Make your own homemade tahini in minutes and never buy store bought again. Tahini is the perfect nutty sauce to add to dips, sauces, soups and noodles!
In This Post You’ll Learn
Why We Love This
We love the versatility of tahini. Our favourite way to use it as adding it to our Tantanmen Ramen soup base for dinner. It’s so good being able to whip up a small batch, as there is nothing worse than having a jar sitting around in the fridge for ages when you only need a little bit at a time.
Being able to make this at home, means we not only save money (store bought tahini is expensive!), but we don’t have to worry about preservatives either – it’s super fresh, and super tasty.
Related: Japanese Roasted Sesame Dressing / Kewpie Mayo in Bullet Blender
To Toast Or Not Toast Your Sesame Seeds
Homemade tahini flavours can vary greatly, and it all comes down to preparation of the sesame seeds and personal preference.
We love the natural flavour of raw, hulled white sesame seeds, which is what we’re using in our recipe today. It has a slightly more bitter note to the final sauce, which we like, and find works well in our Japanese recipes. For an even more bitter result (and more nutrition!) you can use unhulled sesame seeds or black sesame seeds if you prefer.
Toasted sesame seeds are really going to bring out those nutty notes, with a hint more oil too. What’s great, is it only takes a few more minutes to toast them before blending (just let them cool before you pop them in the blender!). Alternatively, you can also buy pre-roasted sesame seeds ready to go. This will give you a sesame paste that’s more golden in colour, and popular in Chinese cooking.
Have fun and experiment with different versions to see what you like best!
What is Tahini?
Tahini is a creamy sesame sauce or paste, made from processed sesame seeds. Thought to have originated in the Middle East, tahini is now popular across the world, including Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and Asian cuisines.
You’ll have most like used this rich and nutty condiment to make things like hummus and baba ganoush, but we usually use it in our Japanese cooking for recipes like Goma Dressing and Tantanmen. Tahini can also stand in it’s own right and be made into a simple tahini dressing to top on falafels or smother over pita bread.
Today’s homemade tahini recipe is small batch, for when you need a small portion for a recipe and don’t want the leftovers hanging around in the fridge. As a result, it needs a little more oil than the usual tahini recipe to keep things moving in the blender.
What You’ll Need
- White Sesame Seeds – White hulled sesame seeds work best for tahini – either raw or toasted, for the creamiest, nuttiest tahini. Buying sesame seeds in bulk is the most affordable, try health food stores or Asian supermarkets for larger quantities.
- Vegetable Oil – Canola, soybean, rapeseed or peanut oil work great as a mixing oil with low flavour profiles. You can use olive oil, but it will bring out the bitterness of the sesame and add another layer of flavour.
How to Make Homemade Tahini in a Bullet Blender
First, gather your ingredients: See recipe card below for measurements.
- Optional: Toast your sesame seeds for extra nutty flavour.
- Important note: Always make sure the sesame seeds / tahini mixture are moving around in the blender. Avoid using the blender without anything moving around as this can heat up or damage the blades.
Add sesame seeds into a high powered blender and pulse in short bursts until it begins to turn into a clumpy powder (around 1 minute). Note: You may need to scrape down the sides once or twice, as the natural oils can make it stick slightly to the edges. - Pour the vegetable oil into the blender and blend again in bursts of 10-20 seconds. Scrape down sides if you ever notice it not moving around enough in the initial stages. Blend for a total of around 1 – 2 minutes.
- The longer you blend, the smoother the result. So taste as you go and blend to your desired consistency.
- Use immediately in any recipe or store in a clean jar in the fridge. Will keep for 1-2 months.
Wandercook’s Tips
- Scrape – For the best consistency scrape down those sides as you go, so the sesame seeds process at the same rate.
- Batch It – While this is a small batch recipe, double or triple the amount if you need more tahini. Just add the oil 1 tbsp at a time, as you will need less oil the more sesame seeds you use.
FAQs
This recipe is small batch, so it’s best to use a high speed bullet blender such as a Nutribullet instead of a food processor.
Tahini can be a little gritty when processed at home, depending on how strong your blender is and how long you blend it for. This is especially true when doing small batches and / or using unhulled sesame seeds.
For a smoother result, blend a little longer or add a little more oil if you need to get the tahini mixing more in the blender.
Homemade tahini usually lasts 1-2 months in the fridge. Always check to make sure it hasn’t gone rancid before using.
Being such a staple ingredient in the fridge, tahini is super versatile across multiple cuisines. Turn it into a salad dressing, a dip, a noodle base or you can even use it for baking. Don’t forget, it’s also vegan friendly – bonus!
Totally fine. Oils may separate and sit on top once the tahini paste is left to sit in the fridge. Give it a good stir, and it will all mix back together into the original creamy texture you want.
Variations
- Salt – Add a pinch of salt for added depth of flavour.
- Sugar – If you’re not a fan of the bitterness from tahini, you can balance it by adding a little sugar or honey. Add 1/4 – 1/2 a teaspoon at a time, and blend together to taste before adding more. A little goes a long way.
- Toast the Sesame – Give your sesame paste a more roasted, nutty profile popular in Chinese dishes.
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★ Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment and a star rating below!
Equipment
- 1 Bullet Blender Nutribullet works best
Ingredients
- ½ cup white sesame seeds hulled, raw
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil 60 ml / 2 fl oz
Instructions
- Optional: Toast your sesame seeds for extra nutty flavour.
- Important note: Always make sure the sesame seeds / tahini mixture are moving around in the blender. Avoid using the blender without anything moving around as this can heat up or damage the blades.
- Add sesame seeds into a high powered bullet blender and pulse in short bursts until it begins to turn into a clumpy powder (around 1 minute). Note: You may need to scrape down the sides once or twice, as the natural oils can make it stick slightly to the edges.
- Pour the vegetable oil into the blender and blend again in bursts of 10-20 seconds. Scrape down sides if you ever notice it not moving around enough in the initial stages. Blend for a total of around 1 – 2 minutes. The longer you blend, the smoother the result. Taste as you go, and blend to your desired consistency.
Video
Recipe Notes
- Scrape – For the best consistency scrape down those sides as you go, so the sesame seeds process at the same rate.
- Batch It – While this is a small batch recipe, double or triple the amount if you need more tahini. Just add the oil 1 tbsp at a time, as you will need less oil the more sesame seeds you use.
- Salt – Add a pinch of salt for added depth of flavour.
- Sugar – If you’re not a fan of the bitterness from tahini, you can balance it by adding a little sugar or honey. Add 1/4 – 1/2 a teaspoon at a time, and blend together to taste before adding more. A little goes a long way.
- Toast the Sesame – Give your sesame paste a more roasted, nutty profile popular in Chinese dishes.
Nutrition
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