Aioli was my favorite sauce when I wasn’t vegan and also after I went vegan because I learnt how to make an egg-free version using soy milk instead, but as it’s so high in fat, I didn’t make it very often until I discovered this wonderful vegan aioli recipe. I can’t believe it’s oil-free, made with natural ingredients and tastes SO GOOD.
I’ve always used unsalted raw cashews to make this recipe, but if you can’t find them, you could try to use roasted or salted cashews instead. Please don’t use fried cashews, they’re not healthy at all and are usually made with refined oils. If you can’t find any type of cashews, try our vegan green aioli (omit the spinach if you want).
Did you like this oil-free vegan aioli? Then check out these sauce recipes: vegan mayo, 2-minute healthy ketchup, homemade enchilada sauce, vegan Caesar salad dressing and oil-free vegan yogurt sauce.
If you make this recipe, please leave a comment below, rate it or tag a picture @simpleveganblog on Instagram and hashtag it #simpleveganblog. We’d love to see what you cook!
Vegan Aioli (Oil-free)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup (200 g) 1x
- Category: Sauce
- Cuisine: Vegan, Mediterranean
You only need 5 ingredients to make this vegan aioli. It’s delicious, creamy, oil-free and ready in less than 5 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp water (95 ml)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2/3 cup unsalted raw cashews (100 g)
Instructions
- Soak the cashews overnight.
- Drain and rinse them, then blend them with the rest of the ingredients in a regular blender until smooth.
- Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Notes
- Remove germ from garlic or use garlic powder to make the aioli easier to digest.
- Apple cider vinegar can be used instead of the lemon juice.
- Add more or less water depending on how thick you like your aioli.
- Try the aioli and add more salt or garlic if needed and blend again.
- Omit the garlic clove to make a delicious oil-free mayo.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 tbsp aioli
- Calories: 35
- Sugar: 0.4 g
- Sodium: 29.9 mg
- Fat: 2.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 2 g
- Fiber: 0.2 g
- Protein: 1.1 g
Margarita says
June 10, 2019 at 03:01Just made this, using less water, and it’s turned out very liquidy. What did I do wrong? I used aquafaba as part of the water measurement as well, thinking this would help.
Iosune says
June 10, 2019 at 12:09Hi Margarita! Did you use a powerful blender? You don’t need to add aquafaba, just follow the recipe to the T and add less water if needed. Hope it helps!
Kristen says
June 6, 2019 at 17:21I omitted the garlic to make the mayo. It is absolute perfection for my eggless egg sandwich! Thank you for this! I will definitely be making this more often.
★★★★★
Iosune says
June 10, 2019 at 11:51Hi Kristen! You’re so welcome 🙂 So glad you liked it!
Diane says
March 20, 2019 at 18:34I was looking for a Lebanese garlic sauce (toum) recipe that didn’t contain all that oil. Came across your recipe, sounded very similar so gave it a try and boy am I glad I did! Iosune this is delicious, thank you so much for sharing. I added 1/4 tsp onion powder, and 1/4 tsp garlic powder. This is going to make a wonderful salad dressing.
★★★★★
Iosune says
March 23, 2019 at 02:22Hi Diane! Thank YOU for making the recipe 🙂 So glad you liked it!
Shantel says
March 10, 2019 at 20:34I have to say that this was the first time making aioli. I wanted a healthier choice than mayo with oil. I am soo incredibly happy with this recipe!
Iosune says
March 11, 2019 at 02:29Hi Shantel! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂
Caroline says
October 12, 2018 at 21:48Crazy good! Didn’t soak, and added a tsp of dijon…even the kids loved it and they hate mayo!
★★★★★
Iosune says
October 13, 2018 at 08:13Hi Caroline! I’m so happy to hear that 🙂 Have a nice weekend!
Marca says
September 7, 2018 at 15:07I just made your oil free Mayo. I didn’t soak the cashews but it still came out pretty good.
Some recipes call for avocado oil I will try that next I didn’t like it with olive oil or Canol.
I’m 80% plant-based but I love food at New recipes so thank you very much
Iosune says
September 11, 2018 at 09:12Hi Marca! Traditional aioli is made with olive or sunflower oil, but i’ts up to you 🙂 Have a nice day!
Winny says
December 19, 2017 at 22:23Hi Iosune,
I follow the FOK whole Food, Plant Based way of eating and was looking for an oil free plant based mayo.
Today I made this recipe. I put less salt in it and a little more citrus juice and I really liked it a lot. Actually it was ‘licking my spoon’ good. I put it on whole wheat toasted bread with lettuce and it was yummy. I put a little bit in the freezer to see if that works.
This one will go into my recipe binder. Thank you.
Iosune says
December 20, 2017 at 10:26Hi Winny! You’re so welcome 🙂 So glad you liked it so much!
Isabel says
November 11, 2017 at 00:54Found this recipe yesterday, soaked the cashews overnight, and made this today to eat with some roasted veggies! I’m addicted to garlic so I added a bit more garlic and used a mix of lemon and apple cider vinegar. So delicious! I made it a double recipe and so glad I did so I can try it with more things, possibly kale/sweet potato pancakes! Thanks for sharing!
Iosune says
November 11, 2017 at 12:25Hi Isabel! You’re so welcome 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it!
Carrie says
August 12, 2017 at 19:03Can I freeze this if I want to make a larger batch?
Iosune says
August 14, 2017 at 17:05Hi Carrie! I don’t think it’s going to work, sorry!
Shakti says
August 3, 2017 at 14:32Hi, I love tgis recipe! But will it change the recipe if I replace cashews with peanuts?
★★★★★
Iosune says
August 4, 2017 at 10:00Hi Shakti! I don’t think it’s going to taste like mayo if you use peanuts. Have a nice day!
Maya says
July 25, 2017 at 21:28Hi, was wondering if cashew butter could used in place of the cashews? I have a whole tub at home and it would be a great way to use it up as I love mayonnaise. Thank you
★★★★★
Iosune says
July 26, 2017 at 10:22Hi Maya! I’ve never tried to make this recipe using cashew butter, but I think it’s not going to work. You can try it anyways if you want and if it works, please leave a comment 🙂 Have a nice day!
Szasza Paz says
July 21, 2017 at 23:58Wow, this is incredible! Always loved aioli! Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!
★★★★★
Iosune says
July 24, 2017 at 09:51Hi Szasza! Thanks a lot 🙂 Hope you try it!
Daniel says
July 13, 2017 at 18:03Ummm… True there may be no oil in this recipe, but 100g of cashews adds as much fat as three tablespoons of oil.
Iosune says
July 24, 2017 at 09:50Hi Daniel! Oil is not a whole fat and has even more fat and calories 🙂
Arcelia Rael says
July 4, 2017 at 04:47Hi! Thank you for this wonderful recipe. Do you think almonds would work instead of cashews? I have a family member who is allergic to cashews. Thanks in advance!
Iosune says
July 4, 2017 at 08:16Hi Arcelia! You’re so welcome 😀 You could try, but I’m sure it’s going to work… We also have this recipe: http://simpleveganblog.com/vegan-mayonnaise/, but it’s not oil-free. Have a nice day!
Izzy Bruning says
May 23, 2017 at 23:21This looks so delicious – I have never used aioli before!
Izzy | Pinch of delight
Iosune says
May 29, 2017 at 13:09Hi Izzy! Thanks a lot 😀 Aioli is sooo delicious!