Is Soy sauce vegan?
Usually yes — brewed soy sauce is soybeans, wheat, salt and koji mould.
Also listed as: shoyu, tamari, light soy, dark soy
Key facts
- Verdict
- Usually vegan
- Category
- Condiments
- Also listed as
- shoyu, tamari, light soy, dark soy
- Best swap
- Plain brewed shoyu
Why
Traditional shoyu and tamari are fermented plant products. The exceptions are fish-flavoured varieties (some Chinese and Southeast Asian seasoning sauces add anchovy or oyster extract) and finishing sauces marketed as 'seafood soy'.
What to check on the label
- Bonito, anchovy or oyster extract in flavoured sauces
- "Seasoned" or dashi soy for dipping
- Wheat if you also need gluten-free — choose tamari
Swap it for
What is actually in it
Brewed soy sauce is a three-stage plant fermentation: Aspergillus oryzae grows on cooked soybeans and roasted wheat to make koji, brine is added to form a moromi mash, and lactic bacteria and yeasts work on it for months. The result is hundreds of aroma compounds and a lot of free glutamate — the umami people usually attribute to meat. Cheaper acid-hydrolysed soy sauce (labelled hydrolysed vegetable protein, HVP) is also plant-based but flat-tasting. The non-vegan cases are specific rather than general: Japanese 'dashi shoyu' and 'sashimi shoyu' contain bonito or kelp-and-bonito extract; several Chinese and Filipino seasoning sauces blend in shrimp or oyster; and some Korean guk-ganjang variants list anchovy. Because those products sit on the same shelf in identical bottles, the practical rule is to read the ingredient list rather than the category. Sodium is the other thing to watch — around 5-6 g of salt per 100 ml — so reduced-salt versions are worth having if you cook with it daily.
Questions people ask
Is tamari vegan?
Yes, and it is usually wheat-free too, which makes it the default choice for gluten-free plant-based cooking.
What about sushi dipping soy?
Plain soy at a sushi counter is normally fine; the dashi-spiked 'sashimi soy' bottles are not.
Is coconut aminos a good substitute?
Yes — it is coconut sap and salt, about 65% less sodium, slightly sweeter, and works well in dressings, though it lacks the fermented depth for braises.
Is soy sauce gluten-free?
Standard shoyu contains wheat. Most tamari does not, but check the bottle since a few tamari brands include a small amount.
Does soy sauce need refrigerating?
It keeps at room temperature but oxidises; refrigeration after opening preserves the aroma for months longer.
More condiments checks
Reviewed 2026-08-13 by the Veg.ac editorial team · Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a link back.