Vegan “Mayonnaise”
Tofu or “soy” mayonnaise is not really all that similiar to mayonnaise in flavor, but nonetheless it’s a versatile substance. I’ve used it on sandwiches, to make tofu salad, in place of yogurt in an apple salad, and as a dip. On this day I couldn’t find my mom’s tofu mayo recipe, so I used this one that’s part of her recipe for Mock Turkey Salad.
* 1/2 lb firm tofu
* 2 Tbs. oil
* 1 Tbs. lemon juice
* 1 tsp. sweetener
* 1 1/2 tsp. mustard
* 2 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
* 1/2 tsp. salt
It came out quite a bit too sweet–the balance was off. So I called my mom and got her recipe:
- 1 pack (12 ounces) silken tofu, firm
- 3 Tbs oil
- 3 Tbs apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
- 3/4 tsp. sugar
Aha, less sugar! Also no lemon juice or mustard, but otherwise the same. I’ll try it next time instead. This recipe makes just over 1.5 cups of mayo, or about 26 Tablespoons. Each tablespoon has about 22 calories, but is surprisingly rich and creamy tasting.
Serving ideas:
* sandwiches (obviously)
* mix together with greens and brown rice and nutritional yeast for a great comfort food casserole
* use in place of yogurt in an apple salad
* mix with tofu to make a sort of mock chicken salad
* anyone have any other ideas?
Note: I had some silken tofu in aseptic packages that I took with me on my drive to Chicago, and they froze in the moving van. I decided to just go ahead and try to make mayo out of them. The tofu was kind of weird–it had the texture of silken tofu and of frozen tofu at the same time. The mayo texture was a bit less silky and thicker than normal, but once I added it to the rice and greens the difference wasn’t detectable.
Update May 2011: I tried making the above recipe (for mock turkey salad) with soft silken tofu and it came out way too thin.
The captious vegetarian 
Mock Turkey Salad « From the kitchen of a captious vegetarian said,
November 12, 2006 at 6:26 pm
[…] Rather than use the mayo recipe above, I used the simpler one I posted in a previous mayo thread. I think that was a mistake. This one is a bit sweeter and has lemon juice and mustard, which goes better with the saltiness of the tofu I think. […]
Tofu Salad with Vegan Mayo « A Celebration of Cerebral Confections said,
March 20, 2007 at 1:55 pm
[…] vegan tofu salad, I ripped off was influenced by two recipes. First, I found a vegan mayonnaise recipe on From the kitchen of a captious […]
captious said,
July 30, 2007 at 4:12 pm
A friend sent me this comment:
ok, so i finally tried this. my silken tofu was only 11 oz, not 12, so i started with less of the primary ingredients and figured i’d add to taste.
11oz silken tofu
2 T olive oil
1 T apple cider vinegar
.5 t sea salt
.5 t sugar
OK, my apple cider vinegar was the cheap stuff in private label from a grocery chain, it probably would’ve been better with a higher-quality vinegar.
i also think i could have (and perhaps should have) gone ahead and used my rice vinegar.
i also would omit the sugar – unnecessary.
it was bland and a little “miracle-whip” sweet for my tastes, so i countered by adding
3 cloves raw garlic
1.5 t vietnamese sambal chili-garlic paste
.5 t prepared spicy brown mustard
and reblended. it tastes better to me now.
i think there is a lot of room for play in this recipe!
Sumayyah said,
June 21, 2008 at 7:33 am
Thank you. I’m new to veganism, and I’ve been searching for something I could make myself (read: cheap). Thank you for posting this!
brandon said,
August 21, 2008 at 12:15 am
it is a secret in baking sweets that a spoonful of mayo will make the cake or whatever super moist, do you think you could use this vegan mayonnaise in baking?
captious said,
February 15, 2010 at 4:36 pm
Mom wrote: i made it yesterday with 1.5 tbsp of oil and 1.5 tbsp of vinegar, half of what you wrote, and it came out fine. I only did it this way becuase of a bad memory, but now that it works i might do it again.
austingardener said,
February 16, 2010 at 3:15 am
I take it back.
I made it that way and it was okay. Then today I made it again with the full 2 Tablespoons of oil and of vinegar and it is much better that way.