Tahini Lime Dressing is the perfect easy and healthy dressing for all of your favorite salads!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
My favorite way to enjoy this dressing is on my Raw Vegan Romaine Tacos, they make such a perfect combination!
Tahini Lime Dressing
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.
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
- In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Stir to incorporate.
- Add water ½ Tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.
- 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:
4Serving Size:
2 TablespoonsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 100Total Fat: 8gCarbohydrates: 6.25gFiber: 1.45gSugar: 2.65gProtein: 2.6g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
Be sure to let me know how it goes in the comments and on Instagram @keytomylime #keytomylime and pin this recipe for later!
Looking for more tahini based sauces? Check out this Spicy Tahini Sauce by epicurious.
6 thoughts on “Tahini Lime Dressing – 2 Minute Salad Dressing”
Hi Alexa! I made this using maple syrup and just a half tablespoon of water and dipped mini peppers in it. Delicious. Thanks!
Hi Nicole! So happy to hear you enjoyed it as a tahini dip. Thanks so much for sharing! -Alexa
Was out of lemons and found this recipe and this will be my go-to dressing! YUM! I used maple syrup. Amazing.
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
New to raw food diet. If tahini is made with toasted sesame seeds is it still considered raw food
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