Romesco Sauce

Romesco sauce is about to become your new favorite condiment. I want to slather it on everything, and I can’t believe how easy it is to make at home.

What is Romesco sauce, you ask? Romesco is a roasted red pepper sauce that originates from Tarragona in Catalonia, a region in Northeastern Spain. It was originally intended to be eaten with fish, but once you taste it, I think you’ll agree that it’s delicious on practically anything.

Ingredients You’ll Need

What is Romesco sauce made of? Traditionally, Romesco is made from roasted tomatoes and red peppers, nuts, garlic, and olive oil. It gets its zippy flavor from red wine vinegar, and a slightly smoky flavor with a touch of smoked paprika.

I’ve tested this sauce a variety of different ways, using sun-dried tomatoes to skip the roasting process, tomato paste, fresh tomatoes, and even with no tomatoes at all, to see if any extra effort is necessary.

Honestly, it’s delicious either way, as I think the predominant flavor here is the roasted red peppers and garlic.

I make this sauce almost weekly now, and usually skip the tomatoes all together, but it is delicious with a small handful of sun-dried tomatoes, too, if you happen to keep them on hand. I’d hate to ask you to buy something extra for this recipe if you don’t normally use them, because the flavor is truly addictive either way.

Here are the basics you’ll need:

• Roasted red peppers (use jarred for convenience)
• Garlic
• Red wine vinegar
• Almonds (or any other nut)
• Olive oil
• Smoked Paprika
• Red pepper flakes (optional)

I’ll share a few modification ideas in the recipe below, but if you have these main ingredients, you can make the best Romesco sauce you’ve ever tasted.

How to Make It

To make Romesco sauce, you’ll need to start with roasted red peppers. You can buy these in a jar at the grocery store (I usually find them near olives), or here’s how to roast red peppers, if you want to try it at home.

Once you have the ingredients on hand, all you have to do is toss them in a blender! It’s literally ready to eat in just minutes.

What does Romesco sauce taste like? Romesco has a lightly sweet and zippy flavor, with hints of garlic and smoky flavors, and a touch of spice. It’s once of those sauces that adds the perfect amount of flavor to almost any dish.

Adding this sauce to your meals will simply elevate the overall taste, making you feel like you’re dining at the best restaurant in town.

How to Serve It

What can you put Romesco sauce on? Literally, everything.

Here’s what I’ve tried it on so far:

• Veggie Wraps (it’s our favorite sauce now!)
• Pasta
• Pizza
• Buddha bowls/grain bowls
• Grilled cheese (insanely good)
• Roasted veggies
• Air Fryer Salmon
• Quinoa Lunch Bowls (just 1 spoonful adds so much flavor!)

It makes everything taste like it came from a 5-star restaurant, if you ask me. I hope you’ll love it just as much!

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5 from 3 votes

Romesco (Roasted Red Pepper Sauce)

This Romesco Sauce makes everything taste better! All you need is a handful of simple ingredients to make this zippy, falvorful sauce that you'll want to slather on everything.

Course sauce

Cuisine vegan

Keyword romesco, romesco sauce

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 0 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Servings 16

Calories 63kcal

Author Megan Gilmore

Equipment

Vitamix

Ingredients

• 2 large roasted red peppers (8 ounces)
• 1/2 cup whole almonds (73 grams; or any other nut)
• 2 garlic cloves (10 grams)
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (15 grams)
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (use more for more spice)
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (54 grams)
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley (14 grams)
• 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (6 grams)
• 1/4 cup water (or 1 fresh Roma tomato)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• In a high-speed blender, combine all of the ingredients. Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides, as needed.
  
• Taste and adjust any seasoning, as needed. You can add up to 1/4 teaspoon more salt, for extra flavor, or more red pepper flakes, if you want a spicier flavor. You can also add more water, just a tablespoon at a time, until the consistency is as runny as you like. Transfer to an airtight jar and store in the fridge until you're ready to use it. You can store this sauce for up to a week in the fridge.
  

Notes

Nutrition information is for roughly 2 tablespoons of sauce. This is automatically calculated and is just an estimate, not a guarantee.

For a nut-free sauce, replace the almonds with cooked chickpeas instead.

If you don't want to buy jarred roasted red peppers, here's how to roast red peppers easily at home. 

Nutrition

Calories: 63kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 111mg | Potassium: 83mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 752IU | Vitamin C: 28mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg

If you try this Romesco sauce, please leave a comment below letting me know how you like it. And if you make any modifications, I’d love to hear about those, too! We can all benefit from your experience.

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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite sauce to make?