Oil-free Dragon Sauce: insanely tasty ginger dip or bowl dressing (Low fat, Vegan) * Plant Based Recipes: Easy Oil Free Vegan Recipes (2024)

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Dragon sauce is a ginger forward creamy sauce that is usually added to buddah bowls – bowls filled with a grain, vegetables, and perhaps tofu chunks that have been baked or fried. But really it’s a perfect sauce for all sorts of things: dipping vegetables, drizzing over roasted vegetables, or just heaping a spoonful on top of plain rice. It reminds me so much of a ginger sauce my husband and I enjoyed at a restaurant called Japanese Village back in the 90s. It was baller, as the kids would say. This one is pretty darn close. And what’s better is that it’s also really quite inexpensive to make.

I originally heard about Dragon Sauce in a number of forums and social media online. There are a few different recipes available for one of the most well known Dragon Sauces, such as the popular Aux Vivres, however almost all of the recipes contained oil – and sometimes quite a bit. This is fine and perhaps tasty, but because I do not consume any oil for health reasons, I couldn’t try them out. I was about to try dropping oil or substituting something else, but I ran across this Dragon Sauce recipe mentioned on a Chowhound forum comment that did not contain the copious amount of oil – however, this recipe did not have specific measurements (heaping soupspoon intermixed with tablespoons and cups… bit open to interpretation!). What I first made was also a bit too sweet for my tastebuds on a salad. So I reduced the maple syrup and enhanced the miso and ginger a bit, made specific measurements, and here is the result.

I have made this recipe in both my Vitamix (high-speed blender), and a food processor. It actually changes the taste a little, because the minced garlic doesn’t entirely blend in and you get a bit of a chunky texture and more pronounced garlic flavor. Both results are good, my husband likes the food processor version a bit better. If you want a sweeter taste, add an additional tablespoon or two of maple syrup (closer to the original recipe I found). Let me know what you think in the comments!

Oil-free Ginger Dragon Sauce

This oil-free dragon sauce is ginger-forward and delicious on your next buddah bowl, vegetable platter, or even just a bowl of rice.

4.77 from 13 votes

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Course: Sauces, Spreads & Condiments

Cuisine: Asian, Fusion

Keyword: coconut aminos, garlic, ginger, maple syrup, miso, nutritional yeast, soy sauce, tahini, tamari, white miso

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 Servings

Calories: 49kcal

Author: Jen deHaan

Ingredients

1/3 cup ginger minced
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
3 Tbsp garlic minced
3 Tbsp tahini
2 Tbsp white miso paste
2 Tbsp coconut aminos or tamari, or soy sauce
2 Tbsp maple syrup
2 Tbsp water

Instructions

Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender, and combine well.
Store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Notes

Note that this makes a lot of sauce, a little over a cup and a half. If you do not eat a lot of bowls, or only serve for 1 or 2 people, you may want to cut this recipe in half or reduce.

The ingredients for this recipe are based on and then revised quite a bit from a comment found on Chowhound forums.

Nutrition Facts

Oil-free Ginger Dragon Sauce

Amount per Serving

Calories

% Daily Value*

Fat

Saturated Fat

Cholesterol

Sodium

164

Changes and substitutions

If you do not have tahini, you could try using some cashews or white beans instead. I would probably try about 1/4 of a cup or so.

If you do like a sweeter sauce, increase the maple syrup. Try an extra tablespoon, and then go from there as you continue to blend.

About Post Author

Jen deHaan

Jen is a plant-based nutrition enthusiast and vegan living in British Columbia, Canada. She has over 20 years experience in software, graphics, and art, including many years in Silicon Valley corporations. Jen completed the Developing Healthy Communities graduate program at Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. Jen really likes dogs and dancing too.

