Try this homemade hoisin sauce once and you will never want to use a store bought one again. This is a flexible recipe that you can customize based on the ingredients you have on hand.
Why would you ever want to make hoisin sauce at home when you can easily get it from an online store or any Asian market? The answer is that it tastes a hundred times better. The end.
Hoisin sauce is very popular in southern Chinese cooking. As a northerner myself, I seldom use it. If I need to enhance the flavor of a dish with a sauce shortcut (like in this recipe), I’ll use oyster sauce most of the time. However, hoisin sauce does play an important part in making marinades and glazes, such as that for Chinese BBQ.
It never occurred to me that someone might want to make hoisin sauce at home, until a reader mentioned to me that it could be pretty expensive to purchase, depending on where you are. Plus, it doesn’t make sense to buy a big bottle of it when you just need a tablespoon for a special recipe.
When I tried to make a small batch of hoisin sauce last week, I was even more convinced of how great an idea it was. The homemade version uses better quality ingredients, such as honey, natural peanut butter, and fresh garlic. It has a superior flavor compared to the bottled one. I wouldn’t say the homemade version tastes 100% identical to a supermarket-bought hoisin sauce, but it adds a great subtle flavor to the dishes I used it in and I was very satisfied with the taste.
After some research, I found that the only problem with making this sauce is that you need to use another sauce as an ingredient. Most of the recipes online call for hot sauce, sriracha, or miso. Its sounds strange. But the problem is that real hoisin sauce gets its flavor from fermented beans, and it’s quite difficult to create this subtle hint from most of the basic spices found in the average pantry.
In the end, I decided to use the hoisin sauce recipe from Food.com as a base. I divided the base into four parts and experimented with miso, doubanjiang (Chinese spicy fermented bean paste), Thai chili sauce, and gochujang (Korean spicy fermented chili paste) to complete the various trials. In the end, miso paste and doubanjiang created the taste most similar to hoisin sauce. However, all of them yielded satisfying results.
In this recipe, I listed all four options. Depending on what do you have in your pantry, you can easily make a great tasting hoisin sauce in 5 minutes!
More recipes to use your hoisin sauce
- Chinese BBQ Char Siu
- Hoisin Roasted Asparagus
- Chicken Lettuce Wrap
- Slow Cooker Spare Ribs in Plum Sauce
If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it @omnivorescookbook on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with.
Homemade Hoisin Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup light soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 clove garlic , grated
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon miso paste (OR 1/2 teaspoon spicy fermented bean paste, OR 1/2 teaspoon gochujang + 1/4 teaspoon five spice powder, OR 1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce + 1/4 teaspoon five spice powder)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
- Store hoisin sauce in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to a month.
Thanks for the recipe! I can finally make my own hoisin sauce for pho now 🙂
Ah, totally forgot I can use the sauce for pho! Thanks for reminding me 😉
Thanks, try it today on the peanut butter version for my popiah sauce. It was great! The kids love it.
I’m so glad to hear you tried my recipe and liked it Tracy! Hope you have a great day 🙂
Easy to make, healthy, and tasty 🙂
Hoisin sauce is by far one of my favorites in Chinese cooking. I have never tried ot make it as I usually use the Dynasty or Lee Kum Kee brands. Most have sweet potato as an ingredient so I was intrigued when yours had peanut butter! Interesting. I will definitely give this a try and see.
I do love Plum, Black Bean sauce a swell. What tickles me is the pungent aspect of these sauces and even though hoisin gives an almost plum or raisin type taste, it contains neither.
By the way Maggie, when I Goggled Hoisin sauce, your post showed up as #4 and you just posted the recipe 4 hours ago. Pretty cool, huh?! Thanks!
Exactly! I never thought about making this sauce at all and always uses Lee Kum Kee. I wrote about this only because a reader asked and I thought it’s worth trying. I didn’t expect the result turned out pretty good, and actually I like the homemade version better! For the peanut butter, make sure you used the natural one, otherwise it will taste too sweet.
It’s interesting that this one gets a good rank on Google! Thanks so much for letting me know 🙂
I looked for homemade hoisin because Dynasty has wheat-based soy sauce component. I cook for gluten-free person. If anyone knows a gluten-free brand, please post it. Thank you for posting your recipes.
I think the Wok Mei All Natural Hoisin Sauce is gluten free.
