Romesco Sauce is a versatile and tasty sauce that can be added to many different and unique dishes to add a lot of flavor and freshness. I love serving this over a rice bowl with baked tofu, green beans, and roasted broccoli. It’s healthy, full of fresh flavors, and elevates a simple meal.
This sauce comes together very quickly and only requires a small amount of cooking. This sauce requires roasted garlic and I don’t recommend leaving it out as it’s a very key ingredient to creating good flavor. Roasted garlic only takes about 30 minutes to make but can be made in advance.
My inspiration will this recipe comes from Trader Joe’s Romesco Sauce that they serve in the refrigeration section. I love the packaged version because it’s delicious and convenient but figured it was time I make it myself. While I still love Trader Joe’s and will probably buy that sauce again in the future, this homemade tastes better. It’s fresher, you know what’s in it, and it couldn’t be easier to make.
Main Ingredients:
- Roasted Garlic
- Jarred Roasted Red Peppers
- Good Quality Tomato
- Almonds
- Olive Oil
How to Serve Romesco Sauce:
Romesco Sauce is very versatile and adds a lot of flavor and freshness to most dishes. In my opinion, this sauce is best served over a protein like baked tofu or vegan chicken but it’s very delicious over green beans, roasted cauliflower, or roasted crispy potatoes as well.
This sauce can be served as a dip for raw crunchy vegetables or on toasted crusty bread if you wanted to serve this sauce as an appetizer or snack. This romesco sauce would also be tasty on a flatbread pizza or tossed in to a bowl of pasta, just top it off with vegetables and a protein of your choice like vegan sausage.
Tips & Tricks:
Use a good quality tomato! The flavor of the tomato really comes through in this sauce and if you use a bad quality tomato or a variety of tomato you don’t love, the whole flavor will be off-putting and overwhelming. I used two bright red roma tomatoes and loved the flavor! Use one medium sized tomato or enough tomatoes to equal about the size of a medium one.
This romesco sauce can be made two different ways and ultimately come down to your own personal preference. My preference is a chunkier texture where the almonds really come through. You can see the photo for this version. If you prefer smooth sauces and don’t want that much texture, simply blend longer.
More Sauce Recipes You Might Like:
If You Make This Recipe:
Tag me on Instagram! I’d love to see your delicious re-creations and feature them! As always, I would greatly appreciate if you share your review in the comments below. Don’t forget to add if you made any fun substitutions. Thank you!
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Romesco Sauce
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 35
- Yield: 2 1/2 cups 1x
- Category: Sauce
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
Roasted Garlic:
- 1 Whole Head of Garlic
- Drizzle of Olive Oil
- Pinch of Salt
- Pinch of Black Pepper
Romesco Sauce:
- 1 Head of Roasted Garlic
- 16oz Jar of Roasted Red Bell Pepper
- 1 Medium Sized Good Quality Tomato, see tips & tricks
- 2 tablespoons Sun Dried Tomatoes in Olive Oil
- 1/2 cup Almonds
- 1/4 cup Olive Oil
- 1/4 cup Parsley
- 1 tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F. Cut open the top of the head of garlic to expose the cloves just a bit. Drizzle olive oil over the opening and a sprinkle on salt and pepper. Wrap in foil and roast for 30 minutes.
- Once the garlic is roasted and slightly cooled, remove the foil and the outer papery parts and add just the roasted cloves to a blender.
- Add the roasted red peppers, good quality tomato, sun dried tomatoes, almonds, olive oil, parsley, red wine vinegar, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.
- Blend until well incorporated. The texture will be chunky from the almonds but that’s what we want and what I prefer. If you want a smoother romesco sauce, simply blend longer.
- See above for serving ideas. Enjoy!
Notes
Romesco sauce can be stored in an airtight container for 4-5 days.
Keywords: romesco sauce, sauce, dip, vegan dips, vegan sauces
