This low-fat tahini dressing is bold and spicy with a bit of a bite to it, thanks to the lemon juice, raw garlic, and ginger root.
Today’s recipe is brought to you by the letter D… not D for “dressing” but D as in my husband D, who can’t get enough of this dressing.
He’s been pouring it on salads and drizzling it on sandwiches ever since I made it for the first time (we’re now on our second batch). I don’t think he realizes how low fat it is because my secret ingredient (chickpeas) magically amplifies the flavor of the tahini, making it taste like it contains much more sesame paste than it really does. In his words, it’s a bold, spicy dressing with a bit of a bite to it, thanks to the lemon juice, raw garlic, and ginger root. It’s manly, yes, but I like it too!
Before I get to the recipe, I wanted to point out a new feature. If you’re used to using the Recipe Index, you may notice a big change. I’ve just updated it so that each category goes to a page with thumbnail photos and short text excerpts to better help you find what you’re looking for. I hope you’ll grow to love the new look, which updates automatically whenever a new recipe is posted. Click here to see what the Salad Dressings category looks like.
Low-Fat Tahini-Chickpea Dressing
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup chickpeas
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- 1/2 tablespoon gluten-free tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon chia seed or ground flaxseeds
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 - 2 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons ginger-root , minced
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place all ingredients into blender and process on high speed until thoroughly blended. Refrigerate until well chilled. Dressing will continue to thicken while chilling. Add extra water by the teaspoon if dressing is too thick.
Recipe Notes
One 2-tablespoon serving is zero Weight Watchers Smart points. Additional servings are 1 point each.
mike c
tahini is 100% fat. how could you not know this?
Mary (What's Cookin' with Mary)
I think because she only used one Tbs, it stays within the realm of lowfat… e.g. 2 Tbs of the dressing has just over 1g of fat. That’s lowfat in my book. No ?
MsSprat
Mike, tahini is not 100% fat. A jar of Organic Sesame Tahini says 84% of the calories are from fat. NutritionData.com lists several kinds of tahini, all between 70% and 78% of the calories from fat. Granted, that’s a lot, no matter how you slice it. But the recipe that was posted has 35% of the calories from fat (flaxseeds and chickpeas contribute fat too). This is a condiment, not something you eat like soup. If you avoid fat found in whole foods, then don’t make this dressing, or reduce or eliminate the tahini.
SusanV
Hi Mike, I do realize that tahini is high in fat (actually, about 75% fat). That’s why I used only 1 tablespoon in the whole recipe, while most tahini dressings contain 6-8 times as much.
Laina
Hi Mike,
If you’re interested in accuracy, 1 TB of tahini is 12% fat. http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3142/2
Caitlin
this sounds like perfection!
Katie Loss
Hi Susan,
This looks wonderful! I haven’t used much tahini before…I usually stay away from it because of the high fat content, but the small amount in this recipe makes it very acceptable for me. Do you have a favorite brand of tahini or do you make it yourself…and how do you do that? Just blend sesame seeds in a high power blender or some other method? I have lots of black sesame seeds purchased from Dr. Fuhrman. Can I use those? Thanks for the wonderful recipe index updates. I love the thumbnail pictures and ease of use.
Susan Simon
Hi Susan – sounds delicious – what do you use for the tahini? homemade or store bought? and if store bought, what brand? Thanks so much – looking forward to trying this – I tend to only use balsamic because I love it and I don’t have to make it! 🙂
Susan
SusanV
Susan, I use a brand I buy from a Middle Eastern restaurant here, but any brand that is 100% raw sesame seeds will do. Katie, you can also make your own using those sesame seeds and a high-speed blender. The black ones will make the color different, but the flavor should be the same. Just use a tablespoon of them instead of the tahini.
eliza
I’m so excited to try this! I’m going to the store right now and just added the ingredients to my shopping list. Salad for dinner tonight!
Alex @ fightcancerwithfood
That dressing sounds really yummy – like hummus in liquid form! Which can only be a good thing.
Personally, I really like the changes to the Recipe page. Really easy to navigate and the pics/text make it easier to make a decision without opening a thousand tabs on my browser! And congrats on the nomination, very much deserved 🙂
Get Skinny, Go Vegan.
How Great!! The chickpeas must really create a “creamy” texture! Love both chickpeas & tahini and have been making hubby a LOT of hummus this summer. Will try this dressing for sure! Beautiful photo!
Bettie
What is nutritional yeast and can I leave it out and have the recipe come out OK?
SusanV
Here’s a link to some info on nutritional yeast: https://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2011/10/what-the-heck-is-nutritional-yeast.html. Basically, it adds a slightly deeper flavor, but you can leave it out if you want to.
