Sweet, tangy and savoury, this Worcestershire sauce recipe packs a huge punch of umami flavour! The best part? It’s small batch, naturally vegan and gluten free.
Why We Love This
Vegan Worcestershire sauce is for those looking for a vegan-friendly substitute to the traditional Worcestershire sauce from the supermarket. Even better, it’s also naturally gluten free.
Made with simple pantry staples and ready in 20 minutes, use it in cooking or for making your own homemade sauce blends! Even better, your homemade sauce will have no artificial flavours, preservatives or high fructose corn syrup like some commercial versions do.
Related: Homemade Kewpie Mayo / Homemade S&B Style Curry Powder
What is Worcestershire Sauce?
Worcestershire sauce was originally created in England, in the region of Worcester, by two chemists known as Lea and Perrins. You may recognise the name from the most widely available brand of Worcestershire sauce by the same name!
Nowadays there are lots of different brands, such as Holbrooks, Heinz and Bull-Dog (a popular Japanese brand that also makes takoyaki sauce and okonomiyaki sauce). You can also buy versions that suit different dietary requirements like vegan, low-sodium and gluten free.
Traditional Worcestershire sauce is a fermented condiment made with vinegar and tamarind puree (tangy), molasses (sweet), spices (savoury), and sometimes anchovies or fish sauce, the latter making it not suitable for vegans or vegetarians.
Interesting facts: Some American brands of Worcestershire sauce have much higher amounts of high fructose corn syrup and sodium than other brands available around the world. Meanwhile most brands in Australia are made without anchovies or fish sauce, making them already suitable for vegans and vegetarians!
Today’s recipe is a vegan friendly Worcestershire sauce made without anchovies, using everyday pantry staples to get as close as possible to the traditional flavour without any nasties. It’s also naturally gluten free!
What You’ll Need
- Vinegar – We used apple cider vinegar, but you can use just about any vinegar such as regular white vinegar, rice wine vinegar, malt vinegar or white wine vinegar.
- Plum Jam – This adds beautiful sweetness and flavour.
- Golden Syrup – Naturally sweet and thick, sub with maple syrup, molasses, treacle or packed brown sugar if you need.
- Lemon Juice – Sub with tamarind paste (more traditional), pomegranate molasses or rice wine vinegar.
- Garlic and Ginger – Fresh and finely chopped if possible, otherwise sub with garlic powder and ginger powder.
- Spices – You’ll need cardamom pods (whole, will be removed), allspice, salt and pepper, onion powder, ground cloves and nutmeg.
Optional Tweaks:
- Cornstarch / Cornflour Slurry – Add if you prefer a slightly thicker sauce texture. If gluten free, make sure to use cornflour from maize (corn based)) and NOT wheaten corn flour (wheat based).
- Cayenne Pepper – For extra spicy heat! Otherwise, you can add more ground black pepper for a similar spice intensity.
Wandercook’s Tips
- Storage – Store in an airtight glass bottle or jar in the fridge. Can last for a year or more, but if you spot anything bad or it smells off – throw it out.
- Consistency – You can strain out the solids for a smooth sauce, but this is not essential.
FAQs
Worcestershire sauce is a key ingredient in oysters kilpatrick, and a great way to add an extra depth of flavour to pasta sauces (bolognese, amatriciana or napoli sauce) or soups (pumpkin sweetcorn soup or split pea soup).
We use it all the time in homemade sauces like tonkatsu sauce, okonomiyaki sauce and yakisoba sauce.
It’s a perfect marinade or basting sauce for Korean BBQ meats, or as a stand-alone condiment. You can even drizzle it over meat pies or pie floaters, scrambled eggs or baked beans for breakfast.
It’s often enjoyed as a steak sauce, on burgers, or as a flavouring for cocktails like bloody marys!
You could start with a blend of soy sauce (savoury) + vinegar (tangy) + tomato sauce / ketchup or BBQ sauce (sweet and slightly spicy). The flavour won’t be the same, but it should get you through in a pinch. Or see this full guide to the best Worcestershire sauce substitutes for more ideas.
Variations
- Nutty Flavour – Add ground toasted sesame seeds for extra savoury nuttiness.
- Make it Spicy – Add cayenne pepper, gochugaru (chilli flakes), or even gochujang (Korean fermented chilli paste) to taste.
Make more sauces from scratch with these popular recipes:
★ Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment and a star rating below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup apple cider vinegar sub rice wine vinegar, malt vinegar or regular white vinegar
- ¼ cup plum jam
- ¼ cup golden syrup sub maple syrup, molasses, treacle or packed brown sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice sub tamarind paste, pomegranate molasses, or rice wine vinegar
- 2 garlic chopped finely, sub 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp ginger fresh
- 2 cardamom pods whole, will be removed
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
Optional
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper sub chilli powder, optional to add heat
- 1 tbsp cornstarch / cornflour optional to thicken. If gluten free, make sure to use cornflour from maize and NOT wheaten cornflour.
Instructions
- Bring everything to a boil (apple cider vinegar, plum jam, golden syrup, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, cardamom pods, allspice, salt, pepper, onion powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and optional: cayenne pepper) in a small saucepan, then simmer over a medium-low heat for around 20 minutes until reduced and thickened to your liking. Stir occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking.1 ½ cup apple cider vinegar, ¼ cup plum jam, ¼ cup golden syrup, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 2 garlic, ½ tsp ginger, 2 cardamom pods, 1 tsp allspice, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, ½ tsp onion powder, ¼ tsp ground cloves, ¼ tsp ground nutmeg, ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- Optional: Add cornstarch to 1 tbsp cold water to make a slurry, then add to the Worcestershire sauce. Stir until it thickens and switch off the heat. Remove the cardamom pods.1 tbsp cornstarch / cornflour
- Bottle in a clean, air tight glass jar and store in the fridge. For the best flavour, allow flavours to bloom for at least two weeks before using!
Recipe Notes
- Nutty Flavour – Add ground toasted sesame seeds for extra savoury nuttiness.
- Make it Spicy – Add cayenne pepper, gochugaru (chilli flakes), or even gochujang (Korean fermented chilli paste) to taste.
- Storage – Store in an airtight glass bottle or jar in the fridge. Can last for a year or more, but if you spot anything bad or it smells off – throw it out.
- Consistency – You can strain out the solids for a smooth sauce, but this is not essential.
Nutrition
4 Comments
denise
15/08/2022 at 3:50 pmSounds wonderful and I’m ready to try it since I am serving people who are vegan and celiac. But, 389 calories per serving? Did I miss a highly caloric ingredient in the recipe?
Wandercooks
15/08/2022 at 4:18 pmHi Denise, hope you and your guests enjoy the sauce. The calories are for the whole jar so you should be good to go once it’s portioned out. 🙂
denise
10/09/2022 at 6:51 amThanks so much!
Wandercooks
11/09/2022 at 11:26 amYou’re welcome Denise!