This easy Tahini Dressing takes only a few minutes to prepare! Make it with easy-to-find ingredients and sweeten naturally with dates. Keep this recipe on hand whenever you want a savory, natural dressing!
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Tahini
Tahini is ground sesame seed paste of Arabic origin. It’s commonly used in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cooking, and has gained recent popularity in the vegan and plant-based food community for it’s penchant to create creamy dressings without dairy. You can find tahini at most grocery stores, or make your own at home if you are feeling ambitious.
On it’s own, tahini can be bitter and oily. In this Tahini Dressing, the bitterness is balanced with the acidity of the vinegar and mustard and sweetened up with the dates. Once balanced, the creamy nuttiness of the tahini comes through and is a flavor powerhouse.

Sweetening your Tahini Dressing naturally
This recipe uses soaked dates to sweeten the dressing, in place of the typical maple syrup or honey. This helps rehydrate and soften the dates, which helps them blend easier. I also think this soaking method makes them sweeter. You can also use the soaking method to create an easy date syrup!
You can soak the dates one of two ways:
- Boiling Water Method: Bring water to a boil in a kettle or on the stove. Submerge dates in boiling water and allow to cool.
- Refrigerator Method (recommended): If you are sugar-free, or trying too cut back on sugar, I highly recommend the refrigerator method. Keep a jar of dates, covered in water, in your fridge. Whenever you want to add some sweetness to a dressing, marinade or smoothie, add a few dates to your blender and voila!
When to use this Tahini Dressing
Use this Tahini Dressing on salads or as a dip. Try it drizzled over Grilled Cabbage or tossed into a Quinoa, Butternut and Kale salad.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup tahini
- 2 dates, soaked
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp mustard
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- ⅓ cup + 2 tbsp water
Instructions
- Soak dates. You can do this ahead of time (I like to keep a small jar of dates in water in my fridge for recipes like this), or simply pour boiling water over 2 dates and allow to cool before making recipe.
- Add all ingredients in a blender except water. Blend well.
- Add water and blend again. Add more water if a thinner consistency is desired.
- Enjoy! Use on Grilled Cabbage or Quinoa, Butternut and Kale Salad.
2 responses to “Easiest Tahini Dressing Recipe – Sugar-Free”
[…] roasted butternut, crispy kale, chewy dates and chopped hazelnuts for the perfect bite! Top with my Easy Tahini Dressing as a side or main course served with crusty […]
[…] big component of this stellar Grilled Cabbage is the Easy Tahini Dressing you drizzle on top. The sugar free dressing is sweetened with dates and spiced with mustard and […]