Pat
This is still 35% fat according to the stated calories, but I suppose it is low compared to a commercial dressing. Seems like this is dressing is ripe to be abused by using large servings on just about everything, after all, it is low fat. But use 3 servings of it, and then you have consumed more fat then one serving of the worst commercial dressing. No wonder the hubby likes it on everything.
SusanV
It’s very concentrated, and even my husband couldn’t use more than 2 tablespoons of it–and that’s on a salad the size of a mixing bowl! Also, many salad dressings (such as this one by Newman’s Own) have upwards of 8 grams of fat per serving, so you would have to eat 7 servings of this (14 tablespoons) to even come near that amount of fat.
Pat
Right you are. I did not take into account total calories, I was only looking at percentages.
Nicole
Three servings would be 3.3 grams of fat, according to Susan’s nutritional information. How is 3.3 grams of fat “more fat then one serving of the worst commercial dressing”?
Wendy (Healthy Girl's Kitchen)
This dressing looks like a winner! Cannot wait to give it a try. Thanks Susan!
Victoria
Great idea! Looks tasty!
Dawn
Mike, silly, she said LOW fat not FAT FREE.
I love a good manly dressing. Especially this one. I do believe I will be trying this soon. Do you think I could sub powdered ginger though? Decidedly less potent but I don’t have any on hand. If so, how much would you suggest subbing? Thank you!
SusanV
LOL, Dawn. I seem to get into more trouble when I call a recipe “low-fat!”
For the ginger powder, I would start off with 1/4 teaspoon and add more as needed. Good luck!
Pat
Maybe the name of your website has something to do with it?
Arielle (Your Vegan Girlfriend)
Susan thank you so much for posting this! I have been looking for a lower fat tahini dressing recipe EVERYWHERE with no luck. Read my mind!!! Can’t wait to try it 🙂
moonwatcher
This sounds great, Susan, and the salad dressing recipe index looks great and easy to use, too. I like the new format! I like seeing all the lovely photos again.
xo
moonwatcher
Amber Shea @Almost Vegan
It’s almost like a drizzly hummus! Can’t go wrong there.
KBeane
Mmmm, we love tahini at our house. I will definitely be trying this one!
Pasha
This sounds and looks great – I’ll make it soon! I bet it’d be great on grilled vegetables… As for the minor furore about the dreaded FAT – a tiny bit of sesame paste isn’t a pound of butter! Just for me, if it’s a whole nut or seed product then it’s on my menu (but not by the bucket obviously!) We don’t need Earth Balance or olive oil but we do need a little of the right fatty stuff… in my opinion
barb
definitely going to try the tahini chickpea dressing… how long can you keep it in the fridge?
SusanV
It should keep for a couple of weeks, maybe longer.
Jamie
That dressing sounds delicious! I love tahini, I love lemon, I love chickpeas – pretty much I love everything on that list. So I can’t wait to try this! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
-Jamie
crunchymamalife.blogspot.com
Jude
Can’t wait to make this tonight! Love Tahini and Chickpeas! And I need some dressing inspiration.
Linda
I’m going to try this soon. Just wondering how long the dressing will keep in the fridge.
SusanV
It should keep for at least 2 weeks.
Megan
Hi, Susan – I made this for lunch today and it was absolutely delicious. I ended up doubling the chickpeas to make it a bit thicker – I think my tahini is thinner that most brands I’ve used before.
I love a healthy and rich dressing that is oil-free and low fat. Yes, I think this is low fat to all your detractors out there. Most importantly it’s fat from a whole food (relatively whole) and not oils.
Thanks for another excellent recipe!
SusanV
Thanks, Megan! I’m happy to hear you liked it!
mertie
A local restaurant has a similar sauce called ” Ding Sauce” which is excellent. Been wanting to duplicate for a few years. This is it except instead of the ginger I used 2 t. of curry powder. It’s to die for! Give it a try. Sorry for the adulteration.
SusanV
I will! Thanks for the suggestion!
Seasideshawn
Susan I love you-I’ve voted for you in the past on Vegnews & I will again! I made this tonight & SO delicious- my husband loved it too, I added a splash of balsamic vinegar because I only had one lemon-so YUM. Don’t let people bother you about the fat in tahini, we need healthy fats & I always have raw tahini on hand (as well as hemp seeds, flax, walnuts, cashews…) A little goes a long way. Also we make your cashew kale about once a week now since we’ve been getting fantastic kale from our co-op. Thanks for so many great recipes…..oh & I finally bought a VitaMix through your site a few months ago-it’s been amazing & worth every
penny!
