Herby, creamy, and made with just 10 ingredients in 15 minutes, this herby tahini pasta is perfect for quick weeknight dinners!
If you've never used tahini as a pasta sauce, you're in for a treat! Tahini is simply ground toasted sesame seeds, but it imparts a ton of nutty flavor to sauces. Pair it with parsley and basil for an herby and green sauce.
I love using tahini in pasta so much that I also have a recipe for tahini orzo. This is a really versatile pasta sauce!
Tahini pasta is ready in just about 15 minutes, making it a great option for a quick lunch. I like to pair it with roasted or steamed vegetables and chickpeas, but it's also great just on its own.
Don't have fresh herbs but still want to make tahini pasta? Just omit them! I make this recipe without fresh herbs frequently. I usually add a scoop of chili garlic sauce instead.
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Recipe features
- Flavors: This is definitely a spring and summer meal! Packed with bright, herby flavors from parsley and basil and nutty, warming notes from the tahini.
- Quick & easy: Tahini pasta is made with just 10 ingredients in 15 minutes. Most of the ingredients are pantry staples.
- Versatile: The tahini sauce itself is very versatile because you can switch up the herbs and seasonings. The recipe itself is a great "base meal", because it can be served a lot of different ways. Feel free to use any kind of pasta shape, any protein, and any vegetables.
- Dietary features: Vegetarian, vegan, nut-free, gluten-free optional (just use tamari and gluten-free pasta!)
Ingredients and substitutions
- Tahini is made from ground-hulled sesame seeds. It is traditionally used in Middle Eastern cuisines for dishes like hummus and baba ghanoush. It is creamy, nutty and is great wherever you would use nut butters.
- Whole wheat spaghetti is my preferred pasta, but any kind works! Try protein pasta, white pasta, short pasta shapes, etc.
- Parsley and basil: I use flat-leaf parsley but curly works too. This recipe leans more on the parsley side than basil. You can use more basil than parsley if you prefer. I haven't tried this out with dry herbs.
- Lemon: One lemon usually has ~3 tablespoons lemon juice.
- Soy sauce adds depth and is the main source of salt in the sauce. You can use tamari to make it gluten-free. Choose reduced sodium soy sauce for a lower sodium sauce.
- Garlic: Use 2-3 (or more) garlic cloves. I like to roughly chop the cloves before adding them to the blender to ensure that they actually get broken down. You can use ¼ teaspoon (or more) garlic powder in place of fresh garlic.
- Chickpeas are the main source of protein. Any kind of white bean or edamame would also work.
Step by step instructions
Before you begin: I always reserve more pasta water than I think I'll need. It's no fun to need more water to thin your sauce, only to have poured it all down the drain! You do need a blender to make the tahini sauce, but it doesn't need to be a fancy high powered blender.
- Boil the pasta in well-salted water until al-dente. Make sure to reserve at least ½ cup of cooked pasta water. The starchy pasta water is used to create the silky smooth tahini sauce.
- Make the herby sauce by blending together all of the ingredients (except for the pasta, of course) in a blender.
- Toss the pasta with the sauce.
- Add chickpeas, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Taste for salt and enjoy!
Cassidy's tips
- Protein: Double the chickpeas, use protein pasta, or add chopped cashews or pine nuts for a higher protein meal.
- Vegetables: I like to add a couple of handfuls of fresh spinach or kale. Roasted zucchini, broccoli, peas or sautéed mushrooms would also be great additions.
- Stir tahini: Always stir tahini before measuring it out because the oils and solids separate as they sit. This is completely normal and is the same thing that happens with "natural" peanut butters. Stir until the tahini is a uniform texture, then measure it out.
- Tahini pasta without herbs: You can make a plain tahini sauce by just using tahini, pasta water, soy sauce, garlic, lemon juice, and black pepper.
- If you're new to tahini, it can be used in tahini coleslaw, goddess-style dressing, or homemade hummus.
Storage tips
Leftovers: Keep leftovers refrigerated in a closed container for 3 to 4 days.
Reheating: The sauce thickens up and isn't as pretty as leftovers, but it still tastes great. You can add a splash of vegetable broth to thin it before reheating it in the microwave or on the stove.
Freezing: Tahini sauce freezes well on its own (without the pasta). Store in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the fridge. It may separate in the fridge/freezer, so make sure to whisk it before serving. You may need to add vegetable broth to thin the sauce.
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Herby Tahini Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces whole wheat spaghetti
- ½ cup tahini
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce sub tamari to make gluten/soy-free
- ½ cup roughly chopped parsley plus more for topping
- ¼ cup roughly chopped basil plus more for topping
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2-3 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 1 medium lemon about 3 tablespoons
- ½ cup reserved pasta water
- 15 ounce can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- red pepper flakes to taste, for serving
Instructions
- Cook spaghetti to al dente in well salted water according to package instructions. Reserve at least ½ cup pasta water before draining the spaghetti.
- While the spaghetti is cooking, prepare the sauce. To a blender or food processor, add the tahini, soy sauce, chopped parsley, basil, black pepper, garlic cloves, juice from one lemon and reserved pasta water. Blend until creamy and smooth.
- Toss the cooked spaghetti with the sauce and chickpeas. Serve topped with additional fresh chopped parsley, basil, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Protein: Double the chickpeas, use protein pasta or add chopped cashews or pine nuts for a higher protein meal.
- Storage and reheating: Keep leftovers refrigerated in a closed container for 3-4 days. The sauce thickens up and isn't as pretty as leftovers, but it still tastes great. If needed, splash of vegetable broth to thin it before reheating in the microwave or on the stove.
- Freezing instructions: You can freeze the tahini sauce in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the fridge. It may separate in the fridge/freezer, so make sure to whisk it before serving.
- No herbs? That's okay! I make this recipe with just the base ingredients all the time.
summer says
really yummy! i used the recipe as guidelines rather than an actual recipe so freestyled the herbs and used about 1/4 cup of tahini. at the end i added some white beans, roasted broccoli, pasta, sautéed tomatoes, the sauce, lemon zest, balsamic glaze, arugula, and nooch! or parm if you aren’t vegan / df, really good and easy too!
Cassidy Reeser says
That all sounds so good!! I think this is the perfect recipe for getting creative so I'm glad you did it with success 🙂
Lauren says
This is the BEST tahini pasta out there. This recipe started a lifelong love of eggplants for me (I added some at the end). I’m allergic to nuts so am always looking for a creamy nut free vegan sauce.
Cassidy Reeser says
I love roasted veggies with this pasta, I'm glad you found a new love for eggplant because of it! Thanks for the review!
Anna says
The taste of the pasta came out a bit bitter. Not sure how. I used all the exact instructions but just skipped parsley.
Anna says
The taste of the pasta came out a bit bitter. Not sure how. I used all the exact instructions but just skipped parsley
Cassidy Reeser says
It was probably the tahini, some brands are more bitter than others.
Erinn says
So yummy and visually gorgeous!!!
Cassidy Reeser says
So glad you liked it, the sauce really is so pretty! 🙂