This sauce came to be when dreaming up a new stir fry for spring. We love the addition of tahini for creaminess and a unique nutty flavor. It’s also a welcome departure from peanut butter.
This sauce is incredibly well balanced with a hint of fresh ginger, savory tamari, maple syrup, lime, and chili garlic sauce. It’s perfect for making ahead of time to have on hand for quick stir-fried grains, vegetables, and noodles! Plus, just 7 ingredients, 1 bowl, and 10 minutes required. Let us show you how it’s done.
How to Make Tahini Stir Fry Sauce
This nut-free sauce starts with a creamy, nutty-tasting base of tahini which also supplies minerals such as copper, manganese, calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, iron, and zinc.
Tamari adds savory/umami flavor, lime juice adds acidity, and maple syrup balances these ingredients out with its sweetness.
Ginger and garlic add zing, while chili garlic sauce adds a bit of heat. Water thins it into a pourable sauce.
We hope you LOVE this stir fry sauce! It’s:
Gingery
Savory
Balanced
Versatile
Quick & easy
& SO delicious!
It’s delicious on veggie and grain bowls, stir-fries, or noodles. Try it on our 20-Minute Tofu Stir Fry, 30-Minute Tempeh Stir-Fry, Tofu & Cauliflower Rice Stir-Fry, Raw Rainbow Noodle Salad, or Veggie Noodle Bowls.
More Tahini Sauces
- Gingery Lemon Tahini Sauce
- Quick Ginger Garlic Miso Tahini Dressing
- 3-Ingredient Tahini Sauce for Everything
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
Tahini Stir Fry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/4cuptahini(see our favorite tahini brands here)
- 2Tbsptamari(or sub a greater amount of coconut aminos and reduce maple syrup)
- 2-4Tbsplime juice
- 2Tbspmaple syrup(plus more to taste)
- 1large clovegarlic, minced
- 1Tbspgrated ginger
- 1 ½ – 2tspchili garlic sauce(omit if you prefer less heat)
- 1-3Tbsphot water to thin
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together tahini, tamari, lime juice (start with lesser amount), maple syrup, minced garlic, grated ginger, and chili garlic sauce. Add hot water 1 Tbsp (15 ml) at a time to thin it out into a pourable sauce (we added 1 Tbsp (15 ml) as recipe is written // amount needed will depend on thickness of tahini).
- Taste and adjust if needed, adding more tahini for creaminess, tamari for saltiness, lime juice for acidity, maple syrup for sweetness, garlic or ginger for zing, or chili garlic sauce for heat.
- Serve in a stir fry (with vegetables, grains, and/or noodles). Best when fresh. Store leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Whisk in additional water after refrigerating to thin. Not freezer friendly.
Video
Notes
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate.
SNLsays
I have made Asian tahini sauce before (same ingredients but I didn’t use a recipe) for a salad dressing and it was alright, not a repeat. But using it as a stir fry sauce is game changing! I’d never would have thought of that even though peanut butter/satay sauce is in the same wheelhouse lol. Anyway, heating the sauce up melds the flavours together seamlessly and makes it so much more addicting than before, thank you so much for the inspiration!
Support @ Minimalist Bakersays
We’re so glad you gave it a try and enjoyed the result! Thank you for sharing your experience! xo
Mikesays
This sauce is so awesome. Haven’t used it as a stir fry sauce yet but I’ve been using it as a salad dressing. I never ate salad before because I don’t want to eat oil based dressings and others are too sugary. This is a game changer. Now I really look forward to my after noon salad.
Tips/thoughts:
– Freeze your ginger and it grates easily.
– Single batch with about about 2.5 tbs of lime juice is PERFECT. Doubling the batch, in my experience and human error, isn’t quite as perfect but still super bangin.
– If you’re going to use it as a salad dressing, don’t be afraid to water it down a bit more because it’s so flavorful.
– My salad’s have been composed of big handful of spring mix, small handful of cashews, half an avocado, small amount of cut up tomatoes, little bit of shredded chicken. Excited to have found an enjoyable way to consume my leafy greens.
Support @ Minimalist Bakersays
We’re so glad you enjoy it, Mike! Thank you for sharing your experience!
Pam Raper Stoddardsays
This sauce was amazing, like all of the sauces from Minimalist Baker. Quick and easy and so satisfying. Make this sauce today!
Support @ Minimalist Bakersays
Woohoo! We love to hear it. Thanks for the lovely review, Pam!
Lucysays
So good! I’ve made it twice now. Son likes his tofu and broccoli pretty plain, so I’m happy to have found a sauce I can make to just pour on my portion to zest it up.
