Vegan Buffalo Sauce for the table

This homemade Vegan Buffalo Sauce recipe is simple to make in less than 15 minutes, with a little prep work. It's perfect as a Game Day dip, party appetizer, or sauce for buffalo chicken wings.

If you're prepping for game day, you've gotta have some buffalo sauce!

And if you or any of your friends and family are vegan, it's super simple to make your own vegan buffalo sauce at home.

Whether you prefer a spicy sauce or mild sauce, this recipe is simple to adapt to your tastebuds. And you can make it with simply a few ingredients in simply four steps!

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🌟 Why this recipe works

Traditional buffalo sauce is made with butter, and therefore is not vegan. But it is so simple to make homemade buffalo sauce vegan!

This recipe works because it's:

Fast – you can whip up your own vegan buffalo wing sauce in less than 10 minutes!
Simple – this vegan dip recipe is one of the easiest recipes to make. It only takes a few steps. We've included a visual photo guide below of the step-by-step process.
Adjustable heat level– you can control the spice level to your preferred perfect amount of heat.
Tasty – This vegan buffalo sauce has an irresistible rich tangy flavor.
Better for you– with simple ingredients you can easily find in most grocery stores, this healthy vegan buffalo sauce is better for you than store-bought sauce.

🛒 Ingredient notes

Cashews – The cashews are what help make this buffalo sauce vegan. After soaking overnight, they blend up rich and creamy in the blender with the other ingredients. If you forget to soak overnight, try to soak the cashews for at least 30 minutes before blending.
Frank's hot sauce – This is what gives the spicy buffalo sauce its kick. You can use a spicy hot sauce if you want more heat, or you can use a mild hot sauce if you want milder spice level. Frank's red hot sauce is usually a good store-bought brand.
Garlic powder – Adds aromatic spice throughout the sauce.
White vinegar – Adds to the tangy flavor.
Water – Simple H2O helps moderate the thickness of the sauce: add lessto begin with and feel free to add more than what the recipe calls for if it's too thick.
Maple syrup– This adds sweetness as well as a slight binding agent to hold the sauce ingredients together.
Soy sauce – This may seem like an odd addition, but trust me on this. Soy sauce has rich umami flavors and adds a depth of flavor as well as a little saltiness.
Lemon juice – A little bit of lemon juice balances out the flavors in this vegan buffalo sauce with bright acidity.

✅ Step-by-step instructions

Now, this is a VERY simple recipe for a tasty vegan buffalo sauce. And you'll find detailed instructions in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

But for you visual cooks out there, here's a photo guide with the simple step-by-step process.

The first thing you want to do is soak the cashews in water overnight. If you don't remember to do that, you can soak the cashews in water for at least 30 minutes. But soak them for as long as you can before blending.
Add all of the ingredients to a high powered blender.

3. Blend on medium to medium high for about a minute, then increase to high for another minute.

4. Blend until the sauce is smooth.

👩🏻‍🍳 Recipe FAQs

Why is it called buffalo sauce?

This spicy sauce is named after the city in which it was reportedly invented: Buffalo, New York.

Is buffalo sauce dairy free?

Most buffalo sauce is made with butter, so traditional buffalo sauce is not dairy free and not vegan. This recipe, however, does not use any dairy products so it is both dairy free and vegan.

What's the best way to store vegan buffalo sauce?

Store the sauce in a mason jar or other airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 to 7 days. Stir before serving/using.

We like spicy food. How can We make this sauce spicier?

You can add some chili powder or cayenne pepper. Always add a little bit first, as you can always add more if you need more heat.

🍽 Serving ideas

To me, this is the best buffalo sauce to serve for Game Day. It's the ultimate tailgate food!

Serve this tasty sauce with some wings. You can use the sauce to coat crispy chicken wings to make buffalo chicken wings or to vegan chicken wings to make vegan buffalo wings (usually made with tempeh or extra firm tofu).

This vegan buffalo sauce is perfect to use with cauliflower florets for tasty vegan game day eats. Try it in this air fryer cauliflower recipe to make cauliflower bites, or vegan cauliflower buffalo wings.

As a sauce, you can use it to add yummy flavors to vegan burgers,

You can also serve it as a simple Game Day dip or party dip with cut vegetables. It's great with carrots, celery, cauliflower, and broccoli. Or use it as a tasty sauce to dip your tater tots and french fries into!

🍳 Kitchen tools and equipment

Ready to make this recipe? All you truly need is a large mixing bowl to soak the cashews in water. And, you'll need a high powered blender.

If you don't have a blender, you can also use a food processor.

More vegetarian Game Day recipes

Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to leave a 5-Star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card, and if you truly loved it, please leave a comment further down on the page. Thank you!