5-Ingredient Dijon Lemon Tahini Dressing

This Dijon Lemon Tahini Dressing is so easy to make! It only requires five ingredients (plus water) and you don’t need a blender to mix it. Keep it in your fridge to drizzle over salads, bowls, grains and roasted vegetables, and more.

As I was writing this post, I thought to myself, what do I do? reeeeely Need another tahini dressing post?

I have, after all, posted many tahini dressings on this blog.

Yet whenever I find myself making something over and over again, I know it’s a recipe I should probably share. What is useful to me may be useful to someone else, or may be useful to someone else.

Also, tahini dressing is one of those key ingredients that can enhance many different dishes. If you’re able to whip up a jar of this stuff just for vegan meal prep on a given week, you’re in good shape. Tahini dressing will add flavor and brightness to even simple dishes.

I love this particular tahini dressing because it requires very few ingredients, I don’t need to get out my blender to make it, and it’s tangy and bold.

Initial hesitation aside, I’m excited to share it with you.

What is tahini?

If tahini dressing is a new concept to you, you may be thinking about tahini. What is it?

The answer is that tahini is sesame seed paste. It is usually made with toasted, sesame seeds.

Tahini is a central ingredient in Eastern Mediterranean and North African cooking. It can be served on its own or as a sauce. Tahini is used in hummus and, often, in baba ganoush.

I was first introduced to tahini when I started making homemade hummus. I quickly fell in love with its slightly nutty and ever-so-slightly bitter taste.

It didn’t take me long to learn that tahini is incredibly versatile. Yes, it’s great in sauces and dressings and dips. But I also use it to add healthy fats to baked goods, like my Fuzzy Vegan Tahini Brownies.

Tahini adds creaminess to my Moroccan-inspired chickpea tomato stew. It can be the base of a great pesto sauce and turns ordinary lentils into this delicious and nutritious lentil tahini wrap.

In short, tahini can do a lot!

How do you make tahini dressing?

Tahini creates creaminess and carries flavor beautifully and efficiently in salad dressings. In fact, it has become my more frequent base for salad dressings than olive oil.

Tahini dressing is usually very easy to make. You just need to mix tahini with a source of acid like vinegar or lemon juice and then add spices of choice. These can be herbs, salt, pepper or spices.

Some tahini dressings, like my delightful green tahini dressing, need to be made in a blender. Others only require whisking.

The kind that can be whipped together faster than dressings that require some time in the blender. I’m happy to say that this Dijon Lemon Tahini Dressing can be mixed with a whisk or a fork. This contributes to its simplicity and hence its appeal.

Dijon Lemon Tahini Dressing

The flavors here are simple: mustard, lemon, tahini and a little onion powder. That’s it.

Can you add garlic?

Smoked paprika?

A pinch of red? Or some harissa paste?

Maybe something fresh, cut today?

Yes, yes, yes, and yes. The beauty of this dressing is that the flavors can work with different additions and mix-ins.

And yet, they don’t.

I can now make Dijon lemon tahini dressing by heart, because it’s so simple. Every time, I enjoy it, and there are some weeks when I actually favor its pared-down flavor profile because I can serve it with a variety of dishes.

Processes and steps

I don’t have much to explain here, luckily!

Step One: Combine the Ingredients (Except the Water)

You’ll start by putting some sort of container to mix the tahini, lemon juice, mustard, onion powder, and salt.

I like to use a 1-cup Pyrex liquid measuring cup for this, but a wide-mouthed mason jar would also be fine.

Step Two: Mix

Use a fork or a small whisk to whisk the dressing ingredients—min. water—together.

You will end up with a very thick, almost paste-like mixture.

Why mix ingredients before adding water?

I find that the tahini dressing is smoother when I add water little by little Dressing ingredients, rather than mixing it with them simultaneously.

When I try the next method, the dressing may seem quite thin at first. It eventually thickens, but forms small lumps when whisked.

As you add water little by little to the tahini and other ingredients, you can whisk continuously. The dressing will be very smooth and you will have precise control over the consistency of the dressing.

Step Three: Add Water

So, now is the time to add water.

I do this two tablespoons at a time at first. Then I start adding water by the tablespoon as the dressing is closer to the consistency I want.

When the dressing is the consistency you want—and you can choose to make it a little thinner or thicker—it’s ready to enjoy.

How long does tahini dressing stay fresh?

Most tahini dressings will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 4-5 days. I usually store mine in mason jars.

Can tahini dressing be frozen?

Yes, tahini dressing can be frozen for up to 8 weeks at a time.

If you want to freeze the dressing in a mason jar, that’s fine! But be sure to leave at least 3/4-1 inch of headspace at the top of the jar. Liquids expand as they freeze, so you run the risk of breaking the glass if it’s overfilled.

How can I use lemon tahini dressing?

I think a more appropriate question here would be what can’t Do I garnish tahini with lemon?

Honestly, I put tahini dressing on everything.

I drizzle it over simple combinations of whole grains and beans, like these one-skillet, cumin-spiced lentils and rice, or my Zucchini Chickpea Rice.

Tahini dressing can instantly jazz up a pan of roasted vegetables. I especially love it over roasted carrots, Brussels sprouts, and crispy broccoli.

You can definitely use Dijon Lemon Tahini Dressing for vegan lunch bowls or salads.

Tahini dressing can also be an all-purpose means of adding richness to food. I especially like it in pasta salad. It also makes killer smashed beans, which I love to eat on toast.

If any of these ideas appeal to you, the Dijon Lemon Tahini Dressing below may be your first step in exploring them or other recipes like them.

Hope you find plenty of your own uses for it!

If you’ve made one or two of my tahini dressings before, you’ll find that this is a much more mustardy version. It is alive and GP, a good way. If you want to make it spicier, you can use an especially spicy Dijon mustard for your batch.

Tomorrow, I’ll share a bowl recipe that makes perfect use of the dressing. Stay tuned!

xo