If you’re looking for something creamy, delicious, oil-free, vegan, and chock full of garlic, you might want to bookmark this page because you’ll be coming back for this raw vegan garlic sauce!
This raw and oil-free garlic sauce is versatile and is a quick and cheap go-to accompaniment to salads, veggies, and sandwiches. Or literally, anywhere you like delicious creamy garlic. It came together by accident and immediately became a fridge staple.
Creamy Vegan Sunflower-Based Sauce
How did it happen? I saw a recipe for vegan sour cream that used raw sunflower seeds instead of cashews. No surprise there, just about everyone who makes vegan cream sauces and cheeses has used raw cashews. But they are a bit expensive, and I’m sure there are vegans with cashew allergies that just can’t take another cashew-based cream sauce.
So I figured, why not? If it comes out well, maybe it’s worth substituting raw sunflower seeds in other cashew-based recipes.
Soaking the sunflower seeds
We Scream for Vegan Sour Cream That Didn’t Work
Greg and I are rather particular about our sour cream. We eat a lot of Mexican-inspired dishes, and we love to dollop some fabulous vegan sour cream on top of a fiery salsa.
So when I followed the recipe exactly (something that never happens), we were disappointed that it didn’t taste like sour cream.
And there we were, with a blender full of the not-so-sour-cream. We both hate to waste food, so I started throwing in this and that. Greg and I kept sticking our fingers in to taste it after each tweak. Finally, he looked at me and said, “Write down everything you put in that before you forget.” So, I did.
The first time I made it, I used garlic powder. For the next batch, I used raw garlic cloves. Depending on your time, love for garlic, and commitment to having garlic breath for a significant amount of time, either works fine. But we love that full garlic taste, so we prefer raw garlic.*
Where to Use Vegan Garlic Sauce
We use it on roasted potato wedges, grilled portobello mushroom caps (so good), raw veggies, and our black bean burgers. It’s also killer on roasted broccoli and can totally transform leftovers.
This Raw Vegan Garlic Sauce is amazing on grilled mushrooms and broccoli!
Make It Your Own
If you follow my recipe, the consistency is a little firmer than sour cream, like the consistency of mayonnaise. However, if you want it thinner, all you need to do is remove or reduce the cream of tartar by half. The recipe fits nicely in a pint-size mason jar (how fun would it be to bring a jar of this fantastic sauce over next time you’re invited to someone’s house??), and it will keep in the fridge for about 2 weeks.
To be honest, it could very well last longer than two weeks. It just hasn’t lasted long enough in our fridge for us to find out. If anyone does figure that out, leave us a comment, and we will update our post 🙂
Let us know what amazing vegan yummies this creamy, raw garlic sauce elevates in your kitchen!
*Raw garlic has impressive health benefits, including fighting bacterial and viral infections, regulating blood sugar, and lowering blood pressure and cholesterol. It also reduces the risk of lung, brain, and prostate cancer. While we are on the health benefits, sunflower seeds are rich in magnesium, B complex vitamins, and vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant with anti-inflammatory effects.
This raw, and oil-free, garlic sauce is versatile, and is a quick and cheap go-to accompaniment on salads, veggies and sandwiches. Or literally anywhere you like delicious creamy garlic.
Ingredients
UnitsScale
1cup raw sunflower seeds (soaked in warm water for at least 1 hour)
1cup water
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 cloves of raw garlic (or 1.5 tsp garlic powder)
1/4cup lemon juice
2 tsp raw apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a high speed blender until thoroughly blended, approx 3 minutes.
Transfer to jar.
Store in refrigerator.
Notes
the recipe makes a thick-ish sauce. If you want a sauce that’s pourable, simply half, or omit, the cream of tartar.
If you made the following the recipe directly and it’s thicker than you like, stir in some water, about a teaspoon at a time, to the desired consistency. A little bit will make a big difference!
Husband and wife, father and mother, working adults – Greg and Georgia formed Full of Beans to share encouragement, inspiration, and tips to get you started on, and maintain, a plant-based vegan diet (even if you think you don't have the time/money/skills/energy). See the About page for more.
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