Vegan cooking without oils

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.

I'd really love any tips you can share about how to cook without oils.

In Warm Appreciation,
Judi Light
Washington

*****
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.

You asked first about making oil-free sauces and dressings. I recommend using water to replace the moisture, and agar agar to assist with thickening, or xanthum gum like I use in this recipe. Silken tofu will also work beautifully when making creamy sauces.

As far as oil-free cooking in general, you can always use water or vegetable broth to "fry" or sauté various vegetables, etc. You can also try tamari, 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 water.

When roasting my veggies, I use veggie broth as you can see here.

Hope this points you in the right direction.

xo!