Vegetarian Vietnamese Dipping Sauce

As I mentioned in a previous post, I wanted to post more vegetarian alternatives to Vietnamese dishes, and you can’t have Vietnamese food without nuoc cham. The original recipe calls for fish sauce, and honestly, there’s no taste like fish sauce since it’s so unique. But I did find a good alternative in soy sauce. It still gives you that umami flavor and is animal friendly.

Ingredients, Substitutions & Adjustments

• Soy sauce – Soy sauce serves as a substitute for the fish sauce. It doesn’t taste the same, but it does give the sauce an umami flavor. To make the sauce gluten free, use tamari instead.
• Lime – Adds brightness to the sauce. Lemon also works for this sauce.
• Garlic – Adds more flavor to the sauce.
• Granulated sugar – Adds sweetness to the sauce. For a healthier option, you can substitute coconut sugar for granulated sugar.

Making my vegetarian Vietnamese dipping sauce

This is literally the easiest sauce recipe ever and takes less than 5 minutes. Combine all the ingredients into a bowl or jar. Mix and serve! Make sure to taste the sauce for seasoning and adjust to your tastes. Add more sugar for more sweetness and soy sauce for more salty/umami flavor.

Did you make this dish?

If you made this dish, I would love to see!

Follow Cooking Therapy on Instagram, snap a photo, and tag and hashtag it with @cooking__therapy and #beccascookingtherapy.

Stay connected and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for all my latest recipes.

Disclaimer: If you purchase anything through a link on this site, I may receive a small commission from the purchase at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products that I would personally use. Thank you so much for the support!