SusanV
I’m so happy you enjoyed it and the cashew kale! Thanks for your kind words and for your purchase of the Vita Mix–I’m so glad you’re getting a lot of use out of it.
Stephanie Botts
I absolutely LOVE your blog and have voted for you the last two years. I just want to thank you for the AWESOME recipes. THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!
anna
Just to double-check – cooked (or canned) chickpeas, or raw ones?
SusanV
Cooked or canned. 🙂
Veggie V! @ Veggie V's Vegan Adventure
This sounds amazing! I’ve just recently started making my own dips and dressings, and I can’t wait to try this one! I REALLY appriciate that it’s oil free – and low call.
Everything that I’ve made from your site has been amazing. I know it’s going to be good if it came from the Fat Free Vegan Kitchen 🙂
Jain
I have a double batch of your Lite Goddess Dressing in the fridge as I type, and can’t imagine anything being as good, but I’ll give this a whirl!
Thanks much for the Bulkfoods.com link. I’ve been pricing nooch online for a while now, trying to beat my local overpriced Whole Foods. This one did it!
Karina
ive heard of subbing peanut butter for tahini…..do you think that would that work in this recipe? (btw your website is AMAZING 😀 )
SusanV
I’ve never had peanut butter salad dressing, but now that you mention it, it sounds good! (P.S. Thanks!) 🙂
Kathleen
Hi Susan,
I got so excited about this dressing that I decided to make it tonight. It was DELICIOUS! I love how creamy the tahini makes this dressing. Thanks for all the wonderful and healthy recipes!
Stacey
How long does it last in the fridge?
Laina
Hi Stacy,
Susan mentioned above that it should last 2 weeks. 🙂
Lauren E Thompson
Totally voted – love your site!
FatFreeVeganFan
Hi Susan,
I was just wondering if you have a book of your recipes or are planning to release one? I think that the low fat vegan diet is increasing in popularity and it would be great if there were more relevant cookbooks to reflect that. There are lot of vegan cookbooks out there but I feel that some of them are too focused on replicating meat based recipes or they are not wholefood based or they are just too high in fat. I would love love love to have the recipes on your site (plus new ones!) in the form a cookbook with lots of gorgeous pictures to store in the kitchen!
Laina
Hi Fat Free Vegan Fan,
Susan has plans for a cookbook sometime in the future. Yay! But not in the near future.
Laina 🙂
Anupama
Hi Susan, I will definitely try this recipe. I am a great fan of Hummus and this comes pretty close. Fortunately just two days back I have found a store in my city in India where I can buy tahini. So this is a good omen.:))
v
Fantastic dressing! You have my vote for the Veggie Awards!
Marissa
Love chickpeas. Love tahini. Am most definitely trying this dressing out! 🙂
mare
Maybe people should just chill some, or read the recipes rather than just the name of the website. Shesh people, give Susan a break! And BTW this is her website…
Does anyone who complains about a healthy low fat recipe on a fat-free site mean to say that not a speck of fat ever enters their body? Really?! That is unhealthy also.
SusanV
Thanks, mare! I think these kind of comments come from new people who don’t realize that here on my blog, there have always been recipes that contain nuts, seeds, and avocado, as I have pointed out on my “About” page from the beginning. Whenever I post a recipe that has more than 15% fat, I tag it with the label “higher-fat.”
I’ve often wished I could change the name of the blog, but it’s so well-established now that I’m afraid it would be confusing to readers. Plus, I really don’t know what I would call it!
mare
(almost always) fatfree!
You rawk woman, so just keep doing what you do the way you do it and the rest of the world will catch up. Or not 🙂
Mare
Couldn’t have said it better mare (funny, it’s like talking to myself here hahah), totally agree too. Susan, keep the good work up as always. Regards, Mare
Maggie
Thanks! I needed a new dressing recipe, and this is PERFECT.
For the record, I think tahini is an inspired choice as a fat source in dressing, Susan! It’s low in sat fat, rich in “good” fat (EFAs), and packed with vitamins and minerals. Kudos!
Audrey Q
This was fabulous. How did you know I was looking for a hummus-like salad dressing? I’ve even posted a link to it from my blog. 🙂
Brenda
WOW!! I just made up this dressing and of course I had to take a lick as it went into the ‘fridge to chill. Made my whole mouth ZING with flavor!! I’m not sure I’m going to wait long enough for it to chill to try some on a salad.
Its various flavors are so complementary, and full, and rich, and …. OK, I’m out of adjectives, but this is obviously going to become a staple in our refrigerator!!
