Enjoy your fresh Vietnamese spring rolls with an Asian inspired, Vietnamese style sunflower butter dipping sauce that is peanut-free! This delicious recipe uses sunflower seed butter as a nut-free substitute and easy to adapt with other nut-free butters. Be sure to read some important safety tips from my experiences as an allergy mom.
Disclaimer: Please check that all ingredients are suitable for your allergies and be sure to ask your medical care team regarding any allergy related questions (I do not share medical advice). As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Jump to RecipeEasiest Dipping Sauce Recipe
A Vietnamese peanut-free dipping sauce could be made in one of two ways. A traditional recipe would sauté the garlic in oil and then cook the sauce so that it blends together easily. Some recipes might use hoisin sauce, which might contain different allergens. My simple recipe makes it easier to adapt for food allergies.
It’s generally very easy to make this dipping sauce. My no-cook recipe couldn’t be any easier. All you need to do is stir the ingredients together and then dilute with somne hot water.
This recipe is adequate for 4 servings. Double the recipe if you are feeding more people or would like some extra dipping sauce for other purposes. Store any leftover dipping sauce in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. I love to eat cut veggies with the dipping sauce as a snack.
Sometimes Allergy Aware Substitutions Brings Up Feelings
Sometimes I would go out for lunch with my mom or friends and order Vietnamese spring rolls. Invariably the fresh spring roll order would come with a little dish of peanut dipping sauce, which might be made of peanut butter, hoisin sauce, and topped with chopped peanuts. The only Vietnamese restaurant that I know that makes a peanut-free spring roll is Monster Pho!
When I began testing out this peanut free dipping sauce recipe a few years ago, one of my children had been eating sunflower seed butter regularly so the concept of an alternative spread was already in our lives. However when my children saw that I was enjoying the peanut-free dip and encouraging them to try it, one of my sons asked me if I missed peanut butter.
He asked such a sweet, innocent, and thoughtful question but I felt pangs of guilt. What do I say?
A) I do not miss peanut butter which doesn’t make sense because I’m obviously enjoying a peanut-free version of something delicious.
B) I do miss peanut butter, which isn’t true because I love my child to infinity and would gladly give up anything and everything to keep him safe, alive, and healthy.
I can’t remember exactly what I said but probably something along the lines of using what we already have in the house, which is sunflower seed butter. We work with what we can!
Allergy and Food Safety Tips When Using a Nut-Free Butter
Tip #1 Be certain the alternative nut-free butter is not an allergen!
This peanut-free dipping sauce recipe will need a peanut-free and allergy safe spread. There are many peanut butter alternative spreads made from sunflower seeds, peas, roasted soy nuts, and tree nuts, which are only appropriate if one is not also allergic to sunflower seeds, peas, soy, or tree nuts respectively.
Tip #2 Pick a trusted brand!
Ask other friends with food allergies for their recommendations of what tastes good and what they recommend. You can also look for an allergen statement or mission statement on the product websites to find out why are they making a peanut-free spread.
- Sunflower seed butter: I use Sunbutter for my recipe, I also use Trader Joe’s Sunflower Seed Butter, which is creamier and needs less water to become a creamy dip.
- Soy butter: My favorite soy butter spread is made by Wowbutter. They make a soy butter spread and yum snack bars because one of their children has a severe peanut allergy. We know that if they have a personal connection to food allergies, then they will do everything they can to make a safe product free of cross-contact.
I also wrote about some other alternative nut-free spreads which you can use for this recipe.
Tip #3 Be aware of recalls regarding spreads.
Nut and nut spreads often have recalls due to contamination of biological pathogens which can lead to severe health consequences that can affect anyone. One soy nut butter manufacturer had to recall their products due pathogens and then a few weeks later the FDA shut down the manufacturing facility. I highly recommend that you subscribe to the FDA’s recall notifications by email.
Tip #4 Avoid cross-contact
One important safety consideration is that if you make this peanut-free, nut-free dip for someone with a food allergy, that you do not make a peanut butter version at the same time for others. The dipping sauces will look too similar and it is too easy for cross-contact or a mix-up to occur to and lead to accidental ingestion of an allergen and unintended consequences.
Tip #5 Share Allergen Awareness
Allergy-safe versions of recipes help people to enjoy different recipes and flavors but they can’t let their guard down. If someone with a food allergy is young or newly diagnosed, be sure to remind them that you are making an allergy-safe version for them but that this type of dipping sauce is typically made with peanut butter.
For some people a peanut-free version of a typically peanutty recipe might feel uncomfortably dangerous, which needs to be respected. Select a different type of Vietnamese style dipping sauce, nuoc cham, Vietnamese dipping sauce made with fish sauce (it’s the amber colored sauce with a carrot garnish in the photo, yum!).
Free from top allergens (except coconut aminos)
This recipe is free from top allergens. If someone is specifically allergic to coconut, I recommend double checking to see if coconut aminos are safe. Coconut aminos is made from the nectar collected from a coconut flower. If you aren’t sure if that’s allowed, you can try soy sauce, soy-free soy sauce, or fish sauce. See my post about What’s in Nut Free Wok’s Cupboard? Allergy Aware Ingredients for suggestions.
Nut-Free Vietnamese Dip Recipe for Spring Rolls
Enjoy your fresh Vietnamese spring rolls with an Asian inspired, Vietnamese style sunflower butter dipping sauce that is peanut-free! This delicious recipe uses sunflower seed butter as a nut-free substitute and easy to adapt with other nut-free butters. Be sure to read some important safety tips from my experiences as an allergy mom.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup sunflower seed butter or other allergy safe nut butter
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos or use 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce optional, adjust to taste
- 1 clove garlic finely minced
- 3-4 tablespoons hot water
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients except the hot water until smooth.
- Add the hot water 1 tablespoon at a time and stir until it reaches a desired consistency (3 tablespoons if eating right away, 4 tablespoons if refrigerating overnight).
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This is so tasty! Made for a gathering where there’s a severe peanut allergy but needed a doing sauce for beef satay! Thank you ever so much!
That’s wonderful, thank you for sharing. <3
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I saved it to Pinerest at “Allergies & Diet Design.” I cannot have peanuts nor nightshades, so I subbed ginger for the Sriracha…and it worked well. Delicious! I’ve made your dipping sauce twice now and enjoyed it each time.
You’re welcome!! I am glad you made the recipe work for you!