Dress and Sauce It Up
Dressings and sauces are perfect for adding flavor to your meals and dishes any time you want to. You can make them super simple, extra easy, healthy, and delicious. So many store-bought dressings and sauces are not healthy as they’re filled with oils, additives, preservatives, and other processed ingredients that our bodies don’t want or need. Your taste buds can change. I promise! Making your own dressings and sauces is amazing, and the good news is that there are lots of delicious healthy vegan recipes for these.
Oil-Free is the Way to Be
It’s ok if you want to consume oils. There are better oil options than others. The better options are avocado oil, coconut oil, flaxseed oil, walnut oil, sesame oil, algae oil, extra virgin olive oil, and grapeseed oil. If you don’t want to consume oils, there are many options to use in place of oils. I personally don’t consume oils because I don’t believe that they have any nutritional value, and I don’t like the way that they feel or taste when eating them.
Instead of oils, you can use water, low-sodium vegetable broth, tomatoes (crushed, diced, strained, sauce), plant milk (coconut, cashew, almond, rice, walnut, oat, etc.), salsa, vinegars, coconut aminos, liquid smoke, tamari, fresh lemon juice, or fresh lime juice. These all work perfectly, and taste amazing. So much better than oils!
Start With a Base
If you want to make dressings and sauces, know what kind of consistency you want it to be. Thick? Creamy? Thick? Thin? Light? I love think and creamy the most. Great bases for this consistency are avocados, tahini, mustard, nut butter, nuts, or sunflower butter. There’s also lighter and thinner consistency for dressing and sauces. Great bases for this consistency are plant milks, vinegars, water, fresh lime juice, tomatoes (crushed, strained, diced, or tomato sauce), tamari, coconut aminos, or fresh lemon juice.
Pick a Flavor to Go With
What flavors, tastes, and themes you you like and love? There’s so many! Italian, Mexican, Asian, curry, Moroccan, Cuban, sweet, tangy, spicy, sour, nutty, zesty, southwestern, barbecue, tomato, Smoky, cheesy, ranch, etc. This will probably be your favorite part and funnest for you.
Add Herbs/Spices and Extras
Herbs and spices are so amazing! All herbs and spices are so wonderful to use in dresssing and sauces. There are tons of great combos you can come up with to try that you’ll love. Extras would be turmeric, ginger, stevia, red bell peppers, sweet potatoes, nutritional yeast, cauliflower, potatoes, zucchini, carrots, cucumbers, mushrooms, etc. Add whatever you think you would like or love that would combine together well for a dressing or sauce.
Best Vegan Dressing and Sauce Recipes
5-Ingredient Vegan White Queso (The Glowing Fridge)
Healthy Vegan Nacho Cheese (The Glowing Fridge)
Creamy Carrot Ginger Dressing, Tangy Cilantro Lime Dressing, and Zesty Cucumber Ranch Dressing (The Glowing Fridge)
5-Minute Anything Glow Sauce (The Glowing Fridge)
Creamy Cashew Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce (The Glowing Fridge)
Spicy Avo Ranch (The Glowing Fridge)
Spicy Almond Butter Sauce (The Glowing Fridge)
Spicy Magic Green Sauce (The Glowing Fridge)
Spicy Avocado Lime Crema (The Glowing Fridge)
Vegan Sour Cream (The Glowing Fridge)
Avocado Lime Sauce (The Glowing Fridge)
Vegan Poblano Pepper Cream Sauce (The Vegan 8)
Vegan Caesar Dressing (The Vegan 8)
The Best Thai Peanut Sauce (The vegan 8)
Best Vegan Ranch Dressing (The Vegan 8)
Lemon Ginger Sauce (The Vegan 8)
Vegan Cheese Sauce (The Vegan 8)
Vegan Thousand Island Dressing (The Vegan 8)
Oil-Free Romesco Sauce (The Vegan 8)
Best Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde (The Vegan 8)
