Sesame

Our 61 Best Tahini Recipes, Because Hummus Is Just the Beginning

If you have tahini in your pantry, many excellent meals await.
photo of sesame noodles with scallions one of our favorite tahini recipes.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell

Hummus, we love you, but we all need more than one go-to tahini recipe. Tahini is a pantry star, helping to make sauces more complex and earthy, noodles more savory, cookies more nutty, and dips more creamy and satisfying. Here are our 61 favorite tahini recipes to get you started.

  • Tahini cookies topped with sesame seeds.
    Photo by Laura Murray, Food Styling by Judy Mancini
    3/61

    Tahini Cookies

    Think of these tahini cookies as grown-up peanut butter cookies. The tahini lends a creamy, earthy flavor.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photograph of steel cut oatmeal with butternut squash tahini and maple syrup swirls.
    Photo by Cara Howe
    4/61

    Steel-Cut Oats With Squash and Tahini

    Tahini recipes are especially welcome at breakfast, when the sesame paste can add a bit of protein and nutty flavor to your favorite hot cereal.

    Get This Recipe
  • Tea cake loaf with swirl of black sesame showing and two slices displayed.
    Photo by Stephen Kent Johnson, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich
    5/61

    Swirled Sesame Tea Cake

    The appearance of tahini cookies, tahini brownies, and halvah sundaes at restaurants helped boost tahini out of the hummus bowl and into the pastry case. This tahini quick bread recipe will make you a believer too.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo of a mushroom burger with cheese lettuce tomato onion and mayonnaise on a bun.
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Liza Jernow
    6/61

    Chickpea-Mushroom Veggie Burgers

    Tahini helps hold together these homemade veggie burgers. Make the patties and freeze them, then cook from frozen in your oven.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo of four flavors of halva on a counter.
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Erika Joyce
    7/61

    Halva 5 Ways

    The best thing about this classic sesame-based confection (aside from the fact that it’s so delicious) is how easy it is to make at home.

    Get This Recipe
  • photo of sesame noodles with scallions one of our favorite tahini recipes.
    Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell
    8/61

    Hot Sesame Noodles with Scallions and Pork

    Swap in any kind of ground meat and any kind of vegetable for this saucy, clean-out-your-pantry rice noodle stir-fry.

    Get This Recipe
  • Mediumsized bowl of swiss chardtahini dip with olive oil.
    Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott
    9/61

    Swiss Chard–Tahini Dip

    This dairy-free dip is wonderfully creamy, thanks to your favorite tahini and a good bit of olive oil.

    Get This Recipe
  • Square slices of glutenfree chocolatetahini brownies on a plate.
    Photo by Alex Lau, Styling by Sue Li
    10/61

    Gluten-Free Chocolate-Tahini Brownies

    These boldly chocolatey (and completely flourless) brownies get topped with a savory swirl of tahini. Dragging a toothpick through them to make pretty designs is part of the fun.

    Get This Recipe
  • Meatballs with Coriander
    Photo by Chelsie Craig, Styling by Molly Baz
    11/61

    Fried Meatballs with Tahini Sauce

    Meatballs get the bright and crispy treatment here, with a crispy millet coating and a tangy lemon, garlic, and tahini sauce.

    Get This Recipe
  • One of the best vegan dinner recipes squash soup and brown rice in a ceramic bowl.
    Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks
    12/61

    Miso-Tahini Squash Soup With Brown Rice

    A mixture of savory miso and nutty tahini adds a creamy richness in this filling vegetarian soup. Cut through the richness with ginger and garlic a few choice drops of hot chili oil and save this perfect cure-all for a blustery day.

    Get This Recipe
  • Two bowls piled with the titular ingredients on a bright composite surface.
    Photo by Nicole Franzen
    13/61

    Grain Bowl With Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Spiced Chickpeas, and Chard

    Composed of four elements—vegetables, a grain, a protein, and a sauce—Buddha bowls like this one are simple and really flexible. Use whatever you have; we promise it'll still come out pretty.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo of Hamantaschen made with mixed seeds
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell
    14/61

    All-The-Seeds Hamantaschen

    These hamantaschen are filled with a celebration of seeds set in chewy-soft caramelized honey and tahini mix. While poppy is traditional, we threw in sesame, sunflower, and pumpkin as well for variety and crunch.

