Roasted Sesame Seed Salt, or Gomashio, is the inspired pairing of ground, roasted goma, sesame, and shio, salt. Used as a dry condiment throughout Japan for millennia, and so easily made at home, Gomashio has a nutty, earthy, faintly sweet, and lightly salty flavour, deliciously marvelous for adding to a multitude of dishes.

An image of small glass containers filled with Roasted Sesame Seed Salt made with white and black sesame seeds.

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Gomashio: from history to health food
How to make Roasted Sesame Seed Salt
Small batches ensure freshness
Variations
Ways to use Roasted Sesame Seed Salt / Gomashio
Pairings
Roasted Sesame Seed Salt / Gomashio

Gomashio: from history to health food

According to authors William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi in their extensively researched publication History of Sesame, the use of sesame in cooking dates back to at least 100 BCE. The term gomashio was first introduced to English language readers in the early 1960’s, sometimes spelled as gomasio, a featured condiment in popular macrobiotic cuisine of the era.

I used to buy gomashio in little bottles from the health food store until I realized that I could easily make it myself, as many households have done across the ages. Traditionally, simple, 2-ingredient gomashio is made by grinding roasted sesame seeds and salt using a suribachi, a ridged ceramic mortar, and an accompanying surikogi, a wooden pestle. To make things a little easier, gloriously pre-roasted Japanese sesame seeds come in handy, as does a food processor or a smaller spice grinder, although you can of course toast and grind the sesame seeds yourself.

An image of two packages of sesame seeds, one containing white sesame seeds, the other black sesame seeds

How to make Roasted Sesame Seed Salt

Featuring a ratio of about 1 part salt to 5 parts sesame seeds, making homemade Roasted Sesame Seed Salt is as easy as adding roasted sesame seeds and salt into your grinder of choice, and pulsing a few times until your mixture is mostly finely ground with a few intact sesame seeds still remaining. In my food processor, I pulsed my mixture for about 20 to 30 seconds to get the fine grind that I prefer, making sure to check the mixture every 10 seconds or so; whether you prefer your gomashio chunky or finely ground, just make sure you don’t over pulse your sesame seeds for too long or they might turn into a into a damp paste!

I personally like my finished Roasted Sesame Seed Salt to contain a mixture of both finely ground and whole sesame seeds, so I usually add an additional teaspoon or two of whole seeds at the end of the grinding process to achieve the consistency I prefer.

Small batches ensure freshness

This recipe is specifically intended to make a small amount, producing about a half cup, which can be easily stored in a small glass or spice jar. Sesame seeds, like other seeds and nuts, will eventually go rancid, so I only make a small batch to ensure freshness. The process of making homemade Roasted Sesame Seed Salt is so simple and quick to complete, I don’t mind whipping up a batch every few months or so when my container starts to run out. If you end up using your batch more quickly than planned, simply make a double batch next time!

Variations

You can choose to use either white, black, or prized golden sesame seeds, or make a lovely mix of both lighter and darker sesame seeds. Because salt is one of only 2 ingredients in this dry condiment, use the best salt you have access to; I usually use larger granulated sea salt or kosher salt for my gomashio when using light coloured sesame seeds, and I recently came across black lava sea salt that I used in a black sesame version. Really any combination of decent salt and nicely roasted sesame seeds will produce this lovely low sodium and protein rich condiment that has so many uses.

A meal laid out on a white countertop with Steamed Tofu with Ginger and Fragrant Greens as the centrepiece.

Ways to use Roasted Sesame Seed Salt / Gomashio

Roasted Sesame Seed Salt is the kind of condiment you can keep near or on your table as you would regular salt. Steamed or roasted vegetables, noodles and noodle soups, stir fried vegetables, avocado toast, sauteed greens, salads, tofu dishes, vegetable crudité, and popcorn are just a few of the places where a sprinkle of Roasted Sesame Seed Salt will add its delicious, nutty, slightly sweet, and earthy flavour.

Roasted Sesame Seed Salt is transcendent when adorning short grain white rice, releasing a heady and appetizing aroma of sesame as you sprinkle it on top of the hot rice, pairing beautifully with Steamed Silken Tofu with Ginger and Fragrant Greens. You can also try Roasted Sesame Seed Salt as a topping for Essential Baked Tofu Cubes.

Pairings

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Roasted Sesame Seed Salt / Gomashio

Roasted Sesame Seed Salt, or Gomashio, is the inspired pairing of ground, roasted goma, sesame, and shio, salt. Used as a dry condiment throughout Japan for millennia, Gomashio has a nutty, earthy, faintly sweet, and lightly salty flavour, deliciously marvelous for adding to a multitude of dishes.

Prep Time5

Total Time5

Servings: 1 half cup

Ingredients

½ cup roasted sesame seeds black, white, golden or a mixture of your choice *see note
1.5 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt *see note
Additional 1-2 teaspoon whole roasted sesame seeds optional

Instructions

Using a clean spice grinder, or food processor (a mini chopper or stick blender chopper bowl attachment may even work) pulse ½ cup of sesame seeds and the salt until finely ground but with a few whole seeds still visible - make sure not to overgrind into a damp paste.
If you want a mixture of finely ground seeds and whole seeds in your final condiment, add in the optional 1-2 teaspoon of whole sesame seeds into your ground mixture and combine. Scrape the final mixture into a small airtight glass jar, use regularly, and enjoy!

Notes

If you happen to have pre-roasted Japanese sesame seeds handy, use them as this makes the process even quicker!

If not, instead use the called for quantity of raw unhulled sesame seeds (instead of pre-roasted seeds) and toast them in a pan on the stovetop on medium heat until the seeds are golden and fragrant. Don’t leave the seeds alone to toast as they can quickly burn closer to the end of their cooking time (don’t ask me how I know this!).

If toasting black sesame seeds, a great little trick is to put a few white sesame seeds in the pan to see when the seeds are properly toasted, as black sesame seeds don’t have a readily visible colour change when toasted (or burnt for that matter).

You can also toast your salt in the same pan and at the same time as your sesame seeds to imbue even more sesame flavour into your finished mixture.

I love the ratio of salt to sesame in this mixture, but if salt intake is a concern, use kosher salt, which is less salty than sea salt, or reduce the amount of salt used to 1 tsp.