Sesame Steak Sauce (Sawmill Copycat)

This Sesame Steak Sauce is a delicious dipping sauce for steak, but also works as a sauce for chicken or other meat, or even as a salad dressing!

Dairy Free

Gluten Free

Nut Free

Vegetarian

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There's a popular steak restaurant in my city that's well-known for the Sesame Steak Sauce that it serves with its steak. The restaurant is called The Sawmill, and their Sesame Sauce is so well-loved that they even bottle it and sell it at local grocery stores.

When we lived in Wisconsin, we once bought a couple of those bottles of steak sauce on a visit, after reminiscing about how good the sesame sauce was in the restaurants.

Maybe our memories had failed to remember exactly what the sauce was like, or maybe the bottled version was different from the restaurant version, or maybe the recipe had changed. It seemed more like slightly sesame-flavored mayo than the rich, flavorful sesame sauce we remembered. Neither Mr. Dreamboat nor I liked it, and we ended up throwing it away.

Now that we're back in Edmonton, we have the ability to eat at the Sawmill anytime we want, but for several reasons, we typically only make steak at home. And since I still thought fondly of the sesame sauce of my memories, I decided to recreate it at home.

As it turned out, I (almost) nailed it on my first try. I ended up putting too much garlic in so that it was more garlic sauce than sesame sauce. But I saved it! I simply doubled the remaining ingredients to "water down" the garlic, and it tasted delicious. Just like the sesame sauce in my memories.

A spoon scooping a spooful of sesame steak sauce from a jar.

How to make Sesame Steak Sauce:

Making this savory Sesame Steak Sauce is so easy and takes only minutes! All you need to do is simply add all of the ingredients to a blender (or use an immersion blender for even easier clean-up), and blend until smooth.

For best results, let the sauce chill in the fridge for an hour before serving to allow time for the flavors to meld. However, in a pinch, you can serve it immediately if needed.

You can keep the steak sauce in a bottle, jar, or airtight container for a couple of weeks in the fridge, to be used on steak or other foods.

What else can I put my Sesame Steak Sauce on?

This flavor-filled Sesame Sauce is of course delicious on steak, but it can also be used for other foods. Try serving it on grilled chicken and other meats and fish.

It's also great on roasted or grilled vegetables, potatoes, and fries, and it even works as a salad dressing!

Sliced grilled steak with salad and a small dish of Sesame Steak Sauce on a white plate.

Sesame Steak Sauce Ingredients:

Tahini - tahini is a sesame seed paste. It is available in most well-stocked grocery stores, likely in the International aisle, but maybe with the nut butters. You can also make it yourself with a food processor and sesame seeds.
Mayonnaise - use your favorite vegan mayonnaise alternative to make this recipe vegan and egg-free.
Reduced sodium soy sauce - use gluten-free soy sauce or tamari to make your Sesame Steak Sauce gluten-free
Garlic
Onion powder
Paprika
Water

Want more tahini recipes?

Tomato and cucumber salad in a white bowl. — Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Tahini Dressing (Jerusalem Salad)

A fork scooping from a bowl of Lazy Chickpea Salad over arugula. — Lazy Hummus Salad

A spoon drizzing tahini dressing onto a plate of roasted vegetables and black lentils — Roasted Vegetables and Black Lentils with Tahini Dressing

Sesame Steak Sauce Nutrition Notes:

The nutrition information in the recipe below is for 1 Tablespoon of sauce (the recipe makes approximately 12 Tablespoons).

To make this recipe gluten-free, make sure to use gluten-free soy sauce or tamari.

To make this recipe vegan and/or egg-free, use a vegan mayonnaise alternative.