Romesco sauce is a roasted red pepper sauce. It is surprisingly easy to make and extremely versatile. You can roast the red peppers from scratch, but I will tell you what - the jarred roasted red peppers work great with this. I realize some things do taste better when you go the extra step and make it yourself. I am here to say that I don't think roasted red peppers are one of those things. Given a blind taste test, I don't think I could tell the difference between a jarred roasted red pepper and one you broiled in your oven and peeled the charred skin off. So, for this romesco sauce - you have permission to use jarred peppers.
How to Make romesco sauce
The short version is you put all the ingredients in your mini food processor and blend it. The slightly longer version involves a couple of steps like browning a few cloves of garlic in olive oil, frying bread cubes in that same oil and THEN adding everything into the food processor. It's really that simple. As mentioned above, you can absolutely roast your own peppers if that makes you feel better, but it's really not necessary. Let's keep it simple with this one.
What Can I Use This Romesco Sauce For?
How much time do you have is a better question. I'm going to give you some jumping off points for this and I feel confident you will find four more ways of your own to enjoy this delicious roasted red pepper sauce. The thing is, we sometimes see these amazing recipes on the internet, but we're not sure how to incorporate them into our food lives. Ever since I posted my Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Dill Havarti, Arugula & Romesco Sauce, I have wanted to do a follow-up about this incredible sauce. That day has finally come. In addition to the recipe for the sauce, I've been creating new recipes and incorporating romesco sauce into them.
Ideas for Romesco Sauce:
- Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Dill Havarti, Arugula & Romesco Sauce
- Grilled Zucchini & Summer Squash Drizzled with Romesco Sauce
- Garlic Shrimp Crostini with Romesco and Shaved Parmesan
- My Ultimate Roasted Veggie Sandwich (replace the pesto with romesco or use both!)
- Drizzle this sauce on your grilled chicken on a bbq night
- Slather the sauce on a piece of meaty white fish like halibut or striped bass
- French bread pizza with romesco, sauteed eggplant, garlic, & onions (I made this one on a whim one night and it was soooo good!)
Can You Freeze Romesco Sauce? Yes, Absolutely!
If you've made a batch of romesco sauce and have leftovers you can freeze it for future use. Don't feel like you have to use that whole batch at once. Though, I must admit, I do get obsessed with romesco at times and use all of it until it's gone. Every. Last. Drop. When I'm able to restrain myself, I put the romesco sauce in containers that make sense for my needs. Think about what you might make next with it, how much you'll need and choose your container accordingly. If I also have chunks of French bread in my freezer (which I often do), I know I'll be making my French bread pizza with it and I'll portion out what I think I'll need for that.
I use a standard plastic container with a lid - just make sure the lid is on tight and snapped into place correctly. I tend to use flat-type containers for this. And I do take one additional step. Another kitchen staple for me is quart and gallon-sized slider freezer bags. I will put two flat rectangular containers inside the freezer bag, seal the bag closed and put it in the freezer.
When you're ready to use the romesco sauce, take out a container and put it in the refrigerator overnight to defrost. Once it's defrosted you can drizzle a little olive oil on top which I always do when it's in the fridge. Also, if the sauce has thickened a bit, you should add a little olive oil anyway and mix it in.
Making this sauce is a really easy way to elevate your food and impress your guests. It's simple to make and you can follow along with my video and we can make it together. I hope you give this one a try and are open to trying new recipes as a home chef. If we carve a little bit of kitchen time into our days, it gives us an opportunity to prepare delicious food for our loved ones. That creates another opportunity to talk and share our lives over a meal. This is life. Eating and sharing. It always makes me so happy.
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Romesco Sauce (and all the ways you can use it)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 13 minutes
- Yield: about 2 cups 1x
Description
Romesco sauce is a roasted red pepper sauce that is fantastic on sandwiches, grilled veggies, chicken, fish, crostini and more.
Ingredients
- 2 12-ounce jars of roasted red peppers
- 3 cloves of garlic, browned
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 cup cubed bread (French or ciabatta) (see note #1)
- ½ teaspoon paprika, optional (see note #2)
- ¾ cup almonds (I used marcona see note #3)
- ¼ teaspoon salt (more if needed)
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
Instructions
- Cut your bread into cubes. I used half of a French bread roll I had on hand. A thicker bread will work best here like a ciabatta roll or even brioche. Set aside.
- Add olive oil to a pan along with three whole, peeled garlic cloves. On low-to-medium heat cook garlic until it’s browned – should take a few minutes.
- When garlic is browned, set aside and using the same olive oil fry your bread cubes until golden brown. They cook quickly so careful not to burn here.
- Put the roasted red peppers in your food processor. I usually rip them up a little as I put them in. Add garlic, almonds, bread cubes and oil – BLEND. Take a taste and add your salt here. Since I use almonds that are already salted, I add it to taste here – usually about ¼ teaspoon. More if you prefer. Add your red wine vinegar here too. BLEND again.
- Use on sandwiches, grilled veggies, fish, chicken, shrimp crostini and more. Enjoy!
Notes
- The cubed bread: I think using French bread tastes the best. But you could also cube a ciabatta or brioche roll as well.
- When I make romesco sauce, sometimes I add the paprika and sometimes I don’t. It’s up to you if you want to use it. Tastes great either way. This time I didn’t add it, but in my grilled chicken sandwich recipe I did.
- I love marcona almonds, but they are a little more expensive. If you use regular whole almonds with skins that is fine too. It’s a personal preference.
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