Looking for a stir fry sauce that is made from scratch, healthy, and tastes delicious? Our flavorful vegan stir fry sauce comes together in minutes, and is perfect for your Asian meal prep dinners. It's wonderful for your weeknight dinners, as this sauce can be made ahead up to 4 days in advance.
If you love vegan recipes, make sure to try our recipes for Panda Express eggplant tofu or vegan Thai red curry.
Quick Look at the Recipe
- ⏲️ Prep Time: 8 minutes
- ⏲️ Cook Time: 7 minutes
- ⏲️ Total Time: 15 minutes
- 🍽️ Yield: 2 cups
- 🥕 Dietary Info: Vegan, Gluten Free
- ⚡ Calories: 235 calories per serving (based on nutrition facts in recipe card)
- 🧄 Ingredients: white sesame seeds, vegetable broth, liquid aminos or soy sauce, rice vinegar, maple syrup, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and cornstarch or arrowroot.
- 🥣 Method: Stovetop
- ⌛ Time-Saving Hack: Use a milk frother or immersion blender to quickly and easily blend the sauce.
- 🔪 Equipment: small frying pan, whisk.
- ⭐ Expert Tip: Whisk the cornstarch with cold water to make a slurry first, then add to the sauce and cook to thicken.
- 🫚 Flavor & Texture: This vegan stir fry sauce has a garlic and ginger flavor with a hint of sesame and soy.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Big Flavor with Simple Pantry Ingredients: This sauce comes together with everyday staples you likely already have without compromising on flavor.
- Vegan & Gluten Free: No honey or fish sauce! Simply use liquid aminos and arrowroot to make a completely GF sauce.
- Ready to Use in 15 Minutes: You can whisk this sauce together in minutes, making it perfect for fast, healthy dinners when you want bold flavor without extra prep or cooking time.
- Versatile Uses: This sauce isn't limited to one dish! It works beautifully with vegetable or meat stir fries, tofu, noodles, rice bowls, and or even as a quick marinade.
Featured Comment
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "The sauce is a little sweet, and the ginger adds a tart flavor. The sesame seeds are crunchy and the sauce is so flavorful that it explodes in your mouth!"
- Alex
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Ingredients
This easy recipe uses basic pantry staples that are quickly combined to make a simple, versatile, and delicious vegan stir fry sauce that is also meal prep friendly.
- Aromatics: fresh garlic and ginger
- Fat: sesame oil
- Acid: rice vinegar
- Sweetener: maple syrup
- Seeds: white sesame seeds
- Umami: liquid aminos or soy sauce
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Want a bit of heat? Add ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes or 1½ teaspoons of hot chili oil.
- Want a bit of color? Add ½ teaspoon ground turmeric.
- Want to add more iron to your diet? Add 1 tablespoon of unsulphured molasses.
- Want to add more acid? Try 2 tablespoons of lime juice.
- Want more umami flavor? Try adding 2 teaspoons of red or white miso paste.
How to Make Vegan Stir Fry Sauce
Gather all the ingredients. Mince the garlic, grate the ginger, and measure out the liquids.
- Whisk a cornstarch and water mixture to make a slurry, then set aside. (image 1)
- Pour in the liquid aminos or soy sauce, rice vinegar, and maple syrup. (image 2)
- Pour in the vegetable broth next. (image 3)
- Add the ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and the toasted sesame seeds. (image 4)
- Whisk until combined. Pour in a mason jar and tightly screw on the lid. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days. (image 5)
- When ready to use, add the cornstarch slurry and whisk until combined. Add to the stir fry when the vegetables are almost done; cook for 5 minutes or until sauce thickens. (image 6)
Recipe FAQs
A very basic stir fry sauce might only have liquid aminos or soy sauce to provide a savory umami flavor, a sweetener like maple syrup, agave nectar, honey or brown sugar, and a thickener like cornstarch or arrowroot.
To add more flavor, many homemade stir fry sauces add these two important aromatics: fresh ginger and garlic. They also add an acid like rice vinegar or freshly squeezed lime juice. Some other recipes add oil for added fat and flavor, and red pepper flakes for extra heat. If you're looking to add more umami flavor, try red or white miso paste.
