The secret is always in the sauce! These vegan sauces, dips, dressings, and spreads make any meal a little more exciting with a splash of color and mega flavor. It's the Ultimate Vegan Sauces Roundup with every recipe you need!
Potentially controversial opinion: sauces make or break a meal. I said it and I stand by it! Having a collection of flavorful, simple sauce recipes can totally change the way you feel about making food at home. Sauces are also super simple to make ahead of time, they're forgiving if you need to adjust the flavors, and they can help mask a cooking blunder if a recipe doesn't turn out the way you'd hoped. I actually center my meal prep around sauces by selecting two that sound good, making a huge batch on Sunday, and then choosing meals based on how they'll pair with it! Are you Team Sauce yet?! Keep scrolling for my absolute favorites in the Ultimate Vegan Sauces Roundup! I've got sauces, condiments, dips, and spreads, both sweet and savory. It's going to be a party on your plate!
Tahini Sauces
Are you as in love with tahini as I am? It has a nutty, savory flavor...even though it's sesame seed based and nut-free! Sesame seeds offer protein, omega-3 and omega 6 essential fatty acids, B vitamins, iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, zinc and more. You can use tahini as substitute in pretty much any recipe that calls for nut butter. I even use it in a Salted Date Chocolate & Tahini Smoothie!
- Herbed Tahini Sauce drizzled over a Vegan Greek Sheetpan Dinner or on top of a Pear & Roasted Beet Arugula Salad with Hazelnuts. This sauce might have my favorite combination of flavors EVER!
- Green Tahini Sauce is great on Roasted Cabbage, Roasted Rainbow Carrots, or Hemp Seed Crusted Whole Roasted Cauliflower. I LOVE the pop of color it adds!
- Easy Creamy Vegan Tahini Sauce is a total classic. It's subtle, creamy, and delicious! Try it on my Spring Root Vegetable Hash or on Crispy Oven Roasted Cauliflower.
- Easy Creamy Tahini Dressing is so, so good on anything...try it with Crispy Harissa Roasted Cauliflower!
Cashew Sauces
Cashew cream...it is, without a doubt, an absolute staple in my kitchen and a total secret weapon for vegans. Making your own cashew cream is incredibly easy (you only need a blender!), and the result is a thick, creamy sauce that can be used to make so many recipes thicker, creamier, and tastier. Cashews also offer plant-based nutrition; they're considered an excellent source of copper and a good source of magnesium, manganese, vitamin K, phosphorous and zinc. These sauces are filled with that delicious flavor and A+ nutrition, and as a bonus, any of them can be made into a nut-free sauce with my Easy Sunflower Seed Cream!
- Easy Homemade Vegan Sour Cream is a family-favorite! Add it to Mexican Veggie Burrito Bowls, Vegan Chili, Easy Vegan Baked Taquitos or Tostadas with Refried Beans for an incredible weeknight dinner winner. I also love to serve it with my Vegan Sheet Pan Nachos.
- Easy Green Onion Cashew Sauce is awesome on top of veggies. I love it with Simple Sautéed Broccoli with Garlic, No-Fuss Seasoned Baked Sweet Potatoes, Maple Glazed Sautéed Carrots, or on top of Cauliflower Steaks!
- Vegan Tzatziki Sauce drizzled overtop a Vegan Shawarma Bowl or Vegan Mediterranean Quinoa Bowl for a more flavorful dinner. Or, mix it into salads like my Vegan Tzatziki Potato Salad or Vegan Beet Tzatziki Salad.
Condiments
I have a couple sauces that seem almost too simple to be true. They don't require many ingredients, but they're filled with so much flavor that they totally elevate your entire meal! If you're a meal prepper, I suggest making one of these sauce in advance and having it in the refrigerator to easily add delightful flavor to any meal you create!
- Chermoula Sauce is great over Herb Roasted Root Veggies...or mixed with Vegan Sour Cream for dipping!
- Three-Ingredient Vegan Honey Mustard to pair with Actually Crispy Oven-Baled Sweet Potato Fries or Dijon Chickpea Fritters.
- Jalapeno Chimichurri Sauce tastes best on top of Rainbow Veggie Kebabs! It would also be delicious over my simple Extra Crispy Smashed Fingerling Potatoes.
- Creamy Garlic Lime Cilantro Sauce is the secret ingredient to my Garlic Cilantro Lime No-Mayo Coleslaw!
- Easy Homemade Enchilada Sauce is perfect for recipes like Enchilada Stuffed Bell Peppers but it's also really good as a drizzle on tacos, salads, or tostadas!
