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Tahini Lime Dressing – 2 Minute Salad Dressing

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Tahini Lime Dressing is the perfect easy and healthy dressing for all of your favorite salads!

Tahini lime dressing pouring off of a spoon into a bowl.

This Tahini Lime Dressing is one of our favorite salad dressings for two reasons. One, it’s delicious and it’s the perfect creamy dairy-free dressing made with healthy fats. Two, it comes together in under two minutes. As much as we love some more complicated sauce and dressing recipes, we especially love having easy recipes like this one in our arsenal to whip up on a busy night.

A bowl of tahini, a bowl of water, 1/2 a lime, a plate of sugar and salt, and a spoon on a table.
Even though I prefer this citrus tahini dressing made with honey, I wanted to show you what it would look like made with sugar. The sugar will dissolve completely as long as you use standard table sugar.

What is Tahini?

Tahini is made from sesame seed kernels that are toasted and then ground into a paste. It’s similar to how you make peanut butter.

Tahini and lime juice in the process of being mixed in a bowl.
This is what the dressing will look like right after you start stirring. Don’t worry! It’s supposed to look like this at first.

What are the Health Benefits of Tahini?

According to this article published on ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, sesame seeds benefit the entire body (especially the liver, kidney, spleen and stomach). Additionally, the article states that sesame seeds contain vital minerals, vitamins, and phytochemicals. Read more about the health benefits here.

Tahini and lime juice in the process of being mixed in a bowl.
This is almost thin enough to be a dip, but still needs a little more water.

When Should I Use This Dressing?

This dressing is so versatile, and can be used on just about any salad. I find that it tastes best on plant based salads with lots of crunchy vegetables and on wilted kale salads.

You can also use this recipe whenever you see a salad that calls for Lemon Tahini Salad Dressing. This dressing is more commonly made with lemon juice, likely because lemon has a sweeter taste than limes do (underneath the sour flavor). Limes have a slightly more bitter flavor. It ends up tasting not too sweet after adding the sweetener when it’s made with lime juice. That’s why I prefer this citrus tahini dressing with lime juice.

Thick tahini lime dressing in a bowl with a lime in the background.
This is the perfect consistency for a raw vegetable dip.

Which Sweetener Should I Use?

You can use granulated sugar, honey, or maple syrup in this recipe. I considered calling this recipe Tahini Honey Lime Dressing, so you can probably guess that my favorite sweetener for this dressing is honey.

After honey I prefer maple syrup, and then granulated sugar. The great part is that all three versions of it taste amazing, so it’s just based on your preference or what you have in your pantry. No need to worry about using sugar because it isn’t liquid. The sugar dissolves within 5 or so minutes thanks to the water and lime juice in the recipe (but I wouldn’t recommend using large crystals of sugar, like turbinado sugar).

Thinner tahini lime dressing in a bowl.
This is the perfect consistency for a thick salad dressing.

How Thick Should I Make My Tahini Lime Sauce?

That’s completely based on your preference and how you use this tahini citrus sauce. If you use this sauce as a dip, I’d recommend only adding enough water so that the color lightens, but you can still make a nice swirl pattern with the back of your spoon.

If you use this as a dressing, I’d recommend adding more water based on how thick you prefer your dressings. It should be too thin to hold a swirl pattern made with the back of your spoon, but not so thin that it can easily be poured.

If you prefer a thinner salad dressing, add enough water so that the dressing freely drips off of the spoon. This is the consistency I prefer.

Thin tahini lime dressing dripping off of a spoon.
This is the perfect consistency for a thin salad dressing.

My favorite way to enjoy this dressing is on my Raw Vegan Romaine Tacos, they make such a perfect combination!

Raw vegan tacos with romaine, avocado, radish, bell pepper, cilantro, cherry tomato, and shredded carrot.
Yield: 4 servings (2 Tablespoons each)

Tahini Lime Dressing

Tahini Lime Dressing in a bowl.

Tahini Lime Dressing is the perfect healthy dressing for all of your favorite salads! Ready in only two minutes, this sauce will quickly become a favorite.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup tahini
  • 1 ½ Tablespoons lime juice (about the juice of ½ lime)
  • ½ Tablespoon granulated sugar, maple syrup, or honey (optional - makes a sweet dressing)
  • Pinch salt (optional)
  • Water as needed for consistency

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Stir to incorporate.
  2. Add water ½ Tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.
  3. Taste and adjust flavor as needed (salt, sugar, lime juice).

Notes

If preparing this dressing for someone who follows a vegan diet, use either maple syrup or granulated sugar as the sweetener. Do not use honey.

See the above photos and descriptions for help deciding which consistency is right for your intended use.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

2 Tablespoons

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 100Total Fat: 8gCarbohydrates: 6.25gFiber: 1.45gSugar: 2.65gProtein: 2.6g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

Tag @KeyToMyLime on Instagram so we can see your delicious meal!

Be sure to let me know how it goes in the comments and on Instagram @keytomylime #keytomylime and pin this recipe for later!

Two images of tahini lime dressing.

Looking for more tahini based sauces? Check out this Spicy Tahini Sauce by epicurious.

Enjoy this Tahini Lime Dressing on your next salad!

Thin tahini lime dressing dripping off of a spoon.

6 thoughts on “Tahini Lime Dressing – 2 Minute Salad Dressing”

  1. Hi Alexa! I made this using maple syrup and just a half tablespoon of water and dipped mini peppers in it. Delicious. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Hi Theresa, So happy to hear you liked the dressing! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave feedback, I really appreciate it! -Alexa

      Reply
    • Hi Tanya, I believe it depends on the tahini. Tahini can be made with toasted or untoasted sesame seeds. If it’s made with toasted sesame seeds, then it wouldn’t be raw, but it would be raw with untoasted sesame seeds. You can make tahini at home pretty easily if you want to! If you want to make your own, here’s a tutorial. https://www.inspiredtaste.net/26901/easy-tahini-recipe/ I’d definitely recommend using hulled sesame seeds so that the flavor isn’t too bitter. You can also just search Raw Tahini on Amazon to see which brands are raw – based on a quick search I’d probably recommend Artisana Organics (I haven’t tried this product of theirs, but all of the other products of theirs that I’ve tried have had consistently good quality and taste). Hope that helps! -Alexa

      Reply

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