    Get This Recipe
  • Cooked broccolini topped with sesame sauce toasted sesame seeds and lemon slices on a dark blue serving plate.
    Photo by Marcus Nilsson, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich
    15/61

    Broccolini With Sesame Sauce and Lemon

    Don't let your broccolini get boring. Serve it with this fantastic (and easy) salty-sweet sesame sauce.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo of an avocado miso mushroom bowl with a side dish of sliced avocado.
    Photo by Candice Kumai
    16/61

    Avocado-Miso-Mushroom Bowl

    Grain bowls love a little creamy tahini, especially if they're topped with earthy mushrooms. Feel free to add whatever vegetables are in your fridge; this sort of grain, veg, and tahini recipe isn't strict.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo of Roasted Sweet Potatoes Mushrooms and Lentils
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Erika Joyce
    17/61

    A Vegetarian’s Dream Sweet Potato Dinner

    Put roasted sweet potatoes, crisp mushrooms, and tender lentils over a dill-spiked feta-tahini sauce, and you'll have a restaurant-worthy meal at home.

    Get This Recipe
  • Two bowls of spicy misotahini ramen with greens half an egg and mushrooms.
    Photo by Candice Kumai
    18/61

    Spicy Miso-Tahini Ramen

    Miso paste and tahini add creamy texture and savory flavor to this spicy ramen bowl. We like to top it off with a slightly runny soft-boiled egg.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo of a Little Gem Wedge Salad with Tahini Ranch in a bowl.
    Photo by Stephen Kent Johnson, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich
    19/61

    Little Gem Wedge Salad with Tahini Ranch

    Philosophical question: Is it still a wedge if it isn't smothered in blue cheese and bacon? It's debatable, but we do know that this is a healthyish wedge salad we'd happily eat every day. It's got the rich part—a creamy tahini dressing that's so thick it anchors the greens. It's got the crunchy stuff—seeds and coarse salt. And it's got freshness—actual lettuce and herbs. Iceberg who?

    Get This Recipe
  • Shaved mushrooms and celery over tahini sauce on a white plate.
    Photo by Cara Howe
    20/61

    Shaved Mushroom, Celery, and Sesame Salad

    In this salad, the color palette—pale whites and browns—may leave something to be desired, but the gorgeous medley of textures and very complementary flavors makes up for it.

    Get This Recipe
  • A single serving of buckwheat noodles swirled into a bowl with slices of avocado and baby greens and edible flowers.
    Photo by Candice Kumai
    21/61

    Spicy Tahini and Avocado Soba

    Soba + tahini + avocado? Enough said. This easy noodle bowl is the kind of thing we could eat every day for lunch.

    Get This Recipe
  • Fiery Green Tahini Sauce with Lettuce
    Photo by Marcus Nilsson, Prop Styling by Amy Wilson, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich
    22/61

    Fiery Green Tahini Sauce

    This is the condiment version of those summer sandals you want to wear with everything. It goes with sandwiches, crunchy vegetables, and chips.

    Get This Recipe
  • A vibrant red hummuslike dip garnished with chopped walnuts and roasted red pepper.
    Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Andy Baraghani
    25/61

    Muhammara

    This tahini recipe proves that there's much more to sesame dips than hummus. This vibrant mix of toasted walnuts and roasted red peppers is great with pita or crunchy veggies.

    Get This Recipe
  • A slab of chocolatecovered halvah topped with dried yellow and purple flowers being sliced into pieces with one piece...
    26/61

    Salted Chocolate Halva

    Salt and bittersweet chocolate lend a savory, sophisticated edge to this tahini-based dessert.

    Get This Recipe
  • A bowl of miso kale caesar salad next to smaller bowls of corn and avocado.
    Photo by Candice Kumai
    27/61

    Miso Kale Caesar Salad

    With tahini, miso, a touch of sweetness, and rice vinegar, this umami-lover’s dream salad is the perfect way to put a fresh spin on the classic.

    Get This Recipe
  • Dark chocolate diamond circle star and teardropshaped windowpane cookies show varying shades of offwhite and...
    Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Susan Spungen
    28/61

    Chocolate-Tahini Linzer Cookies

    Melt tahini with chocolate in whatever shade you please for a glossy bittersweet filling that will sandwich together rich cocoa shortbreads.

