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If you have ever had that umami, tangy, kinda heavenly mayo drizzled on your sushi at your favorite Japanese restaurant, it was probably Kewpie. But sadly, that stuff is 100% hell-no, not vegan. I cry. So, after a heck of a lot of testing and tinkering, I sorted out what I truly believe is the best vegan kewpie mayo recipe on the whole gosh darn internet!
Recipe tips tailored to what matters most to you:
This is already gluten-free, just double check your miso paste (or doenjang) is labeled gluten-free, since some brands sneak in wheat.
No need to chill before using, this mayo works straight from the blender, though an hour in the fridge does make it thicker.
Whipping this up at home costs way less than hunting down vegan mayo, and you probably already have the oil, vinegar, and mustard in your pantry.
Swap the sugar for a splash of maple syrup or agave to keep this a touch less processed.
Dulse flakes are just an optional flourish here, so if seaweed feels too weird, skip it without a second thought.
Cold soy milk make sures your mayo becomes thick and creamy. Start blending with milk straight from the fridge to keep it cool and aid emulsification.
Add the oil very slowly in a thin stream while blending. If your blender lid has a removable center, open it just enough to let the oil in to avoid a mess.
A high-speed blender make sures a smoother, more consistent texture for velvety mayo.
Oodles more tips, step-by-step recipe photos, info on weird ingredients, and FAQs are all still here. I just tucked 'em out of the way so you can start cooking sooner.
Whether you are going to use it in making lemongrass tofu banh mi, or swirl homemade sriracha into it to drizzle onto a vegan sushi bake, or use it as part of a tartar sauce for dipping vegan buffalo wings into, by golly, you will be so damned psyched about not having to purchase overpriced store-bought vegan mayo ever again!
Why this vegan mayonnaise recipe is a gosh darned winner:
- It's seriously quick and easy to make
- It's got no tofu, and you can make it completely soy-free, if that's your thing
- Uses simple, accessible plant-based ingredients
- Has fantastic keeping quality
- Makes regular mayo cry itself to sleep because it's boring and outdated
- Delivers that signature creamy, umami-packed flavor
Go ahead, pinch yourself. You aren't dreaming, and you are about to experience a homemade vegan mayo that's smooth, luscious, and packed with the right flavor. Once you try this recipe, you'll never return to store-bought again!
We love this!!! All four picky eaters with various food sensitivities can use this and enjoy it!
Jump to:
- Recipe tips tailored to what matters most to you:
- 🤷♀️ What Is Kewpie Mayo?
- 🥰Why you'll adore this vegan kewpie
- 🌿 Ingredients for Vegan Kewpie Mayo
- 🤯Variations
- 📖 How to make this vegan kewpie mayo recipe
- 💡Serving Ideas
- 👉Top tips for perfect vegan kewpie mayo
- 🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
- ✌️My faves to use vegan Japanese mayo recipe on:
- Vegan Kewpie Mayo (Japanese Mayonnaise Without Eggs)
🤷♀️ What Is Kewpie Mayo?
I know you have seen those curved squeeze bottles of Kewpie mayonnaise at Asian food stores and wondered, what is so special about this stuff anyway? I mean, the iconic plastic squeeze bottle you are used to seeing Kewpie sold in didn't even launch until 1958, so here's the origin story:
After getting turned onto American mayonnaise on a trip to the United States in 1910, Toichiro Nakashima wanted to make a Japanese version. In 1925 (can you believe this is a 100-year-old tradition now?), it sorta revolutionized the way mayonnaise was being made in Japan. Rather than using whole eggs, the manufacturer, who was at the time called Shokuhin Kayo (who later changed their name to Kewpie Corporation), used just the egg yolks in their recipe, which is why kewpie tends to be a wee bit darker than ordinary mayo. The original recipe included MSG (monosodium glutamate) and rice vinegar.
So, if you really want to nail the texture and flavor of Japanese kewpie mayonnaise, you need to use something for that spark of umami. Lots of people avoid using MSG, which is why I use miso or doenjang, to give my recipe saltiness, and umami, and also to color the kewpie that creamy off-white color it normally has in recipes that contain eggs.
🥰Why you'll adore this vegan kewpie
✊ Vegan AF & GF: Like all of my vegan sauces and condiments, this easy vegan condiment is made without harming a single animal. It's also one of the only gluten-free vegan recipes for mayo I have ever tried that has superb keeping quality.
