

  1. Combine dressing ingredients. In a mixing bowl, combine the tahini paste with garlic, lime juice, and olive oil, then mix in the hot water until you have a smooth and creamy result.
  2. Season. Mix in the cilantro, salt, paprika, vanilla extract, lime zest, and salt. Serve right away or store in a glass jar.

Uses for Cilantro Tahini Sauce:

If you’re a big fan of Middle Eastern food, or just food in general, you’re going to love this tahini sauce. It’s perfect on falafels, schwarma, roasted vegetables, rice bowls, and just about everything else.

You can even serve it as a dip for pita and vegetables at your next party!

Here’s a few of my favorite recipes that you can take to the next level with it:

This sauce was sort of made on accident while I was recipe testing some buddha bowls with a beet hummus that I made. The bowls were good, but needed something to tie all the ingredients together.

A Cilantro Lime Tahini Sauce that will take your meals to the next level. Perfect for roasted veggies, rice bowls, seafood, and more! It's so good you'll want to drizzle it on everything! Click to Tweet

Besides the ingredients for the bowl and the hummus, I didn’t really have much in my refrigerator. I knew I had to do something with the rest of my tahini, so I mixed it with some lime juice and zest, warm water, garlic, cilantro, and a few other things to enhance the flavor and boom, a Cilantro Lime Tahini Sauce was born!

This sauce is the perfect mixture of rich, creamy, nutty and tangyย and of course, it’s perfectly smooth.

The subtle garlic flavor works to enhance the toasted sesame flavor, rather than overwhelm or detract. This sauce adds irresistible creaminess and tang to anything it touches!

Variations of tahini sauce

If you want to change up the variations of your tahini sauce, try adding different citrus flavors and fresh herbs. You can whisk in fresh chopped herbs like basil, parsley, or dill. All of those pair wonderfully with lemon or lime.

Tahini is a very healthy food to include in any diet, especially for those on a plant based diet. It’s a good source of calcium and iron, as well as other minerals and vitamins.

This tahini sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for about a week.

What do you store your sauces in?

I love to store my homemade sauces in these Weck jars. You can also purchase wooden or plastic lids if you prefer those. The jars look so nice, I don’t mind leaving them on the counter!

Cilantro Lime Sauce Recipe FAQs

How do you thicken cilantro sauce?

A little bit of mayonnaise if a great way to thicken this dressing, or you could use sour cream or Greek yogurt. Another option is to make a cornstarch slurry by combining a couple teaspoons of cornstarch with an equal amount of water and whisk it into the dressing with the hot water.

Why is my cilantro sauce watery?

You may need to add less water or a splash of extra oil. Another option is to use a bit more tahini paste to help thicken things up.

Want to try this Cilantro Lime Tahini Dressing?

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Cilantro Lime Tahini Sauce Long Pinterest Pin

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4.25 from 4 votes

Cilantro Lime Tahini Dressing

A Cilantro Lime Tahini Sauce that will take your meals to the next level. Perfect for roasted veggies, rice bowls, seafood, and more! It's so good you'll want to drizzle it on everything!
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time0 minutes
Total Time5 minutes
Course: Sauce
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Servings: 10
Calories: 84
Author: Jordan

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup tahini paste
  • 1/4 cup hot water
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 4 limes, juice and zest
  • 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil

Instructions

  • In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine tahini paste, garlic, lime juice, and olive oil. Then slowly mix in hot water until smooth and creamy. Next, mix in cilantro, paprika, vanilla extract, lime zest, and salt.
  • Serve immediately or store in aย glass jarย for later.
If you tried this recipe, please leave a review letting me know how it was!

Notes

If you have the Trader Joe's Chili Lime Seasoning, try adding a teaspoon in addition to the ingredients listed above!

Nutrition

Calories: 84kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 121mg | Potassium: 82mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0g | Vitamin A: 75IU | Vitamin C: 8.6mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 0.7mg
Nutrition information is approximate and was calculated using a recipe nutrition label generator.
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4.25 from 4 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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7 Comments

  1. Oh yum! I love tahini but this sounds next level! Cilantro and lime are some of my absolute favourite flavours. Definitely trying this one, thanks!

  2. Danielle@wenthere8this.com says:

    this seriously sounds like perfection. you-re right, a sauce does make everything better!

  3. Bintu (@recipespantry) says:

    This sounds like such a delicious sauce! I love tahini!

  4. Mmmmm… fantastic looking sauce with such a great consistency. I can imagine it is super delicious, too, and can make a lot of different dishes shine!

  5. Jacqueline Debono says:

    I love the idea of this sauce! I also often find I have extra tahini after making hummus. Great to have another way to use it! Pinning for later!

  6. This looks great and I can’t wait to try it. What is the serving size?

    1. This recipe has about 10 servings