I sub Bragg’s Aminos for soy sauce. Equal amounts as soy sauce called for in recipes. I also sub fresh lemon juice for vinegar. Tastes great! Thanks Maggie! ?
Hi Karin, wow, what a great idea for substitutions! I’ll try it out next time. The addition of aminos sounds very interesting.
I’m glad to hear you like the recipe 🙂
You could use Tamari instead of soy sauce and still use Maggie’s recipe.
Please feel free to correct my horrible typos, sorry!
No problem at all, understood every word 😉
This is so interesting, Maggie! I’m so surprised that you put peanut butter in your sauce. This is great though – I really want to try it!
So when you blend in all the spices, it doesn’t really taste like peanut butter but a good savory flavor. Hope you like how it turns out 🙂
What could be subbed for the peanut butter for those with peanut allergies? Tahini?
The best alternative is Chinese sesame paste. You should use the pure sesame paste that is made with 100% sesame (some mixed type has peanuts in it).
Tahini is another option but the flavor will end up a bit more different.
Debbie, I’m going to try 5-Seed Butter to replace the peanut butter — it’s the closest I’ve found to peanut butter.
This is great! I’m out of hoisin but have all of these things!
Maggie you’ve made me wonder why I even bother buying hoisin sauce. This is so easy and i’m sure more delicious than any store bought version!
I don’t buy hoisin sauce because it’s such a waste as I seldom use it, but now I can make it thanks to your recipe!
Wow…. Never thought of making hoisin sauce at home, but I love the idea! I usually buy a jar and only use a tablespoon or two. Such a waste! Now, I can make it when I need it. Awesome!
I have a jar of hoisin sitting in the fridge that must be two years old and full of additives and who knows what – this is brilliant. Really surprised with the peanut butter but I trust you!
Hi Maggie,
I’m really looking forward to trying this (I just bought a jar of Hoisin sauce last night, which seemed huge for what I need). Your timing is perfect.
I wish you the best on your interview and hope everything with your visa goes smoothly.
Thanks Susan! I hope your cooking goes well, and do let me know whether you like the taste of this recipe. Have a great weekend 🙂
Hmm.. I could use almond butter instead of peanut butter, but what to sub for the miso? Is thai chili sauce really a good substitute? It’s so sweet, and miso is salty?
These are sauces I can never have because of my allergies– but they always look so yummy! Thought I would check your recipe for this because I love making Pho and never serve it with the traditional hoisin because of allergies 🙂
Hi Michelle, the Thai chili sauce is not the best substitution, but since you only add a tiny amount to adjust flavor, the sauce won’t taste sweet. Do you rule out miso because of the allergy or you cannot find it at the market?
This is so perfectly timed. Last night I threw out a nearly full jar of Hoisin because it had 48g of sugar per 100g and I just could not bring myself to serve that sugar hit up to my daughters. I have a feeling that your 1 tbsp of honey may be more like it. Pinning and most definitely making this one. Thankyou Maggie
Maggie, your version IS better than the bottled stuff! Also very difficult to find the gluten free brands. I used the miso paste and also added five spice because I love the taste. Next time I may try using slightly less peanut butter.
I’m so glad to hear you like it David! Yes, it’s not easy to find gluten free sauces, so I always recommend my readers to make their own. Hope you’ll like the peanut butter version too! 🙂
I am gluten-intolerant and never even thought of hoisin sauce being a problem. Sure enough, looked at the label on the one in my fridge and it lists wheat in the soy sauce ingredient. I’ll throw that out and make this instead. Thanks, Maggie!
You’re the most welcome Peggy! Yes many manufactured Asian sauces contain wheat, so nope they’re not gluten-free. It’s always safe to make your own because you know exactly what goes into it ? Happy cooking and let me know how the sauce turns out!
Tastes amazing! Thank you for the recipe! 🙂
So glad you like the recipe Marjukka! Have a great weekend 🙂
Decided to make Pho for lunch but was out of Hoisin sauce. Found your recipe. Excellent. The leftover sauce almost didn’t make it to the refrig since I was eating it off the spoon. lol Thanks
I’m so glad you like this sauce Diedra! Thanks for taking time and leaving a comment 🙂
Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
how long will the sauce last for?