🌱 Power of Miso: The miso in this recipe adds a perfect umami flavor that sets it apart from other vegan mayos, which get their saltiness from just plain, boring ol' salt.
🙅♀️ No Silken Tofu Here: Blending the oil gradually with plant-based milk ensures a thick, creamy texture every time and because there is a lower protein content this way, the mayo lasts for a lot longer without spoiling.
🌿Suddha Sattva: Unlike a lot of egg-free mayos that use garlic powder for some strange reason, this is also a completely sattvic recipe, and depending on what milk and oil you choose to use in it can even be one of the ekadasi recipes you can call upon when you fast from grains.
⏱ Quick and Easy: You can whip this up in under ten minutes, even if you suck tragically at cooking!
Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all of the vegan recipes I share, after tweaking and perfecting it, I shared this Japanese Kewpie mayo recipe with a seriously massive team of testers of varying skill levels who replicated it successfully all around the world.
I'm on my knees staring weirdly into your eyes, asking you in a soothing voice to be my taste-testing partner in crime. Sign up for the recipe testing crew and get early access to new recipes before they're published.
🌿 Ingredients for Vegan Kewpie Mayo
Vegan Milk
I have experimented with just about every unsweetened plant-based milk on the market to make this mayo. While it works great with oat milk, almond milk and others, hands down soy milk was the winner in my tests. Aside from it's neutral flavor, soy milk has naturally occurring soy lecithin, which helps in the process of emulsification (the binding of oils and liquids) that this recipe relies on. That is why I use it in recipes such as my vegan whipped cream and vegan sour cream.
Oil
Neutral oils like canola, sunflower, mild olive oil, and vegetable oil are high in unsaturated fats, making them heart-healthy choices to make dairy-free mayonnaise. I would discourage you from using coconut oil in this recipe, because it will firm too much when you chill the mayo.
Rice Vinegar
Known as "komezu" in Japanese, unseasoned rice vinegar adds a mild acidity that brightens the flavor of the mayo. It is my go-to acid for most vegan dairy recipes I make, like vegan parmesan cheese and vegan mascarpone, and I use it in tons of sauces like my vegan alfredo sauce, too. There's just nothing that exactly matches it, but in a pinch, you can make this recipe with apple cider vinegar, lemon juice or distilled white vinegar in its place.
Dulse Flakes (Optional)
Dulse, a type of red seaweed, adds a hint of umami and a super-slight oceanic flavor, which is great for using this mayo on sushi. It's 100% an optional add-in to this recipe, so don't freak out if you don't have dulse on hand.
Sweetener
A small amount of sugar balances the acidity and saltiness, rounding out the flavors. You can use any type of sugar, but I have had the best results with regular cane sugar, coconut sugar and palm sugar (which I ALWAYS have on hand for making desserts such as klepon, turon, and bubur sumsum).
Dijon Mustard
A little bit of mustard adds a bit of tang and very subtle spice, while also helping curdle the vegan milk which helps with emulsification. If you don't have Dijon, any smooth mustard can work in its place.
Miso Paste or Doenjang
I am a big fan of using fermented bean paste as a flavor-rich alternative to plain salt in recipes from my vegan chicken, miso glazed eggplant and even vegan drumsticks. While white miso and doenjang (which you can think of as Korea's version of miso) work best for this, I have also made it and liked my results using taucu, and dark Chinese fermented bean paste. All pack umami and salt without sweeteners, and that's the main thing we are looking for.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
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🤯Variations
Sriracha Kewpie Mayo
Add a teaspoon of sriracha or a spoonful of my sambal oelek recipe to the mayo. This variation is perfect for drizzling as a spicy dip for fries, bakwan sayur, or crispy rice dumplings.
Yuzu Kewpie Mayo Recipe
Unless you have gotten food from me at my weekly Galactic MegaStallion pop-ups, you might not know what an absolute freak I am for yuzu (a Japanese citrus) or calamansi (a Filipino one). Add a tablespoon of yuzu juice to this recipe, making an addictive vegan mayo dressing to use on salads like urap sayur or asinan sayur from Indonesia.
