Quick Homemade Tahini

Hey Liam! Love that you're keeping the Halloween spirit alive 👻 A spooky tahini sounds so creative. Maybe one day we can explore a monochrome recipe collection 😜

Let’s Wednesday Adams the culinary world and paint the town black! You got this 👻🍙🔥

Hey Ana! So glad that you're enjoying the app and thanks for sharing your experience with the tahini recipe 🤗 Using fresh seeds is also helpful, as older ones can taste more bitter. Stores with high turnover often have fresher seeds. Adding a touch of syrup to help balance the flavours is also a lovely idea ✨

Hey Marie, the bitterness might be from using raw seeds. Lightly toasting them enhances the flavour and reduces bitterness. Also, using fresh seeds is key, as older ones can taste more bitter. Stores with high turnover often have fresher seeds. In the meantime to help with your current batch, you could add a touch of syrup to help balance the flavours 🤗

Hi ! As always your answer is helpful and high quality, i really appreciate it. Next time i'll try with fresher and toasted seeds. Thank you again !

Hi there, Belle, the calcium amount in tahini can vary based on the type of sesame seeds and processing methods used. Store-bought tahini often uses unhulled seeds, which naturally have more calcium compared to the hulled seeds we use. Store-bought tahini might also be denser; ours is about 12 grams per tablespoon. In case it helps, according to the USDA, a typical 15-gram tablespoon of tahini has about 21 mg of calcium. Hope this helps for now 🤗✨

Thank you so much for the response. I didn't realize the calcium content differs between unhulled and hulled sesame seeds. Thanks for teaching me something new! I love your content & website :)

You got the Ninja BN650EU 850 W? I wanted to do creamy tahini as well.

I have the Ninja BN800UE with 1200watt, and still took a while!

Hey Andrea, yes you can add oil such as olive oil to make the tahini more creamy. For olive oil, we'd recommend refined olive oil that doesn't impart the olive oil taste 😊

Hey Cláudia, we're not a thermomix user, but you could try adding a tablespoon or so of oil, such as coconut or neutral vegetable oil to make it a bit more creamy 🤗

I've tried that, to no avail, I'm afraid. I know you don't use a Thermomix :) I was just wondering whether anybody out here did and how they dealt with this issue.

Thank you for sharing your perspective, Olen! Indeed the use of oil isn't necessary, but it can help the grinding process 🙂

Ahh yes we love it too 😍 thank you, Mara!

Hey Sylvana, so sorry to hear! How long did you blend the sesame seeds for? Sometimes an extra 5 or 10 minutes can make all the difference. You can also add a little water to help thin out the consistency. We recommend storing the tahini in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 months. Using fresh sesame seeds can help make sure it doesn't go rancid quickly. We hope this helps for now 🤗

Hey Tamara, so sorry for the trouble with this one! We use a Magimix (1100W) for this recipe. We have a Ninja at home, but the version we have is not so great at making nut or seed butters. They have different models, so I'm not sure which one you have. For nut and seed butters, you'd ideally want a food processor that's 600W or more. I hope this helps for now!

I find if there isn't enough content in my food processor, and all the ingredients are dry, everything just bounces around. When that happens I add a bit more of the ingredient(s) and pulse for a bit until things start to break up and stop bouncing around so much. Then I run it like normal. Don't know if this'll help with your problem but it helped me when my sesame seeds tried to become jumping beans ^-^

Dear Angela, I have just tried to do the same with my Ninja food processor before I realised I also had a Ninja food processor, LOL! It didn't work..... So, then I used a hand mixer and that worked! I recommend you try that.

And add some oil and water.

No problem, Laura 😃

Hi Laura! It's a lovely question. We wouldn't advise using a blender for this one as there isn't enough liquid. A food processor is better suited for a dryer mixture, such as this. It may be possible to use a high-powered blender with some added water, although the tahini will likely be a bit more grainy and thin. Sometimes the high speed of the blades can also heat up the seeds, causing them to release their oils too quickly which might lead to an unpleasant taste 😊

So happy to hear, Wells!

Hehe indeed just the sesame seeds, Cristiana 😎 If you'd like the tahini to be more creamy or your food processor isn't quite powerful enough, a neutral oil such as grapeseed oil is a lovely addition though!

Hey Nick, thanks for the kind words and apologies for the confusion! Tahini can be stored in the fridge for several months, and it starts to lose quality after around 3 months. An airtight container helps it stay fresh for longer. If you notice the tahini starts to separate, giving it a good stir helps it recombine. We've updated the comment to reduce confusion and hope this helps for now 🤗

No worries– thanks for clarifying and for giving such a detailed answer!
I just made it a few hours ago and I'm in love. I knew that I could count on this blog!

