Spring

Tahini Date Shake

June 22, 2015
5
3 Ratings
Photo by Bobbi Lin
  • Prep time 5 minutes
  • Serves 1
Author Notes

I've taken to swapping in tahini in recipes where peanut or almond butter is called for—I’m very into adding spoonfuls of it to cookie dough, dressing, hot chocolate, smoothies, and shakes! Since it’s now officially summer, I think it’s high-time to spend any free moments sitting outside and drinking cold drinks. And that often means cool and creamy tahini shakes, which are basically milkshakes for breakfast—get excited! I’ve made a pact with myself to take fifteen minutes every morning to drink one of these, read a few pages of very important literature (Twitter), and not think about anything else. And then those precious minutes are over and it’s back to reality. —Rebecca Firkser

Test Kitchen Notes

For someone who doesn't love frozen bananas, I wasn't overly excited at first—but I changed my tune after trying it: It was so simple and really tasty. The almond milk added a nice creaminess, as did the chia seeds. I loved it and will make it again (probably tomorrow morning, with the other half of the frozen banana). And I tried a little bit of dark rum in the last little bit... Quite scrumptious!! —Victoria Ross

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or 1/2 cup milk plus 1/2 cup date water)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons chia seeds
  • 1 tablespoon tahini
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 deglet nour dates, pitted
  • 1/2 frozen banana
  • Ice, as needed
  • 1 teaspoon coconut oil (optional)
Directions
  1. In two separate bowls, soak the dates in hot water for 10 minutes and the chia seeds in warm water for 5.
  2. Combine everything in a blender and blend until it breaks up all of the dates. Adjust ice according to your preference. Drink it on its own for breakfast, or add a shot or two of rum or Kahlúa (but you might not want to have it for breakfast with this addition.)

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Noghlemey
    Noghlemey
  • dymnyno
    dymnyno
  • Christine Aiko Beck
    Christine Aiko Beck
  • Aurora Kangaspuu
    Aurora Kangaspuu
  • Natalie
    Natalie

14 Reviews

Whitney March 13, 2018
Ace. I used fresh coconut milk and it was SO GOOD.
 
Victoria August 30, 2016
I think there must be a novelty to this that I don't understand. I'll try it again tomorrow but today, I give it a "meh."
 
Noghlemey July 22, 2016
Thanks for sharing! x
 
Noghlemey July 22, 2016
Another beautiful Persian Inspired recipe. In Iran we have shakes with dates, tahini, pistachios, cinnamon, banana etc... and we call them "Majoon" means "mixture" or "a mixture that you don't know about its ingredients" ;)
 
Rebecca F. July 24, 2016
Pistachios would be incredible in these shakes—must try! I love knowing the meaning of majoon, too!
 
dymnyno December 11, 2015
Anybody who has grown up in California knows date shakes! They are delicious and easy and nutritious. Thanks for the recipe and reminder!
 
Rebecca F. December 13, 2015
So glad you know and love date shakes– they're the best!
 
Christine A. September 13, 2015
Yum, I've been making this all week and I love it!
 
Rebecca F. December 13, 2015
yay!
 
Aurora K. September 7, 2015
What's the liquid in that brass-spouted Haven apothecary dispenser? Are you using the dispenser for food grade liquids? Is that maple syrup or agave nectar? I'd love to switch out the castile soap I've got in my Haven!
 
karen K. September 4, 2015
Yummm!! Also, you gotta try tahini and honey sandwiches! Amazing!
 
Rebecca F. September 6, 2015
What a rad idea, I'm so making one for lunch this week!
 
Natalie August 15, 2015
I love this idea! Everyone is always about almond butter and peanut butter but I'm totally on the tahini bandwagon with you. It's a nutritional powerhouse: tahini is an excellent source of tons of minerals, like iron and calcium; it contain lignans which are powerful anti-oxidants; they have been shown to decrease total cholesterol. I love making sweet tahini butter (sesame seeds, honey, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and salt)
 
Rebecca F. August 22, 2015
Agreed! Tahini in cookies is my favorite..so much more exciting than peanut butter in my opinion. And oh man, sweet tahini butter sounds amazing! Definitely going to try that on toast for breakfast.