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This Yum Sauce recipe is a savory and umami-packed dressing you can use in grain bowls, salads, and more! Inspired by Cafe Yumm’s Yumm Sauce recipe.
If you’ve never had Yum Sauce before, you’re in for a treat! This savory and cheesy dipping sauce and dressing is made from simple and wholesome ingredients and comes together in your blender in no time at all.
This copycat recipe is inspired by Café Yumm’s incredibly popular Yumm Sauce! I love visiting Café Yumm for a Yumm Bowl, but the store-bought sauce is a little too expensive for me to purchase regularly. I’m so glad I was able to create a homemade copycat version that tastes just as delicious, but is a lot more affordable!
Table of Contents
What is Yum Sauce?
Yum sauce is a savory, tangy, and cheesy sauce that’s most commonly used as a dipping sauce or a creamy dressing over grain bowls and salads. It was originally created by Café Yumm, a popular fast-casual chain in the Pacific Northwest! Their Cafe Yumm Sauce is always a fan favorite; so much so that they decided to bottle the recipe, and it’s available in a lot of local grocery stores here in the PNW.
The flavor of Yum Sauce is pretty unique, and a little hard to describe — it has a strong “cheesy” flavor that comes from nutritional yeast, but it also has slight nutty and tangy elements as well. It’s kind of like a thinner and umami-rich mayo; it tastes delicious, and I guarantee that you’re going to love it!
Ingredients for Homemade Yum Sauce
Café Yumm sells their Yumm Sauce near me, so it’s not very hard to figure out the ingredients:
Ingredients are always listed in decreasing order by weight. That means by looking at the label, we can see that the savory sauce is mostly made up of oil, and has only a pinch of basil. After a few rounds of experimentation in my kitchen, I was able to come up with an almost identical-tasting copycat recipe! I’m using mostly the same ingredients as the Yumm Sauce label, but am making a few household swaps (I doubt most people have Soy Lecithin and Ascorbic Acid on hand).
*Please note: there is NO almond flour, curry powder, oregano, or cilantro in the original recipe! I have seen other copycat recipes online use these ingredients, and I’m not sure why. I’m sure those variations are also delicious, but they are not going to taste traditional 🙂
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Oil: I used Canola Oil in my recipe testing because it has a neutral flavor, and that’s what Café Yumm uses. You can also make this recipe with avocado oil or olive oil, but it will slightly change the flavor.
- Water: This thins the sauce out nicely! Since we’re not using Soy Lecithin to thicken our Yumm Sauce, I use a little less water in my copycat recipe so the sauce isn’t too runny.
- Almonds: I recommend using untoasted slivered almonds, as they will break down the best in your blender. If you are using whole almonds I would recommend chopping them first.
- Nutritional Yeast: This is the STAR of our Yum Sauce and gives the majority of the flavor! After a few rounds of testing, I strongly believe that Café Yumm toasts their nutritional yeast for a deeper umami flavor and darker sauce color – so we’ll be doing the same on the stovetop.
- Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas): These creamy beans help to thicken our sauce slightly. I’ve seen a few other copycat recipes use a large amount of chickpeas in their recipes, but based on the ingredient label, you only need to use a few!
- White Vinegar & Lemon Juice: Store-bought Yumm Sauce has a very unique tangy flavor that I believe comes from the use of Ascorbic Acid. Since most home cooks don’t have that, we’ll use a mix of white vinegar (for a neutral “tang”) as well as lemon juice, which Café Yumm also uses.
- Garlic & Basil: the ONLY seasonings you need to create a delicious Yum Sauce! I opted to use dried garlic and basil because they are (1) more affordable, and (2) Cafe Yumm has to pasteurize (heat treat) their sauce to make it shelf-stable, which means these seasonings would be cooked, not raw.
How to Make Yum Sauce
While the ingredient list is a little long, making Yum Sauce at home couldn’t be easier.
- Toast the Nutritional Yeast on the stovetop until it’s darkened in color, then transfer to a plate and put in the fridge for a few minutes to let it cool.
- Add all of the sauce ingredients (and cooled nutritional yeast) to a bullet blender or high-speed blender
- Blend until the sauce is smooth and creamy
- Enjoy!
Caitlin’s Cooking Tips
- Don’t forget to toast your nutritional yeast! I know it may seem like a tedious or unnecessary step, but it makes a huge difference in the final flavor.
- Let the nutritional yeast cool before blending. It’s never a good idea to add hot ingredients to a blender, as they can create a vaccuum seal and make the blender very hard to open. I recommend toasting your nutritional yeast first, then letting it cool in the fridge while you measure and prepare all of your other ingredients.
Serving Suggestions
This homemade Yum Sauce is incredible versatile and is sure to become a staple in your fridge! Here are a few of my favorite ways to use it:
- As a dressing over grain bowls, like these Copycat Yum Bowls
- Drizzled in wraps or on salads
- As a dipping sauce for veggies, chips, or nuggets
If you’re looking for more easy and homemade dressing recipes, you’ll also love this 3-Ingredient Hummus Dressing, this Curry Tahini Dressing, and this 4-Ingredient Sesame Miso Dressing!
How to Store Yum Sauce
Store leftover Yum Sauce in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 5 days. I like to store my leftovers in these Condiment Squeeze Bottles for easy drizzling!
I would not recommend freezing any leftover Yum Sauce – it will separate and become chunky once it thaws.
