Homemade skinny tahini is heads to toes better than anything you can buy. Let’s cut the fat, take the taste to new levels and jump on the skinny tahini train. It’s a smooth. direct ride with a tasty destination.

No seconds

Tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds. Simple enough. We know it as the sidekick to chickpeas in hummus, but tahini can stand on its own. It’s the base for dressings, sauces and more – not that we all don’t love hummus.

store bought tahini in a jar with added oil.

Unwanted extras

I got to exploring this tahini thing and discovered that store-bought versions add oil (sometimes, lots of it). Add to that, you need to be a super-label reader to figure out what’s all in that jar. Time for skinny tahini.

Begin at the beginning

The first step in transforming tiny sesame seeds into paste is to toast them. Toasting for about 5 minutes releases the natural oils in the seeds leading to a nuttier flavor.

sesame seeds in a food processor with water added forms tahini.

Smooth sailing

After about 5 minutes of pan roasting and tossing (oh what fun), I set off to smooth things over. After chasing the cat out of the kitchen with the noise, I started adding water a tablespoon at a time until I reached a consensus amongst the now transformed sesame seeds. Skinny tahini on deck.

Lime tahini salad dressing in bowl with tahini in background.

Trimming the fat

With success declared, I decided to fact check my results. On average, a tablespoon of tahini has about 89 calories, 8.1 grams of fat, putting it at about 12% fat. Skinny tahini lives up to its name at 52 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, thus, 7% fat. I celebrated that my making a skinny lime tahini dressing.

Final thoughts

If we can strip away all the additional ‘stuff’, we can get to the heart of the matter and start building something healthier. It begins by taking an honest assessment of those unwanted extras, no matter how unappealing. Next step, cut and clear. Peace.

skinny tahini

Author: Denise
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cook Time: 25
Total Time: 27 minutes
Yield: 1 generous cup 1x

Print Recipe

Description

Homemade skinny tahini is tastier and healthier than anything you can buy. You only need 2 cups of sesame seeds and you have a natural tahini with no added oil (or anything else for that matter). Enjoy this with hummus, dressings, sauces and more.

Scale

Ingredients

2 cups sesame seeds
6–8 Tbsp. water

Instructions

Over medium heat, roast the sesame seeds in a skillet for about 5 minutes. Be sure to move them constantly so they don’t become too brown.
Place the sesame seeds in your food processor and start to process them at a slow-medium speed. Add water a tablespoon at a time until a paste starts to form. (About 10-15 minutes)
Smooth out the tahini by processing on a high speed. Add enough water until you get the consistency you want. (about 5 minutes).
Tahini done!

Notes

It’s easier to get a paste if you start with at least 2 cups of sesame seeds.
You can oven-roast the sesame seeds on a baking tray, but take care you don’t burn them.
Tahini will keep in the refrigerator for over a month (if it lasts that long).
Let stored tahini warm up on the counter if it gets too hard.

Category: dressings & condiments
Method: food processor
Cuisine: plant-based

Keywords: skinny tahini no-oil