Nourishing Maple Tahini Dressing (5 min!)

Name: Nourishing Maple Tahini Dressing (5 minutes!)
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: ⅓ cup well-stirred tahini; ⅓ cup cold water (plus more as desired); 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice; 1 ½ tablespoons pure maple syrup; 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive or avocado oil; 1 small garlic clove (micro grated or crushed (OMIT for low FODMAP)); ¾ teaspoon salt; pinch dried chile flakes

By Desiree Nielsen RD

5 from 1 rating

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You’re going to want to keep this creamy, nourishing maple tahini dressing in the fridge at all times. It takes just 5 minutes to whip up, will easily keep for a week, and it makes everything from kale salads to grain bowls to french fries taste better. Vegan, gluten free, Low FODMAP option…and super yummy!

tahini dressing in jar with spoon on top

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This dietitian believes that plant-based recipes should always be delicious because you can feed body and soul at the same time. And one of the many tools in my toolkit for creating cravable veg? SAUCE! I don’t think there is a meal that can’t be made better by some sort of sauce. Which is why many of my recipes, like the ones in Good For Your Gut book, contain some sort of saucy component.

I created this maple tahini dressing for my Roasted Delicata Orzo Salad but it would taste delicious with most kale, romaine or arugula salads in addition to drizzling over grain bowls or using as a dip! It’s the base for my fave roasted cauliflower recipe and a simple kale and apple salad that is a staple.

What you need to make this epic tahini dressing

All you really need to make a good tahini dressing is 3 core ingredients: tahini, something acidic like lemon juice and something sweet like maple syrup. Any other addition simply creates variety in flavour (which is also a good thing!)

maple tahini dressing ingredients — Tahini has an earthy, deeply savoury flavour (although some brands can be a bit bitter…not what you want, but it’s fixable).

Tahini too bitter? You can neutralize bitterness with acids such as lemon juice, or sweets like maple syrup. Oh, and I also find that the texture of the dressing is nicer with just a touch of oil but you can go oil free if you like. If the tahini seizes up on you, just whisk in more cold water until you reach your desired consistency!

Tips, Tricks + Substitutions for This Maple Tahini Dressing

I highly recommend you make a double batch so you can keep it as a meal prep item in the fridge! It’s great as a dip for sliced veggies too.
Feel free to play with herbs and spices in this dressing, a little pinch of cumin or sumac could be a fun addition!
I use Nuts to You Organic Tahini because that’s what’s available at my local store but if you’re looking for something fancier, Soom and Seed + Mill are two popular brands.
Allergic to sesame? Play around with cashew butter. It’s slightly sweeter, so start with 1 tbsp (15 mL) maple syrup and add more as needed.
Low FODMAP? 2 tablespoons of tahini is a low FODMAP serving. Ditch the garlic and this dressing is low FODMAP as long as you eat no more than about 1/3 of the recipe at one time.

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