Hi Helen, I never had the chance to test this, because we usually finish it within a week. It contains raw garlic, so I won’t suggest storing this in the fridge for too long time. I’d venture to guess that it should last about 2 weeks to a month. If you decide to make a big batch and are not going to use it often, I suggest you to freeze the rest in ice tray.
If I use granulated garlic would this sauce last indefinitely in the fridge
Hi Maggie, really liked this as it used all “pantry” ingredients. I always have miso paste in the freezer to use. I used almond butter instead of peanut butter. Used the sauce with some soy sauce and mirin to pressure cook some beef short ribs. The sauce held up under “high pressure”
Glad to hear the almond butter worked out. And it’s interesting to hear the sauce does well under high pressure! Thanks so much for sharing this piece of information 🙂
Thank you so much! I’m keeping this recipe and will make it often. I usually prefer homemade things to store bought and this was both easy to make and delicious!
You’re the most welcome Anisa! Me too, I prefer homemade everything, because I know exactly what’s inside of the food.
Have a wonderful week 🙂
Thanks for the recipe! Never thought of making my own.
Very surprised to see peanut butter in the online recipes I’m finding.
None of the commercially made ones I’ve looked at use peanut butter.
What’s up with that?
Hi Gord, the commercial hoisin sauce contains fermented wheat flour that give the sauce a consistent sticky texture and umami. It is not a process that home cooks could easily conduct in their own kitchen, so they use all sort of substitute to recreate the same consistency and flavor. I had the same question when I was researching hoisin sauce recipes online and I thought peanut butter sounds strange. However, when I made this sauce, it does taste very similar to hoisin sauce (not the same of course, a bit nuttier). But when you use it in a recipe, it works really well. It gives the sauce the right texture. It tasted way less “peanut butter” after adding other pungent ingredients such as soy sauce.
Hi Maggie.
I am going to try making this this week. I am not able to have soy, so I use Coconut Aminos when ever soy is used. I have never had hoisin before, so I have nothing to go by. ?
I think the coconut aminos will work just fine. Happy cooking Shannon and hope you like the outcome of the recipe 🙂
Hi Maggie, thank you for your recipes. I love hoisin sauce and the best I’ve had is at Charlie Hong Kong In Santa Cruz, Ca. They make their own so I was very happy to see your site with a variety of ingredients to try.
I’m glad to hear you find this post helpful! Yes, homemade hoisin sauce is the best. And I believe there are many possibilities to make a delicious sauce!
Hi Maggie. One day I was making Chinese ribs and chcken satay for a football party wanted to get stuff in the marinades the night before. We only had a smidge of hoisin sauce , but it was late and snowing so I quickly Googled homemade but knew full well I wouldn’t have everything even if a recipe did show. Yours came right up and it was fantastic, had everything on hand and within a few min we had amazing sauce that we now use as a marinade, dipping sauce for fresh spring rolls, dumplings, won tons….just adjusting fresh herbs to match the dish. WONDERFUL.
Hi Dave, I’m so happy to hear that the sauce works for you, in so many ways! It’s a very versatile sauce isn’t it? I’ve never used it for wonton dippings sauce yet, but now I can’t wait to try out!
Thanks for taking time to leave a comment. Happy cooking and hope you have a great week ahead 🙂
What a tasty sauce. I made the version with “1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce + 1/4 teaspoon five spice powder” and although it tastes different than my store bought LEE KUM KEE it definitely worked well on my pork noodle soup. I stored this Hoisin Sauce in my old empty Hoisin bottle. Comparing the store bought ingredients I notice that Maggie’s list of ingredients DOES NOT include: “modified corn starch, wheat flour, caramel color, acetic acid, FD&C red food color No. 40, nor potassium sorbate.” Hmmm …. could this be why the Asian diet with it’s fresh ingredients is acclaimed to be healthier then so many alternatives ….?
Can’t wait to run out so I can make another version … maybe as a dipping sauce for dim sum.
Hi Rob, I’m glad to hear you like the sauce! Yes the homemade sauce tastes different from the store bought sauce but it works great in many recipes as a hoisin sauce alternative. If you use miso paste or the fermented bean paste, the taste will be a bit closer.
I definitely agree with you that homemade sauces will make your meals healthier 🙂 The other thing is, Chinese sauces go very well with vegetables. While I was living with my parents, our dinner table for three usually have two to three big plates of vegetables and one meat dish. Eating vegetables was never a painful thing because they are so delicious 🙂
Hi Maggie
I never usually post on things like this, but the recipe was so mad and tastes so great! I’m going to use it in a char siu style marinade for some pork ribs (nom)
Thanks again!
