One of the most sought after recipes in the plant-based cooking world is a good creamy dressing or sauce. Luckily, it’s not that difficult to achieve! With this perfect vegan garlic aioli in your arsenal, you’ll never be at a loss for a creamy, tasty condiment!
The Best Sauce for Vegans and Meat-lovers Alike
This vegan garlic aioli is excellent on everything. Period.
Drizzle it over salads, potatoes, rice bowls, steak, chicken, the list goes on. Even though this is a plant-based recipe, it really works well with anything that you’d want to add a rich garlicky kick to.
Even my mother, a notorious tough customer, and the rest of the family, who haven’t jumped onto the vegan train, gave it the full stamp of approval! This recipe is also great if you’re not necessarily vegan, but you’re trying to avoid the eggs or dairy present in other creamy sauce and aioli recipes.
I love it on roasted sweet potatoes when I’m eating plant based…
Or with a chicken finger, when I indulge on the weekends!
Now that’s versatility.
The Secret Ingredient: Silken Tofu
This recipe calls for silken tofu. The high moisture content and pillowy soft texture whisks and blends up well into smooth sauces and dressings (or pie fillings! See our Chocolate Silk Peanut Butter Tart.)
That said, if you absolutely cannot find silken tofu, you can opt for soft tofu. Just be sure to blend it until it’s totally smooth. We don’t recommend using anything more firm than that.
If you think you’ve exhausted your options at the store, in addition to searching the refrigerated section, try looking in the pantry section, where they may have shelf-stable boxes of silken tofu!
Note: While the photographs here show us using a blender, this vegan garlic aioli works best in a food processor. The wide vessel and blades make quick work. If you’re really in a pinch, you can do this in a blender, but you may need to make the sauce thinner to ensure it blends to a smooth consistency.
Vegan Garlic Aioli Recipe Instructions
Add the silken tofu, garlic, apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper, and salt to a food processor. (I know the photo shows a blender, but a food processor is recommended!)
Blend until mostly smooth, then pour in ¼ cup of oil in a slow stream until the sauce is airy and whipped.
Now your vegan aioli is ready to be served as a dipping sauce or dressing for whatever you like!
Transfer any leftovers to an airtight container, and store in the fridge for up to 1 week. Always use a clean utensil when handling. This recipe makes about 1 ½ cups.
Tofu Garlic Aioli
Ingredients
- 14 ounces silken tofu (1 block, about 400g)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (15 ml)
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (to taste)
- 1-1 1/2 teaspoons salt (to taste)
- 1/4 cup neutral flavored oil (e.g. light olive oil, vegetable oil, avocado oil, etc.)
Instructions
- Add the tofu, garlic, apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper, and salt to a food processor. Blend until mostly smooth, then pour in ¼ cup of oil in a slow stream until the sauce is airy and whipped.
- Transfer any leftovers to an airtight container, and store in the fridge for up to 1 week. Always use a clean utensil when handling.
Tips & Notes:
nutrition facts
Could you add truffle oil to this to make it a vegan truffle garlic aioli sauce? Would you just sub the neutral flavored oil for it?
Hi Connie! Certainly you could, though I would add it more as a flavor agent and not necessarily as a wholesale replacement for the oil. Maybe try a 50/50 ratio to start and then you can add more if need be for flavor! Also depends on the strength of your truffle oil and your preference for a strong flavor.
Tried this-fabulous! Used canola and added a little dijon. It tastes a bit different from the Provencal classic, but delicious nonetheless.
Thx.
Thanks, Dave! :) The touch of dijon is inspired. I’ll have to try that next time!
This looks great! I am looking for a tomato-less vegan spaghetti sauce. Do you think this might work like an alfredo?
Hi Leslie, I’m not sure how it might change when it hits heat, but you can try tossing hot pasta into it once it’s off the heat, maybe with a handful of nutritional yeast to give it that extra cheesy flavor. From there, I would add olive oil or a little bit of starchy pasta water as needed to bring it together.
That said, I’ve never tried it—those would just be my gut instincts—so let us know how it turns out if you give it a whirl!
Oh. My. Goodness. What an amazing recipe! This stuff is incredible. I think the tofu adds a slight hint of sweetness and almost nuttiness too! Thanks so much for this, Kaitlyn! And please keep producing more vegetarian/vegan or even pescatarian recipes, especially adaptions of traditional Chinese dishes. I miss some down home Chinese meals since I stopped eating meat, but have tried to adapt using other ingredients. I’m not as good of a cook as you and your family are though so they don’t necessarily come out right. Would love the help.
Thanks, C.C.! We’ve definitely got our eye on more plant-based recipes of all kinds, not to worry! :)
I am a strict vegan that cannot use oil. Is there any non-oil substitute?
Hi Barry, I’m afraid the soft tofu is the closest you may get to an aioli consistency without using the oil.