    Get This Recipe
  • A salad of crispy chickpeas sliced cucumbers kale and herbs with a creamy tahini dressing on a teal dinner plate.
    Photo by Luisa Brimble
    29/61

    Deconstructed Falafel Salad

    Get all the flavors of falafel with crispy roasted chickpeas, crunchy crouton-like pita chips, crisp cucumber, and a lemon-tahini dressing.

    Get This Recipe
  • A babaganoushlike eggplant dip topped with black sesame seeds and pomegranate arils.
    Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Andy Baraghani
    30/61

    Smoky Eggplant Dip (Eggplant Moutabal)

    If you don’t have a grill or a gas stovetop, you can broil the eggplants in the oven, turning occasionally, until charred and tender.

    Get This Recipe
  • A heart bowl of buckwheat noodles and kale scattered with toasted coconut chips and red pepper flakes.
    Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Michelle Gatton
    33/61

    Soba Noodles With Crispy Kale

    Nutritional yeast acts like a vegan version of Parm here, adding a hit of umami that plays well with crispy roasted kale and tender buckwheat noodles. 

    Get This Recipe
  • Bright purple dressings being poured out of a blender into a clear jar.
    Photo by Anson Smart
    34/61

    Tangy Beet-Cashew Dressing with Chile

    In Amy Chaplin's salads, the vegetables are in the dressing. This is just one version of the raw beet dressings from her book Whole Food Cooking Every Day, where she combines sweet beets with tahini (or cashew butter) and red chiles to create a rich, creamy sauce.

    Get This Recipe
  • A tray of truffles.
    Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Astrid Chastka, Food Styling by Anna Hampton
    35/61

    Chocolate, Pistachio, and Tahini Truffles

    In this version of two-bite truffles, you're swapping the traditional heavy cream with tahini and all of your favorites, like chocolate and honey. While these are make-ahead friendly, it may require some strong self-control to keep them from disappearing.

    Get This Recipe
  • Image may contain Cutlery Fork Plant Dish Food Meal and Produce
    Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone
    36/61

    Shawarma-Spiced Chicken Pita With Tahini-Yogurt Sauce

    Traditional shawarma—found as a street food staple throughout the Middle East—calls for roasting meat on a large vertical spit. We got the same effect here—this time with chicken—by roasting at a high temperature, which yields chicken that is crisp on the outside yet moist and juicy on the inside. Dress the crisp chicken with a nutty tahini-yogurt dressing and sliced cucumbers.

    Get This Recipe
  • Image may contain Food Bread Cutlery Fork Dish Meal Plant and Pita
    Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks
    39/61

    Baked Falafel With Orange-Tahini Sauce

    By skipping the frying, this weeknight falafel dinner makes this classic Middle Eastern platter a lot easier. Drizzle on a tangy, orange-spiked tahini sauce and serve with quick-pickled red onions and an easy green cabbage and tomato salad.

    Get This Recipe
  • Haricots verts and freekeh with minty tahini dressing on a white plate.
    Marcus Nilsson
    40/61

    Haricots Verts and Freekeh With Minty Tahini Dressing

    Whisking tahini, lemon juice, and fresh herbs makes for a salad dressing that's like a Middle Eastern take on the classic ranch.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott
    41/61

    Black-and-White Halvah

    This striking dessert combines two types of tahini for a marbled look. They should be roughly the same consistency for this halvah recipe—ideally pretty loose and pourable—which makes marbling much easier.

    Get This Recipe
  • Image may contain Food Breakfast Oatmeal and Plant
    Charles Masters
    42/61

    Charred Eggplant and Tahini Spread

    Served with crusty bread or pita, this cumin-spiked spread is the perfect excuse to make dip the meal.

    Get This Recipe
  • Image may contain Rug Cork Confectionery Food and Sweets
    Romulo Yanes
    55/61

    Gilded Sesame Cookies

    A tahini-based dough is rolled in gold- or silver-dusted sesame seeds for eye-popping cookies that melt in the mouth. (They're just as delicious if you skip the fancy gilding.)

    Get This Recipe
  • Image may contain Plant and Food
    Photo by Eric Wolfinger
    56/61

    Turkish Lamb Chops With Sumac, Tahini, and Dill

    Here, the meat is coated in toasted whole spices—fennel, coriander, and cumin seeds—that have been very lightly crushed. The seeds retain their texture, giving the meat both a heady scent and a good crunch, and the tahini adds a rich nuttiness.