Aromatics: lemongrass, ginger, garlic, spring onion
Zest: lime, lemon, or orange zest
Fresh Herbs: cilantro, parsley, Thai basil
Dried Spices: salt, red pepper flakes, or keffir lime leaves
Oil: toasted sesame oil, hot chili oil
Sweetener: maple syrup, brown sugar, agave nectar
If this recipe is divided into 4 servings, there are 103 calories per serving, 16.8g of carbs, 4g of fat, and 2.3g of protein. For more nutritional information, scroll to the end of the recipe card.
Serving Vegan Stir Fry Sauce
- Stir fried vegetables with a protein
- Udon, ramen, or rice noodles when thicken to make a sauce
- Veggie fried rice
- Veggie chow mein
- Sautéed cabbage or bok choy
- Dipping sauce for Asian dumplings, spring rolls, or fried tofu
- Use this sauce as a marinade for tofu cubes then bake, pan fry, or air fry.
Expert Tips
- Before adding the cornstarch to the stir fry sauce, whisk the cornstarch separately with cold water, so the sauce doesn't clump.
- When you're ready to use the sauce in a stir fry, add the cornstarch slurry to the sauce and heat it up in a wok and cook for 5 minutes.
- For a dipping sauce, bring the sauce to a boil then add the cornstarch slurry, lower the heat to medium low and cook for 12 minutes, whisking occasionally.
- Make the sauce up ahead of time and store in an air tight container for up to 5 days.
- Jar Method: put all the ingredients in a mason jar. Screw on the lid and shake until thoroughly mixed. Store in fridge.
Other Asian Recipes
Recipe
Vegan Stir Fry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1½ tablespoons white sesame seeds
- 1¼ cup vegetable broth
- ¼ cup liquid aminos or soy sauce
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 5 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 4 teaspoons ginger, grated
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot, for slurry
Equipment
Instructions
Making the Stir Fry Sauce
- In a small frying pan set over medium heat, toast the white sesame seeds for 2 ½ minutes or until golden brown, stirring constantly.
- Add all the ingredients to a small bowl, except for the cornstarch slurry. Whisk until well combined. If you're making this ahead of time, pour the sauce into a mason jar, seal, and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Cooking the Stir Fry Sauce
- When you're ready to cook the sauce, make a slurry by whisking 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 4 tablespoons cold water until smooth, then add it to the sauce and whisk until combined.
- Pour the vegan stir fry sauce in a small covered saucepan and bring it to a boil. Add the cornstarch slurry, lower the temperature to medium low and let the sauce gently boil until thickened while whisking occasionally.
- When using the sauce for a stir fry like our Thai vegetable stir fry, pour it into a wok, add in the cooked vegetables, stir to coat the vegetables, and serve hot over rice or noodles.
Video
Notes
- Whisk the cornstarch with cold water first before adding to the sauce.
- Don't add the cornstarch slurry until ready to use in a stir fry or a dipping sauce. The slurry will help thicken the sauce once heated for a few minutes.
- Use in Thai vegetable stir fry, or fried tofu as a hot or cold dipping sauce. This sauce also tastes fantastic over Thai brown rice noodles, if you're craving a bowl of noodles. Garnish with green onion and black sesame seeds.
Nutrition
Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.
Alex
The sauce is a little sweet, and the ginger adds a tart flavor. The sesame seeds are crunchy and the sauce is so flavorful that it explodes in your mouth!
Emma
Wow! We're so grateful to hear that you liked this sauce that much, Alex!
Sarah
I'm preparing this ahead to be ready for our stir fry dinner... the beginning description has broth but the recipe itself does not. How much broth does it need?
Emma Fajcz
Sarah, Thanks for letting us know, we added the vegetable broth to the recipe card. Let us know how it turns out!
Beth
This sauce has a great ginger taste. There's not too much salt, and not too sweet. It has a delightful amount of sesame seeds and garlic, and tastes tangy and lightly sweet--the perfect stir fry sauce!
Emma
Glad to hear this, Beth! Thank you!