The Truth About What's Really In Coconut Aminos
Widely known as a promising substitute for soy sauce, coconut aminos is a mildly sweet condiment that tastes nothing like the fruit it comes from. According to Good Housekeeping, this seasoning sauce is made by fermenting coconut palm and sea salt. Coconut aminos isn't as rich or dark as soy sauce, but its flavor profile, cooking performance, and health benefits make it a worthy replacement. Plus, it's free of soy, wheat, and gluten, which makes it the optimal go-to condiment if you have allergies.
Another advantage of coconut aminos over soy sauce is its lower sodium content. While soy sauce is packed with 1,000 milligrams of sodium per tablespoon, a tablespoon of coconut aminos contains just 270 milligrams. Even though it's a better option than soy sauce in terms of salt intake, coconut aminos is not a low-sodium food, so you may want to be mindful about how much of it you use. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), too much sodium can cause high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.
Coconut aminos versus soy sauce alternatives
Coconut aminos may not always be the best choice for a soy sauce alternative, depending on your diet preferences and health concerns. Another popular soy sauce substitute is liquid aminos. While it's gluten-free, liquid aminos is not an option if you want to eliminate soy from your diet, because it does contain soy (via Healthline). The Japanese sauce tamari is another gluten-free option that contains soy, though it is wheat-free, plus it is a lower-salt substitute for soy sauce with 300 milligrams of sodium per teaspoon.
There are plenty of other condiments that share soy sauce's flavor profile. Mashed recommends an entire list, including teriyaki sauce, a slightly sweeter and thicker soy sauce substitute. You can water it down without losing much flavor, if you want the same consistency as soy sauce. Soyaki sauce, brought to you by Trader Joe's, offers a nice blend of salty, sweet, and smoky. Worcestershire sauce, miso paste, dried shiitake mushrooms, and fish sauce are others recommended by Mashed.