Yogurt Tahini Sauce - The Plant Based School (2024)

Table of Contents

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Serving suggestions
• More sauce recipes
• More tahini recipes
• Yogurt Tahini Sauce Recipe

Yogurt tahini sauce is one of the easiest, most delicious, and most versatile condiments you’ll ever make.

It takes 5 minutes to make in a bowl with simple ingredients. If you are on a dairy-free diet, you can make it with non-dairy yogurt, provided it’s unflavored and unsweetened.

You’ll love this recipe because you can use it as a dip, spread, or dollop on most dishes, such as curries, stews, soups, salads, grain bowls, and roasted and grilled veggies.

It goes exceptionally well with Mediterranean, North African, Middle-Eastern, and Indian-inspired recipes thanks to its creamy texture and tangy, aromatic, refreshing taste.

If you follow us on social, you know that this is one of our most used and favorite condiments. So make it today and serve it with one of the recipes we recommend below, and you’ll learn why.

Our favorite is plain Greek yogurt or Greek-style non-dairy yogurt because it’s thicker and tastier than plain yogurt. However, since greek style yogurt is quite thick, you’ll need to dilute it with some water until you reach your desired consistency.

Plain yogurt also works for this recipe, and there’s no need to dilute it with water as it’s already pretty liquid.

If you use non-dairy yogurt, make sure it’s unsweetened and unflavored. You don’t want a fruit-flavored yogurt in this recipe. Our favorite non-dairy yogurt is plain and unsweetened soy yogurt.

When choosing yogurt, we would recommend full-fat because it tastes better. However, if you use fat-free yogurt, you might have to reduce the amount of lemon juice because the yogurt is more acidic than the full-fat one.

Tahini

Tahini is everything in this recipe. It adds a creamy dreamy texture and a wonderful nutty flavor.

We recommend tahini made from 100% hulled sesame seeds with a light color and relatively liquid consistency. Pick a brand imported from Levantine countries like Lebanon or Palestine if you want to be sure it’s the best tahini.

Lemon juice

Try to use freshly squeezed lemon juice if you can. Add a little, then taste and adjust if you like your yogurt tahini dressing with more tang and acidity.

As mentioned before, you might want to reduce the amount of lemon juice if you are using a fat-free yogurt.

Garlic

Go for fresh garlic rather than garlic powder. It’s a lot more zesty, tangy, and almost spicy, making the sauce a sure hit.

We recommend grating the garlic very finely with a zester or Microplane. Start with half a clove and add more as desired.

Note that the garlic flavor will get stronger as the recipe sits in the fridge, so keep this in mind if you make this ahead of time.

Cumin

Ground cumin is optional, but we like to add it in. If you don’t have cumin, you can add a touch of paprika.

Salt & Pepper

We like our yogurt tahini sauce with a salty taste, so we add a hefty pinch of sea salt and a couple of twists of black pepper. Adjust salt based on your taste and dietary preferences.

Herbs

Customize your yogurt tahini dressing by adding a pinch of your favorite herbs. You can use finely chopped fresh herbs like fresh parsley, mint, cilantro, and dill or dried ones like dried mint and oregano.

You can also add fresh herbs on top with a drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil, pomegranate seeds, toasted pine nuts or slivered almonds, and a pinch of sumac or za’atar.

In a small bowl, add yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, salt, black pepper, and ground cumin.

Whisk until the ingredients are well combined, and add a little water to make the sauce more liquid if you like. Adjust the water based on your preference.

Taste and adjust for salt and lemon juice.

Honestly, you can use yogurt tahini dressing with most recipes, especially with Mediterranean, Middle-Eastern, North-African, and Indian-inspired ones. For example:

Salads and grain bowls

• Couscous salad (chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, bell pepper, lemon, etc.)
• Lentil carrot salad (canned lentils, carrots, parsley, lemon juice, cumin, olive oil, etc.)
• Chickpea salad (corn, avocado, chickpeas, olives, mustard, olive oil, lemon, etc.)
• Rice salad (cucumber, shallot, wholegrain rice, cherry tomatoes, olive oil, etc.)
• Vegetable couscous (zucchini, bell pepper, eggplant, carrot, cumin, couscous, etc.)
• Fattoush (lettuce, toasted pita bread, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc.)

Veggies

• Stuffed eggplant (eggplant, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella or vegan cheese, pesto, etc.)
• Zucchini boats (lentils, walnuts, tomatoes, parsley, etc.)
• Microwave sweet potato (sweet potatoes, olive oil, garlic salt, etc.)
• Roasted eggplant (eggplant, parsley, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, etc.)
• Roasted zucchini (breadcrumbs, zucchini, dried herbs, olive oil, lemon, etc.)
• Stuffed bell peppers (bell peppers, herbs, spices, grains, etc.)
• Zaalouk (eggplant, tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, cumin, lemon, etc.)

Mains, curries, soups, and stews

• Lentil mujaddara (lentils, rice, caramelized onions, paprika, cinnamon, coriander, etc.)
• Red lentil soup (red lentils, rosemary, cumin, carrot, onion, celery, vegetable broth, etc.)
• Easy lentil curry (coconut milk, lentils, canned tomatoes, ginger, garlic, onion, curry, etc.)
• Chana masala (chickpeas, canned tomatoes, ginger, turmeric, garlic, coriander, etc.)
• Aloo gobi (potatoes, cauliflower, coriander, turmeric, onion, cumin, etc.)
• Zucchini fritters (grated zucchini, fresh herbs, garlic, etc.)

Appetizer

Serve as part of a mezze (appetizer platter) with:

• Hummus (chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, etc.)
• Falafel or falafel sandwich (chickpeas, parsley, coriander, garlic, etc.)
• Shirazi salad (cucumber, tomato, mint, lemon juice, etc.)
• Tabbouleh (parsley, cucumber, tomato, lemon juice, etc.)
• Muhammara (bell peppers, onion, tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, etc.)
• Pita bread (flour, instant dry yeast, sugar, water, etc.)

Make ahead: you can prep yogurt tahini sauce up to a day or two in advance and keep it ready in the fridge. The sauce will thicken up, so you might need to add some water the day after.

Refrigerator: keep in a bowl wrapped in plastic or in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Freezer: transfer to a freezer friendly container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw slowly in the refrigerator, it’ll take about 24 hours.

More sauce recipes

For more dressings and dips, take a look at these easy sauces:

• Romesco sauce (bell pepper, almonds, hazelnuts, paprika, sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar, etc.)
• Marinara sauce (canned tomatoes, garlic, onion, dried oregano, olive oil, basil, etc.)
• Chimichurri (parsley, vinegar, red pepper flakes, garlic, olive oil, etc.)
• Vegan mayo (lemon juice, soy milk, garlic, apple cider vinegar, mustard, etc.)
• Tzatziki (cucumber, garlic, greek yogurt or dairy-free yogurt, mint, lemon, etc.)
• Cashew sour cream (cashews, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, etc.)

Try these wholesome and tasty tahini–packed recipes; they’re true crowd-pleasers:

• Tahini salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, tahini, lemon juice, chickpeas, etc.)
• Hummus (chickpeas, tahini, cumin, lemon, garlic, water, etc.)
• Easy tahini sauce (tahini, lemon juice, water, garlic, salt, etc.)
• Tofu cream cheese (tofu, tahini, garlic, chives, lemon juice, etc.)
• Eggplant dip (roasted eggplant, cumin, tahini, garlic, mint, parsley, olive oil, etc.)

For more condiment ideas, check out our dressing and sauces category page.