See author's posts

About Jen deHaan

Reader Interactions

Comments

T Bone
January 13, 2020 at 8:38 am
The nutrition label does not indicate how much is one serving
Reply
- Jen @ Plant Based Recipe
  January 14, 2020 at 8:15 pm
  The recipe plugin didn’t offer this to be entered into the label until recently, so it’s not there for many of these older recipes. The number of servings is however available on all recipes. So when looking at how much this produces (about 24 tbsp amount or so), the per-serving is about 2-3 Tbsp.
  Reply
Brooke S.
July 17, 2020 at 2:58 pm

I normally don’t leave reviews for recipes. But this is hands down the best sauce I think I’ve ever had. I’m almost in tears bc of how good it tastes!! (I know I sound loco) I didn’t have miso paste so I just added more water. Thank you thank you thank you!!!!
Reply
- Jen @ Plant Based Recipe
  July 22, 2020 at 1:25 pm
  Fantastic! So glad you liked it!!
  Reply
Ronda
July 30, 2020 at 5:57 pm

PERFECTION! So VERY Delicious! Cray that three ingredients are so great together and make a wonderfully delicious dressing! Thank you SO MUCH!
Reply
Ford
August 22, 2020 at 9:51 am

PERFECTION! So VERY Delicious!
Reply
Mitch
May 24, 2021 at 2:40 pm
Your nutritional info almost fooled me, this is NOT a lowfat sauce. Raw tahini has 16g of fat per 2 tbsp. Please fix
Reply
- Kristen
  June 16, 2021 at 3:49 pm
  This makes 12 servings – nutrition info is per serving.
  Reply
- Jen (PlantBasedRecipe.com)
  October 29, 2021 at 1:49 pm
  You do not eat the entire recipe. The nutritional value is per serving. It is accurate, and it is low fat.
  Reply
Kathy
February 7, 2022 at 9:42 am
absolutely my favorite sauce, add some extra water and it also becomes the perfect salad dressing.
Reply
- Jen (@PlantBasedRecipe)
  May 12, 2022 at 2:34 pm
  I’m so glad you like it! I do the same for salad dressing and agree 🙂
  Reply
Kim
May 21, 2022 at 7:21 am
Does the maple syrup add sweetness or does it only balance the flavors? If I don’t want sweetness, would I eliminate the maple syrup or reduce the amount?
Reply
- Jen (PlantBasedRecipe.com)
  August 31, 2022 at 6:33 pm
  It’s mostly to balance the flavors and try to replicate a typical Dragon Sauce. You may want to test the sauce without before adding any and see what you think. Always a very personal thing 🙂 Can always add bit by bit at the very end to taste, or omit entirely.
  Reply
Sam
July 21, 2022 at 11:17 am

Delicious!!!
Reply
Teemun Store
January 13, 2023 at 8:03 am

I love the recipe! thank you!
Reply
Teemun Store
January 14, 2023 at 8:01 pm

So yum! i love it!
Reply
Michele
May 29, 2023 at 11:23 am

Tasty but a tad salty. I think I will use half the miso next time.
Reply
- Jen @ PlantBasedRecipe
  November 19, 2023 at 11:24 am
  Definitely the way to go, adjusting for taste! Thanks Michele!
  Reply
Tom
October 12, 2023 at 10:22 am

This is an excellent sauce! My wife and I were eating dragon bowls up in Montreal and decided to make our own bowls when we got home. This sauce is perfect for the bowls. I added the juice from 1 lime to the recipe and it gave it the citrus flavor we like! Thanks for the great recipe!
Reply
- Jen @ PlantBasedRecipe
  November 19, 2023 at 11:20 am
  Additional lime sounds great! Thanks so much Tom!
  Reply

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Oil-free Dragon Sauce: insanely tasty ginger dip or bowl dressing (Low fat, Vegan) * Plant Based Recipes: Easy Oil Free Vegan Recipes (2024)

Oil-free Ginger Dragon Sauce

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Changes and substitutions

About Post Author

Jen deHaan

About Jen deHaan

Reader Interactions

Comments

Leave a Reply