Herb Tahini Dressing (no added sodium & oil-free)

MAJOR UPDATE: May 16, 2026

Big, powerful, herbalicious flavor.  That’s what you’re getting with this creamy, savory oil-free salad dressing.  Fresh fragrant herbs and bright tangy lemon deliver the ultimate umami punch to brighten your meal and have you happily licking the bowl clean afterwards.  This Herb Tahini Dressing is a spring and summer staple but you’ll seldom find a week where this condiment is not prepped and ready to go in my fridge.

And it’s not just an incredible low-sodium salad dressing.  Use it on nourish bowls, baste it on tofu (recipe here) or roasted cauliflower, and use it to make this delicious Creamy Lemon Herb Pasta.

So, whether you’re nutritarian or just looking for an incredibly flavorful and health-promoting oil-free dressing recipe I think you’re going to fall in love fast with this one!

What makes this Herb Tahini Dressing special? 

• no added salt & naturally no added sodium
• oil-free
• nut-free
• whole food ingredients
• ready in under 5 minutes
• keeps for up to 9 days in the refrigerator

What is the difference between “no added salt” and “no added sodium”? 

No added salt means a food was prepared or manufactured without adding salt.

No added sodium is stricter.  It means that the food was made without any ingredients that contain sodium.

This magical recipe is both!  There’s no added salt and no sodium-containing ingredients (like tamari, soy sauce, coconut aminos, liquid aminos or miso paste).  If this is your first foray into low or no sodium cooking this is a wonderful recipe to start with because it’s loaded with fresh herbs.

Why are fresh herbs more flavorful and healthy than dried herbs?

Fresh herbs have moisture, essential oils and specialized active compounds that are released when chopped.  They’ve been selectively bred throughout human history to amplify those chemical compounds that release unique flavor and aromas (source).

You also get incredible phytochemicals like vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants with fresh herbs that aren’t present in dried herbs. You don’t get the same level of flavor and “zing” with dried herbs because the moisture and oils have been extracted through the drying process.

The intensified flavor found with fresh herbs is one of the easiest ways to reduce your reliance on salt too (source).  Much like with my No-Oil Tofu Ranch Dressing recipe, when you can’t add salt or oil to a salad dressing, you depend on gaining that robust flavor you crave from fresh ingredients!

I’m not going to say that you absolutely must use fresh herbs when making this sauce but why miss out on that bold flavor and those magical phytochemicals?

What ingredients do you need for this Herb Tahini Dressing? 

1. tahini
2. lemon juice
3. parsley
4. dill
5. cilantro
6. mint
7. no-salt seasoning
8. garlic powder
9. onion powder (optional)

No-salt seasoning: My absolute favorite no-salt seasoning is Costco’s Kirkland brand.

Garlic Powder: You can totally go with fresh garlic in this recipe but I find that my garlic breath is just a little-less-making-babies-cry when I opt for garlic powder. Again, feel free to use fresh garlic if you prefer–1 to 2 cloves should do the trick.

Notes on Tahini:

• You want to get a one-ingredient tahini.  That means the only ingredient is sesame seeds or roasted sesame seeds. Hulled sesame seeds are less bitter than un-hulled sesame seeds.
• I developed this recipe using a “runny” style tahini.  That means that the tahini is not as thick.  The brand I use is called Soom and they use an Ethiopian sesame seed variety that makes a very smooth-textured tahini.
• Make sure to mix your tahini thoroughly in its container before measuring it out for this recipe.  Tahini is like natural peanut butter where oil separation occurs.  At the bottom of the container the tahini will be almost like a paste.  This can also mean that it’s been on the shelf too long.
• If you store your tahini in the fridge: Allow it to come to room temperature and reincorporate the tahini well to ensure it’s more runny.
• If you only have access to thicker tahini: You’ll want to add more water to the dressing.  Increase the water from 1/2 cup to 3/4 cups if your tahini is thicker.

What if I only have dried herbs? 

While the flavor will not be nearly as good, especially because this recipe has no added salt, you can use a combination of fresh and dried herbs or all dried when in a pinch.  Give it a taste as you may need to add salt, nutritional yeast or white miso paste to compensate.

• 2 Tbsp. dried parsley
• 2 Tbsp. dried green onion
• 1 Tbsp. dried dill
• 2 tsp. dried mint
• 2 tsp. dried cilantro

How to make this dressing:

All you’ll need is a high-power blender!

Do a rough-chop of all the herbs and green onions so you need minimal time blending and the fresh herbs don’t break down too much (remember we want to keep those precious phytochemicals intact).

Add the tahini, water and lemon juice to your blender bowl and top with the cut fresh herbs and spices.

Blend on high for about 20 seconds or pulse until the sauce is creamy and combined but still has texture and you can see the bits of the herbs.

If you’re using dried herbs give the dressing a taste and see if you need to add some sodium in there.

What if I over-blend?

Not a super-big deal!

It will still taste amazing but you won’t have the added texture of the bits of herbs.  The color will be more green and the texture will be slightly thicker.

What is the taste and texture like?

It’s creamy, savory, bold, fresh, bright, lemony, garlicy and fragrant.  The combination and proportion of the different herbs creates a very balanced flavor.

The texture will be creamy but not completely smooth, with a good amount of texture from the bits of fresh herbs.  It will thicken up a bit after it’s stored in the refrigerator.

