Creamy Tahini Pasta Recipe
This creamy tahini pasta is nutty, earthy, and slurpable. It combines the richness of tahini, a paste made from ground sesame seeds, with aromatic garlic, citrusy lemon, and jammy cherry tomatoes to create a luscious pasta sauce with Mediterranean flavors. It's a quick and easy pasta recipe that's protein-rich, naturally vegan, and very customizable.
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 472kcal
Ingredients
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound rotini, rigatoni, or fusilli pasta
- ½ cup tahini
- 1 cup pasta water
- Juice and zest of one lemon
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add cherry tomatoes and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, until tomatoes have burst, shrunk down a bit, and start to look jammy. Add minced garlic and ½ teaspoon of salt and cook for an additional minute.
- Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package instructions in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Before draining, remove 1 cup of pasta water from the pot and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, lemon zest, black pepper, and the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt. Slowly stream in the reserved cup of pasta water and whisk until smooth.
- Add cooked pasta and tahini sauce to pan with cherry tomatoes. Use a wooden spoon or large spatula to toss and combine over medium-low heat, until sauce thickens and clings to the noodles, about 2-4 minutes. (The sauce will thicken as it cools, so the thinner the sauce, the better.)
- Serve garnished with fresh parsley and red pepper flakes (if using). Season to taste with additional salt if necessary.
Notes
- How to store: Place in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- How to freeze: I don't recommend freezing the cooked pasta. However, you can make a double batch of the tahini pasta sauce and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months (in a freezer-safe container).
- Save pasta water. Make sure you save 1 cup of pasta water before draining pasta. This has a lot of flavor and will help to make your sauce extra creamy. The sauce will be very thin but will thicken as it cools.
- Double your sauce. Make a double batch of tahini sauce and use it on roasted carrots and green beans, falafel, or drizzle it over a grain bowl or salad.
- Tahini tips: Tahini should be thick and creamy. If you get to the bottom of your tahini jar and it's hard, it might be salvageable by adding a few splashes of olive oil. Give it a few stirs and see if that does the trick. If it doesn't help, I don't recommend using it or your pasta will be clumpy.
Nutrition
Calories: 472kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Sodium: 417mg | Potassium: 466mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1021IU | Vitamin C: 41mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 2mg