What is really yummy, can be used on just about anything, and is a great transitional food when letting go of cheese?
Yum sauce! Basically, yum sauce makes everything better.
The best way I can describe the flavor is cheese-meets-citrus-meets-hummus.
The inspiration for this sauce comes from Cafe Yumm, a healthy fast food franchise in Oregon. If you are ever in Oregon and need proof that you can eat delicious plant-based meals, just stop by a Cafe Yumm and order a vegan yumm bowl. (I dropped the extra ‘m” from my recipe since it seems a little twee to me.)
Here’s my best attempt at re-creating their sauce. I dare anyone to make this sauce and tell me they can’t live without cheese.
* In the US “Eden Organics” is the only brand of canned beans that does not have BPA in the cans. So try to buy those! If you can’t find them, try beans in a carton.
Blend ingredients in a Vitamix or food processor. And, wa-la!
Options:
For a slightly creamier sauce, reduce the garbanzo beans to half a can and add about 1/4 cup of silken tofu. (This was the original recipe, but since I don’t use silken tofu for anything else I dislike the half-empty carton of tofu going bad in my fridge everytime I make this.)
Substitutions:
One time I was out of almonds I used cashews instead and it was fine. Maybe even a bit better.
The Yum Bowl: Brown rice or barley, yum sauce, black or pinto beans, salsa, avocado slices. I could eat this every night for a week.
Yummy Mac: Use over brown rice pasta (or any other healthy pasta) for a quick mac-n-cheese substitute. Good for the kiddos.
Veggie burgers: This is an awesome topping for a veggie burger. (I’ll share my veggie burger recipe as soon as I perfect it–we’re currently working our way through a batch of 20 veggie burgers that I made and froze but which weren’t quite “right.” Ah well.)
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Oh Yum Sauce, one of my favorites after my friend from Oregon introduced me. Haven’t had it in a while, thanks for the reminder to make it! My blender broke a few weeks ago, this alone is motivation to replace it soon!
I never thought of making using yum sauce where I would normally use cheese, that’s brilliant! I’m so going to try that. Really wanting to get off cheese totally (NEVER thought I’d say that!). I can tell after I eat it I don’t feel right, get a headache even. It’s really not a healthy source of protein like I’ve been telling myself all these years (esp. when you eat the big brick of yellow sharp cheddar cheese, is it even really cheese???)
Love the pictures too by the way!
I’m reading over emails and saw your post. Just realized I’m also in the kitchen making an adzuki bean curry while sipping a vegan smoothie. It’s happening, slowly it’s happening!
Thanks for all your inspiration. Looking forward to hearing more about your systems you have in place. I’m slowly forming some that will help support this healthier lifestyle. I’m not ready to give up meat protein entirely, but I am very ready to opt out of the industrialized, mass produced meat so readily available in our culture. There is a better way. Thanks for all you are doing!
Oh, thank you! I love Yumm sauce, and will have to try making this.
I’m just mixing up a double batch of yumm sauce and wanted to post again while I’m thinking about it.
One thing we use instead of tofu is shelled edamame which we find in the freezer section. Sometimes we get the ones with shells since they’re a fun salted snack for the boys. I suppose someone could try the canned soy beans too.
Here’s a version of the recipe I found on line tweaked a bit…
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup almonds
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1/3 cup garbanzo beans – drained (you can use a bit more) (more like ¾ a can)
1/4 cup soybeans (or use 1/2 cup silken tofu if needed)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp masala curry powder
½ tsp spicy red curry (if you want to add a spicy kick)
*instead of curry you can do 2 tsp of oregano, or get creative and try another loved seasoning
Thanks again for the tip that yumm sauce is a great cheese substitute. I am now officially dairy-free and encouraged by your blog!
I am on a candida killing diet and I was so excited to use this recipe for dips and other things. However, the yeast isn’t an option of things I can eat. Can I just leave it out or is there something else that I should replace it with?
Thanks – heard great things about this yumm sauce!
Hey Julia, just to let you know, I made this a week ago and had no nutritional yeast on hand so I just left it out, and it was still very yummy but not so cheesy tasting. Still great as a sauce or for dips! One of the reasons for including the yeast is because it is one of the only vegan sources of B12, so if you’re vegan and you need to avoid yeast maybe you’ll need to take supplements.
I’m interested in your recipe, b/c all the other ones I’ve come across use curry powder, and I don’t think it’s correct. I have made the recipes with curry and did a taste comparison with real yumm sauce, and they don’t taste the same at all.
Since they use salsa on the yumm bowls, I’m thinking cumin and chili powder make more sense.
How long does Yum sauce last in the fridge?
Hi Kris, it will last about a week, although it rarely lasts that long at my house
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