MAJOR UPDATE: June 27, 2026
This classic condiment gets all cleaned up in this healthy, vegan, low-calorie, low-fat No-Oil Mayo recipe. Perfect when you’re in weight loss mode or you’re tired of expensive store-bought vegan mayonnaise brands that are basically whipped up oils, thickeners and preservatives. You’ll enjoy all the creaminess and flavor you’re used to with an ingredient list you’ll be proud of! This easy mayo recipe comes together in minutes in your blender and
Whether you’re nutritarian or just looking for a healthier plant-based mayonnaise, I think you’re going to love this recipe!
What makes this No-Oil Mayo special?
- 5-star rated
- 23 calories per Tbsp.
- low-fat (1.3 grams fat & .2 grams saturated fat)
- oil-free
- vegan
- low sodium
- 8 whole food ingredients
- 1.4 grams protein per Tbsp.
Is store-bought vegan mayonnaise healthy?
No, and this recipe proves that we can do so much better!
Store-bought commercial vegan mayonnaise is not a health food because of the ingredients used and high calorie and fat content. They are mostly made of oils and many brands include thickeners (like guar gum and xanthan gum), sugars and preservatives (like Calcium Disodium EDTA).
Typically the oils used in commercial vegan mayo are canola, safflower and sometimes avocado. Oil is a calorie-dense fat source where fiber has been stripped away and there is very little micronutrient content.
Commercial vegan mayo per Tablespoon:
- 80 to 90 calories
- 9 to 10 grams fat
- 0% daily fiber
- 0% daily protein
This No-Oil Mayo recipe per Tablespoon:
- 23 calories
- 1.3 grams fat
- 1% daily fiber
- 3% daily protein
And you know what that means? You can enjoy more than double the mayo with some extra fiber and protein to boot!
What ingredients do you need?
- silken tofu
- raw cashews
- white miso
- Dijon mustard
- apple cider vinegar
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- celery seed
Ingredient Notes:
Silken Tofu: This is a shelf-stable type of tofu that is typically found in the pantry or Asian isle of the grocery store. I use this Extra-Firm Mori-Nu brand. The “extra-firm” is not like typical “wet” tofu. It just means that this is the firmest texture available in the silken tofu variety. With recent shrinkflation I’ve noticed that companies are including less than they used to and that can cause issues when you’re following a recipe.
If you can’t find a 10.9 oz. box of tofu: Spoon the tofu out into a measuring cup. 1 cup spooned extra firm silken tofu is 7 ounces.
Raw Cashews: Don’t use a roasted variety. Technically “raw” cashews are minimally heat-treated for safety. You’ll want to soak the raw cashews in water overnight (or use the quick-soak method below). I’ve found that the best consistency comes from an overnight soak. I leave bowl on my counter.
White Miso: My preferred brand is Miso Master Organic Mellow White Miso. This ingredient takes the place of salt and adds extra umami flavor to the mayo. If you don’t have miso on hand or you’re not following a low-sodium protocol you can replace this with 3/4 tsp. salt or salt to taste.
Dijon Mustard: This is not a typical ingredient in store-bought mayonnaise but it’s commonly used in homemade recipes. It provides a pleasant sharpness that balances out the flavor. Feel free to adjust the amount to taste.
Apple Cider Vinegar: This is an essential ingredient for mayo. You’ll find it used in both store-bought and homemade mayo recipes. It acts as a natural preservative to extend shelf life and helps balance the richness of the natural fats in the cashews.
Onion & Garlic Powder: These help add flavor and you can adjust them to taste.
Celery Seed: This is my “secret” ingredient that sets this mayo apart in my humble opinion. While it’s not a critical ingredient I do highly recommend it if you have it on hand or you’re willing to go that extra mile to create delicious food!
Why do I use tofu as the base for this No-Oil Mayo?
Tofu is wonderful as a base for a truly healthy mayo because it has protein without a lot of fat.