Glad the recipe worked for you Roston, and thanks for taking time to leave a comment!
Hope your char siu marinade will turn out great as well. Happy cooking 🙂
hello i love the recipe it’s great. can you tell me how long the home made hoisin sauce will keep? and do you think i can freeze it? many thanks again
Hi Amita, I usually store the sauce in the fridge and it stays good for at least a month. And yes you can definitely freeze it if you want to keep it for a longer period of time.
Thank you. This is a very informative, well written and user-friendly site. I’m going to make this Hoisin sauce tonight!
Thanks for your kind words Patrick! Happy cooking and let me know how the sauce turns out 🙂
Thanks so much, I used this for fresh spring rolls as well as for pad thai. My whole family loved it, and there are six of us, finding something everyone likes is hard. Thanks again!
Hi Cammele, I’m so glad to hear you like this sauce! It’s indeed a tough job to please six eaters who have different taste and I’m happy that the sauce is a crowd pleaser 🙂
Hope you and your family have an awesome week ahead!
Thank you Maggie, amazing flavors. I used option #4 with sweet chili sauce and the 5 spice. It is impossible to find gluten free hoisin or oyster sauce. I use San-J Tamari, although salty is works. The hoisin worked perfectly with my Asian pork meatball sauce.
Hi Cathey, I’m glad to hear the recipe worked out for you! I’ve never seen a gluten free oyster sauce. But recently I just posted a vegetarian oyster sauce that is also gluten-free. Here is the link if you’re interested: https://omnivorescookbook.com/homemade-vegetarian-oyster-sauce/
Happy cooking and have a great week ahead 🙂
Thanks, now I can cook a variety of dishes using your hoisin sauce recipe.
You’re the most welcome Ruel! I’m glad to hear the recipe is helpful. Happy cooking 🙂
Got into a recipe and discovered that someone had put an empty hoisin bottle back in the fridge. What?! 🙂 Since we’re a gluten-free family and not fans of sugar and salt I was looking for a healthy recipe and found yours. Wow. Amazing. I did the variation with Thai chilli sauce and 5-spice powder. No MSG. No cornstarch. No gluten. SO much flavour. Heaven. Thanks for sharing!
Whoops, thought this original post had crashed and burned! Sorry to repeat myself! 🙂
Where did I go wrong? This is SALTY beyond belief! Perhaps 1/3 the recommended light soya sauce and twice/tripple the honey?
It wasn’t salty when I tasted mine, but when I cooked with it, YIKES! I felt like was eating shrimp that died in the dead sea! This is the second recipe I have tried and both have been overly salty.
Where did you find the bowl that the hoisin sauce is in? The clear glass one?? It reminds me of a honey jar.
Hi Jill, I’m pretty sure I got these prep bowls in Ikea. You can find similar ones in other home improvement stores as well.
I’m from Croatia, Eastern Europe and I Like Chinese cuisine.
This Hoisin sauce is really excellent, I put it in the chicken risotto and it was delicious. Thank you.
Hi Sanja, I’m glad to hear you like the recipe! Wow, I’ve never thought about adding this sauce into a risotto! What a fun and delicious idea 🙂
I’d love to try it out sometime, maybe with some asparagus.
Is it ok to add cashew or almond butter in place of peanut? I have salted black beans as well as dried and miso but I’m allergic to peanuts which we both know are a legume.
Hi Stephanie, I think you can use almond butter to replace the peanut butter. The peanut butter is used here to add texture and nuttiness. You can probably get a great result from other nut butter too.
Can you suggest something in place of a nut butter? I’m so delighted to have come across your recipes as I love chinese food and I’m allergic to gluten, but I am also allergic to nuts/peanuts. What could you suggest in place of the peanut butter in this? Thanks!
Rosie, I look forward to trying 5-Seed Butter for this, which is the closest I’ve found to peanut butter.
Hi,
Used this when I was trying a Mongolian lamb curry recipe (from elsewhere) and found I needed hoisin sauce.
I replaced the rice vinegar with red-wine vinegar that I had. I also just used five spice powder as the last ingredient (instead of the miso paste). I added the chilli as part of the main curry recipe instead.