Nick

There would be no issue with freezing tahini except that a good stir might be needed upon thawing. The issue with fresh oils like that in the tahini is that it can go rancid (oxidize), which is neither tasty nor healthful.. In fact, some rancid oils are downright dangerous. and should be avoided. Refrigeration slows oxidation, whereas freezing, especially in airtight packaging, virtually stops the oxidation "cold".

Hey Liz, this recipe makes around 2 cups worth of tahini per 3 cups of sesame seeds 🙂

Wishing your mother a speedy recovery, Aleesa!

That’s a joke and subtle too hehe

Hey Ash, thank you for the kind words! You can if you'd like. The tahini will be black in colour and slightly more bitter to taste. You could add a touch of syrup to help sweeten it if desired 🙂

Hello 李岱珺, thank you for taking the time to share the information and your insight! It's so appreciated 💛

Hey there, Marcello! Roasting nuts and seeds can impact some of their nutrients, although they both still make for an incredibly wholesome choice. For example, some heat-instable nutrients such as B-vitamins and carotenoids are lower in roasted seeds than in raw counterparts. Heat stable nutrients, such as fibre, protein and minerals tend to be similar between the two. Some other nutrients, such as phenols, flavonoids, and antioxidant properties of pumpkin seeds specifically have been found to be improved after roasting. There's an interesting research paper on pumpkin seeds here if you're interested: https://www.frontiersin.org/a…. We hope this helps for now and you have a lovely day as well 🙂🌻

Thanks so much for the detailed answer, I really appreciate it!
Much love,
Marcello

Hey Mahima, we hope you enjoy it! We recommend storing the tahini in a mason jar in the fridge for up to three months 😊

Hey there, Sunghyun, thanks for the question! Are you using a food processor? Below are our top three recommendations:
1) Let it run for longer. The key to making the tahini smooth and runny is to give it time, sometimes the extra 5 or 10 minutes can make all the difference!
2) If this doesn't work, it could be that your food processor isn't powerful enough, and that's okay if you enjoy chunkier tahini :)
3) Try adding a Tbsp or so of oil, such as coconut or a neutral vegetable oil. This can indeed help to make it a bit more creamy.

We hope this helps for now! Let us know how it goes if you give the recipe another try 😊

Hi there, Varshini! Thank you so much for taking the time to share the lovely review and feedback with us. It means so much that the new website is being enjoyed 😃 Feedback is always appreciated to help us grow and improve as well✨

Hi there, Stacey, thanks for the question! The roasting helps enhance the nutty tahini flavour and can help the seeds blend easier if they're slightly warm. I personally prefer the flavour with roasted seeds, although raw seeds would still work. You could use some oil to help with processing if needed or add salt and herbs (such as garlic powder) to taste if desired 🙂

Hey there, Ruchita, we wouldn't advise using a blender for this one as there isn't enough liquid. A food processor is better suited for a dryer mixture, such as this. It may be possible to use a high-powered blender with some added water, although the tahini will likely be a bit more grainy and thin. If you hear any unusual noices or smell anything off, that would be a sign your blender isn't powerful enough. We hope this helps for now 🙂

Aw so happy you're enjoying it, Madhu! Thank YOU for being here 😍

Hi Tina, thanks for the lovely question! We'd suggest opting for another nut or seed butter, such as sunflower seed butter, cashew butter, almond butter, or peanut butter. You could mix in some water to the spreads to make their consistency more like tahini if desired as well. It may impact the tanginess a bit, but we've heard good reviews with unsalted sunflower seed butter recently 🙂

That's great thank you, will let you know how it goes. 🙏❤

That's great thank you, will let you know how it goes. 🙏❤

Hey there, Tulasi! That's a wonderful question. Letting it run for longer may help. Sometimes an extra few minutes can make a big difference! If extra time doesn't work, it could be that your food processor isn't powerful enough. Adding some liquid, such as oil, will help it become thinner.

I had this same issue with a Ninja food processor. What food processor do you use?

Hey Tamara, we use a Magimix (1100W): https://amzn.to/2IquU2b. We have a Ninja at home, but the version we have is great for sauces,but not good at making nut butters. They have different models, of course, so I'm not sure which one you have. For nut and seed butters, you'd ideally want a food processor that's 600W or more. I hope this helps!

Great question, Kirsten! I prefer using hulled sesame seeds but you could do either. Hulled sesame seeds will lead to a less bitter, lighter in colour, and smoother tahini whereas unhulled sesame seeds generally lead to a more bitter, darker in colour, and possibly not as smooth tahini 🙂