This Tahini Pasta recipe is one of the quickest ways to make a creamy, dairy-free pasta! You can have this pasta sauce done before your pasta even cooks, making it a perfect lunch or weeknight dinner.
You’ll notice that this recipe primarily gives instructions for the simple tahini pasta sauce and does not give specific instructions for anything else (like the pasta type or toppings). Although it is delicious plain, feel free to spice it up however you like! I listed some of my favorite toppings in the Optional Toppings section if you want to check them out.
If you want to make this pasta completely gluten-free, feel free to use a gluten-free pasta alternative! The sauce itself is oil-free, and if you want the entire dish to be oil-free, just cook any of the optional toppings in vegetable broth or dry roast them in the oven.
How to Make Tahini Pasta
*If you are making additional toppings, you might want to prep these first!
Step 1: Before prepping the sauce, go ahead and start heating up a pot of water. The sauce will come together in no time, so you don’t want to be stuck waiting for your pasta to cook!
Step 2: While your pasta is cooking, combine all ingredients (tahini, water, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, salt, and white pepper) in a large bowl. Mix everything until well blended.
Step 3: When pasta is done cooking, strain and immediately add the pasta to the bowl with the sauce. Stir to combine, and then add in any additional toppings! This pasta is best when fresh. Keep reading to learn how to best store this sauce!
Optional Toppings
- Roasted Cherry Tomatoes: Halve cherry tomatoes and drizzle with olive oil on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 370°F for 30 minutes.
- Mushrooms: Slice baby bella mushrooms and sauté over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
- Spinach: Cook or steam the spinach however you like. For this recipe, I like to either saute the spinach on the stove with some water or toss in the raw spinach as soon as I add the pasta. The heat from the pasta makes the spinach slightly wilted without fully cooking.
- Parsley: If you are adding no other toppings, parsley brings a hint of freshness to this dish. Just sprinkle some on when you serve!
- Roasted Broccoli: Place broccoli florets on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes.
How to Store Tahini Pasta
To store this lemon tahini pasta, simply keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a few days. But like other creamy pasta sauces, you will notice that the pasta will have absorbed a lot of the moisture over time, leaving you with a dried pasta. When you reheat the pasta, splash in some more water or plant milk and mix it in. It should rehydrate just fine.
However, I recommend doing this a different way because this pasta is best served fresh. So instead of combining all of the sauce and pasta, only cook the amount of pasta you need and mix it together with some of the sauce. Save the leftover sauce in the fridge and then cook some more pasta when you want more. It requires a little extra work but is worth it!
Tahini Pasta
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup tahini
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast optional for a dairy-free cheesy flavor
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 16 oz fettuccine or pasta of choice
Instructions
- *IF ADDING TOPPINGS: If you are adding any additional toppings, you may want to start cooking these first because they usually take the longest.
- Boil water and cook pasta according to package instructions.
- While your pasta is cooking, combine all other ingredients (tahini, water, salt, garlic powder, lemon juice, white pepper, and nutritional yeast) in a large bowl and mix well.
- When your pasta is done cooking, strain the pasta and immediately add it to the sauce. Stir to combine. Add in any optional toppings and serve.
Video
Notes
- To make this dish completely gluten-free, simply substitute the pasta with gluten-free pasta.
- If you don't think you will finish all of the pasta, you can store the leftovers in an airtight container for a few days. However, like most creamy pasta sauces, the pasta will absorb some of the moisture and it will be slightly drier after the first day. When you reheat the pasta, just add a splash of water or plant milk and mix it in beforehand. It should rehydrate just fine!
- Recommended Method: If you want to avoid doing this, only cook the amount of pasta you will eat and use enough sauce for that amount. Save the leftover sauce in an airtight container. When you want some pasta, make new pasta and add it to the sauce!
- If the pasta ever becomes too dry, just add in a splash of water and mix! If you use al dente pasta you might run into this problem because the pasta will absorb the moisture faster.
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