One of our closest friends has celiac disease and, a decade before being gluten-free was all the rage, she taught us about rice flour and the unexpected fact that Hefeweizen is gluten-free. She and her husband also recently adopted a vegan diet that excludes expressed oils. We barbecued together this weekend and I was craving potato salad but wanted to make a version that they could eat. While we toyed with making a mayo-free German potato salad that just didn’t feel right for the 4th of July weekend. Besides, I absolutely love a culinary challenge like this. So I set out to find a vegan, gluten-free, oil-free mayonnaise-like dressing.
I tested several recipes based around silken tofu and coconut milk but the hands-down best version came from Bryanna Clark Grogan’s Vegan Feast Kitchen. Her technique is so easy and produces a thick, creamy spread that nails both the taste and texture of traditional mayonnaise. After much experimentation, I increased the amount of cashews for texture and adjusted the flavors slightly for my taste. This mayonnaise was a hit. Not only did it make a delicious potato salad that I’ll share tomorrow but we used it to top veggie burgers and dogs.
For a zesty variation I blended half a chipotle pepper and a tablespoon of adobo sauce into one cup of this dressing. That jar was completely devoured within hours.
Not only is this easier to make than traditional egg and oil mayonnaise, it’s much less expensive and far healthier at only 13 calories a tablespoon. We’re not vegan but this may become our standard mayo.
Find agar powder
Ingredients
- 1 c boiling water
- 1/3 c raw cashews
- 1 c unsweetened, unflavored almond milk
- 2 tbs apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp mustard powder
- 1/4 tsp The Vegg powder
- 10 tbs (1/2 c + 2 tbs) cold water
- 1/2 tsp Agar Powder
- 3-1/2 tbs cornstarch
Instructions
Pour boiling water over cashews and let soak 10 minutes. Drain.
Combine softened cashews, almond milk, vinegar, salt, mustard powder and VEGG in a blender and liquefy. Set aside.
Combine cold water, agar powder, and cornstarch in a microwave safe bowl and whisk until well-combined. Microwave 45 sec and whisk again. Continue microwaving in 30 second increments, stirring vigorously between each, until mixture is thick. smooth, translucent and no longer chalky white.
Add cornstarch mixture to the blender and blend until smooth. Pour into storage jars and refrigerate at least 4 hours. Dressing will thicken as it chills.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week and a half.
Nutritional Information
Calories 13 / Total Fat 0.8g / Trans Fat 0.0g / Cholesterol 0mg / Sodium 26mg / Potassium 14mg / Total Carbohydrates 1.2g / Protein 0.3g
Weight Watchers Points: 0 / PointsPlus: 0
I love this idea! I’ve been looking for a vegan mayonnaise for a while now.
Our friends were kind of awestruck with this. Think they’ll be eating more “mayo” than they ever thought they would.
Has anyone tried freezing this? The recipe sounds great but I don’t think I will be able to eat it all in a week.
I am making it for the first time right now. I plan on taking a small portion of this mayo to make an Avocado Garlic Aioli for my homemade chickpea burgers for dinner tonight. There are a variety of ways that you could use mayo so that way you end up not wasting it 😉 Try looking up some recipes that include mayo and have fun with the creativity!
Can I come over for dinner? Avocado Garlic Aioli on chickpea burgers sounds unbelievable! I’m adding it to next weeks menu. Do you have a chickpea burger recipe to recommend? Drooling.
What do you think about cutting the recipe in half?
I haven’t tried it but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work except it might be more difficult to stir smaller amounts. Give it a shot and let me know how it goes!
I made this mayo using the EXACT ingredients and amounts. The taste is wonderful however it never thickened. Was disappointed greatly. Want to make it work because the taste is wonderful. Any suggestions. Mine was thin like a cream soup.
Oh no! I make this every couple of weeks and have never had a problem with it thickening. All I can think is that the cornstarch mixture wasn’t ready when you added it. It should be translucent (almost transparent) and very gummy. If not, continue to microwave in 30-second increments and whisking vigorously in between. Let me know if you still have issues. I can ask Brad to make a quick video.
Thanks!
Thanks so much for your attention. My cornstarch mixture was cloudy, translucent and a solid mass is the bowl…. Still able to whisk but mixture was not close to clear translucent…. Do I keep microwaving and whisking even though it is a solid mass. I read that arrowroot works better than cornstarch when there is an acidic additive, (vinegar). I did use agar agar but thinking regular gelatin would work fine. Please comment. I will definitely try again and report.
Carolyn – do your cornstarch mixture on the stove, stirring constantly. I don’t like the microwave for stuff like this.