Vegan Kale Pesto (The Vegan 8)
Almond Butter Dressing (The Vegan 8)
Easy Homemade Salsa (The Vegan 8)
Vegan Pimento Cream Sauce (The Vegan 8)
Vegan Caesar Dressing (The Vegan 8)
Bold Chimichurri-Inspired Herb Sauce (The Vegan 8)
Aioli (The Vegan 8)
Roasted Salsa Ranchera Cream (The Vegan 8)
Vegan Chickpea Tomato Ragu Sauce (The Vegan 8)
Best Vegan Queso (The Vegan 8)
Thai Curry Dipping Sauce (The Vegan 8)
Vegan Oil-Free Creamy Italian Dressing (The Vegan 8)
Homemade Smoky Apple Barbecue Sauce (The Vegan 8)
Creamy Chili Sauce (The Vegan 8)
Oil-Free Tahini Goddess Dressing (The Vegan 8)
The BEST Vegan Teriyaki Sauce (The Vegan 8)
Chipotle Red Pepper Sauce (The Vegan 8)
Spicy Sweet Tahini Dressing (The Vegan 8)
5-Minute Smoky BBQ Sauce (The Vegan 8)
Sweet Chili Mustard Sauce (The Vegan 8)
Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce (The Vegan 8)
5-Minute BBQ Sauce (The Vegan 8)
Creamy Garlic Parsley Sauce (The Vegan 8)
Oil-Free Vegan Barbeque Pesto (The Vegan 8)
Vegan Cheez Whiz (The Vegan 8)
Easy Vegan Ranch Dressing (The Vegan 8)
Mexican Tahini Sauce (The Vegan 8)
Sweet ‘N’ Spicy Dressing (The Vegan 8)
Vegan Basil Cream Sauce (The Vegan 8)
Garlicky Lemon Tahini Dressing (Shane & Simple)
Vegan Honey Mustard Dressing (Shane & Simple)
Easy Vegan Chpotle Aioli (Shane & Simple)
The Best Vegan Bolognese Sauce (Shane & Simple)
Vegan Ranch Dressing (Shane & Simple)
Lemon Tahini Sauce (Shane & Simple)
Vegan Sriracha Mayo (Shane & Simple)
Vegan Cheese Sauce (Shane & Simple)
Easy Homemade BBQ Sauce (Shane & Simple)
Cashew Mayo (Shane & Simple)
Five Minute Peanut Dipping Sauce (Shane & Simple)
Oil-Free 8-Minute Marinara Sauce (Shane & Simple)
Cashew Sour Cream (Shane & Simple)
Curry Tahini Dressing (From My Bowl)
Nut-Free Vegan Ranch Dressing (From My Bowl)
Easy Peanut Sauce (From My Bowl)
4-Ingredient Sesame Miso Dressing (From My Bowl)
Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing (From My Bowl)
3-Ingredient Hummus Salad Dressing (From My Bowl)
Rosemary Garlic Cashew Cream (From My Bowl)
Easy Carrot Ginger Dressing (From My Bowl)
Blueberry Balsamic Vinaigrette (From My Bowl)
Easy Vegan Mayo (From My Bowl)
Vegan Russian Dressing (From My Bowl)
Roasted Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette (From My Bowl)
Creamy Cilantro Dressing (From My Bowl)
Creamy Hemp Ranch (From My Bowl)
Easy Cashew Dressing (From My Bowl)
Peanut Sauce (From My Bowl)
Avocado Dijon Dressing (From My Bowl)
Classic Salsa Verde (From My Bowl)
Easy Homemade Salsa (From My Bowl)
Easy Peanut Sauce (From My Bowl)
The Ultimate Chunky Vegan Queso (From My Bowl)
Romesco Sauce (From My Bowl)
Healthy Orange Sauce (From My Bowl)
Vegan Cheese Sauce (Detoxinista)
Healthy Vegan Special Sauce (Detoxinista)
Lemon Tahini Dressing (Detoxinista)
Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce (Detoxinista)
Vegan Ranch Dressing (Detoxinista)
Avocado Cilantro Dressing (Detoxinista)
Creamy Cucumber Tahini Dressing (Detoxinista)
Easy Greek Salad Dressing (Detoxinista)
Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing (Detoxinista)
Dairy-Free Roasted Cauliflower “Cheese” Sauce (Detoxinista)
Vegan Caesar Dressing (Choosing Chia)
Ending Thoughts
You can make whatever kind of sauce or dressing you want! They can absolutely be vegan, healthy, simple, easy, and delicious. Sauces and dressings can be used to top a lot of different meals, sides, and dishes. Both are so versatile! You’ll love all of the amazing flavors, and never run out of options! Dips are also so awesome. These recipes I’ve listed here in this post have amazing healthy vegan dip recipes, too. You’ll love these ideas and tips in this post, so try them out!