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VEGAN AIOLI (2-MINUTE + OIL-FREE)

top down angled view of a small glass jar with vegan aioli and spoon, surrounded by a small white bowl of cashews, sliced lemon half and bulb of garlic

Aioli – a creamy, dreamy garlicky sauce – or mayo if you will!

Today, I am sharing with a you a recipe for a simple vegan, cashew based aioli to pair with fresh and roasted vegetables, or use as a spread for burgers and sandwiches. However you serve it, it’s fantastic and I know you’re going to love it!

This Spanish inspired aioli recipe is:

  • oil-free
  • gluten-free
  • ready in minutes
  • super quick and easy
  • vegan (of course)
  • contains a good amount of protein per serving!

top down view of ingredients to make vegan aioli on a round wooden cutting board

Vegan Aioli

Traditional aioli is made with oil and garlic, some cuisines add egg yolks for extra emulsion, and many today, simply use mayonnaise as a base adding garlic and other flavors to their liking.

For this recipe, we’ll be using raw cashews as our base. Cashews blend up ultra creamy, and are the perfect ingredient for veganising and making an oil-free aioli. Simply put, cashews are amazing!

Add to the cashews a few garlic cloves, dollop of dijon mustard, squeeze of lemon, pinch of salt, and you’ve got yourself the best aioli to share with family, friends or enjoy all to yourself.

top down view of cashews soaking in water before making aioli, surrounded by minced garlic, dijon, salt and lemon halves

A quick note about soaking cashews. It is beneficial to soak nuts, helping them to release an inhibiting enzyme that may block absorption of vitamins and minerals, and also helps with digestion.

Cashews only need 2 – 3 hours of soaking time at most, using cool water. For a quick soak, simply cover the cashews with hot water and soak for 5 minutes.

I didn’t soak mine beforehand and usually will skip this step. If you decide to soak your cashews, be sure to take a look at the notes for instructions and slight changes to the recipe.

side by side photo of cashews in a small personal blender with water garlic and salt and lemon, next is a pic of the finished aioli

How To Make Vegan Aioli

This vegan aioli recipe is so easy to make!

Simply add the ingredients to your blender, and blend for about 45 seconds.

And there you have it, a healthy, vegan aioli that’s ultra creamy and ready for dipping & spreading!

top down close up view of a spoon full of garlic vegan aioli sitting across a glass jar of aioli

How To Use Vegan Aioli

For a delicious spicy aioli, take a look at this Sriracha Cream Sauce.

If you try this easy aioli recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.

straight on view of vegan aioli in a glass jar with spoon sticking out, in the background is a small bowl of cashews, garlic bulb and half of lemon

Print

VEGAN AIOLI (2-MINUTE + OIL-FREE)

This creamy, garlicky aioli is great as a dip for fresh or roasted vegetables, or use as a spread for burgers and sandwiches.

  • Prep Time: 2 min
  • Total Time: 2 minutes
  • Yield: Makes 1 1/2 cups 1x
  • Category: Condiment
  • Cuisine: Vegan

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 cup raw cashews (if using soaked cashews, see notes)
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 24 garlic cloves
  • 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • pinch of mineral salt, or to taste

Instructions

Place cashews, water, garlic, dijon, and juice of lemon in a blender and blend until creamy, about 45 seconds. Taste for flavor adding a little more of desired ingredients to taste.

Serve at room temperature.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

NOTES: 

Adjust the garlic to your taste. For a mild garlic flavor, 2 will do. If you love your garlic, use more.

To make this completely raw, use 3/4 – 1 teaspoon mustard powder in place of dijon.

For thinner aioli, add extra water, 1 – 2 tablespoons, at a time until desired consistency.

If you don’t care for dijon mustard, omit it all together. You can also start with 1 teaspoon, adding a little extra to taste.

For this task, I used a NutriBullet which does a great job blending cashews into pure creaminess. Plus, you can keep your aioli in the cup it was blended in, easily storing leftovers in the refrigerator.

Soaking cashews: If you prefer to soak your cashews, 2 hours before preparing the aioli, place cashews in a cup/bowl filled with water, covering cashews about 1 inch. Let set for 2 hours. For a quick soak, place cashews in a bowl of warm water for 1 hour, or in near boiling water for 15 minutes. Drain and rinse well before blending. Use 2/3 cup of water instead of 3/4 cup, as the cashews will have plumped up and you may not need as much. Add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time as needed to thin.

There are benefits to soaking your cashews, although I am sometimes lazy about it. It does help remove certain enzymes that may inhibit vitamin and mineral absorption, and also may help with digestion.

garlic aioli in a glass jar with white spoon for spreading

20 Comments

  1. I used about 1 1/4c cashews, juice small lemon, a tsp nutritional yeast & drizzle of honey. It was too spicy for the toddler so we cut his with a lil more honey and Dijon. It was the perfect sauce for grilled portobello sandwiches and sweet potatoes

  2. I used a little over 1 cup of cashews, unsoaked, and 1 cup of water. Added about 1 teaspoon of maple syrup at the end, and it was really good on our coleslaw. To clean the blender, I added water and a pear, and we had that as a drink! (Don’t like wastage!)
    Good recipe, thank you.

  3. Does any one how many points this recipe is on weight watchers
    Thanks

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