Vegan cooking without oils

by Judi Light
(Washington)

Hi Sassy,

My husband and I have been pure Vegan for about 8 months now, and we are loving the results. We are however, also off all oils and it is a challenge to find recipes for creamy salad dressings and sauces without the use of oils or butter or Vegenaise-type products. Some of the Tempeh sauce suggestions look yummy but oil is used in a couple of them.

Any suggestions for sauces and such?

In Warm Appreciation,
Judi

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Sassy Sez: Hi Judi - Cooking without oils can be a bit challenging, but it certainly can be done. You just have to find ways to replace the moisture and other properties the oil imparts.

When making sauces and dressings, use water to replace the moisture, and agar agar to assist with thickening, or xanthum gum such as is used in this recipe for Oil-Free Italian Dressing. Silken tofu will also work beautifully when making creamy sauces.

You can always use water or vegetable broth to "fry" or saute various vegetables, etc. You can also try tamari or Bragg Liquid Aminos, wine, lemon/lime/tomato juices, vinegars, and sherries.

When baking, I find substituting 1/2 the amount of applesauce for the oil called for works well. You can also try 1/2 the amount of tofu or vegan yogurt, mashed potatoes or pumpkin, or mashed bananas.

I have also heard of an additional trick when baking cakes and muffins without oils and that is to also use carbonated water to sub for other water.

The New McDougall Cookbook by Dr. John and Mary McDougall has lots of oil-free tips and recipes which you may find very helpful.

Hope this points you in the right direction. xo