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This vegan Yumm Sauce is my take on the popular Café Yumm Sauce. It’s ultra-creamy, full of flavor, and packed with protein (we’re talking 10 grams in just 2 tablespoons!). With dozens of 5-star reviews, it’s guaranteed to become your new go-to for bowls, sandwiches, and everything in between.
save this recipe!If you’ve ever been to Café Yumm! in Portland, you know their original Yumm Sauce is next-level delicious. If not, prepare to have your taste buds blown away with this vegan Yumm Sauce recipe (trust me, it’s every bit as mouthwatering and addicting as the real deal!).
With a surprisingly simple mix of ingredients—chickpeas, tofu, nutritional yeast, and the like—the result is the creamiest, richest sauce that pairs perfectly with roasted veggie glow bowls, sandwiches, wraps, and pretty much anything else you can think of.
Reader rating
“Oh my goodness! I moved from Oregon over 2 years ago and I missed my Yumm bowl so much! I am NOT a cook by any means and this sauce was really easy to make… and so delicious! 100% recommend!!” —Kelsey
Save The Chickpea Juice: It’s a good idea to reserve a little extra chickpea juice/brine. This way, you can adjust the thickness if needed, especially if the sauce thickens after chilling in the fridge.
Experiment With Flavors: To give your sauce even more oomph, add extra seasonings like paprika, cayenne, curry powder, onion powder, or even Sriracha.
Get Toasty: For a richer, nuttier flavor, you can try lightly toasting the slivered almonds in a dry skillet for a few minutes before blending.
Pairing Ideas
When a sauce is this good, the rest of the meal simply becomes the vehicle. Here are some delicious “vehicles” that pair well with vegan Yumm Sauce!
- Buddha Bowl: Your favorite Buddha bowl isn’t complete without the creamiest, dreamiest sauce around!
- Veggie Loaded Wraps: Swap the hummus in the wrap recipe for this yumm sauce!
Homemade Yumm Sauce (Copycat Cafe Yumm Recipe)
Ingredients
- ½ cup canned chickpeas, 100 g, keep juice from the can
- ½ cup nutritional yeast, 50 g
- ½ cup silken tofu, 100 g
- ¼ cup slivered almonds, 40 g
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice, 30 mL
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp curry powder
- 2 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup chickpea juice, 60 mL
Instructions
- Add all ingredients except chickpea juice to a blender.
- Blitz until smooth, slowly adding chickpea juice until you reach a thick, pourable consistency.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!
I wanted to use as a salad dressing and it’s a bit bland for that so I zipped it up with 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup fruit juice, salt, cumin, cardamon, and it was great. Another time I wanted Asian so added 1 tsp sesame oil, some ginger, couple tablespoons of rice vinegar and tamari and that worked too.
Appreciate you taking the time to leave a review!
I haven’t tried your recipe yet as I am not able to tolerate almonds, can you recommend me trying a different nut? I can eat any others xx
Cashews, walnuts, or shelled sunflower seeds would work! 🙂
Can Yum Sauce be frozen?
Yep this should freeze well!
Can you substitute something to replace the silken tofu? I can’t do soy.
Yes! You can swap the silken tofu with cooked white beans (like cannellini), cashews blended until creamy, or even plain unsweetened yogurt. All give a similar smooth, rich texture without the soy.
I can’t do soy so I’m going to try a plant based yogurt instead of the silken tofu.
I would love to hear how it goes, Susan!
Wondering if you can freeze small quantities?
I haven’t tried freezing this one so I can’t say for sure, but I think it would freeze well!
Can you use another spice in place of the curry?
The best replacement for curry powder is a 1:1 mix of garam masala, coriander, and turmeric!