Cafe Yumm Sauce Recipe + How to Make a Yumm Bowl

Learn how to make Yumm Sauce – inspired by Cafe Yumm. These vegetarian Yumm Bowls are loaded up with all the toppings and drizzled with a creamy curry & cumin spiced chickpea sauce.

It’s almost been six months since I quit my corporate job and started blogging full time. It’s definitely the best decision I ever made and I haven’t looked back, but there are a few things I miss about it…

• I miss my parking spot in downtown Portland.
• I miss my co-workers.
• I miss my favorite lunch spots.

Lunch was always the highlight of my day.

Obviously… Everyday I dream about food… all day.

The spots that I really miss the most are Cafe Yumm and the Whole Bowl. And, if you’re not native to Portland, or haven’t visited before, you probably have no idea what these places are all about.

The Whole Bowl is a food cart with a few locations around Portland. It serves up bowls of rice & beans topped with a “Tali sauce” and then loaded up with lots of toppings like sour cream, cilantro, cheese, salsa, avocado & black olives.

Cafe Yumm is essentially the same thing… but the sauces from The Whole Bowl and Cafe Yumm taste just a little bit different… I’d say that the Tali sauce at The Whole Bowl is a bit more curry forward while the Cafe Yumm sauce is a bit more smoky.

Plus, the Cafe Yumm sauce comes in a few different versions – Roasted Garlic, Chipotle and Original. I’m a huge fan of their chipotle Yumm sauce recipe! It’s got a hint of smokiness with a little bit of heat.

I also love their Jalapeno Sesame Salsa (which I’ve created a recipe for as well).

I’ve been working on mastering this Yumm sauce recipe for years… Many, many years… That’s because I’ve been eating it since college. Cafe Yumm! originated in my college hometown of Eugene, Oregon and I think I ate there like once a week. Seeing as I’m now in my last year of my 30’s… you can imagine I’ve eaten my fair share of Yumm bowls!

That’s why I’m so excited to share this recipe for Yumm sauce with you today! This is for all my readers who haven’t yet had the chance to experience this amazing sauce. It’s also for all my local readers who are obsessed with this sauce as I am.

But let me warn you, it’s totally addictive… 

What does Yumm Sauce taste like?

It’s creamy, lemony, and garlicky with the most amazing blend of spices and a umami flavor.

There are two special ingredients that give this sauce it’s great texture and an almost cheese-sauce like quality – almond flour and nutritional yeast.

The good thing is, this recipe makes a big batch of Yumm sauce, enough for about 8 “yummy” bowls, and it will keep in the fridge for about a week.

What is Yumm Sauce made of?

Yumm Sauce recipe ingredients

• Garbanzo beans – I love making chickpeas in the instant pot
• Canola oil
• Almond flour
• Lemon juice 
• Silken tofu
• Nutritional yeast
• Garlic
• Curry powder
• Cumin
• Oregano
• Cilantro
• Mustard powder – Or, try one of these dry mustard substitutes.
• Chipotle chili powder (optional)

Yumm Bowl ingredients

• Rice or Quinoa – I love making a big batch of rice cooker rice, instant pot rice or instant pot quinoa to have on hand for Yumm bowls throughout the week.
• Beans – You can use pinto beans, red beans, or black beans. Again, I love these instant pot pinto beans or instant pot black beans.
• Avocado 
• Tomatoes 
• Black olives
• Cheddar cheese
• Cilantro
• Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream
• Jalapeno Sesame Salsa – For topping. This is optional, but Cafe Yumm includes it on its Hot & Jazzy Bowl.

How to make Yumm Sauce

It’s super simple to make this sauce. Just add all the ingredients to a blender and process until smooth.

Yumm Bowl ingredients

• Start with a base of brown rice, white rice or quinoa. I love making my grains in the Instant Pot. Here’s my recipe for Instant Pot Quinoa and Instant Pot Rice.
• Add some beans. I generally heat up a can of drained and rinsed red beans, but you could also top these bowls with instant pot black beans or instant pot chickpeas. You could even add some sliced chicken.
• Pile on the toppings – Tomatoes, olives, avocado, jalapeno sesame salsa, cheese, cilantro, sesame seeds.
• Drizzle on the Yumm sauce to your liking. I like a lot of sauce on my bowl.
• Enjoy!

What do you put Yumm sauce on?

• Top your Buddha Bowl with it for extra flavor and creaminess.
• Add a spoonful to a bowl of Sweet Potato Chili for the perfect final touch.
• Use it as a dip for veggies or air fryer chicken wings.
• Swirl it with some Jalapeno Sesame Salsa for the most amazing dip around – serve with pita bread.
• But the standard way to use it is to make a Yumm Bowl!

Can you freeze Yumm Sauce?

You can freeze Yumm sauce though it may separate when thawed. Just give it a good stir, or pop it back into your blender or use an immersion blender to it process again.

More healthy bowl recipes 

• Quinoa Taco Bowls
• Shrimp Sushi Bowls
• Chicken Gyro Bowls with Quinoa
• Poke Bowls
• Salmon Sushi Bowls
• Lemon Orzo Bowls with Lamb & Tzatziki
• Shrimp Spring Roll Noodle Bowls
• Fish Taco Bowls with Mango Salsa & Avocado Cream Sauce
• More → 35+ Rice Bowl Recipes

Did you try this yumm bowl recipe?

If you loved this cafe yumm bowl recipe I would appreciate it so much if you would leave a star review! Also, be sure to snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #platingsandpairings and tagging me @platingsandpairings.

For more great Platings and Pairings recipes, be sure to follow me on  Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest and Facebook.

PS – Don’t miss my Cafe Yumm! inspired Jalapeno Sesame Salsa too!

More → 15+ rice bowl sauce recipes & buddha bowl sauce recipes.

This recipe was originally published in 2019. It was updated in 2025 to add new photos and an instructional video. The yumm sauce recipe remains the same. Enjoy!