Ways to enjoy this Herb Tahini Dressing:

• Over a salad made of crispy lettuce, juicy tomatoes, shredded carrots, red cabbage and onions!
• Toss with fresh cauliflower florets and roast in the oven at 375°F for 40 minutes.
• Herb-Crusted Tahini Tofu (sheet pan recipe)
• Used as a dressing for this Herb Tahini Quinoa (or Pasta) Salad
• Works as a fantastic pesto sauce served with bean pasta

Storage Recommendations:

This Herb Tahini Dressing has a great shelf life in your fridge!

It lasts for up to 10 days when stored in a glass Mason jar or food storage container with snaplock lid.  Remember to condense down your storage container as you eat through the batch.

How much Herb Tahini Dressing can you have on the nutritarian plan?  

If you’re following the Aggressive Weight Loss Plan: The main thing you need to factor in here is your daily nut/seed allotment. You get a total of 1 ounce (28 grams) nuts/seeds daily.  

One tablespoon of tahini has the equivalent of about 1.5 tablespoons of sesame seeds.  One tablespoon of raw sesame seeds weighs about 9 grams.

So, a 1/4-cup serving of this dressing has 20 grams of seeds.  You’ll need to be mindful of your nuts and seeds remaining for the day as you’ll only have 8 grams left.  You can go down to a 2-Tbsp. portion and you’ll have used only 10 grams and then have 18 grams remaining.

If you’ve reached your ideal BMI (under 23): Enjoy 1/4-cup to 5 Tbsp. of this dressing as your daily nut/seed and calorie allotment is higher.

5 from 8 votes

Print

Herb Tahini Dressing (no salt added & oil-free)

Bright flavorful fresh herbs blended with lemon, spices and tahini makes the perfect healthful, savory, no-oil, no-added-salt dressing, sauce and dip!

Course Sauce

Cuisine American, Mediterranean

Keyword herbs, no cook, no salt, nutritarian, oil free, salad dressing, tahini, vegan, WFPB, whole food plant based

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 4 1/4 cups

Calories 111.6 kcal

Author Kristen Hong

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp tahini ~90 grams
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. water ~120 mL
• 1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp. lemon juice ~70 mL
• 3/4 cup chopped curly parsley ~11 grams
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion ~50 grams
• 1/3 cup chopped dill ~6 grams
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint ~2.6 grams
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro ~2.7 grams
• 1-1/2 tsp garlic powder or 1 to 2 whole fresh garlic cloves
• 1-1/2 tsp no-salt seasoning
• 1/2 tsp onion powder optional

Instructions

1. Add the tahini, water and lemon juice to your high-speed blender bowl. Add the chopped fresh herbs and spices.

2. Blend on high for about 20 seconds or pulse until the sauce is creamy and combined but still has texture and you can see the bits of the herbs.

3. Give the dressing a taste and adjust seasonings if needed. You may need to add more water at this point especially if you're using a thicker tahini.

Recipe Notes

Yield: Makes 1-1/2 cups

Servings: Six 1/4-cup portions

Storage: It lasts for up to 10 days when stored in a glass Mason jar or food storage container with snaplock lid.  Remember to condense down your storage container as you eat through the batch.

Notes on Tahini:

• You want to get a one-ingredient tahini.  That means the only ingredient is sesame seeds or roasted sesame seeds. Hulled sesame seeds are less bitter than un-hulled sesame seeds.
• I developed this recipe using a "runny" style tahini.  That means that the tahini is not as thick.  The brand I use is called Soom and they use an Ethiopian sesame seed variety that makes a very smooth-textured tahini.
• Make sure to mix your tahini thoroughly in its container before measuring it out for this recipe.  Tahini is like natural peanut butter where oil separation occurs.  At the bottom of the container the tahini will be almost like a paste.  This can also mean that it's been on the shelf too long.
• If you store your tahini in the fridge: Allow it to come to room temperature and reincorporate the tahini well to ensure it's more runny.
• If you only have access to thicker tahini: You'll want to add more water to the dressing.  Increase the water from 1/2 cup to 3/4 cups.

What if I over-blend? 

Not a super-big deal! It will still taste amazing but you won't have the added texture of the bits of herbs. The color will be more green and the texture will be less runny and more thick.

What if I only have dried herbs? 

While the flavor will not be nearly as good, especially because this recipe has no added salt, you can use a combination of fresh and dried herbs or all dried when in a pinch.  Give it a taste as you may need to add salt, nutritional yeast or white miso paste to compensate.

• 2 Tbsp. dried parsley
• 2 Tbsp. dried green onion
• 1 Tbsp. dried dill
• 2 tsp. dried mint
• 2 tsp. dried cilantro

Nutrition Facts

Herb Tahini Dressing (no salt added & oil-free)

Serving Size

 

0.25 cup

Amount per Serving

Calories

111.6

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

9.3

g

14

%

Saturated Fat

 

1.6

g

10

%

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

0.02

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

0.03

g

Sodium

 

5.9

mg

0

%

Potassium

 

109.1

mg

3

%

Carbohydrates

 

3.7

g

1

%

Fiber

 

1

g

4

%

Sugar

 

0.8

g

1

%

Protein

 

3.6

g

7

%

Vitamin A

 

34.51

IU

1

%

Vitamin C

 

9.45

mg

11

%

Calcium

 

40.39

mg

4

%

Iron

 

1.4

mg

8

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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