Sesame powder refers to toasted, roasted, or ground sesame seeds used to add flavor, texture, and nutrition to foods. You can make homemade sesame powder easily from ingredients you likely have on hand - sesame seeds.
Grinding your own fresh sesame powder ensures you get the full flavor and nutritional benefits. It also allows you to control the texture - from fine powder to slightly coarse meal.
Step by Step Guide
Sesame Powder Recipe
Ingredients
- Sesame Seeds
Instructions
Toasting Sesame Seeds
- The first step when making your own sesame powder is toasting the seeds. This important step brings out the natural oils and flavors. It also changes the cell structure of the seed to make grinding easier later on.
- To toast sesame seeds:
- Place dry sesame seeds in a skillet over medium heat. Shake the pan frequently to prevent burning and help the seeds toast evenly.
- Cook until the seeds turn a shade darker and smell fragrant and nutty. The seeds may pop a bit when properly toasted.
- Watch carefully as sesame seeds can burn quickly.
- Immediately remove from heat when done to prevent over-toasting.
- To help gauge doneness, especially with black sesame seeds, add a few white sesame seeds to the mix. When the white seeds puff up and turn light golden, your black seeds are likely perfectly toasted too.
- Allow the toasted sesame seeds to cool completely before grinding. Grinding when hot may lead to clumping.
Grinding Options for DIY Sesame Powder
- You can use either electric appliances like a coffee grinder or food processor or manual tools like a mortar and pestle to grind toasted sesame seeds into powder.
- Coffee grinder: Quickly and easily creates super fine, powdery sesame powder good for baking.
- Food processor: Can grind a larger amount at once than a coffee grinder, with moderate coarseness good for general cooking use.
- Mortar and pestle: Provides control over coarseness from a fine powder to slightly chunky, irregular meal. No electricity required.
Tips for easy grinding:
- Work in small batches for even consistency and to prevent overprocessing into paste
- Pulse/grind the seeds in short 5-10 seconds bursts
- Let the appliance rest briefly between pulses to allow cooling
- Avoid overgrinding once the desired powdery texture is reached
- Add a dry ingredient like rice flour or cornstarch when grinding to help absorb excess oils and prevent clumping/pasting. Use sparingly though to prevent diluting sesame flavor.
- The resulting texture you want - fine or coarse - depends on your intended uses. Here’s a guide:
- - Ultra fine powder for baking
- - Moderately fine powder as a condiment or smoothies
- - Coarser powder to mix into grain dishes
- Store your fresh homemade sesame powder in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 6 months. Freeze for longer storage.
Recipe Inspiration: Uses for Homemade Sesame Powder
A jar of your own freshly ground sesame powder offers tons of ways to upgrade everyday foods. Here are just a few ideas to try:
Breakfast Power-Ups
Stir a spoonful of sesame powder into:
- Yogurt or chia puddings: Adds nuttiness and crunch
- Overnight oats: For toasty flavor and protein punch
- Smoothies: Blends creamy richness and natural sweetness
Or sprinkle sesame powder atop your usual breakfast foods - avocado toast, eggs, pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, etc.
Lunch and Dinner Enhancements
Sesame powder makes an easy flavor booster for so many savory dishes and snacks:
- Fold into cold salads - potato, pasta, grain for added heartiness
- Mix with stir-fries near the end of cooking for texture and taste
- Coat veggies, fish or chicken before roasting or sautéing for beautiful crisp roasted flavor
- Sprinkle on noodles, rice or grains - the perfect instant flavor upgrade
- Blend into dressings, dips and sauces - ranch, tahini, hummus, etc.
Baking and Dessert Boosts
A spoonful of sesame powder lends natural sweetness and tender texture when added to all kinds of baked goods:
- Bread - Especially nice in multigrain or whole wheat dough
- Muffins and quick breads - Carrot, zucchini or banana work well
- Cookies - Perfect for oatmeal or other hearty cookies
- Cakes - Lovely subtle flavor for vanilla, chocolate or spice cakes
And sesame powder makes an easy topping for all kinds of fruit-based desserts too - fruit crisps, pies, tarts, fruit salads, etc.
FAQs
Should I wash the sesame seeds first?
Washing is optional and won’t harm anything. But toasting generally takes care of any dirt or debris. Washing may diminish flavor somewhat.
Can I use black or white sesame seeds?
Either variety, or even a mix, will work wonderfully. White has a milder flavor while black is more robust. Use your preference.
Do I have to roast first or can I just grind raw?
Always toast first! Roasting brings out the signature flavors and oils that make sesame so tasty and versatile in cooking/baking.
What’s the best way to grind sesame seeds?
Small electric appliances like a coffee grinder offer the quickest and most precise results. But a mortar and pestle allows good control too over coarseness.
Can I use store-bought sesame powder instead?
You can substitute premade for homemade, but flavor and freshness will likely suffer somewhat. Plus it’s so easy and inexpensive to grind your own.
Conclusion
With just two ingredients - sesame seeds and a grinder - you can easily whip up a batch of fresh, ultra-flavorful sesame powder any time.
Use this quick homemade condiment, seasoning and baking addition to amplify taste and nutrition in all kinds of sweet and savory recipes. Your homemade sesame powder beats any store-bought powder hands down when it comes to quality and cost.