Thanks for another winner of a recipe Susan!!
donatella
Hi! I’m Donatella, from Roma. I read your blog for years, but I have not left a comment before.. but today I cannot resist: this dressing is delicious. I will do it tomorrow, and will be a success! Thanks for all your recipe, for your fantasy and passion..
Tammy
Thank you for this, and many other fabulous recipes!! I am a regular here…I made this and used it on a pasta salad…it was so delicious!! Even the resident Omni loved it!
Gena
Love that D is sharing something he loves! And this is also a great recipe: low fat, but it sounds rich and sumptuous.
meredith
do you think chickpea flour would work in this? i wonder if it would be creamier/smoother? also, you think the lemon juice from a squeeze bottle is ok? i guess i can just go get some lemons at the store, haha. I am looking forward to trying this. Also, as a sub for tahini, i have used, in the past, a couple drops of toasted sesame oil. I think it is a little closer to taste than peanut butter.
SusanV
That’s a whole lot of substituting, meredith! I think if you do all that, you’ll have a brand new dressing. It might be a good one, but who knows! 😉
The lemon juice is not a big deal, though fresh will taste better. Sesame oil has a stronger flavor and none of the creaminess of tahini. And I’m afraid chickpea flour will be gritty. But like I said, you never know!
Katharina
Definitely adding to my repertoire! I absolutely love tahini dressings, and this one sounds delicious!
XO!
Mel J
I’m definitely going to give this dressing a try. It will be a change from the vinagrettes I’ve been making. BTW, I absolutely LOVE this site and every recipe I’ve tried so far has been wonderful. And I think you could write a cookbook called “Ridiculously Easy Vegan”! I’d buy it!
beth
Oh, PERFECT!! AND it’s ETL friendly, which is awesome…this helps me tame my hummus addiction and stay on program. Thanks!! Loving this blog!
ginger
Tried the chickpea dressing and after letting it marinate in fridge overnight used it on a salad and loved it. Next night I put on whole wheat spaghetti and again loved it. Thanks so much. Will try other dressing recipes soon as I don’t like using store bought dressings with all of the preservatives. I,too use Paul Newman dressings in a pinch as they do not have the preservatives,but I really prefer making my own. Thanks so much. Anything with garlic is right up my alley!
Tamara
Susan, I love your blog. I’ve gotten so many great recipes from your site. I don’t usually comment, but I wanted to say I voted for you again this year.
Kerri Gardner
Hi, my family and I are brand newbie Vegan’s! Only a month and a half now. The kids are in wean mode as we call it. But over all we are loving being vegans and watching the amazing healthy changes take place! Our eldest Sky is a huge ranch dressing lover! I think this dressing sounds so much better and will knock her socks off! Anything I can create that will be tasting, vegan friendly and replace the Ranch would be wonderful. Thanks so much for sharing! I’ll look forward to receiving updates on your recipes! Cheers, Kerri
SusanV
Thanks, Kerri! I made a ranch-like dressing using cashews that is so good. It’s like the dressing for the carrot salad recipe before this but with herbs added. You should try that one, too!
Megan
Delicious! Just ate it on a huge salad with lots of farm-fresh veggies.
Sarah
This recipe looks outstanding!! Use of it in moderation will be a perfect addition to my ETL salads this week. Thank you, Susan!
Linda quintana
I have recently had gallbladder surgeury and changed my eating habits. I was vegetarian before and now have taken the next step. Vegan. I find your reciepes very tasty. Perhaps you may pass along a few that would help me get over the hump ! Regards, linda q
Helene
Thank you so much for this recipe, my husband, who is not a great chickpea fan, adores it and asks for it on every salad. Works great in particular on grated carots but really on any salad.
Definitely a keeper.
Laina
What a dunce I am at times. I have to laugh. I reached for the tahini and grabbed almond butter and didn’t notice until afterwards. 🙂
I tasted the recipe and it’s good, but I tend to gravitate towards the sweeter dressings, like raspberry vinaigrette. Little tart/little sweet. So it was a little too tart for me, but it was easy to remedy. I added a little agave and YUMMO!!!
Next time I’ll make sure I have the tahini jar in hand! 🙂
Laina 🙂
Nancy
Hello,
The dressing sounds wonderful. I hate to sound like a dunce but I have to ask if the chick peas are already cooked? (not dried ones going into the blender)
thanks,
Nancy
Thank you for sharing so much with us. My daughter found your site and we have been using it ever since.
SusanV
Hi Nancy, I’m glad the site has been useful to you. I should have made it clear that the chickpeas are cooked (I actually used canned ones for this).
