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Fermented fish? Please don't make them die and me barf, OK? This vegan Worcestershire sauce tastes like the real deal from the paper-wrapped bottle. It's made with 12 common pantry staples you probably have on hand, doesn't require a blender, and takes just about 20 minutes to rock out.
Recipe tips tailored to what matters most to you:
Already gluten-free, as long as your tamari is labeled gluten-free and not swapped for regular soy sauce.
Use jarred minced garlic and ginger paste, and this turns into a measure, whisk and walk away situation.
Use the brine from a pickle jar you already polished off instead of pouring it down the drain. Free funk.
Go with low-sodium tamari to bring the salt down. The tamarind and pickle juice still carry plenty of punch.
Tamarind concentrate is the only possibly wacky one here. An extra tablespoon of apple cider vinegar plus 1 teaspoon of brown sugar can stand in for it.
Ground cloves are the loudest, most obnoxious guest at this party. A heaping ¼ teaspoon and your Worcestershire tastes like a pumpkin spice candle that dropped out of clown college.
Cooling it first gives the spices extra steeping time, and it saves you from pouring hot vinegar over your knuckles.
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.
That innocent looking brown bottle in your fridge door has anchovies in it. Every Bloody Mary, every burger, every "vegetarian" chili your cousin made with a few dashes of the stuff. Surprise… FISH.
And now that every fish has arisen from the ocean, with bulging, veiny, muscly human arms and legs, and it is walking amongst us. Angry. Ready to carry out terrible fish revenge for what we have done to the aquatic kingdom.
This Worcestershire tastes like Worcestershire because of a couple kinds of vinegar, some molasses, tamarind, tamari, and a faint warm whisper of clove, cardamom and cinnamon. The secret weapon here is pickle juice, which brings just a little bit of the funky, fermented vibe the anchovies used to give it.
It's the secret splash in the katsu sauce for my tofu katsu, the savory glaze on vegan tokwa't baboy, and a sneaky player in vegan yakisoba and vegan Japanese curry. Grab a saucepan and let's leave those little fishies alone once and for all.
Jump to:
- Recipe tips tailored to what matters most to you:
- Why you'll adore this anchovy-free Worcestershire sauce recipe
- Homemade vegan Worcestershire ingredients
- How to make vegan Worcestershire sauce
- Serving ideas
- Top tips
- Recipe FAQs
- You'll also love these homemade vegan condiments:
- Vegan Worcestershire Sauce Recipe
Why you'll adore this anchovy-free Worcestershire sauce recipe
🐟 Zero Fish, Same Funk: Pickle juice and tamarind team up to bring the sour, curdled complexity that anchovies normally provide.
⏱️ 20 Minutes, Mostly Hands-Off: Everything goes into 1 small saucepan at once. You whisk, you simmer, you strain, and you go about your day while the spices do the work, and the wee fishies stay under the sea listening to Careless Whisper by George Michael.
🌾 Gluten-Free Without Trying: Tamari instead of soy sauce means this bottle is safe for your gluten-free friends too. My gluten-free vegan recipes don't piss off anyone who hates wheat with all of their heart.
Tested and Approved Worldwide: Over 1,000 recipe testers have cooked and approved every one of my vegan recipes in their own kitchens before I hit publish.
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.
Homemade vegan Worcestershire ingredients
Tamarind concentrate
Look for thick, dark tamarind concentrate in a jar at Indian or Southeast Asian grocery stores, not the hard pressed block with seeds. Don't go with Tamicon brand which is a bit too dark and pasty.
Got leftover tamarind? Make a batch of tamarind date chutney or toss it into sambal goreng tempeh and lemme know how much you love it, OK?
The vinegars and pickle juice
In addition to the tamarind which is a bit sour, there are 3 other sour things in here. Apple cider vinegar brings fruity sharpness, white vinegar comes through with clean acidity, and pickle juice rolls up with garlicky fermented funk.
Use the brine from a jar of dill pickles you already have open. Kosher deli-style pickle juice is great here; sweet bread-and-butter pickle juice is not. Caper juice can be used too, or if you want some heat, the pickling brine from a jar of pickled cherry peppers.