Support @ Minimalist Bakersays
Love that! Thank you for sharing, Lucy! xo
Alexandra N Ludwigsays
This sauce is so good on my fried! stir fry! ♡ I made mine with honey instead of Maple syrup bc I literally JUST ran out of Maple syrup.
I CANT WAIT to try it with the chilli garlic sauce & Maple syrup next batch!
Yummm!
Support @ Minimalist Bakersays
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Alexandra! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Jennifersays
This recipe looks amazing, I want to use it in my next stir fry. Do you add the sauce during frying or just add the end? Thanks
Support @ Minimalist Bakersays
Hi Jennifer, you can use this recipe as a guide for adding it. Hope that helps!
Tarasays
Super tasty!! We eat a lot of stir fries and I am always looking for ways to keep it interesting. This sauce was a really nice change up. It was a work night, so I kept it even easier by using powdered garlic, ginger and bottled lime juice. Even with all the cheats it was still delicious. I will definitely be making this one again.
Support @ Minimalist Bakersays
Yay! Thanks for the great review and for sharing your changes, Tara! So glad you enjoyed! xo
larasays
extremely luscious and a perfect alternative for peanut sauce dishes! i’ll be making this a lot 😊
Dana @ Minimalist Bakersays
xoxo!
Kortneii MacKenziesays
Yum so gingery and creamy. Yum. Love this!🙌 thanks
Support @ Minimalist Bakersays
Woohoo! Thanks for the lovely review, Kortneii! xo
Chanasays
Looks delicious! Where did you get those great spotted bowls!?
Elisesays
This was delicious but I think the lime juice amount was wrong…(?) I had to add about a 1/4 cup more tahini to level out the sourness… Maybe my limes were just very potent? This is the first time I’ve had feedback about a MB recipe and even so, it’s a great one!
Dana @ Minimalist Bakersays
We’ll add a range! Thanks for the feedback, Elise!
Micahsays
This was great! It really improved my veggie stir fry!
Dana @ Minimalist Bakersays
xoxo!
katesays
This is really a great recipe as is and seems to work for a lot of veggies. I didn’t chop anything, just threw it all in the blender. Make this with some good (non-bitter) tahini and you’ll want to eat it off the spoon!
Support @ Minimalist Bakersays
Yay! We’re so glad you enjoy it, Kate. Thanks for sharing!
Kellysays
Straight 🔥 🔥🔥🔥… This is that yum yumm sauce that takes your dish to the next level! Highly recommend!
Dana @ Minimalist Bakersays
Yay! Thanks, Kelly!
Pamelasays
Would it still work with sunflower seed butter instead of tahini? I don’t react well to sesame.
Support @ Minimalist Bakersays
Hi Pamela, we haven’t tried it with sunflower butter, but we think it might work. Let us know if you try it!
Kaitlynsays
This sauce came out delicious! I didn’t have lime so I used lemon instead and it worked out perfectly. So quick and easy to make!
Support @ Minimalist Bakersays
Great! Thanks for sharing, Kaitlyn! xo
Aimeesays
You did it again! I got the email about this sauce yesterday, then when it was time to cook in the evening, I looked at what we had and decided on baked potatoes topped with stir-fried vegetables and tofu. AND THIS DELICIOUS SAUCE!! It was perfect – creamy with just the right blend of tart and spicy. Love it!
Support @ Minimalist Bakersays
Woohoo! We’re so glad you enjoy it, Aimee. Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Nadjasays
Can soy sauce be used if I don’t have tamari or coconut aminos? Would any adjustments need to be made?
Dana @ Minimalist Bakersays
Use slightly less as soy sauce is more salty!
samsays
I came on to find a sauce for stir fry and this was the first thing that popped up! It was delicious and although I love the peanut based sauces this was a welcome change!
Support @ Minimalist Bakersays
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Sam! Thanks for sharing! xo
Suesays
This looks delicious! I regularly make Middle Eastern-style tahini sauce (with lemon, garlic, cumin). I love the idea that changing just a few ingredients totally changes the ethnic flavor of the dish. Can’t wait to try this!
Support @ Minimalist Bakersays
Thanks, Sue! Let us know how it goes =)
Kristinasays
Do you put this sauce on while cooking the stir fry or after it is done as a topping? If after, would you add any seasonings while cooking?
Support @ Minimalist Bakersays
Hi Kristina, we like to add it toward the end of cooking. Check out this recipe for further guidance.
Jesse-Gabrielsays
Mein Tipp, 30 Gramm Tahini und 30 Gramm Erdnussbutter, den Rest wie im Rezept beschrieben.
Viele Grüße,
Jesse-Gabriel