Jean
I am just (yesterday) starting Dr. Joel Furhman’s diet (veggies, veggies, and more veggies and low fat, etc.). I am so excited to have found your blog where I can get recipes which will (hopefully) keep me motivated! I have eaten chicken and fish, but no red meat, for years, and now am trying to go totally vegan as well as lose weight! Your blog is lovely, well-done, and I appreciate it!
Thanks, Jean
SusanV
Thanks, Jean! Good luck with the diet! For more recipes that fit Dr. Fuhrman’s program, see my Eat to Live section.
Tammy
I love this dressing!!! I’ve had it bookmarked for ages – wish I’d made it sooner!
Delicious on everything – salads, steamed veges, dipping sauce, in place of gravy. Yum, love it!!
Shelley Greaney
I just stumbled upon your blog while searching for a roasted asparagus soup recipe. I can’t wait to start trying your recipes. They sound wonderful!
Trish
HI There,
I was just looking at your recipe for the tahini-chickpea dressing and I thought that I would give it a try. Just wondering if I can skip the nutritional yeast. What do you think is the purpose of this ingredient and would the recipe suffer without it? Thanks for responding.
Susan Voisin
I just gives the flavor a boost. It will be a little less tasty without it, but you can leave it out if you don’t have it.
Denise
I love this dressing, thanks so much. I was getting tired of vinegars every day!
I have a tahini question. Does it need to be refrigerated once opened? The container doesn’t say anything about how long it keeps or how to store. Thanks!
Susan Voisin
Yes, to be safe always refrigerate it and any other natural nut or seed butters. On the plus side, if you stir it first, it doesn’t separate as badly.
Angelina Love Cooke
Hello! I am currently living in Costa Rica and have not found a source for nutritional yeast yet. Can I make a version of this recipe without it? If yes, would I just eliminate it, or substitute with something else?
Louise Ingram
Please sign me up
sharon
Is nutritional yeast the same as the yeast you use for baking bread? If not where do you get this? Thank you. Sharon
Susan Voisin
No, it’s completely different. You can usually find it in bulk in health food stores. See this post for more information: What the Heck is Nutritional Yeast?
moonwatcher
HI Susan,
This is a definite “must make” for me–it looks wonderful! And very versatile. The photos are beautifu, too. Really really love the new look of your salad dressings category. We must talk. 🙂
xoxo
moonwatcher
Eileen
Really like this dressing. We have struggled with salad dressings with no oil and this was really, really good. Thanks for a keeper!
Em
A nutritionist on tv, not too long ago, advised against using nutritional yeast. She also advised toasting bread to kill the yeast in bread, too. It is confusing. I read your info about it. Since the two of you disagree, how is one to know if we should use the yeast or not?
Susan Voisin
I would say that any time one person’s opinion is so far out there and opposed to everything that every other nutritionist says, then that opinion is suspect. There may be people for whom yeast is a problem, but they are in the minority, and to give such advice to everybody, whether they have a problem with yeast or not, is reckless. And toasting to kill the yeast? The yeast has already been killed during baking.
Katie
I just made this dressing and absolutely love it! It will replace a higher fat lemon tahini dressing I have been using for a while. I’m always trying to get more beans into my diet so it’s awesome to put them in my salad dressing 🙂
Emma of Zimt
YUM! Enjoying this right now on some baby greens with roasted sweet potato. Thanks for the tasty recipe, Susan =)
Gisela
Happy Mothers Day!
Hi I’ve been a vegan now one month shy of a year I made the transition in steps not all at once. I believe this ensures for me my dedication to it. I started by taking a course and following a Protective Diet version that doesn’t include nuts avacados or any other oils. It was a six week course and I stayed strict to the guide lines of PD up to 6 months into it. I missed all the nuts and the avacados. That is when I came across your recipes. That was my favorite day the first thing I tried was your easy double layer cheesecake, it has been a favorite of all my family and friends. So I really just want to Thank You for posting all your recipes. Further more I realize that it takes a lot of time and dedication to do this and not get instant rewards from it. So this is one thankful admirer paying you gratitude for all your hard work, I’m really glad this is one of your passions. Again Happy Mothers Day!!!
Namaste
Gisela
Susan Voisin
Thank you, Gisela! Hearing that my recipes are helpful to people means so much to me.
Carolyn
I don’t remember seeing this recipe before but it is on my list now! And I’m thinking about subbing soy milk for the water, to get more of a buttermilk style base (because of the lemon juice). It’s a high proportion of acid to milk, but I think it’s worth a try!