Turned out very well in the end .
regards,
Rune
Hi Maggie
Thank you for sharing your hoisin recipes. I just came back from my first ever trip to China, business trip to Shanghai, and I wanted to add savoury noodle bowls to my cooking repertoire. I really like te idea of having it all in on bowl and the mix of broth, hoisin sauce and crispy vegetables. I’ll try the recipe using gochujang since I have some from my “Corean” cooking phase last year ?. I’ll let you know the out come.
Hi Madelene, that sounds like a good plan! Seems like you enjoyed the trip and the food in China 🙂
Noodle bowl is such a great thing for dinner. I always make extra sauce and save the leftover for later so I can prepare dinner so fast.
Happy cooking and can’t wait to hear what you cooked!
So good
Thank you Maggie!
My first time trying to cool Asian fare properly. I had to improvise a little as I didnt have all the ingredients, but it paid off! Thank you for the inspiration.
Be happy 😉
Just made this with the gojuchang and five spice powder. Absolutely clean and delicious. Really excited to try your other recipes.
We’re happy to hear that, Cassius! Let us know how the other recipes go, and if you have any requests 🙂
I am happy to run across your recipe, I have a husband with wheat intolerance and a son with a peanut allergy, I am going to substitute Sunbutter for the peanut butter and of course I already have gluten free Tamari at home. Most prepared sauces you buy have soy sauce (wheat) so I often can’t get what I need at the store. Will be using this in Garlic Beef tonight, thanks so much!
I was a little concerned that it was too runny . I put it on the stove and in 2 min it had that nice thick consistency that I was looking for, perfect for coating my wings tonight! Thanks for the recipe!
Yay! I was looking for a more natural way to enjoy my favorite lettuce wrap recipe and I was so happy to find this! Thank you ❤️
Hi Maggie! Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I had recently discovered the joy of hoisin sauce as an accompaniment to my homemaderice paper rolls, but really hate using sauces from the supermarket that contain loads of additives. I tried your recipe and it worked out wonderfully! I omitted the grated garlic as I was time poor and it was still delicious. I will definitely be making this again!
Hello, this recipe looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it. I have just one question… do you ALWAYS add the 1/4 Tsp Five Spice powder? I was lookin at using the miso paste option but it looks like in that case you DON’T use the 5 spice? I am thinking maybe I am reading it incorrectly, as all the other options mention the 5 spice and that flavor is so distinctive. Thanks in advance. 😊
Hi Jay, I did skip the five spice powder when I use the miso paste because miso paste has enough flavor so I don’t think extra five spice powder is needed. On the other hand, if you like the taste of five spice powder, you could try adding a smaller amount (1/8 teaspoon) and I believe the sauce will come out well.
We substituted tahini for peanut butter to avoid that flavor on broiled pork chops. Call it Eastern glaze perhaps. Great results.
That’s great to hear cuz I can’t have peanut butter!!!!
Have used this recipe twice recently – so delicious! thank you.
Thank you! Love that you used honey I stead of sugar!
Delicious! #makeitnow
Winner, winner. . . . tea-smoked chicken dinner!!!
I was out of store-bought hoisin and wondered if it could be made at home with ingredients I had readily available. YUP!!!! And THIS recipe knocks it out of the stadium!!! And it’s easy! Plus I have control over the sodium content. (I went with the chili paste and 5-spice powder option.)
Since I AM making tea-smoked chicken tonight, I added about 1-2 TBS of sherry to enhance the moisture and even browning of the skin. (1 TBS with overflow) heheheheh.
I look forward to trying the other ingredient options as well. Thank you Maggie! Well done!
Rick
I used what I had- and most of what the recipe called for, but no miso paste. I substituted Sweet and Sour sauce. Can’t say this is anything like store bought Hoisin, but it was perfect in my garlic pork (with egg noodles and broccoli slaw) recipe! I prefer this over the store bought and we love the peanut butter in it! Thank you!
Great recipe. I used the Gochujang version. I added preserved lemons and fresh cilantro with beef tips.
I made this sauce using miso paste. I went a little light on the honey, as I’m trying to avoid sugar right now.
The sauce ended up completely delicious!
Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Can I use Chinese 5-spice in this recipe? What other sauces need Chinese 5-Spice? What are the best uses for Chinese 5-Spice? Thank you!
