Tahini from Scratch can be made in less than 15 minutes and with only 2 ingredients! Plus, it’s so much more affordable than store bought!
A couple of years ago when I started making my own hummus I went to the grocery store in search of tahini. But I had no idea where to look, so I asked the first person who worked there that I saw where I could find it. They looked at me and said, “What’s tahini?” Which at first I thought to myself, what do you mean what’s tahini, but then I realized I had no idea what it exactly it was made of myself. I literally could not describe it to the person aside from, “It’s in hummus…” 
So, that day the store clerk and I learned that tahini is just a sesame seed paste and that in this particular store it could be found with the organic peanut butters. Flash forward a couple of years and tahini was the first condiment I’d decided to make when made the From Scratch cooking lifestyle change. Then, and still now, I’m shocked at how easy it is to make and how much I’d been spending on it in the store!
Seriously, when I say simple, I mean simple. As simple as heating up some olive oil, toasting the sesame seeds in said olive oil…
…then blending in a food processor with more oil until smooth. 
Then into a jar and you’re done. Seriously, done! Mine is a little less creamy because I choose to use raw un-hulled sesame seeds. If you use hulled sesame seeds it’ll make a creamier tahini, but the un-hulled are seeds that still have their shells and in those shells lies a ton of calcium. I’ll take more calcium over a super creamy any day. Otherwise, there’s no difference in taste.
This jar will keep in my fridge for 6 months and will be used for tons of hummus, tahini lemon dressing, baba ganoush, and totally on my must make list are the amazing looking Falafels that my girl Stephanie @ The Cozy Cook made. It’s such a versatile condiment to have around and just as easy as homemade mayo and ketchup– and cheaper too! That’s a win-win in my From Scratch book!
- 2 cup of hulled or un-hulled raw sesame seed
- 1/2 cup of olive oil
- Toast 1 cup of seeds at a time in pan on low heat with 2 tablespoons of oil. Stir continuously for 10 min.
- Transfer seeds into food processor. Add remaining olive oil and blend, adding a little at first then the rest it as it's blending. Scrape down sides and continue blending until it is a smooth paste.
- Transfer to jar and store in fridge for up to 6 months.
- Like most nut butters, oil separation is normal after awhile and if it hasn’t been stirred in a while, the paste under the oil may be quite hard. Just give a good stir to mix oils again before using.
- If it smells rancid, then it's time to make more, but as with most nut butters, it will be smell bad before it's actually bad and dangerous to your health.
Your tahini looks delicious! I drizzle tahini on so many different things, from salads to roasted veggies. I’m sure that a homemade version is much healthier and so much tastier than a store-bought version! I’ll try this next time!
Thanks, Sharon! You’re a girl after my own heart- tahini is good on everything!! I mix it with a bit of fresh lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil for a dressing and I could seriously put that on everything! I hope you do try it- it’ so much tastier and cheaper! 🙂
This was a lesson for me. Sadly I didn’t know exactly what Tahini was. It looks delicious and I should definitely make some. Thanks for the inspiration!
Of course! It’ll be a great excuse for you to then experiment with homemade hummus!
I have never tried this but I am going to give it a try.
I had no idea what tahini is! I love the taste of sesame seeds, so this will definitely go on my “to make” list. =)
I never realized how easy tahini was to make! I can’t wait to try this.
Well there you go, I love your website as I do loads of stuff like this to but never even crossed my mind to do tahini as I don’t use it very often but making up small batches sounds like a great way forward!
Thank you so much, Brian!
You’re a genius. I’m definitely going to make this. I don’t use a ton of tahini, so it would be good to make a small amount to have around that will actually get used up within 6 months! Thanks for posting!
Thank you! Sooo much more cost effective! I hope you enjoy!
I have never had homemade Tahini. I want to use it and actually bought some. it’s been sitting in my cupboard for ages! I need to learn how to use it. Thanks for this tutorial. Now i can make it when i figure out some recipes for it!
Oooh so many great uses for it- homemade hummus, baba ganoush, tahini lemon sauce/dressing… The list goes on and on!
I’ve been thinking about making my own hummus, so saving this one!
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thanks for sharing this is awesome recipe