Recipes, Sauce & Dressing

Easy Vegan Sauces (4 Ways)

Hands up if you think sauces are the star of the show? We’re sharing 4 easy vegan sauces to spruce up any meal.

We’ve said it again and again; sauces are the name of the game. If you’re looking for flavour bomb meals time after time, having flavourful sauces is key. These 4 easy vegan sauces will make any meal perfect. Choose from Creamy Miso Mayo Sauce, Gochujang Sesame Sauce, Roasted Garlic Lemon Dressing and Creamy Tofu Ranch Dressing.

 

Creamy Miso Mayo Sauce

Miso paste is one of our favourite ingredients to work with. A traditional Japanese seasoning made by fermenting soybeans with salt and kōji. It’s a thick paste that’s a culinary staple in many Japanese dishes. High in protein and rich in vitamins and minerals, miso is a must have staple in any kitchen.

While this isn’t a traditional Japanese recipe, you can find Japanese recipes from bloggers like Just One Cookbook or Chopstick Chronicles.

Creamy Miso Mayo Sauce

Tips and tricks for Creamy Miso Mayo:

This Creamy Miso Mayo is perfect for sandwiches (like our Tofu Banh Mi), a dip for fries, or thinned out for a buddha bowl or salad. When making we suggest you go with your own personal taste. If you like more of a miso flavour, add more miso!

Substitutions for this recipe:

  • Vegan Mayo – If you’re looking for something a little “healthier” you can opt for a silken tofu base or vegan sour cream.

Creamy Miso Mayo

Creamy and bursting with umami flavour, this Creamy Miso Mayo is perfect on sandwiches, bowls and a dip for french fries.
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Course: Condiments
Cuisine: Japanese-Inspired
Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 16 g (1 tbsp) white miso
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 5 mL (1 tsp) soy sauce
  • 5 mL (1 tsp) maple syrup
  • 75 g (1/3 cup) mayo
  • pinch ginger powder, , to taste
  • water to thin, (if needed)

Instructions

  • Combine all ingredients to a bowl and mix until smooth. Thin with water until desired thickness or leave as a thicker mayo for french fry dipping. Store in an air-tight container.

Gochujang Sesame Sauce

Gochujang is a staple in the TMG kitchen and a staple in Korean cuisine! Gochujang (aka Korean red chili paste) is a savory, sweet, and spicy fermented condiment made from chili powder, glutinous rice, fermented soybean powder, barley malt powder and salt.

Inspired by Korean Bibimbap Sauce, this dressing in not necessarily traditional but you can find more traditional Korean recipes from bloggers Korean Bapsang and My Korean Kitchen.

Gochujang sesame sauce

Tips and tricks for Gochujang Sesame Sauce:

Gochujang can be spicy! Don’t hesitate to change the ratios a little bit in this sauce in order to best accommodate your tastes. Use this dressing on bowls, salads and sandwiches! My personal favourite is on a Bibimpap-inspired bowl.

Substitutions for this recipe:

  • Maple Syrup – Maple syrup offers a delicious flavour to this sauce, but if you don’t have it on hand any liquid sweetener will do.
  • Brown Sugar – If you don’t have brown sugar on hand, you can substitute with white sugar, coconut sugar or additional maple syrup.
  • Rice Vinegar – We’d recommend getting your hands on some rice vinegar (as it’s great in may recipes!) but if you don’t we’d recommend substituting with apple cider vinegar.
  • Garlic Powder – Fresh garlic or minced garlic in oil is a good substitute.

Sesame Gochujang Sauce

Sesame Gochujang Sauce is often used in Korean recipes like Bibimbap, but this sweet and spicy flavour bomb sauce is so delicious that you'll want to drizzle it over everything!
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Course: Condiments
Cuisine: Korean-Inspired
Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 60 g (1/4 cup) gochujang
  • 30 mL (2 tbsp) toasted sesame oil
  • 15 mL (1 tbsp) maple syrup
  • 12 g (1 tbsp) brown sugar
  • 1 lime, , juiced
  • 18 h (2 tbsp) toasted sesame seeds
  • 15 mL (1 tbsp) rice vinegar
  • 6 g (2 tsp) garlic powder

Instructions

  • Add all ingredients to a bowl and whisk until smooth. Store in an air-tight container.

Roasted Garlic Lemon Dressing

We don’t do enough roasting garlic around here. When you roast garlic you change the chemistry in the bulb, resulting in a different flavour and texture. Just cut the top off the bulb, coat the cloves in olive oil, and roast them in an oven. The garlic will soften in the oven and once cool, it can be extracted from the cloves by squeezing the root.