Thanks so much Maggie, my wife is gluten intolerant and it is difficult to find it in the stores. I look forward to other recipes of yours. I have been to China 38 times on business and love authentic Chinese dishes.
This was amazing & the perfect addition to the pulled BBQ mushrooms I made!
When using miso paste, which should I use: red or white? Also, I’ve seen sesame paste in the ingredient list for store-bought hoisin. Would tahini be a viable substitute for the peanut butter?
You should red miso. As for the peanut butter substitute, I wouldn’t recommend tahini because it has a very different taste. If you can access to an Asian market, the Chinese sesame paste (http://omnivorescookbook.com/chinese-sesame-paste) would be a way better option.
Thanks for the recipe! I cannot wait to try it! I have been nightshade plant free for 4 months now and have been searching for a hoison sauce recipe which is without chilli. Would it be possible to freeze this sauce?
Hi Jessica, I haven’t tried to freeze this sauce yet but I think you probably can. It might separate a bit but then you can always whisk it together when it’s thawed.
Tastes great, but very watery. Is there anything I can do to counteract this? Should I simmer it on the stove for better consistency?
Hi Adam, you could adjust the recipe by reducing the light soy sauce. What you can do is to add it 1 tablespoon at a time, and taste the sauce. It also reduces saltiness this way. Replacing light soy sauce with soy sauce also slightly reduce saltiness.
I have so much trouble in cooking Chinese food as im allergic to seafood and shellfish and mushrooms and peanuts so can you give me any paperwork should ideas for substitutes please
This is great. I use hoisin sauce in my Asian cooking so knowing how to make my own is a huge plus. Great recipe!
Used this in a Kung pao recipe and it was very tasty! Doesn’t taste like hoisin, but I think it hits the right notes, and tasty nonetheless. I used agave instead of honey to make it vegan, but might try molasses next time. I may try tahini instead of peanut butter next time, since I usually only have chunky on hand.
Does this need to be cooked before using? It isn’t mentioned, except in the preparation time where it states Cook Time : 5 hr 58 min?
Thank you
Hi Valerie, you don’t’ need to cook the sauce. I just saw the recipe card does show the cook time, that’s super weird! It’s probably a system glitch when I switched recipe card. Just updated the recipe. Thanks for letting me know!
Used this recipe to make Hoisin sauce with a soy substitute – excellent! Thank you!
Thanks for this Maggie. I haven’t tried it yet but I will be doing. I have coeliacs disease and I’ve been hunting for some gluten free hoisin sauce and it’s a bit thin on the ground, looks like I have my answer right here.
Any suggestions for a PB replacement? My son is allergic.
Hi Goldie, you can use Chinese sesame paste to replace the peanut butter: http://omnivorescookbook.com/chinese-sesame-paste
When you purchase the sesame paste, make sure the ingredient only uses sesame seeds. Some of the sesame paste blend peanut in it.
I am a professionally trained chef…but still could use some outside help! I need substitutions for soy & anything containing seafood & shellfish due to severe allergies. This hoisin sauce is such a big help! I usually sub red wine for soy sauce & then boil it out so the alcohol is gone. Due to cancer treatments no alcohol can be consumed. With so many restrictions I need all the help I can get! I need substitutions for: Seafood (all), Shellfish, Alcohol & Soy. I cook a lot for a friend who is deathly allergic to soy & gluten. Then there is me…allergic to seafood, shellfish & no alcohol or grapefruit due to cancer treatments. So no soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, etc. Any help in this area is greatly appreciated!
I think the best soy-free gluten-free substitution for soy sauce is coconut amino, which has a very close taste to soy sauce.
As for shellfish/seafood, I think you need to find a safe way to add umami. So maybe try dried mushrooms, seaweed (if you can eat seaweed), and nutritional yeast.
I have a vegetarian oyster sauce using mushrooms: https://omnivorescookbook.com/homemade-vegetarian-oyster-sauce/ (you do need to replace the soy sauce in it)
My husband has a vegan blog that can be a good resource. For example:
Vegan dashi: https://gastroplant.com/vegan-dashi/
Vegan tonkotsu broth: https://gastroplant.com/vegan-tonkotsu-ramen-broth/
I didn’t have hoisin sauce (I am a celiac & not many are gf) around for a recipe, so looked around and found yours. I put it in a food processor, otherwise, w/ the options …had some miso and used that. Turned out fantastic 🙂 Thanks!
can the homemade hoisin sauce be frozen in the ice cube trays for longer storage? thank you
Hi Shelly, yes, you can freeze the hoisin sauce.
