You found a great recipe that calls for Tahini and you’re wondering where to find it. With the increase in the popularity of hummus over the past five years, tahini can now be found in most grocery stores.
So, where can you find tahini in the grocery store? In most grocery stores you will find tahini in the condiment or ethnic food aisle. In some stores, you may find it next to the hummus or in the aisle with the nut butter. Tahini is sold in jars, cans, or plastic containers.
Now that you know where to find Tahini in the grocery store let’s look at some other facts about Tahini such as what stores carry it and what are the top brands.
What Stores Sell Tahini
Here is a list of some stores that sell Tahini and some of the brands they carry.
- Walmart: look no further than your local Walmart they carry Once Again Organic Tahini, Jovya Sesame Tahini, and other brands.
- ShopRite: ShopRite carries many products and also carries Tahini as well. The brand I would recommend getting is Jovya Tahini.
- Whole Foods: this is a great store to find organic products they carry their own brand called 365 Organic Tahini
- Trader Joe’s: this is one of my favorite stores for healthy shopping, they carry Trader Joe’s Organic Tahini and Herbed Tahini sauce.
- Kroger: they sell quite a few brands, you will find Simple Truth Organic, Ziyad Tahini Sesame Paste, Krinos Tahini Sauce, and Joyva Sesame Tahini.
- Publix: the brands they carry are Kevala Organic, Baron’s Pure Tahini Sesame Paste, Krinos imported, Ziyad Sesame Paste, Joyva, and Mighty Sesame Tahini.
- Safeway: grab some Tahini at your local Safeway, they carry Organics Tahini, Once Again Organic, and Krinos.
- Acme: looking for it in your local Acme and you will find a very good brand called Once Again Tahini.
- Target: Target does not have a large grocery section but they do carry a good brand called Joyva Tahini.
- Sprouts: Sprouts Farmers Market sells Sprouts Organic Unsalted and roasted garlic Tahini as well as Joyva and Once Again brands, they also have Primal Sriracha Tahini dressing.
- Wegmans: if you have a Wegmans near you you can find Wegmans Organic Tahini Butter, Lior, All Natural, Krinos Imported, and Roland roasted garlic.
- Giant: they sell quite a few brands of tahini, such as Hadder Sesame paste, Woodstock Sesame, Joyva, and Nature’s Promise Organic Unsalted.
- Middle Eastern Food Markets: If you have a Middle Eastern or Ethnic food market in your area then you should plan a visit because you will find some of the best Tahini at these markets.
- Amazon: if you can’t get to your local supermarket or grocery store then you can order Tahini online. You will find a large selection of brands on Amazon.
As you can see Tahini is sold in many grocery stores, supermarkets, and ethnic markets in the United States.
What are the Best Brands of Tahini found in the grocery store?
Not all brands are created equal so to help you out here is a list of the six best brands of Tahini that can be found in the grocery store or supermarket.
- Joyva Sesame Tahini
- Once Again Organic Tahini
- 365 Everyday Value Organic Tahini (Whole Foods)
- Soom Foods Pure Ground Sesame Tahini Paste
- Roland Tahini Pure Ground Sesame Seed
- Sprouts Organic Roasted Garlic Tahini (Sprouts Farmers Market)
Now that you know what brands are the best it’s time to head to the grocery store and pick some up. In the next section, I want to go over some of the ways you can use Tahini.
What is Tahini used in?
Tahini is used in many Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dishes and is one of the essential ingredients in hummus and baba ghanoush, and can be used in dressings, spreads, or dips as well as some desserts.
Can you eat Tahini plain? Tahini is made from roasted sesame seeds so it is essentially sesame butter and can be eaten off the spoon just like peanut butter and almond butter.
How to use Tahini in salad dressing.
Here is a simple Tahini dressing that contains only 3 ingredients. Tahini, lemon juice, and maple syrup. mix 1/3 cup of tahini with 3 tablespoons lemon juice and 1 1/2 tablespoon of maple syrup, add a dash of salt. Then slowly mix in 6 tablespoons of water to thin it out. Wisk until it becomes creamy and liquified, now you can enjoy it. you can store it in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Tahini can also be used as a sauce on chicken and other meats, or it can be used as a dip for vegetables and pita chips. It is very versatile and can be used for many things. Just do a search for recipes on Google or YouTube and you will find hundreds of recipes.
Below is a good grilled chicken Sharma with Tahini Sauce recipe by Recipes of the world.
Now that you know how tahini is used in the next section you will learn what exactly Tahini is and where it originated from and some other important facts about it.
What Exactly is Tahini Anyway?
Tahini is basically a paste made from ground sesame seeds. It is a staple of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dishes that can be mixed with other ingredients to make sauces, dips, spreads, salad dressing, or even added to desserts like brownies and cookies. It has a smooth texture that is similar to nut butter but has a more bitter taste and Its simple ingredients make it a great addition to any dish.
History of Tahini
Tahini dates back to the 13th century where it was referred to as a sesame paste. It originated from Persia where it was known as “ardeh” from Persia it migrated to Israel and other regions in the Middle east. For centuries just the upper class, as well as the affluent, could acquire the active ingredients to make it.
Tahini is used in the cuisines of the eastern Mediterranean region, from the Middle East, and the Balkans to Northern Africa. It is also commonly used in Chinese and Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly Vietnamese cuisine. Although it is grown in different parts of the world the best sesame seeds to make Tahini are from Ethiopia and they are called Humera seeds. Humera seeds are especially cherished for the soil that they are grown. The soil is rich in nutrients and helps the seeds develop a deep flavor.
You can find tahini in many dishes across the world including the countries of Israel, Africa, China, Japan, Iran, Turkey, Korea, and others.
Now that you know what tahini is let’s find out if it is good for your health in the next section.
Is Tahini Good for You?
The ancient Greeks made use of sesame as medication as well as food. The initial doctor, Hippocrates, is claimed to have advised sesame for its nutritional values. India’s typical medicine uses the sesame seed to nurture as well as make the body healthy.
Tahini is Keto friendly and has a good amount of healthy fats with great protein and a lot of nutrition. It is best consumed raw that way you get the vitamin B complex and some of the other fat-soluble vitamins including Linoleic acid. It is very rich in Phytonutrients that can help protect the cells and contains vitamins B1, Iron, Zinc, Copper, and Magnesium.