Product: Vegenaise Tartar Sauce – $4.49+
Ah…tartar sauce.
I have a love-hate relationship with this condiment.
For one thing, when I used to eat fish, I normally would drown it in ketchup. Mmmm…ketchup.
But every now and again, I’d give the tartar sauce a try. And I never really liked it. Sometimes…I was pleasantly surprised and then lulled into this sense of false hope…and I would try it somewhere else and it would be gross and just…not to my taste.
Then, when I had to go dairy-free…I totally ditched this sauce all together.
But, when I was reviewing some items from Sophie’s Kitchen (vegan sea food, FTW!), my friend Kari mentioned the crab cakes with the tartar sauce from Vegenaise. Vegan. Tartar. Sauce.
Okay…I was intrigued. I knew two local grocery stores carried the vegan crab cakes from Sophie’s Kitchen…and I knew Whole Foods had the Tartar Sauce from Vegenaise. So…I set out a spot in the budget to purchase and then consume both.
My roomie was on board and so…we hit up Whole Foods and purchased both items. Dinner was going to be interesting. I just prayed it all was good.
So…a little while ago, I pulled the vegan crab cakes out of the freezer and said that dinner would be those…with a healthy helping of homemade kale chips. And I would serve the cakes over bibb lettuce from my bin. Originally I was going to place them between gluten-free buns…but I was out of those. So…this was my compromise. I heated the crab cakes as instructed on the box, and while that was working, I got the vegetables working and finally…the sauce.
My roommate has the same sort of love-hate relationship with tartar sauce as well. She is not gluten-free nor vegetarian, but since I am the cook in the apartment, that’s what she eats. She is a huge aficionado for fish and chips when we go out to eat, however…and she has made a habit to at least try the house tartar sauce. Sometimes she raves…sometimes she picks up the ketchup and goes to town. But we thought we would give Vegenaise a fair shake. So, into a little dish, I spooned out a serving of the Vegenaise Tartar Sauce. The crab cakes finished, I plated everything…and it was time to dig in.
I was a little worried about flavor, but I trusted my friend Kari. She raved. She and I like a lot of the same flavors and foods…so…I was worried, but I had high hopes. I know now to always trust Kari…because the Vegenaise Tartar Sauce was some of the best sauce I have tasted in my life. Not just tartar sauce either…spanning ALL THE SAUCES! Filled with a tangy, delicious flavor, it was the perfect compliment to the vegan crab cakes and the greens I served them on. OMG…so freakin’ good! It was love at first taste and I took the opportunity to pile it onto my vegan crab cakes until it was gone. Now I keep thinking of other vegan sea food dishes where I could utilize this sauce. It is SO good.
Veganaise Tartar Sauce is made from a base of Vegenaise (vegan mayonnaise), sweet relish, yellow onion puree, white wine vinegar, vegan Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, and xanthan gum. Not bad when it comes to ingredients, right? My thoughts exactly. And nothing is weird…it’s all ingredients I have heard of and trust. Vegenaise is also vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, non-GMO, and soy-free. Loving it!
Nutritionally speaking, on serving is 2 tablespoons. This serving will serve you up a side of 120 calories and 13 grams of fat. It seems high, but it is a vegan mayonnaise-based sauce, right? And regular mayonnaise would be the same way. So, it’s really not too bad for what it is. This small serving also gives you 125 mg sodium and 2 grams of sugar. That’s awesome. This is also trans-fat free and cholesterol free. In addition, this sauce has no fiber in it, but you do get 2 grams of protein. So, yeah…it’s not totally healthy, but it isn’t bad for you either.
And did I mention how freakin’ good it is? Seriously. In love with a sauce. It’s my new favorite. YUMMY!!
The Celiathlete 