Name: Tahini Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 250
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients: 300g sesame seeds; 3 tbsp sesame oil plus more as required; 8 ice cubes

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Ready in minutes! Try this homemade tahini recipe.

You don’t need to purchase tahini when it’s so easy to prepare at home. This tahini recipe will get you a delicious homemade tahini that’s even better than anything you can purchase in a jar.

What is tahini

Tahini is a thick paste made from ground sesame seeds. It is a key ingredient in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines, known for its rich, nutty flavor and smooth texture.

Following is a list of things you need to know before getting started:

Ingredients: Tahini is made by grinding hulled or unhulled sesame seeds into a smooth paste. Usually it is made with hulled sesame seeds that you toast lightly before blending with a little olive oil.

Flavour: Tahini has a rich, earthy, and slightly bitter taste. Its flavour is nutty due to the sesame seeds, but it’s less sweet than other nut butters like peanut butter. For a less bitter flavour, use hulled sesame seeds.

Texture: The consistency of tahini can vary from smooth and runny to thicker, depending on how you process it. It can separate over time, with oil rising to the top, but this can be easily mixed back in.

Uses: Tahini is incredibly versatile. It’s a primary ingredient in dishes like hummus (chickpea dip) and baba ghanoush (eggplant dip). It’s also used as a base for sauces, dressings, and dips, and can be spread on toast, added to smoothies, or used in baking.

Nutritional Value: Tahini is rich in healthy fats, particularly unsaturated fats, and is a good source of protein, fiber, and various vitamins and minerals, including calcium, magnesium, and iron.

How do you make tahini?

You will see from this tahini recipe that as recipes go, they don’t come much easier. All you need to do is lightly toast your sesame seeds. Toasting the seeds before blending is optional but adds more depth to the paste.

Then you grind the sesame seeds with a little olive oil until smooth. That’s it. You can then use your tahini in recipes or store it for later uses.

Why are some commercial brands of tahini lighter in colour?

Not every brand takes the time to toast the sesame seeds. You could blend them raw and the colour will be much lighter. Also some brands do not use roasted sesame oil that is quite dark and go for cheaper vegetable oil.

I recommend toasting the seeds as it produces a richer and more nutty flavour.

How do you get the tahini smooth, thin and pourable.

This recipe produces a thick tahini that is perfect for use in most recipes.

If you want your tahini to be really thin and pourable as you get with some brands, blend it longer and be sure to add more ice cubes and oil as needed. The tahini is perfect when you say it is.

How long can you store tahini in the fridge?

Stored correctly, you can keep your homemade tahini in your fridge for months just like peanut butter will keep for months.

Following are a tips for longer storage:

Storing: Pour your homemade tahini into a clean jar and cover with a little olive oil. Place a lid on the jar and secure tightly.

Oil Separation: The oil you add may soak over time into the tahini paste. This is fine. Over time, the oil will eventually rise to the top which again is fine and natural. Just stir the oil in before using again.

Checking for signs your tahini has gone bad.

Off Smell: If tahini develops a rancid or sour smell, it has likely gone bad and should be discarded.
Taste Change: A noticeable change in flavour, especially if it tastes bitter or off, indicates spoilage.
Mold: If you see any mold, discard the entire jar, as mold can penetrate throughout.

Properly stored tahini can last for many months in the refrigerator, allowing you to use it in a variety of dishes without worry.

Step by step photographs.

Ingredients for the recipe. Sesame seeds and sesame oil on a work surface.

Weigh out your sesame seeds and get your sesame oil ready.

The raw sesame seeds in a frying pan ready to roast.

If toasting, pour your sesame seeds into a dry frying pan and roast over a medium flame until lightly browned.

Toasting the sesame seeds until lightly browned.

You only need to toast them until they are a couple of shades darker.

Grinding the sesame seeds in a food processor.

Transfer to a plate to cool some and then pour the sesame seeds into a food processor and grind for about a minute.

Adding sesame oil to the sesame seeds to blend.

Add the oil to the sesame seeds and blend for another minute.

The sesames seeds blending into a paste.

After a minute, it will look something like this but keep blending if it doesn’t.

Adding ice cubes to the blended sesame seeds.

Add a couple of ice cubes and more oil as needed until you have a smooth blended paste.

Pour the tahini into a glass jar to store in the fridge.

Adding olive oil to the tahini to store in the fridge.

If planning on storing for a long period of time, add a little more sesame oil or olive oil to the top.

The finished tahini recipe in a jar for storage.

Your tahini should keep for months in an air tight container. Please see above for information about storing and freshness.

If you like this homemade tahini, you might like to try some of these recipes too!

Have you tried this homemade tahini recipe?

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Yield: 250ml (1 cup)

Tahini Recipe

This easy tahini recipe only needs two ingredients, sesame seeds and oil. You can prepare it in 15 to 20 minutes and it keeps in the fridge for months.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

300g sesame seeds
3 tbsp sesame oil plus more as required
8 ice cubes

Instructions

If toasting your sesame seeds as I recommend you do, place them in a dry frying pan over a medium heat and toast them for about 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer the seeds to a plate to cool some.
Pour the cooled sesame seeds into a food processor and add 3 tbsp oil. Depending on the strength of your food processor, 3 tbsp may be all you need. Blend the seeds to a smooth paste only adding a drop more oil if needed. This should take another 5 minutes.
As you blend, be sure to add ice cubes from time to time. This will help thin the tahini and stop it from getting too hot while blending.
Transfer the finished smooth tahini to a clean glass jar with an air-tight lid. I usually add a drop more oil to the top to help preserve it.
Place in the fridge. Your homemade tahini should keep for months.