    Get This Recipe
  • Image may contain Plant Food Confectionery Sweets Fruit and Meal
    Photo by Amy Neunsinger
    59/61

    Roasted Plums With Tahini Dressing

    The savory quality of the herbed sweet-sour plums, plus this incredibly creamy tahini and lemon dressing, is unthinkably tasty.

    Get This Recipe
  • Bowl with pork wontons and chile sauce
    Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Lillian Chou
    60/61

    Pork Wontons With Sesame Sauce

    Whipping an egg into the filling of these simple, folded dumplings makes them fluffy and moist—and a double hit of soy amps up the umami.

    Get This Recipe
  • Image may contain Plant Cutlery Spoon Food and Vegetable
    61/61

    Lemon-Tahini Sauce

    Everyone needs to have a tahini recipe like this one memorized. Whip up a batch and toss it with grains and chopped carrots for a colorful salad, blend it with cooked chickpeas for a quick sandwich filling, or spoon it over blanched kale or broccoli florets set on a bed of brown rice for dinner.

    Get This Recipe
The Epicurious editorial team develops original recipes, and publishes stories about cooking better, faster, and more creatively, sustainably, and affordably. See our full masthead, here. ... Read More
Read More
How Big-Batch Cooking Will Help You Make Dinner (and Breakfast) (and Lunch) With Your Ingredient Stash
How Big-Batch Cooking Will Help You Make Dinner (and Breakfast) (and Lunch) With Your Ingredient Stash
You might have more groceries in your house than ever before. Here's how to make the best use of everything you've got.

Joe Sevier

An Upcoming Cookbook Has Re-Acquainted Me With My Instant Pot—Just in Time for Pantry Meals
An Upcoming Cookbook Has Re-Acquainted Me With My Instant Pot—Just in Time for Pantry Meals
Lusciously spiced and layered Instant Pot meals give pantry staples new shine.

Lauren Joseph

Eat Hummus for Dinner
Eat Hummus for Dinner
Turn your favorite dip into a satisfying meal with these 5 topping ideas.

Anna Stockwell

All the Ways We're Cooking, Shopping, and Gathering in the Coronavirus Era
All the Ways We're Cooking, Shopping, and Gathering in the Coronavirus Era
Recipes, advice, and stories for cooking in a chaotic time.

The Editors of Epicurious

The Most-Saved Recipes in the Epicurious App in October
The Most-Saved Recipes in the Epicurious App in October
Like creamy butternut squash soup and brown butter toffee chocolate chip cookies.
23 Recipes That Deploy a Dollop of Dijon
23 Recipes That Deploy a Dollop of Dijon
Double-the-mustard chicken, gingery mustard BBQ sauce, cider-dijon pork with roasted apples, and more.
The Most-Saved Recipes in the Epicurious App This Week
The Most-Saved Recipes in the Epicurious App This Week
Like sweet-and-sour cranberry chicken stir-fry and hot cocoa for one.
20 of Our Favorite Hetty Lui McKinnon Recipes
20 of Our Favorite Hetty Lui McKinnon Recipes
From sesame tofu with broccoli to “ridiculously good” green beans.
23 Easy Pie Recipes for Low-Effort, High-Reward Desserts
23 Easy Pie Recipes for Low-Effort, High-Reward Desserts
There’s a reason they say, “easy as pie,” you know?
8 Ways to Upgrade Boxed Mac & Cheese
8 Ways to Upgrade Boxed Mac & Cheese
Epicurious welcomes back Chef David Rose as he takes boxed mac and cheese to the next level. From Kraft mac and cheese waffles to Cheetos Flaming Hot cheese balls, Chef David transforms ordinary boxed mac into elevated cheesy recipes for you to try at home.
Why American Cheese is a Pro Chef’s Secret Weapon
Why American Cheese is a Pro Chef’s Secret Weapon
In this edition of Epicurious 101, professional chef Shilpa Uskokovic shares all the ways American Cheese can enhance your cooking. From creating the perfect melt to keeping your dips and dishes creamier for longer, these American Cheese tips and tricks will level up your cheesy recipes.
4 Levels of Lobster: Amateur to Food Scientist
4 Levels of Lobster: Amateur to Food Scientist
We challenged chefs of three different skill levels–amateur Onika, home cook Lorenzo, and professional chef Fatima Khawaja–to make their take on a lobster dinner. We then asked expert food scientist Rose to explain each chef's choices along the way. Which lobster dinner do you want to tuck into first?