Tahini Recipe: How to make tahini at home

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Tahini is very easy to make at home with very few ingredients. A simple tahini recipe requires grinding toasted sesame seeds with a little bit of neutral oil together with salt. You can use tahini for Hummus recipe, tahini sauce, pita, falafel, and many other recipes that call for it. It can also be used as a spread or dip and can serve as a substitute for mayonnaise.

Table of Contents

What is Tahini made of

Tahini is a paste made of toasted hulled or unhulled sesame seeds that have been crushed with a blender. It is a very popular paste used in many cuisines in the Middle East and among the Mediterranean.

If you love nut butter like almond butter and peanut butter you will definitely love this tahini recipe, it nutty, smooth, and creamy and can be used just the same way you use almond or peanut butter and even more. Once you have your sesame available in the pantry, is it then easy to make tahini at home

Homemade tahini is quite different from what you get from the store because it’s fresh, super smooth, and creamy. In order to make the best tahini, you will have to toast your sesame seeds first on medium heat for at least 3 minutes. This will help them release their natural oil and as well give your tahini a rich nutty flavor.

A powerful blender or a food processor is highly recommended for making tahini. This enables the sesame seeds ground into a smooth and creamy paste. You can either use hulled or unhulled sesame seeds to make tahini,  the hulled sesame seeds tend to yield smoother and less bitter tahini compared to the unhulled sesame seeds, the option is totally up to you. Watch the Youtube video below on how to make tahini at home:

Tahini ingredients

  • 1 and 1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds
  • 3 tablespoons of grapeseed oil or olive oil
  • Salt to taste

Uses of tahini

Tahini is one of the main condiments used for making hummus, baba ghanoush, and halva recipes. It is also used for making brownies, dressings on salads and vegetables such as lemon dressing, and in making Tahini sauce which is, in turn, used for making chocolate chip cookies.

Steps on how to make tahini recipe at home

  1. Add sesame seeds into a dry pan and place it on a stovetop over medium heat.
  2. Constantly stir with a wooden spatula to prevent the sesame seeds from burning too quickly.
  3. Once the sesame is slightly brown but not dark take the pan off the heat, leave to cool down completely.
  4. Add the seeds to a Vitamix blender or food processor and process until a crumbly texture is formed.
  5. When you notice a crumbly paste is formed add 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil, process until it turns out very smooth and creamy.
  6. Add salt to taste and process again to combine; check the tahini and adjust the consistency by adding more oil, you may need to process it for another one minute to get a smoother consistency.
  7. Remember to scrape the sides of the food processor or blender with a spatula to bring the paste together.
  8. Your tahini is ready. Store it in an airtight container and refrigerate for a month. you can as well freeze it for up to 3 months if you don’t need it immediately.