If we used only cashews for the base it would be absolutely dreamy but we could only enjoy so much. With tofu as the base we get to do my favorite thing: eat a whole lot more!
How to make the recipe:
Start by soaking your cashews in a bowl of water overnight. This softens the nuts and gives you the creamiest results.
Drain and rinse the soaked cashews well and add them to your blender bowl. If you’re in a pinch you can use a quick-soak method.
HOW TO QUICK-SOAK CASHEWS: First, bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Then pour the boiling water over the cashews. Next, allow the cashews to soak for 15 minutes. Finally, rinse the cashews and drain well.
Next, add the tofu, miso, mustard, vinegar and spices.
Blend on high for 30 to 40 seconds or until smooth and creamy. You may need to use your blender tamper to help get things moving since there is very little liquid used in this recipe.
What is the taste and texture like?
It’s a savory, tangy flavor with just a hint of spice from the mustard at the end.
The texture of the No-Oil Mayo is creamy and pleasantly fluffy. You’ll see little specks from the celery seeds throughout.
Storage Recommendations:
Keeps up to 10 days in the refrigerator in a glass food storage container with a snaplock lid or in a glass Mason jar.
- Remember to condense down your storage container as you eat through the batch.
- Separation will occur, simply stir to recombine.
- After day 5 store towards the back of your fridge shelf where you get the most direct airflow.
Freezer Testing Needed: I have not been able to check if this is good in the freezer because we always end up eating through the batch. If you give freezing a try please pop on back to let me know your results so I can update this section.
Use this No-Oil Mayo in these delicious recipes:
- Nutritarian Macaroni Salad
- No-Oil Curried Chickpea Salad
- Nutritarian Tofu Sandwich
- Cauliflower “Potato” Salad (found on p. 355 of my premium ecookbook Nutritarian Celebrations)
No-Oil Mayo (vegan, low-calorie, low-fat)
A flavorful and creamy No Oil Mayo that’s perfect for weight loss and health excellence. This classic condiment gets a clean-ingredient makeover and has only 23 calories and 1.3 grams of fat per Tablespoon!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raw cashews ~73 grams
- 10.9 ounces Silken extra firm tofu ~295 grams
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. white miso paste ~32 grams
- 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard ~12 grams
- 1 1/2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar ~22 mL
- 1 tsp. onion powder or to taste
- 1 /2 tsp. garlic powder or to taste
- 1/4 tsp. celery seed optional but recommended
Instructions
-
Soak the cashews in a bowl covered in water overnight. Rinse well and strain.
-
Add the cashews, tofu, miso paste, mustard, vinegar and spices to your blender bowl and blend on high for 30 to 40 seconds or until smooth and creamy.
-
You may need to use your tamper in the beginning to get things moving since this recipe uses very little liquid.
Recipe Notes
Yield: just over 1-3/4 cups
Servings: 28 one-Tablespoon portions
Storage: Keeps up to 10 days in the refrigerator in a glass food storage container with a snaplock lid or in a glass Mason jar.
Top tips for maximum shelf life:
- Remember to condense down your storage container as you eat through the batch.
- Separation will occur, simply stir to recombine.
- After day 5, store the mayo towards the back of your fridge shelf where you get the most direct airflow.
Silken Tofu: This is a shelf-stable type of tofu that is typically found in the pantry or Asian isle of the grocery store. I use this Extra-Firm Mori-Nu brand. The "extra-firm" is not like typical "wet" tofu. It just means that this is the firmest texture available in the silken tofu variety. With recent shrinkflation I've noticed that companies are including less than they used to in their packages and that can cause issues when you're following a recipe.
If you can't find a 10.9 oz. box of tofu: Spoon the tofu out into a measuring cup. 1 cup spooned extra firm silken tofu is 7 ounces.
HOW TO QUICK-SOAK CASHEWS: First, bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Then pour the boiling water over the cashews. Next, allow the cashews to soak for 15 minutes. Finally, rinse the cashews and drain well.
I’d love to know what you think if you give this recipe a try!
Your comments and recipe ratings motivate me so much to keep creating memorable and delicious recipes while helping the website get critical rankings in those all-important search engines.
I’m thrilled to see their is an alternative to mayonnaise. I’m looking forward to trying it and I will surely get back to you. I think it is very interesting. And I thank you patty
Hi Patty!
Oh, I’m so happy about this mayo recipe too!! It’s so hard to find good oil-free recipes, I think the flavor on this one is great–but I’d love your feedback once you get to make it!
xo, Kristen
I recently discovered that I maybe allergic to nuts. Have always had a peanut allergy. Looks like seeds except sesame are okay. Ideas as to what I can substitute for cashews? Thanks for any ideas you may have.
Hi Beth!
Yes, I think a great substitute would be hemp seed or possibly sunflower seeds. White chia seeds might work too, especially soaked!
Personally, I’d start with the hemp, 1/2 cup! If you give it a try please let me know how it turns out!
xo, Kristen
Just made the mayo..making the macaroni salad tomorrow to serve on 4th of July at a family BBQ. The mayo is so delicious..hubby loved it! Can’t wait to make the salad😀
This recipe is fantastic, thank you! I tried it by itself, and I also used it as a base for a Russian dressing which I put on a vegan Reuben sandwich. Ahh, it was lovely. Side note, I did not soak the cashews before, and it still turned out smooth and fluffy in my vitamix!
Thank you for the recipe!
Hello,
love the fact that this is oil free! I’m certainly looking forward to trying it.
I just have one problem. I can’t find organic white miso paste in my area. I prefer to not shop for grocery’s online. Is there a (healthy) alternative? Or can I just leave it out?
Thank you! 🙂
Hi Lisa!
You can use Liquid Aminos instead of the miso, just use 1 or 2 tsp because it’s stronger and has a higher sodium content!
You can leave out any sodium if you’d like but I only recommend that if you’ve been following a low-sodium lifestyle for some time because it can be hard at first!!
Thanks so much for your comment!
xo, Kristen
Can you please tell me if I can make this in a food processor?
Thank you
So, I do not own a “high powered” blender. I decided I wanted to make this, but I didn’t have soaked cashews. So, I put the cashews in my regular blender along with 1 tbsp of water, and blended the cashews. They reduced to small chunks. Then I added the tofu, and blended the nuts and water with that, and then once that was creamy, I added the remaining ingredients. I reduced the seasonings by half, and still found it a little too “dijon-like” for my taste. I don’t really want my mayo to taste like mustard. However, I added more tofu to the batch, and it came out very good. I loved it w/my chickpea “no tuna” salad, and I especially love how thick and creamy it is.
Hi Teresa!
Thanks so much for your review and thoughtful notes! I love robust seasonings but I understand that it’s not for everyone’s palate!
I’m SO happy to know this recipe can work in a regular blender to–woop, woop!!
xo, Kristen
So so good! To reduce the “bean” flavour of the tofu, I just boil the whole block in water for about 2 mins before adding to the blender. It really makes a difference in my opinion.
Thanks for all your yummy recipes!!
Hi, is there any chance you could give the 2/3 cup and 1/8 cup measurements in tbsp or tsp? We don’t use cups much here in the UK, so I don’t know what these measurements mean. Many thanks.
Could I use any nuts besides the cashews? My daughter is very allergic, but the rest of the recipe sounds amazing!
Hi Cara!
I haven’t tried this specific recipe with any other nuts but I do like subbing blanched almonds for cashews–just note the texture is overall more grainy but if you soak them first it should help with that!
xo, Kristen
Hi, I just made this so I could make macaroni salad recipe that you sent. I’m so excited to have macaroni salad, and it is so colorful. May take me time to get over no olives in it. or pickles, but it looks awesome, that’s going to be part of dinner tonight. Thank you for listing what to use instead of miso paste, I’m having trouble finding it.
What miso paste do u buy? I’ve only found miso paste that’s very high in sodium
Hi Dawn,
I use white miso (which is the lowest in sodium of all the varieties). I buy the “Miso Master” brand from Whole Foods!
xo, Kristen
Don’t get me wrong; this is a delicious sauce and I will be using it many different ways but I took away 1 star cuz it was a little too tangy for my taste in mayo! Maybe because I’m a Best Foods/Hellman’s girl (I miss you mayo) and not a Miracle Whip fan, it just didn’t quite work as mayo for me. Do use this sauce in lots of mayo apps, though; it has a great, sparking personality of its own!
I am allergic to soy products. What can I substitute for the tofu in your recipes?
Hi Lisa,
For this particular recipe you can just go for a more traditional all-nut-based mayo! For my other tofu recipes the recommendations would differ depending on which recipe you’re looking at.
You can always email me through the contact form for more specific guidance!
xo, Kristen
I eyeballed nearly all the ingredients. And even without celery seeds, the flavor and texture of this mayo are lovely. (Can’t wait to see how the flavor improves with them added.)
Used a couple dollops as dressing for a chopped salad—creamy and dreamy.
I’m SO happy to hear you enjoyed this mayo recipe, Trish!
And thank you for taking the time to leave your lovely comment and recipe rating!
xo, Kristen
This recipe is delicious, even to people who eat a standard american diet. Thank you!
Hi Amy,
I’m SO happy to hear that! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a recipe rating and comment!
xo, Kristen
This is a lovely, light dressing/sauce. It really hits the same flavor notes as mayo! The celery seed is a brilliant addition and adds that something extra. I made the recipe as written and I don’t think I would change anything (which is rare- I always tweak things). This is great as a dip, dressing or spread. I think this will now be a staple in our fridge. Thank you Kristen for creating high-flavor, high-nutrition recipes- it definitely makes eating this healthy exciting and fun :).
Hi Amanda,
Oh, I’m SO happy to hear that you are loving this recipe exactly as it is! It’s rare when that happens because tastes are so individual but I’m truly honored that you are enjoying it so much! Thank you for taking the time to leave such a lovely review and recipe rating!
Best,
Kristen
Does this actually taste like real mayo?
If you’re not accustomed to plant-based eating it may not. But to me it does!
I Am Vegan
Spouse is not
Looking for healthy recipes for both
Thank You!
So happy to hear that you’re finding inspiration here!
I see a lot of posts saying they couldn’t go vegan because of cheese. I’m allergic to cheese, so it’s not that that has always made me hesitate to try this lifestyle-it’s mayo! And I have to say-this recipe is very tasty! Would be delicious on a sandwich or your macaroni salad! Thanks for the recipe!!
Hi Tiffany,
Lovely to meet a fellow mayo-lover! YAY! I’m so thrilled that you love this recipe as much as I do!
thank you for the tip on replacing cashews. I have been a vegetarian for 20 years, but allergic to tree nuts. I always find it challenging as so many recipes call for cashews to replace cheese/dairy ingredients. Will try your suggestion here. Thank you!
So happy to hear it was appreciated, Michelle!
Thank you for the mayonnaise recipe. It was awesome! I have tried many recipes and this one is by far the best.
YAY! I’m so very happy to hear that Susan!
Thank you for taking the time to leave a recipe rating and review–this is so helpful for the site!
xo, Kristen
How long does the recipe it keep for?
Hi Megan, it lasts for up to 10 days in your fridge stored in a glass jar (closer to an air source is better for the longer shelf life too).
This recipe sounds yummy! For those who want to avoid tofu, I suggest white beans instead. I make mayo using a recipe with 1 1/2 cups white beans and 1/2 cup soaked cashews, plus seasonings.
Love those recommendations Melissa–thanks so much for sharing!
Mind blown!! I’ve only been full-steam WFPB/vegan/no SOS for two months, and this was my first attempt at vegan mayo. (I thought, how good could it possibly be without oil or eggs?) Your vegan mayo is SOOO much yummier than what I used to make pre-dietary change. Thank you SO much for sharing this amaaaazing recipe… WOW!
Huge congratulations on your health journey so far, Nancy! And I’m just so pleased to hear that you loved this recipe–it’s one of my favorites!
Hey tried this again, it was good, Since last time I made it I’m on a lower salt diet. So used Coconut Amino’s instead of miso paste. Turned out well. I also couldn’t find silken or soft tofu, (used firm) so after rinsing and squeezing some water out, I ended up adding some water, a 1/4 cup at a time, total 1/2 cup. Next time I might only go a 1/3, but is still creamy and rich, but does pour out of blender.
Thanks so much for sharing your modifications Lesa! Sometimes people don’t have everything they may need on hand so it’s nice to get these variations noted!
Wonderful! I’ll be honest, Mayo has always been the thing that keeps me from going full nutritarian, but with this recipe, I think I can finally commit! Thanks!!
Oh I’m so pleased to hear that, Tiffany!
I only need about half this amount at a time . Can I freeze the other half? That would be very convenient!
Hi Renee, I have not experimented with freezing this recipe but I’d imagine it would be okay. Let it defrost on the counter then whisk to recombine. I don’t know how long it would last in the fridge after that–these are things I’ll have to find out when I update this recipe!
I just made this mayo tonight. It is absolutely delicious! Until now, my favourite was the cleanest mayo from your book, now it’s this one.
Hi Manuela,
Thank you SO much for the support in getting my book! And I’m thrilled that you tried this mayo recipe too and love it even more!
Appreciate you taking the time to leave a rating and review!
All the best,
Kristen
Hello Kristen,
I’ve been plant based for 3 months now. Due to bypass surgery, I’m on a low sodium diet. The sodium in this recipe is too high per serving.. Any suggestions to lower the sodium? What could I use instead of miso?
Hi Lisa,
Congratulations on your three months plant based–HUGE accomplishment!
You can always reduce or omit the miso paste to fit your needs! Let us know what you do as I know there are many other readers who are reduced sodium as well.
Best,
Kristen
I went looking for a healthy alternative to store bought mayo. thankfully you have a good recipe here so I don’t have to compromise with oil. SOOOOO many recipes use oil it’s amazing that we are not all dead by 40. thank you!
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a recipe review and your lovely comment! I agree that it’s quite difficult to find oil-free recipes so it feels so good to know that I was able to help you out in that area! Fortunately, in recent years the talk around oils has changed and people are realizing the ill health effects!
Could you freeze this into smaller portions?
Hi Debby,
I have not tried freezing this recipe but that sounds like a lovely idea! If you give it a try please let me know how it works out for you!
Best,
Kristen
This is my very favorite homemade vegan mayonnaise!! It’s easy and delicious!!
Hi Brenda,
YAY! I’m so thrilled to hear that this is your new favorite!
Thanks for taking the time to leave your recipe rating a review–greatly helps the site.
Best,
Kristen
I can’t wait to begin my nutritarian journey. I am working hard to reduce cholesterol and pre diabetes.
Blessings,
Karissa
Thrilled to hear that you’re starting your journey!
I’m wishing you all the very best!
xo, Kristen
Kristen,
This mayo is amazing! I didn’t have celery seed so I added celery stalks. Came out great. Thank you so, so much for all you do. Its very much appreciated.
Hi Peri,
I’m so thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the mayo recipe! I love that you substituted with celery stalks–how much did you add in? I’d like to try that myself!
Appreciate you taking the time to leave the recipe rating too.
All the best,
Kristen
Fabulous Mayo, thick and creamy with a nice tangy taste. Pity I could not source the celery seed I bet that would have been the “icing on the cake”
Thank you for sharing Kristen