This Vegan Burger Sauce has the classic flavor you love, made with simple pantry staples. It tastes like you grabbed it from a drive-thru!
Made without eggs or oil, this special sauce can be used in several different ways. Spread it over your favorite veggie burger for a vegan Big Mac, use it on sandwiches, serve it as a dip with fries, or drizzle it over a salad for delicious gluten-free comfort food.
This recipe is naturally dairy-free, yet ultra-creamy. Once you taste it, you may want to eat it straight from the bowl!
Ingredients You’ll Need
This special sauce gets its creaminess from raw cashews instead of vegan mayo. If you can’t eat nuts, you can also use hemp hearts with similar results.
Using tomato paste instead of ketchup keeps this sauce refined-sugar-free. When you pair it with yellow mustard, apple cider vinegar, and maple syrup, it tastes remarkably like the real thing!
How to Make Vegan Burger Sauce
In a high-speed blender, combine the cashews, water, vinegar, yellow mustard, maple syrup, tomato paste, onion powder, and salt. Secure the lid and blend until very smooth, about 60 seconds.
Scrape down the sides of the blender and blend again, to make sure you haven’t missed any cashew pieces. Taste the burger sauce and make any adjustments, as needed.
If you would like a smoky flavor, try adding a pinch of smoked paprika. For more of a tangy flavor, add a little more vinegar or a splash of pickle juice. (Sweet pickle relish or dill relish can also be added if you keep that in the fridge.)
Once the sauce is done, pour it into a glass jar with an airtight lid. This vegan special sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to a week! It will thicken when chilled, so you may need to stir in a tablespoon of water to make the consistency runny again.
Spread it generously on a bun and serve with your favorite burger patties, like my vegan black bean burgers. It also makes a delicious dip for french fries!
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use lemon juice or dill pickle juice as a swap for the vinegar in this recipe. Keep in mind that you might need to add slightly more than the recipe calls for in this case, as they aren’t quite as acidic in flavor.
If you have Dijon mustard in your fridge, you can use that instead of yellow mustard. You can also use a different sweetener, like agave nectar. (Honey isn’t vegan, but that can be used if you don’t need a vegan recipe.) You can also use a 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder instead of onion powder if you prefer.
Looking for more vegan comfort food? Try Vegan Quesadillas, Mac and Cheese, or Vegan Alfredo for more ideas.
Vegan Burger Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup raw cashews
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- In a high-speed blender, combine the cashews, water, mustard, tomato paste, maple syrup, vinegar, onion powder, and salt. Secure the lid and blend until smooth, about 60 to 90 seconds.
- Taste the sauce and make any flavor adjustments, as needed. Then pour it into an airtight container with a lid and store it in the fridge until you're ready to use it. This sauce will thicken when chilled, so you may need to stir a tablespoon of water to help thin it out again. It will keep well in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Notes
Nutrition
If you try this vegan burger sauce recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like it.
You have so intrigued me with this recipe as I honestly think I have a fear of mayo, ranch and really any condiment. Won’t even tough the bottles them come in! That’s how messed up I am. But my family loves those types of thing….tough! So making my own flavor that is actually ok sounds like a great plan. Thanks for the inspiration!
Do you have a substitute for the cashews? I am allergic to tree nuts.
I have made something similar using coconut milk yogurt or vegan mayonnaise. It came out perfect!! We used it as a dip for our fries and cauliflower wings. I’m sure you could also use silken tofu-or anything else that will turn into a cream base once blended.
This looks great. Since it’s almost impossible to find a healthy mayonnaise, I had given up on the idea… I will sure try this one 🙂
Also congratulations on your second little wonder! What a hope-giving birth story. I’m due for the end of March (first one) and I had become a bit nerveous from all the horror birth stories that other people tell.
I hope you have a great recovery and uncountable precious moments with your little ones!
I am a pretty hardcore guacamole and homemade mayo fan – simple but awesome but this looks fab too – perfect for sweet potato chips I feel….
This sounds great. I’ve been making something similar to dip sweet potato fries in for about the last two years. I don’t use pickles or relish but do use lots of fresh garlic and a bit of smoked paprika. We’re having grilled veggie wraps tomorrow–gonna have to try this sauce in them. Thanks!
This recipe looks amazing! Do you think I could leave out the tomato paste as I am allergic.
Such a tasty sauce that I love eating with fries!
Do any of these sauces freeze well? That would be a huge help in preparing easy and fun Paleo foods ahead as we try to do.
This sauce is awesome. I have made it several times! It goes great on so many things!!
This looks so good! Does the cashew flavor come through much?
I don’t notice it at all, thanks to all of the other flavors in there!
Thanks for sharing! What a fun and healthy sauce to bring wtih to a party!
Looks good!
Mustard seeds are more expensive here, so if I use Dijon mustard instead, what of the other ingredients should I adjust?
How would you adapt irt to ready made mustard?
Thanks!
I would just start with a little less and taste it as you go. You can always add more if you want to!
Made this tonight as a dipping sauce for breaded mushrooms and it was delicious!! Used fermented pickles for an extra health benefit…yummy!
This is legit Big Mac sauce!
So so good and easy to make 🙂
Made this with almonds and it was amazing. Didn’t put the maple syrup as I’m not too fond of sweet stuff in my meals.
This special sauce is so delicious- I could eat it by the spoonfuls by itself- my new fav is the fries w/ the sauce
We’ve tried a lot of vegan special sauces and this has become our go-to. Love it for dipping sweet potato fries. Also yummy on veggie burgers. Thank you for such an awesome recipe!
Glad you love it! Thanks for letting me know!
I made this yesterday and it is DELICIOUS! Not that I was surprised, but Megan again created some ingredient wizardry! The whole is even better than the parts! I didn’t have pickles or relish and it still tasted great. I used it to dip homemade french fries. When I ran out of fries, I used carrots and pretzels – also very good dippers! I defrosted some hamburgers, to have another excuse to eat the sauce today! Thanks for another fun and delicious recipe that adds another flavor to my week!
This sauce is sooo yummy! I love the flavor and how they all mend together perfectly. With sweet potato fries, it’s such a delicious combination. I added hot sauce and it really elevated the flavor – I recommend adding hot sauce. I also cut the recipe in half and a lot left so it’s a big recipe. Perfect for parties. I recommend making this ASAP 🙂