Everything looks so delicious,and fairly easy, cannot wait to get started. I will let you know how it turns out!
Superb! I’ve been looking for an easy homemade hoisin sauce recipe with an outstanding flavor profile. This is it! Easy and delicious! I would make it again. Thank you!
I just made this, and it tastes better than the real thing because it doesn’t have all that unnecessary additives. This recipe is a definite winner 😊
It’s easy and incredibly tasty
This worked great in a recipe I was using that needed hoisin sauce! Thanks!
Is the peanut butter supposed to be crunchy or smooth? I make my own using a champion juicer, and it comes up crunchy (which is my preference with peanut butter). Would crunchy (not mega, but somewhat) work in this recipe, or should I use a smooth nut butter?
Hi Shelly, I usually use unsweetened smooth peanut butter. I think the chunky type would work as well as long as it’s not sweetened. You might need to slightly adjust the texture by slightly adding more peanut butter (or maybe reduce soy sauce) to get the consistency you prefer, but it should taste good!
Hi Maggie,
Thanks very much for this recipe. We’ve never cared for commercial hoisin sauce, as we find them consistently too sweet. This is a great alternative. I used tamari in place of the soy sauce because my wife has a gluten allergy. Also, I added 2 teaspoons of molasses to the recipe for even greater depth of flavor. A pork loin stir fry turned out great!
Thanks so much for this recipe! It tastes awesome! I’m vegan with a soy allergy and a gluten sensitivity, and I really really miss Asian food. I modified this recipe to suit my needs – coconut aminos for soy sauce, sugar for honey, and chickpea miso. I used it in a Thai basil eggplant recipe and it was phenomenal. I’ll absolutely make this again.
Why buy it when you can make this in minutes yourself? I used chunky peanut butter and didn’t have miso so just used Trader Joe’s Chinese spice and it came out heavenly! Perfect for cooking, dipping, and, I bet even for marinating!
Absolutely fabulous. Fresh tasting. Thank you!
Yum! I grilled tofu in this sauce. So good! I subbed PB with tahini and honey with xylitol I’m guessing it would be even better if I’d made it as directed. 🙂
Hello Maggie. This recipe looks amazing. Do you think I could use white Miso?
Yes I think that’s totally fine.
I’ve made this sauce again and again. It is so delicious! I’m vegan and allergic to soy; until you came along with this recipe I was really missing decent Asian food! I use coconut aminos or Ocean’s Halo No Soy sauce, chickpea miso, and either maple syrup or sugar and water in place of honey. Both are good! The maple adds a depth of flavor that the sugar doesn’t, but it’s great to know that I have options! I’ve even used this recipe as a component of Pad Thai; I never thought I’d get to enjoy that again! Thank you so much.
Very good and delicious. Was perfect for the recipe I needed
We have to double it, but we have 4 kids. This is a great sauce, I ended up having to make my own sesame seed oil as I didn’t have enough. But it was worth it. Very tasty.
I used minced garlic and chilli sauce and molasses in place of brown sugar. Turned out great. My husband enjoys it with canned salmon on top of his stir-fry.
THIS IS DELICIOUS! Way better than store bought, and without all the crappy ingredients, like corn syrup. I’ve thought about buying at the store a number of times but didn’t want the processed ingredients. I didn’t know it was so easy to make!
I love that this sauce is so versatile. This sounds so easy to make as well.
This was great thanks. Most shop bought hoisin contains gluten even the bean pastes, so this was very useful and super easy.
This Hoisan is delicious! Finding a gluten-free Hoisan sauce is almost impossible, including at the Oriental food markets. Was able to whip this up using ingredients that were already in the pantry/fridge and it’s spot on. I can now enjoy so many Chinese dishes utilizing this sauce. Thank you for giving us this recipe!
I loved this recipe so much
This recipe is far preferable to a store-bought Hoisin sauce. It’s quick to prepare and flexible, without compromising on flavour. Thanks!
Just incredible (no surprise there!)
Put off bottled hoisin when i saw the sugar content…this sauce is yummy and works in all the recipes i’ve tried. Will keep in mind other recipes may need sweetening if they depend on commercial hoisin
I make a lot of home made condiments. This one is a very nice balance between taste and ease of prep.