Did you know? In Korea, Japan and Thailand, heads of garlic are often heated over the course of several weeks resulting in black garlic which is sweet and syrupy.

Easy vegan sauce - Roasted Garlic Lemon Dressing

Tips and tricks for Roasted Garlic Lemon Dressing:

Roasting garlic is a lengthy process, but 100% worth it! It gives the garlic a sweet flavour – a great addition to many recipes like this dressing. For this recipe we mildly roast the garlic, but for a different, sweeter flavour roast your garlic a little longer if you’d like. When roasting garlic, it’s important to keep the cloves intact or else it will just burn. Wrap your cloves in a little aluminum foil and coat with a olive oil (be generous) and bake until golden and tender.

Substitutions for this recipe:

  • Olive Oil – The taste of olive oil really lends itself to this recipe, but if you don’t have any on hand you can substitute with avocado oil or another oil of your choice.
  • Apple Cider Vinegar – White wine vinegar or more lemon juice is a great substitute here.
  • Maple Syrup – Maple syrup lends itself to the flavour of this dressing, but you can substitute with your own favourite liquid sweetener.

Roasted Garlic Lemon Dressing

This Creamy Roasted Garlic Lemon Dressing is packed with bright and vibrant, summer-y flavours perfect for salads, pitas and more!
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Course: Condiments
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 head garlic
  • 60 mL (1/4 cup) olive oil, divided
  • 30 mL (2 tbsp) apple cider vinegar
  • 15 mL (1 tbsp) maple syrup
  • 1 lemon, , zested
  • 1 lemon, , juiced
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 6 g (1/4 cup) parsley, finely minced

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 425F.
  • Cut the top off the head of garlic so that you see the tops of all the cloves. Wrap in tin foil and before sealing drizzle with 1/2 tbsp of olive oil. Place the wrapped garlic on a baking tray and bake for 35 minutes or until the garlic is dark and golden in colour. Let the garlic cool for about 15 minutes before opening the foil.
  • Add all the ingredients (except the parsley) to a food processor or blender and mix until smooth. Add minced parsley and stir in.
  • Store in an air-tight container.

4 Easy Vegan Sauces and Dressings

Creamy Tofu Ranch

Creamy vegan sauces can be difficult to get on a vegan diet, but there are a few ways to obtain it. Some of our favourite creamy dressing bases are vegan mayo, hemp hearts, sunflower seeds and silken tofu! This Creamy Tofu Ranch Dressing is made with, you guessed it, tofu!

Silken tofu, also known as soft tofu, is called nèndòufu in Chinese, kinugoshi-dōfu in Japanese, and yeon-dubu in Korean, and is a staple in many Asian cuisines. Silken tofu is produced differently than firm tofu. Firm tofu production involves separating the soy curds from the whey, but silken tofu there is no separation. The name silken tofu comes from the traditional Japanese process of molding the tofu in silk-lined fabric. Learn more about silken tofu from Angela Nyugen of Viet World Kitchen.

Vegan Creamy Tofu Ranch Dressing

Tips and tricks for Creamy Tofu Ranch Dressing:

There’s a balance of flavours to keep in mind when using tofu as a base for vegan sauces. Tofu can easily be a stand out flavour depending on how you balance your ingredients. Continually taste your dressing as you make it and adjust the flavour as you go according to your taste. Please note, this recipe was created with silken tofu, so if you’re using a firm tofu you’ll need to adjust the liquid accordingly. This dressing is great on salad or as a dip for fresh veggies!

Substitutions for this recipe:

  • Silken Tofu – We’d recommend silken tofu here, but if you can’t find it you can use a firm or medium-firm tofu. You will have to adjust the liquid in this recipe to get the proper texture and consistency.
  • Olive Oil – Use your favourite go-to oil as a substitute here.
  • Fresh Garlic – Garlic powder or minced garlic in oil will also work.
  • Apple Cider Vinegar – White wine vinegar or lemon juice is a great substitute here.
  • Dried Dill – Fresh dill will work wonders!

Tofu Ranch Dressing

Creamy and packed with plant-based protein! This Creamy Tofu Ranch Dressing is perfect for salads and dips.
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Course: Condiments
Cuisine: American-Inspired
Total Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 1 cup

Ingredients

  • 454 g silken tofu
  • 30 mL (2 tbsp) water
  • 30 mL (2 tbsp) olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 6 g (2 tsp) onion powder
  • pinch salt, to taste
  • 3 g (1 tsp) black pepper
  • 30 mL (2 tbsp) apple cider vinegar
  • 4 g (1 tbsp) nutritional yeast
  • 6 g (2 tbsp) dried dill
  • 1 g (1 tsp) dried or fresh parsley

Instructions

  • Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. Store in an air-tight container.

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