Pasta Sauce
My love for pasta has been well-documented on the blog! While I have so many recipes for pastas that are delicious for lunch or dinner, sometimes all you need is an excellent sauce and a pot of freshly-cooked pasta. These are my go-to sauces that make dinner simple, nutritious AND tasty as can be. Check out my Gluten-Free Resources & Product Recommendations for my favorite pastas!
- Red pasta sauce: Roasted Veggie Tomato Sauce for Pasta (it has lots of hidden veggies and my kids LOVE this one)
- Pesto pasta sauce: Easy Vegan Basil Pesto, Parsley-Pea Pesto Pasta, Easy Vegan Kale Pesto (low oil) or Parsley Arugula Walnut Pesto
- White pasta sauce: Easy Creamy Vegan Pasta Sauce
Dips
Dips are, in my opinion, underrated and underutilized! Having a great dip makes something simple and potentially not-so-exciting (like sliced vegetables) feel fun and new. It's also the perfect way to take the edge off your hunger while you prep a meal! My kids love dips for after-school snacks, and they're even great for adding a bit of fun to a lunchbox.
- Best Vegan Whipped Feta Dip with Easy Homemade Seed Crackers is essentially an appetizer celebrity.
- Roasted garlic dip is my latest obsession as it essentially combines vegan sour cream and roasted garlic.
- Easy Paleo Zucchini "Hummus" (no chickpeas!) or Easy Almond Pulp Hummus to go with carrot sticks or sliced cucumbers. Hummus is also always delicious with falafel! For a classic hummus, try my Quick and Easy Hummus or Simplified Israeli-Style Hummus.
- Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce on Sheet Pan Vegan Nachos...game day favorite!
- Strawberry Salsa is sweet, spicy, salty...and so darn good with chips or on top of Crispy Avocado Tacos.
- Creamy Vegan Black Bean Dip is another crowd-pleaser that also tastes amazing with Black Bean & Sweet Potato Tacos or Easy Vegan Baked Taquitos.
Salad Dressings
I think salad dressings are the first thing people think about when it comes to using sauces to dress up a meal! While there are many, many condiments, dips, spreads, and sauces you can use to do that, a classic homemade salad dressing is always an excellent addition to your meal. These vegan salad dressings help make any bowl of veggies come alive!
- The Best Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing is a favorite on ANY salad, but it's especially good on my Red, White, & Blueberry Salad.
- Vegan Green Goddess Dressing pairs well with Roasted Veggies & Crispy Chickpeas or can be spooned on top of Mini Hasselback Potatoes.
- Easy Mediterranean House Dressing was made to go with a Simple Greek Village Salad (Horiatiki)! I also include it in Mediterranean Pasta Salad, on Vegan Mediterranean Quinoa Salad,
- Creamy Vegan Garlic Cilantro Lime Sauce or Creamy Dairy-Free Cilantro Jalapeno Lime Sauce are both really good on top of Mango-Avocado Quinoa Salad or Quinoa & Mango Stuffed Grilled Avocados.
- Dijon Agave Apple Cider Vinaigrette would be absolutely perfect on top of a Plumcot Stone Fruit Salad.
- Vegan Strawberry Vinaigrette is bright and tangy. Pair it with a Crispy Quinoa and California Avocado Salad!
Sweet Sauces
We can't wrap this up without dessert! I have a couple sweeter sauces that make an after-dinner treat even more fun. Since I naturally sweeten my recipes rather than using refined sugar, I'd say that any of these would also be perfect for adding some fun to a bowl of oatmeal, a smoothie, or a slice of toast with fruit. They're all delicious with Apple Ring Sandwiches as well!
- Instant Vegan Caramel Sauce for a Vegan Salted Caramel Smoothie garnish or to drizzle on Easy Sautéed Apples or Easy Blender Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream.
- Vegan & Paleo Sweet Potato Chocolate Frosting on top of Vegan & Paleo Vanilla Cupcakes.
- Healthy Homemade Nutella to put in Vegan Nutella Fudge Pops or a Vegan Nutella Smoothie Bowl.
- Homemade Date Paste Sauce to spread on toast.
- Creamy Cinnamon Vanilla Fruit Dip with Easy Apple Nachos is an after-school snack that my kids SCREAM with joy over! It's delicious with apples, bananas, berries...anything and everything tastes good with this dip.
- Cashew Vanilla Icing is SO versatile, you'll want to drizzle it on everything! It's also REALLY easy to make. I'm talking minutes! Put it on Cinnamon Roll Cookies, Baked Chocolate Chia Seed Donuts, Apple Cake, or Blender Apple Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel.
I hope this roundup of easy vegan sauces is a helpful resource to you! I love finding vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, and naturally sweetened ways to make my meals a little more exciting. Usually, sauces are the ticket! Please tag me on Instagram if you make any of these recipes, and be sure to drop a review below the recipes you try to help other readers out.
Leave a Reply