This was a perfect – no actually BETTER hoison sauce for my salad dressing! There was something in the store bought hoison sauce that I didn’t like. I bet it was the five spice powder. So I left it out of the recipe using just Thai spicy Chili sauce. I really like this recipe and will use it again and again! Thank you for all your hard work developing this recipe!
Wow! I did the version with gochujang and it was great!! Tastes great in my recipe that I normally use store bought hoisin. So happy to find this!!! Thanks!
I’ll never buy Hoisin again. So delicious. Felt so healthy. Thank you so much. I had all the ingredients in the cupboard which was so useful during lockdown.
I needed hoisin sauce for a recipe, but had none in stock. This recipe was easy, flexible, took very little time to make and it was really delicious. It saved my recipe, and probably improved the flavour of the meal 100%. Thank you so much.
Will never buy pre-made again!
Love this recipe. Thank you. I didn’t add peanut butter or miso paste but it worked well for my chicken lettuce wraps.
I’m excited to try this! I’m allergic to nightshades, and every bottled Hoisin sauce at my grocery has chili peppers as an ingredient, which are poison to me, even a scant amount. I can always add ground szechuan peppercorns, if I want hot, I don’t know why I didn’t think to look for a recipe before this. I’ll make it next weekend! We always have Chinese on Saturdays. Thank you!
I have just started in the food industry and love to study about. Thanks for the valuable information
Just like everyone said, wow, this versatile recipe makes great tasting hoisin sauce! I don’t eat peanut butter so I used sunflower butter. We also don’t have any of the spice suggestions so I just put a bit of hot kimchi sauce we had in the fridge. I don’t like hot spicy, so the tiny amount of kimchi sauce I used was perfect (bf put some of his extra hot sauce on the dish to accommodate my going lite on the hot spicy in the hoisin). I only needed a little hoisin for a shitake and asparagus recipe. Thank you for this tasty, handy easy hoisin recipe!
I have a question. If I use the miso paste or spicy fermented bean paste, do I not need the five spice powder? There is an open parenthesis right after miso paste (red, yellow, white?) but there is no closed parenthesis.
Sorry about that! I just added it back.
If using miso or spicy fermented bean paste, you don’t need the five spice.
Very easy and tasty, using simple ingredients
So tasty and so easy. I wanted to make your Char Siu BBQ Pork but didn’t have any Hoisin Sauce. I came back to your site knowing you’d have a recipe for it. Between your chili oil (which is so good I’m trying it on everything — even vanilla ice cream) and now the hoisin sauce I don’t think I’ll be buying any Chinese sauces any more! Thank you for making me a better cook.
Thank you so much for the recipe. My husband has a wheat allergy so the regular store bought hoisin sauce won’t do. Now I can make my own with tamari. 🙂
Thank you so much! Have to leave out some ingredients to comply with my acupuncturist’s recommendations – feeling very grateful to be in the driver’s seat thanks to you.
OMG! I was out of store-bought hoisin and found this make quickly so I could continue with my sauce. I didn’t have miso or gochujang, but I did have five spice powder and Thai chili paste. This was so delicious, I wanted to drink the sauce! I can still taste the sauce in my head hours after using it in my recipe, and I want to run to the kitchen to whip up more!
Delicious and easy to make. The store bought Hoisin had #40 color and all kinds of other things I didn’t want. Used this in a cashew chicken with the Thai red curry and was SO good.
Very nice post. I absolutely love this website. Stick with it!
This sauce was amazing, loved it!
Is it really safe to store for a month in the fridge? Since it uses garlic and oil, I’m worried about botulism. I made this and love the recipe, but I’m storing in the freezer just like I store my homemade gomadare and pesto just in case
Made it yesterday! OMG yummy.I used my homemade Chili Sauce with 5 spice powder I blended. So good! Served with Chicken and salad! Delicious!
How much does this recipe make?
It makes about 1/2 cup of sauce.
I loved the recipe. Is there a substitute for peanut butter?
I would use Chinese sesame paste (it’s similar to tahini, but it uses toasted sesame seeds instead so it has a richer flavor).
This is actually the best Hoisen sauce! I’m so happy I never have to buy it again. This is better than any store bought one. Thank you!