This Vegan Roasted Garlic Aioli is delightfully creamy and garlicky. Additionally, this stuff manages to be both super-rich and low in oil! It’s aioli magic.
Enjoy Vegan Roasted Garlic Aioli With:
- Miso Eggplant & Red Onion Skewers
- toasted bread
- grilled veggies
- bowls with lettuce, chopped veggies, and chickpeas
- anything that needs rich, creamy, garlicky sauce
If you’re nasty, as in Miss Jackson—if you’re nasty about garlic, this recipe is for you. I use six fat garlic cloves and it’s delightfully nasty—I mean garlicky. I don’t know how Janet Jackson feels about garlic or which “nasty food” she’s referring to in the song.
Cashews
Roasted, salted, unsalted, or raw cashews will all work well for this aioli. If your cashews are salted, you probably won’t need to add salt to your aioli, but that depends on your personal taste and just how salty the salted cashews are.
If you are using unsalted cashews, add a 1/2 teaspoon of salt, then taste the aioli and add more if desired.
The cashews do not have to be whole cashews, for this batch I’m using cashew pieces. If you can find halves and pieces and at your grocer, they often cost less.
To Soak or Not To Soak?
If your blender is high-speed, there is no need to soak or boil your cashews. If you have a non-high-speed blender, soaking the cashews overnight or boiling them and letting them sit for 30 minutes in the hot water is recommended. Drain the cashews before adding them to the blender.
Garlic Prep
I recommend smashing the garlic cloves before peeling because it makes them easier to peel. If you watch a lot of Food Network or you’ve worked in a restaurant, you’ve probably seen someone use their big knife blade turned flat to smash the garlic cloves, like a boss. I don’t think this works well because it could damage the blade and it provides an opportunity for injury. If you are using a ceramic knife, I especially don’t recommend it.
Instead of a knife, I smash/crush garlic with a large coffee mug. I know a chef who uses a glass 2-cup measuring cup. He uses that same glass measuring cup to amplify his music, placing his iPhone inside. There is something satisfying about smashing garlic under a mug. I think it’s the popping sound.
Let’s Make Vegan Roasted Garlic Aioli
Load the blender with everything except for the oil/Earth Balance & garlic cloves.
In a pan or skillet, heat the oil or melt the Earth Balance heat the oil or melt the Earth Balance over medium heat and add the sliced/chopped garlic.
Stir and flip until the garlic browns. This takes about 5 minutes. Avoid burning the garlic. Let the pan-roasted garlic cool slightly and then transfer it to the blender.
Blend until creamy and chill or enjoy right out of the blender.
Store in the fridge in an airtight container. Stir before each use. Can be frozen for up to a month.
Vegan Roasted Garlic Aioli
Ingredients
- 12 oz package silken tofu
- 1 cup raw or roasted cashews if using salted, wait to add salt until you've tasted, see notes below
- 3 TBSPs lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon prepared mustard any variety
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon onion granules
- 1/2 teaspoon salt wait to taste if using salted cashews, more if desired
- 4 – 6 cloves garlic sliced and cut into a medium chop
- 1 TBSP Earth Balance or oil of choice, for pan-roasting the sliced garlic
Instructions
- Load the blender with everything except for the oil/Earth Balance & garlic cloves.
- In a pan or skillet, heat the oil or melt the Earth Balance heat the oil or melt the Earth Balance over medium heat and add the sliced/chopped garlic. Stir and flip until the garlic browns. This takes about 5 minutes. Avoid burning the garlic. Let the pan-roasted garlic cool slightly and then transfer it to the blender. Blend until creamy and chill or enjoy right out of the blender.
- Store in the fridge in an airtight container. Stir before each use. Can be frozen for up to a month.
Notes
Cashews
Roasted, salted, unsalted, or raw will all work well for this aioli. If your cashews are salted, you probably won’t need to add salt to your aioli, but that depends on your personal taste and just how salty the salted cashews are. If you are using unsalted cashews, add a 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Then taste the aioli and add more if desired. The cashews do not have to be whole cashews, for this batch I’m using cashew pieces. If you can find halves and pieces and at your grocer, they often cost less.To Soak or Not To Soak?
If your blender is high-speed, there is no need to soak or boil your cashews. If you have a non-high-speed blender, soaking the cashews overnight or boiling them and letting them sit for 30 minutes in the hot water is recommended. Drain the cashews before adding them to the blender. Nutrition Information is approximate. www.planttestkitchen.comNutrition
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If you like this recipe you might also like Oil-Free Vegan Mayo, Vegan Garlic Alfredo Sauce, 5-Minute Garlic Hemp Seed Parm a.k.a. Garlic Shake, and Miso Eggplant & Red Onion Skewers (coming 8/18/2020). If you want to make silken tofu into delicious pudding, check out Creamy Silken Chocolate Vegan Pudding.
Did You Make Vegan Roasted Garlic Aioli?
Was it garlicky goodness? What did you eat it with? Tell me about it in the comments section below.
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