Well, I just made it, I did the cornstarch/agar/water on the stove – it was so thick I couldn’t stir it at all. And it WAS translucent. Added to ingredients in the blender and mine didn’t thicken up either. so now what? (I have made soufflés, cream puffs, custards, worked with puff pastry etc. and everything was successful so I know how to cook and follow directions…….)
Hefeweizen is not gluten-free.
Do you have to use the Agar Powder? I have never tried it.
Hi Linda,
The Agar Powder is critical to get the mayo-like consistency. You may be able to substitute Xanthan Gum but I haven’t tried it and suspect the texture wouldn’t be as good.
Benn lookin for a good mayo recipe for months, 4 to be exact. We use a lot of condiments, so I have been making my own dressings, ketchup…..but couldn’t find a good mayo one.
Not only do I need it vegan but also gluten and grain free.
I just made yours but not being able to have corn starch, I used Tapioca starch.
Since we don’t like to use a microwave, I did everything on the stove on a very low
heat. Removing the pan at intervals to whisk. Because the Tapioca starch wont come clear
I did cook and whisk till the mixture was thick and pasty.
Its in the frig now, the little taste test was good, but we will wait to see how it sets up.
Thanks so much for the original recipe!
I’ll have to try it with the tapioca starch. I hope you love it!
just made this recipe last evening.did not tweek and used engredients and followed directions but. placed it in a couple of lided cotainers and placed in frig..12/13 hrs later checked on it and it is still runny.how to increase thickness?
Vegan, Oil-Free Mayonnaise
July 5, 2014 by Maggie Jones
Hello, is there something else that can be used other then the Vegg powder? If left out, what
type of change will occur to the taste or consistency?
Thank you very much.
Hi Debra!
The Vegg is completely optional. It only adds a hint of egg flavor to the mayonnaise and leaving it out won’t detract from the consistency of the final product at all.
Enjoy!
Black salt (kala namak) is great for adding that egg flavor. I love to use it in chickpea salad.
Great idea! I need to try that!
Hello,
Quick question – I know you said this would store in the refrigerator for a week and a half, but could you freeze it to last longer, as I only use very small amounts when including mayonnaise to dishes?
Thanks in advance.
Hi Stacey!
I’ve never tried freezing it but I will next time I make a batch. If you give it a shot will you update here with how it worked?
Thanks!
First ingredient of The Vegg is wheat flour so this recipe is not gluten free. Hope your celiac friend did not have a reaction!
Any way I can use arrowroot in lieu of cornstarch? I feel it may be a healthier choice, and at 3.5 tablespoons that’s a lot of cornstarch. Thanks!
Alas, arrowroot doesn’t have sufficient binding properties for this particular recipe but I’m sure there are some out there that don’t use cornstarch if you keep hunting. Good luck!
Thank you for this recipe. I was looking for a vegan mayo without oil! I just made this and it was pretty easy and it taste spot on!
I just clicked your link for The Vegg, and the packaging definitely says it’s gluten-free. However, the main ingredient is nutritional yeast, so I’ll probably just add an equal amount of nooch to my mayo. Thanks for a yummy-looking recipe!
Wow! Prior to adding the thickening ingredients it tasted just like real mayo! The agar/cornstarch gave it a funky taste. I’m gonna try again, using cooked potato as a thickener instead. Fingers crossed!!
I am allergic to tree nuts, is there a substitute for people like me ?
Is there a specific reason as to why cashew nuts are used? Would it just be dor the flavor of the cashew nut itself or could Iuse another nut instead? I was thinking a walnut might work but it is kind of “shucky” but maybe similar in flavor (maybe) or possibly a pecan.
Hi Esther! Cashew’s have a naturally neutral flavor and creamy consistency that really lends itself to this recipe. I’m not confident another nut would work but let me know if you try!
very nich food .
This sounds great! Has anyone tried freezing this yet? I was looking for a fat free mayo to use in things like spinach dip that could be frozen without separating like full fat mayo does sometimes.
I don’t usually use the microwave unless absolutely necessary so I’ll probably do this on the stovetop. It’s seems that those that have tried that had trouble getting the texture thick enough? What do you think of using gluccomann? I don’t know how much it take to substitute for the 1/2t of agar, and I think it would be a good idea to mix the gluc with the cornstarch before adding the water to avoid clumping.
(I’ve read of some people substituting sweet potato starch for cornstarch as thickening, but I’ve never tried that as I have no issues with cs. They get the sps at Asian markets.)
Thanks so much for working out this recipe. So glad to find your spot on the web!
Did anyone think that prior to refrigeration their mayo had an extremely strong vinegar smell? I just put mine in the refrigerator and I’m hoping this is normal and it goes away after thickening and cooling?