Overview
About Tahini
Tahini is ground sesame paste, the base of hummus and countless dressings, so it concentrates sesame into a spoonable dose.
It is high in oxalate and high in nickel, carries the full sesame allergen, and grinding adds a little more FODMAP load than whole seeds. That is why a generous swirl on a bowl can trigger where a light sprinkle of seeds would not.
Sensitivities
How Tahini scores
Watch for
What trips people up
- High in oxalate, and because you eat it by the spoonful in hummus or dressing the oxalate dose climbs quickly
- High in nickel, worth watching on a low-nickel diet since seed pastes concentrate the mineral
- Made entirely from sesame, so it is not a safe substitute if you have a sesame allergy
- Mild FODMAP creep from the ground paste (some fructans and galacto-oligosaccharides), so a big scoop can feel heavier than the same weight of whole seeds
Diet fit
Where it fits
Swap ideas
More alternatives
FAQ
Common questions about Tahini
Is tahini high in oxalate like sesame seeds?
Yes, both are high oxalate, and tahini is arguably the bigger problem in practice. Whole seeds get sprinkled, but tahini gets spooned into hummus and dressings, so the oxalate dose per serving is usually larger even though the paste itself grades slightly lower than the raw seed.
Can I eat tahini if I have a sesame allergy?
No. Tahini is nothing but ground sesame, so it carries the entire sesame allergen. If you are allergic to sesame seeds you must avoid tahini and any hummus or dressing built on it.
Is tahini a problem on a low-nickel diet?
It can be. Sesame is high in nickel and grinding it into a concentrated paste does not remove the mineral, so a low-nickel diet usually treats tahini as a food to limit rather than a free pass.
References
Read the background
Ratings reflect the Triggerbites ingredient database and may vary with portion size and preparation.