Recipe FAQs
You can, but the sauce will be much less smooth and creamy. I’d instead recommend making it in a blender or using an immersion blender, and substituting the sliced almonds for unsalted almond butter. See the recipe notes for more info!
You can usually find nutritional yeast in the baking aisle of your grocery store, most often near the gluten-free flours or dry spices. I don’t have a preference between brands, but I recommend buying “fortified” nutritional yeast.
I generally prefer to use fortified nutritional yeast as I find that it tastes better. I would especially recommend using fortified for this recipe, as we can see from the ingredient list that Cafe Yumm uses it as well.
Enjoy! If you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I would also love it if you could leave a comment below with a recipe rating! Thank you for the support 😊
Yum Sauce Recipe (Café Yumm Copycat)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons fortified nutritional yeast
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds*
- 3 tablespoons chickpeas or garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed if using canned
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
Instructions
- Toast the Nutritional Yeast: Add the nutritional yeast to a nonstick or stainless steel pan and set a medium plate off to the side. Warm the pan over medium heat and use a spatula to stir the nutritional yeast frequently, to ensure it cooks evenly. Toast the nutritional yeast for 3 to 5 minutes; the nutritional yeast will turn a dark yellow color and begin to smoke slightly when it is toasted.
- Cool the Nutritional Yeast: Immediately transfer the nutritional yeast to the plate so it does not burn. Place the plate in the fridge to let it cool for 5 minutes; I usually do this while I prepare my other ingredients. Do NOT place the hot nutritional yeast directly in your blender, or it will create a vacuum seal and be incredibly difficult to open.
- Blend the Sauce: Add the oil, water, slivered almonds, cooled nutritional yeast, chickpeas, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and garlic powder to a bullet blender or high-speed blender (do not add the basil yet!). Blend for 45 to 60 seconds, until a smooth and creamy sauce forms; taste the dressing and add any additional salt to taste, if necessary. Add the basil to the blender and pulse until just combined. (Note: the sauce will thicken some once it cools in the fridge; if you still think your sauce is too thick, blend in water 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches your desired consistency).
- Serve & Store: Transfer the Yum Sauce to an airtight container or jar and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Serve over grain bowls, salads, or wraps, or use as a dipping sauce! I do not recommend freezing leftovers.
Recipe Notes
- Slivered Almonds: I recommend using slivered almonds for this recipe as they will blend the best in a bullet or high-speed blender, but you can also chop whole almonds and use those as well. If your blender is very weak, I actually recommend using 2 1/2 tablespoons of creamy unsalted almond butter instead of the almonds; this will result in a smoother final sauce.
- Gluten-Free: This recipe is gluten-free as written.
- Nut-Free: The final flavor of the recipe will be slightly different, but I’d recommend substituting the slivered almonds with equal parts untoasted and unsalted sunflower seeds for the most similar texture and flavor.
I’ve never had yum sauce but I added a tablespoon or so of lime juice and a touch more salt and it was divine! Thank you for the consistently delicious and easy to follow recipes!!
You’re so welcome Abby!
Definitely the best Yumm Sauce copycat recipe I’ve found — and I’ve tried a bunch!
Happy this one hit the mark for you!
Well, I screwed up, but now I’m glad I did. I put all the ingredients in the blender, then went to the instructions and read that I was supposed to toast the nutritional yeast. I was able to spoon out about 1/3 of it (the rest had oil in it), so that’s all that got toasted.
I have been trying to incorporate nutritional yeast into my diet for the B vitamins, but then I remembered that B vitamins are heat sensitive and degrade over 100 degrees F. While the toasted nutritional yeast would be very tasty, the B vitamins would be compromised. So I’m glad I didn’t toast all of it, and in the future, I won’t toast the yeast at all. It is very flavorful as it is.
Thanks for giving us this recipe. I’m looking forward to using it as a dressing on my salad for dinner.
Ah interesting, I didn’t know that!! I’m glad it worked out for you in the end!!
Almond flour is basically ground up almonds. Why wouldn’t that work instead of slivered almonds?
Almond flour would work in theory, but you would need to calculate the volume difference between slivered almonds and ground almonds and modify accordingly – which I did not do. Almond flour is also made from blanched almonds, which have the skin removed and would have slightly less fiber than slivered almonds.
This version is really good. I live in the town (Eugene, OR) where the Yumm Bowl originates and still go out to eat the original occasionally. With Tarrifs and import duties, etc it is expensive even at a Yumm Restaurant. A mediium bowl of any flavor of Yumm bowl costs $11.00 (as of May 2025). The only thing that I do differently is add a little soy (Tofu) and a dash of Fish Sauce for Umami. It’s plenty good without these additions. Thanks for the recipe…………..
You’re welcome Lauran!
Big yum sauce lover here, subbed in olive oil instead and it was DELISH!
Yum! So happy you enjoyed!
A big Yum Sauce fan and this copycat recipe didn’t disappoint!
So glad!
Sauce looks amazing and I’m making it today. Do you think I could use aquafaba instead of the canola oil?
I would not recommend subbing the oil for something water based, it won’t be the right consistency! You can use a different type of oil like olive oil or avocado oil though! The taste will be slightly different.
This sauce was delicious! Thank you for another great recipe!!
Happy you enjoyed, Bekah!
Can this be made without oil?
I would not recommend that! The consistency will not be the same.
I subbed Olive Oil. I hope you will, too. Canola is rapeseed, which was never, ever consumed by humans. It is a seed oil used in manufacturing. Please don’t eat it.