Wasabi Kewpie Mayo
Mix in half a teaspoon of wasabi paste for that super delightful sushi bar flavor you love so much. This variation is what I do in my vegan sushi bake recipe, but it also pairs well with tempura, veggie sushi, and adds a zing to sandwiches. I used to serve the lemongrass 5-spice seitan on my food truck with wasabi mayo and red curry paste roasted cashews. It was heaven on earth!
📖 How to make this vegan kewpie mayo recipe
Get ready to slather your dad's used 1996 Honda Fit or Toyota Yaris from bumper to bumper in this glorious vegan mayonnaise quickly by following these step-by-step photos with helpful tips. Or scroll down to the bottom of this page for the easy-to-print recipe card.
Step One
Set The Stage:
Pour the unsweetened plant-based milk into a blender.
Soy milk works the best in this recipe due to its naturally occurring lecithin. But don't fret. Other unsweetened plant-based milks work too.
Step Two
Curdle The Milk:
Add the rice vinegar, dulse flakes (if using), sugar, Dijon mustard, and miso to the milk in the blender. Pulse a few times to distribute the vinegar and mustard.
The acid will help to curdle the milk, making the final mayo smoother, and richer.
Step Three
Emulsion:
Over the course of around 90 seconds, while blending on medium speed, gradually add the oil, until the mixture thickens and emulsifies. The slower you drizzle in the oil the better.
Step Four
Taste the mayo and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
If you want it thinner for drizzling, blend up to two additional tablespoons of vegan milk into it.
Transfer the vegan kewpie mayo to a clean, airtight container or squeeze bottle and store it in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to four weeks.
💡Serving Ideas
Don't just stop by dipping vegan yakitori into this luscious stuff. Oh my goo-goo-googity-goodness! The applications for this dairy-free mayo are ENDLESS.
Aside from obvious use cases like using it in my goma salad dressing (I mean, who doesn't LOVE that sesame mayo dressing from Japanese restaurants!?!), vegan tofu katsu, or tofu karaage with a side of pickled burdock, and vegan bulgogi, there are also some amazing things you can mix into the mayo to make it more fun. Here are a few things you might LOVE:
Mix in a spoonful of nam prik pao, tom yum paste, or nam jim jaew to give this mayo some glorious Thai inflections.
I am all about adding some spice and flavor to mayo for different uses. Try mixing in some New Mexico red chili sauce to drizzle the mayo onto vegan fried chicken. Or swirl in a healthy dose of zhoug or shatta to drizzle over vegan kofta or baharat roasted oyster mushroom shawarma.
You can 100% use this egg-free mayonnaise in place of your fave store-bought mayo to replicate any of the sandwiches from my food truck, to which I share the recipes in this Vegan Sandwich Cooking Class.
👉Top tips for perfect vegan kewpie mayo
- Use Cold Plant-Based Milk
Cold milk helps with the emulsification process, ensuring your mayo becomes thick and creamy. Make sure your milk is straight from the fridge before you start blending, or it may warm up even more from the friction of blending which will interfere with the binding of fats and liquid which is essential for this recipe to work. - Never Ever Freeze: Freezing will break the bond of fats and liquids in this mayo, and it will be separated and ruined upon thawing.
- Gradually Add Oil: Adding the oil as slowly as possible, in a thin stream while blending, is key to achieving the perfect consistency. If your blender has a lid with a removable center part, open that part just enough to let the oil in, to avoid making a mess in your kitchen.
- High-Speed Blender Advantage: Using a high-speed blender can make a big difference. It ensures a smoother, more consistent texture, which is essential for a velvety mayo. Some blenders like my trusty Blendtec have a semi-covered lid that lets you drizzle in oil and nothing splashes out. It's one of my favorite design functions of their blenders.
- Chill Before Serving: You can use the mayo right after emulsifying it. But, letting the mayo chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour before using it gets it a little stiffer and richer.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Store vegan kewpie mayo in a clean, airtight container or a squeeze bottle with a cap in the refrigerator. It will keep fresh for up to 4 weeks. DO NOT FREEZE THIS MAYO!
Yes, you can substitute rice vinegar with apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar for a slightly different flavor profile. You can use just about any acid to curdle the milk and add that important tangy dimension. It's your vegan kewpie mayo, after all. But I'd encourage you to try it with rice vinegar!
If you don't have miso, you can use taucu, Chinese fermented bean paste, or doenjang. You can even get away with tamari or soy sauce as a substitute, though they will loosen the consistency a tiny bit, and don't have such a complex flavor.
Some people use kala namak (black salt) in their Japanese mayonnaise recipe, but I think the sulfuric taste of that salt isn't an accurate way to recreate the traditional mayonnaise vibe.
Make damned sure that you add the oil very slowly while blending and that your plant-based milk is cold. These steps are crucial for proper emulsification if you are gonna get away without using eggs and make your mayo vegan!
A high-speed blender is essential. This recipe has been tried and failed with an immersion blender, hand mixer, and stand mixer with whip attachment. Save yourself the heartbreak!
To make the mayo thinner for drizzling, blend in additional tablespoons of plant-based milk until you reach the desired consistency. The OG Japanese brand of mayonnaise is a tiny bit thinner than my recipe, but I prefer having a thicker mayo on hand for sandwiches, It's easy to thin out any time you want something pourable for use on different dishes(and that gives you the added benefit of thinning it out with a flavorful sauce if you want).
Yes, this vegan version is gluten-free, provided all your ingredients, such as miso and Dijon mustard, are certified gluten-free. It can also be made totally soy-free if you use a different plant-based milk, and don't use soy oil or vegetable oil (which is often derived from soybeans).
Normally, store bought kewpie mayo contains eggs. That's exactly why the heck I painstakingly recreated it completely plant-based for ya!
The top two awesome seasonings you can swirl into your kewpie to instantly give it a more nuanced flavor are shichimi togarashi (Japanese 7-spice), or furikake seasoning (a sesame and seaweed seasoning, that's often use as a topping for rice).
✌️My faves to use vegan Japanese mayo recipe on:
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Vegan Kewpie Mayo (Japanese Mayonnaise Without Eggs)
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsweetened plant-based milk (soy milk works the best)
- 1 cup canola oil sunflower oil, or grapeseed oil
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- ½ teaspoon dulse flakes optional
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 ½ teaspoons miso paste or doenjang
Instructions
- Pour the unsweetened plant-based milk into a blender.
- Add the rice vinegar, dulse flakes (if using), sugar, Dijon mustard, and white miso to the blender. Pulse a few times in the blender to combine. The acid from the mustard and vinegar will slightly curdle and thicken the milk. This works especially well with unsweetened soy milk.
- While blending on medium speed, gradually drizzle in the oil over the course of about 90 seconds until the mixture begins to thicken and emulsify.
- Taste the mayo and adjust the seasoning if necessary. This recipe makes a thick, spreadable mayo. If you want it to be thinner for drizzling, blend up to two additional tablespoons of vegan milk into it, which will thin it to a more easily drizzle-able texture.
- Transfer the vegan kewpie mayo to a clean, airtight container and store it in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to two weeks.
Notes
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Dushenka Silberfarb says
We love this!!! All four picky eaters with various food sensitivities can use this and enjoy it!
Meg says
I’ve made this so many times now and it’s just perfect. Finally have adjusted it to the vagaries of my blender. I found that just having the soy milk and vinegar in the blender when emulsifying, THEN adding the miso, mustard etc worked better for some reason. It got thicker than if I did it the other way.
Meg says
Still great….
Meg says
This is sooo good. Makes it very very clear that eggs aren’t essential to fabulous tasting, excellent pouring, thickness etc. love it love it love it.
One suggestion…move the “cup canola” to after the ingredients that go in first. The first time I made this I was reading order of ingredients and without thinking put the oil in before all the other stuff…I quickly poured most of it out—and it was still totally great…showing that the recipe is actually pretty bulletproof! Thanks Chef Adam.
Meg says
Worked extremely well despite operator error…. Yes. I read the recipe through and then went back to list of ingredients… and I poured the oil into the milk ….aaaah ….i couldn’t waste it so quietly slowly poured the oil off, as much as I could. Then did it right…
Tastes fabulous, thank you for yet another winner!
Cheryl says
This is amazing! I only had Silk Soy Milk Original on hand, and it is sweetened, but I was so curious to try this recipe that I used it, and left out the sweetener that the recipe calls for. I also only have a run-of-the-mill Oster blender. In spite of all that, my mayonnaise turned out great! Smooth and with a good mayonnaise taste.
Vban says
Really nice flavor, and SO easy. I did not have soy milk so the texture was a little loose, But I will definitely try this again with soy milk!