Vegan Herb Mayo

I am a huge sandwich lover – give me some bread, a tasty spread, and a pile of veggies on top any day of the week and at any time of the day, and I’ll be a happy, and a well fed, camper! One of my favorite sandwich spreads of all time is mayo, and I’m not ashamed to admit that in my college days I used to put mayo not only on French fries – I am a European after all – but on spaghetti as well. Although my love of mayo did not waver over the years, my use of it did.

No doubt about it, mayo is delicious. Also no doubt about it, it is not really good for you. Unfortunately, available mayo alternatives, like the light versions or even some of the vegan versions I tried, have not been very good at hitting my taste buds the same way real mayonnaise does. So, I decided to develop my own recipe and I think I am getting close to the ideal.

My Vegan Herb Mayo uses cashews and tofu to build the consistency and body, and Dijon mustard, lemon juice, lemon zest and basil to give this mayo a bit of je ne sais quoi. The result is a lighter and healthier spread that I use on my sandwiches and Sweet Potato & White Potato Medallions. It also makes an excellent Tartar Sauce that you can use on vegan seafood or vegan chicken. Yummy!

Vegan Herb Mayo

What you’ll need:

1/2 cup raw cashews

1/4 cup almond milk

14 oz (400 g) extra firm tofu

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon dry basil

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

What you’ll do:

Cover the cashews with water and leave them in refrigerator to soak overnight. Then throw the water out and pat dry the cashews
Place tofu in a strainer and let it drain in refrigerator overnight. Next, pat dry the tofu and crumble it into a smaller chunks.
Place all the ingredients into a food processor or a blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy your Vegan Herb Mayo! This mayo stores well in the fridge for up to a week.

Note: If you ever find yourself in a situation where you have leftover Cashew Cream, like for example while making Vegan Chicken Tikka Masala, I suggest taking an extra step and transforming it into this delightful mayo-like spread.