Tamari and molasses
Tamari is the main salt source in this recipe and it keeps things gluten-free. Regular soy sauce works fine if gluten isn't something you or the people you cook for care about.
Molasses gives the deep color and the bittersweet, subtly burnt-sugar taste you know and love from regular Worcestershire. Regular unsulphured molasses, not blackstrap is what you want to mess with here.
The spices
A whole cinnamon stick, ground cloves, ground cardamom, a spoonful of fresh ginger and garlic all go in at once.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
How to make vegan Worcestershire sauce
This is the easiest science experiment you'll ever run: dump, whisk, simmer, strain, and try not to sniff it every 30 seconds like a weirdo in the mist. Photos below for every step, recipe card at the bottom for the short version.
Step One
Whisky Tango Foxtrot:
Combine the apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, tamarind concentrate, tomato paste, tamari, pickle juice, molasses, garlic, cinnamon stick, ginger, ground cloves, black pepper, and ground cardamom in a small saucepan.
Whisk a few times to break up the tomato paste and molasses.
Step Two
Sim Simmer, Who's Got the Keys to my Bimmer:
Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the spices infuse themselves into the liquid and the sauce reduces just a little bit.
Keep it at just a lazy bubble. A hard boil will reduce it too far and make it syrupy.
Step Three
Strainer Things:
Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the sauce cool. Strain the cooled sauce through a wire mesh strainer into a bowl, and discard the solids.
Step Four
Jarassic Park:
Transfer the sauce to a clean glass jar or bottle and refrigerate. Shake well before each use.
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Serving ideas
Use it anywhere you'd use the bottled stuff, 1:1.
A few dashes in vegan shepherd's pie or a pot of seitan and bean chili gives you that savory "what actually IS that" depth without making anything taste like straight up vinegar.
It's also a sneaky gravy level-upper. Splash some into vegan brown gravy or vegan mushroom gravy right before serving, or brush it on vegan roast beef along with the jus.
Top tips
- Don't Go Overboard With The Spices: Ground cloves are the loudest, most obnoxious guest at this party. A heaping ¼ teaspoon and your Worcestershire tastes like a pumpkin spice candle that dropped out of clown college.
- Strain It Cold, Not Hot: Cooling it first gives the spices extra steeping time, and it saves you from pouring hot vinegar over your knuckles like some messed up medieval torture ritual.
Recipe FAQs
The classic recipe from Worcester, England, is fermented with anchovies, and most big brands still use them. Some brands sell an anchovy-free version, but making your own means you know exactly what the heck's in the bottle.
Use an extra tablespoon of apple cider vinegar plus 1 teaspoon of brown sugar. Tart cherry juice can also make a good sub, but it's thinner, so you may want to reduce the sauce a little longer on the stovetop.
This one sure is, as long as your tamari is labeled gluten-free. If you swap in regular soy sauce, it isn't, but chances are if you are using that, you don't care about gluten that much anyway.
🧊 In the Fridge: Keep it in a clean, sealed glass jar or bottle for up to 3 months. Shake well before each use.
❄️ In the Freezer: Freeze it in an ice cube tray, then pop the cubes into an airtight container for up to 6 months. 1 cube is about 2 tablespoons.
You'll also love these homemade vegan condiments:
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Vegan Worcestershire Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ⅓ cup white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons tamarind concentrate
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ⅓ cup tamari
- ¼ cup pickle juice
- ¼ cup molasses
- 2 teaspoons garlic minced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon ginger grated
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
Instructions
- Combine the apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, tamarind concentrate, tomato paste, tamari, pickle juice, molasses, garlic, cinnamon stick, ginger, ground cloves, black pepper, and ground cardamom in a small saucepan. Whisk a few times to break up the tomato paste and molasses.
- Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, to allow the spices to infuse and the sauce to reduce slightly.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the sauce to cool. Strain the cooled sauce through a wire mesh strainer into a bowl, discarding any solids that are caught in the strainer.
- Transfer the sauce to a clean glass jar or bottle and refrigerate. Shake well before each use.
Notes
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