Don’t have the popular sesame paste or are you working on an allergy? Here is the best tahini substitute for hummus and other recipes.
Preparing a recipe that calls for tahini and you don’t have any? Tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds that is often used in Middle Eastern or Mediterranean dishes. The most famous recipe with tahini? hummus! It can also be used to make creamy dressings for salads and sandwiches, desserts like cookies and cakes, or as a peanut butter substitute for peanut allergies. Tahini has a slightly bitter taste straight from the jar; it’s not sweet like most nut butters or seed butters.
Tahini can be found on the spice aisles of most grocery stores. It’s so unique that if you can catch it, it’s worth making a special trip! But if you’re in the middle of the recipe and need a quick fix, here’s the best tahini substitute.
Some recipes are better with the original!
Do you make tahini sauce or another recipe with the word “tahini” in the title? If so, it’s usually best to go with the original. The mention in the recipe title means that it is a special ingredient. So it’s worth waiting to prepare the recipe until you find it.
Best tahini substitute
1. Cashew butter or almond butter
The best substitute for tahini? Cashew butter or almond butter. These nut butters are similar in texture to tahini and fairly bland in flavor. Some people claim you can use peanut butter as a substitute, but we prefer the more neutral flavors of cashew and almond butters. You don’t have but you have nuts? Make homemade cashew butter or homemade almond butter. This substitute works in many recipes like hummus, cookies, etc.
2. Sunflower Butter
The Next Best Substitute for Tahini? sunflower butter! This option is great if you have a nut allergy and need a different seed butter.
3. In a pinch: Peanut Butter + Olive Oil (Hummus)
If you don’t have any of the above and are trying to make hummus without tahini: you can also use peanut butter. It tastes best with natural peanut butter so it’s not too sweet. Substitute half the tahini for peanut butter and the other half for olive oil. It’s not perfect, but it does the trick at a dead end.
Scroll down to see the recipe!
- 1 medium clove of garlic
- 2 15 ounces canned chickpeas
- 1 large lemon (¼ cup lemon juice)
- ¼ cup Aquafaba or water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- 1 tbsp peanut butter
- Peel the garlic. Drain the chickpeas into a liquid measuring cup and reserve the aquafaba (can of liquid chickpeas). Squeeze lemon.
- Place the garlic in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add chickpeas, lemon juice, aquafaba and olive oil, kosher salt and peanut butter. Blend for a few minutes until very creamy.
- Category: The taste
- Method: Mix
- Kitchen: Mediterranean Sea
- Diet: vegan
Keywords: Tahini Substitute
Here are some tahini recipes where you could use this substitute:
