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You’ll want to put this Vegetarian Oyster Sauce on everything! 5-ingredients only, 15 minutes to make, this shiitake mushroom-made homemade oyster sauce is gluten-free, vegan friendly, and with no additives. It tastes deeply savory and umami delicious!
Add it to any Chinese and Asian stir fry dishes from beef in oyster sauce to Chinese broccoli in oyster sauce. This is a terrific homemade seasoning sauce you’ll want to have in your fridge!
Table of Contents
- Vegan and Vegetarian oyster sauce (with no additives)
- Why the Homemade Version Is Better
- How to make vegetarian oyster sauce at home in 15-minutes!
- How to convert store-bought oyster sauce to the homemade version
- Is there a vegetarian substitute for oyster sauce?
- Recipes you can make with the sauce
- More Vegetarian dishes
- More homemade Chinese sauces
- Vegetarian Oyster Sauce (Vegan, Gluten-Free, Paleo, Whole30)
- Your Favorite Chinese Dishes made Paleo, gluten-free, and low carb
Vegan and Vegetarian oyster sauce (with no additives)
It turns out homemade vegetarian and vegan oyster sauce is super simple to make! With 5 ingredients only, a quick simple saute and let the blender do the rest of the job for you. In 15 minutes, you’ll have a bottle of the fresh flavor of the vegetarian sauce in your fridge in no time!
Why the Homemade Version Is Better
Homemade v.s. Store-Bought Oyster Sauce
Oyster sauce is probably the only Chinese stir-fry sauce that I consider a must-have for any Chinese and Asian food lovers. I, however, stop using it a few years ago because the ingredients, sadly, in today’s fast food/mass productions, aren’t that great for our bodies.
I took photos from my recent trip to a local grocery store. One photo is for “oyster-flavored” oyster sauce and the other is called Vegetarian mushroom-flavored stir-fry sauce (AKA Vegetarian oyster sauce).
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As you can see from the photos that the first ingredient is water and followed by sugar and other colorings, starch, and artificial flavorings. In my opinion, occasional consumption is okay because we all have to eat out (unless you have specific medical reasons or are allergic to the ingredients) but if I’m making the meals at home, which is most of the time, I recommend making the sauce by ourselves.
You’ll be amazed how fresh and flavorful the sauce tastes and you know exactly what goes into it. The flavor is so vivid and umami-rich and it’ll become one of your top go-to Paleo stir-fry sauces!
How to make vegetarian oyster sauce at home in 15-minutes!
I use dried shiitake mushrooms as the base of my vegetarian oyster sauce because dry shiitake contains a more concentrated umami flavor than fresh ones. I also use the mushroom water that’s from soaking the mushrooms overnight as my liquid base.
- Lightly sauteing the mushrooms with fresh ginger will remove the “raw” flavor and bring out a more umami aroma.
- Simply blend everything in a high-speed blender and you’ll have a perfectly healthy and delicious Mushroom Oyster Sauce!
How to convert store-bought oyster sauce to the homemade version
Add your homemade mushroom oyster sauce to any Paleo stir-fry dishes you love. Since the homemade version is less salty than the store-bought bottles, when you try to convert a recipe you find on the internet, use a bit more.
For example, if a regular recipe calls for 1 teaspoon or 2 teaspoons of (store-bought) oyster sauce, substitute it with 1 tablespoon of our homemade vegetarian oyster sauce.
Add the sauce to Chinese Broccoli Stir-Fry, Chinese Mustard Green Stir-Fry, Shiitake mushroom with baby bok choy stir-fry, or beef stir-fry in oyster sauce!
Is there a vegetarian substitute for oyster sauce?
Yes. My vegetarian oyster sauce is also vegan, gluten-free, Paleo, Keto, and Whole30. The vegetarian substitute oyster sauce is made with shiitake mushrooms, fresh ginger root, salt, coconut aminos, mushroom water, and dates. The ingredients are completely vegan and easy to make.
Recipes you can make with the sauce
Try the sauce with Stir-fried beef in oyster sauce, Oyster sauce chicken stir fry, Chinese broccoli with vegetarian oyster sauce, Vietnamese garlic shrimp, and Thai crispy fried cauliflower rice! Or drizzle it over steamed bok choy. The possibilities are endless.
More Vegetarian dishes
- Vegetarian bibimbap
- Shiitake mushroom soup with tofu
- Chinese cabbage stir-fry
- Napa cabbage stir-fry with quail eggs
- Crispy rice paper dumplings
- Air fried oyster mushrooms
- Browse my healthy vegetarian recipes
- Browse my healthy vegan recipes
More homemade Chinese sauces
Nothing beats a great bottle (or jar) of homemade sauces, if you like my healthier take on your favorite Asian condiments, you’ll also love my Gluten free hoisin sauce, Garlic chili sauce, and Shacha sauce!
Vegetarian Oyster Sauce (Vegan, Gluten-Free, Paleo, Whole30)
Ingredients
Vegetarian Oyster Sauce Ingredients
- 1.7 oz. dried shiitake mushrooms about 10 pieces
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger about 6 thin slices
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- ¼ tsp + 2 tsp coarse salt
- ½ tbsp + ½ cup coconut aminos
- 2 ¼ cups shiitake mushroom water
- 8 pitted dates
Instructions
- Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms with 4 cups room temperature water overnight. The mushrooms will rehydrate and become soft and juicy.
- Gently squeeze the mushrooms to remove the water. Thinly slice and set them aside.
- In a bowl, filter the mushroom water through a sieve. Also finely chop ginger. Set them aside.
- In a well-heated skillet, add avocado oil. Saute mushrooms with ginger and ¼ tsp salt over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes.
- Add ½ tbsp coconut aminos and keep sauteing for another 1 minute. Off heat and set it aside to cool.
- In a high speed blender, add 2 ¼ cups mushroom water, pitted dates, sautéed mushrooms and ginger, and the remaining salt and coconut aminos. Seal the lid tightly and blend on high for 60 seconds or until the mixture is very smooth. There should be no food chunks.
- Store the mushroom oyster sauce in a sealed glass container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Your Favorite Chinese Dishes made Paleo, gluten-free, and low carb
- Baked orange chicken
- Hunan beef stir-fry
- Chinese pepper steak
- Beef and Broccoli
- Chicken and Broccoli
- Chinese sesame chicken
- Sweet and sour chicken
- Spicy pepper pork stir-fry
- Black pepper chicken (way better than panda express!)
I have a host of food sensitivities and have been struggling to find stir fry sauce subsitutes and I’m so happy to find your recipe, I can’t wait to try it! Thank you!
Welcome, Rachel, Thank you!
Can you use fresh mushrooms and soak? Or has to be dried?
Hi Kim, thanks for your question. I don’t recommend using fresh mushrooms. Only dried shiitake will work for this recipe. 🙂
Did you use medjool or deglet dates?
Hi Linda, I used medjool dates. 🙂
I made this with tamari (omitting the extra salt at the end) and it was phenomenal, even with just fresh shiitake! Thank you!!
That’s a great move – omit the salt. Tamari is much saltier than coconut aminos. :)) Thanks for sharing.
Second time around I had to make a double batch because we went through the sauce quickly.
I soaked the dates in the 1/2 cup of coconut aminos for a couple hours because they were dry. The two ingredients blended tasted like molasses.
Wow! MeiMei you are amnazing!
Would you be able to substitute with date syrup? I don’t usually have dates in hand because I don’t use them in cooking. I was thinking maybe date syrup would be better since it has a longer shelf life?
Yes! Please adjust the sweetness quality though. I don’t have date syrup at home so sorry I can’t tell you how much to use in the recipe. 🙂
Oh that’s okay! I ended up using D’Vash’s date syrup and the recipe turned out good! Try 1 tablespoon at a time, I used two tbsp for my taste.
Hi Chihyu! Would Tamari be an OK substitute instead of coconut aminos? It’s what I have and I’d just rather not buy aminos if I don’t have to, but I will if tamari wouldn’t work as well 🙂 Really looking forward to trying this recipe!
Yes! please use low sodium and gluten-free soy sauce (or tamari). The sauce will taste slightly more saltier than using coco aminos. You can also use this salt in the recipe. Thank you!
I just finished making a low-carb version of this AMAZING recipe by replacing the dates with 3-1/2 teaspoons of powdered stevia and 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum and it is FABULOUS! Perfect consistency and SO GOOD! 👏👏👏👏👏👏
Awesome! So happy to hear!
Was that pure stevia or stevia with additives. 3 1/2 tsp of pure stevia is a lot.
Can I use warm water to speed up hydration in a pinch?
Yes!
This was such a winner !!! I love the veg oyster sauce recipe ! Didn’t know such a thing existed. My kids don’t like to experiment so I kept instant noodles at hand but they were licking their plates. Definitely making this again! Thank you so much for such an easy ans healthy recipe.
Also , the little tip to fry the egg was awesome!
So happy to hear!