The go-to “make everything delicious” sauce: Romesco!
Knowing how to make a couple of quick and delicious sauces is a great way to elevate the flavor of your meals without putting a crazy amount of extra time in. The bright red-orange beauty known as Romesco Sauce is one of my favorite quick and tasty sauces, coming together in about 5-minutes, and offering a flavor profile that is deliciously smoky, savory, and acidic.
Origins of Romesco Sauce
Romesco originated in Tarragona, Catalonia, a port city in the northeastern region of Spain. Fishermen in Tarragona made romesco sauce to be served with the fish they caught, which generally included roasted tomatoes, garlic, bixto peppers, olive oil, and nuts (commonly almonds, pine nuts, or hazelnuts).
My Romesco Sauce Ingredients
- Roasted Red Peppers – These are incredibly easy to find at most grocery stores down the olive isle and offer a sweet and smoky spice to the sauce. You’ll want to use a whole 16 oz jar for this recipe — usually around 12 oz after draining the liquid.
- Roasted Tomatoes – I prefer to use fire-roasted canned tomatoes for savoriness, acidity, and maximum smokiness.
- Whole Roasted Almonds – Though you can use raw almonds, I prefer roasted almonds for their slightly toasted flavor. If you prefer, I think this Romesco sauce is also lovely with roasted hazelnuts too.
- Garlic Oil – I personally don’t tolerate whole garlic very well, so instead I use a great garlic-infused oil (This is the one I buy most often). If garlic isn’t an issue for you, feel free to use fresh garlic cloves + olive oil. I’ve included a measurement for both options in the recipe below.
- Italian Parsley – Also known as “flat-leaf” parsley, this herb is a staple in my house. Sick of quickly wilting leaves? Store it root-side down in a jar with 2 inches of water in the fridge and a plastic food storage bag over the top to keep your greens fresher, longer.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – My go-to vinegar for so many recipes (This is the one I buy most often). If you don’t have apple cider vinegar on hand, you can absolutely substitute for red wine vinegar.
- Lemon Zest + Juice – This recipe uses both zest and juice to add pure lemon flavor and acidity to the sauce. Two of the most well-loved tools in my kitchen are my citrus zester and my citrus juicer.
- Smoked Paprika – This adds additional smokiness to the sauce alongside the roasted tomatoes and peppers.
- Cayenne Pepper – This ingredient is totally optional, but great if you want to add just the hint of a kick to your sauce. It’s also perfectly delicious without the cayenne if that isn’t your thing.
- Kosher Salt – Good salt can make a world of difference in any dish. Diamond Crystal Kosher salt is a staple in my kitchen, but you can also use sea salt if that is your preference.
- Cracked Black Pepper – Keeping peppercorns on hand for my grinder seems like such a simple thing, but it’s so much better than the preground alternative. This is the pepper mill I use.
What to serve Romesco Sauce with
Romesco is an extremely versatile sauce that pairs well with everything from grilled and roasted veggies to fish, chicken, pork, steak, and tofu. This recipe makes about 32oz of sauce, so you should have plenty left over to add to additional dishes throughout the week. Here are some of my favorite ways to use it:
- In this Shrimp in Romesco Sauce with White Beans — add a loaf of crusty bread to mop up all the saucy goodness!
- Serve over the top of roasted potatoes — Swap out the sauce in these Smashed Potatoes with Avocado Chimichurri Sauce for this Romesco Sauce!
- Swirl in a bowl of hummus or this Easy Labneh Cheese, add olives or chopped cucumber. Serve with crudites, pita chips, or bread.
- Use it as a base sauce for pizza and flatbread. It’s great on this Easy Same-Day Pizza Dough or this Zucchini Pizza Crust.
- Sub pasta sauce for romesco for all noodles and zoodles. Add a dollop to this Pasta with Olive Tapenade recipe!
- Drizzle it over top of a sheet pan dinner of roasted asparagus, carrots, broccoli, zucchini, and your chosen protein.
- Level up that rotisserie chicken you picked up on your way home. Drizzle, dip, and devour!
- Slather it on a sandwich or in a wrap. It’s particularly lovely with turkey, tuna, or halloumi.
What tools do I need to make this recipe?
- A food processor — OR — high-powered blender
- A cutting board
- A chef’s knife
- A kitchen scale — OR — measuring cups (for less precise measurements)
- Measuring spoons
- A citrus zester
- A citrus juicer
- A can opener (unless using jarred tomatoes)
Are you looking to upgrade to your cooking tools or replenish your pantry? Check out my kitchen tools shop page and pantry staples shop page to find my must-have kitchen tools, pantry items, and other Whip & Wander favorites.
A note for special diets
This Romesco Sauce can easily be made friendly for grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, low-carb, and vegetarian diets.
Print
5-Minute Romesco Sauce
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 32 oz 1x
- Category: Sauces & Savory Condiments
- Method: No-Cook
- Cuisine: Spanish
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Knowing how to make a couple of quick and delicious sauces is a great way to elevate the flavor of your meals without putting a crazy amount of extra time in. The bright red-orange beauty known as Romesco Sauce is one of my favorite quick and tasty sauces, coming together in about 5-minutes, and offering a flavor profile that is deliciously smoky, savory, and acidic.
Ingredients
- 16 oz jar fire-roasted red peppers, drained (12 oz without liquid)
- 6 (about 1 1/2 cups or 341 g) whole fire-roasted canned tomatoes
- 157 g (about 1 cup) unsalted roasted almonds (may sub for roasted hazelnuts if you prefer)
- 3 tbsp garlic-infused olive oil — OR — 3 cloves garlic + 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup Italian flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- zest and juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tbsp zest + 5-6 tbsp lemon juice)
- 1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to your food processor or high-powered blender. Pulse until the mixture has reached your desired level of smoothness. I like mine a little on the gravelly side because I like the texture, but you can blend until it’s super smooth and creamy if you prefer. Use immediately or store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It should keep for up to 10 days.
Notes
Nutritional information on Whip & Wander is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
10/7/21 This recipe was updated and may no longer fit specified dietary preferences from previous versions of this post.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 cup
- Calories: 75
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 133 mg
- Fat: 6 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 4 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
Okay, I’m seriously so excited about this recipe!! It looks super easy but with a ton of great flavors. This is exactly what I needed! I’m so lazy when it comes to sauces, I usually just buy something in a jar that is lackluster in taste and full of crap ingredients that hurt my stomach. I need this sauce in my life!!!! I’m definitely making this as soon as I get the ingredients <3
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Yum! I love the idea to roast the sauce with feta. That sounds absolutely amazing!!!
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I love home-made sauces and this looks so yummy!
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That smokey hint is a dream, I could slather this on seriously everything….o.r just it it by itself!!
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I’ve been doing just this lately. It’s great on so many things!
Why did I think romesco was made with bread? I love that this is paleo; I guess I just forgot about this important condiment! 😉 This needs to be the new pesto to put on everything lol. Thank you, so yummy!!
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I do think some traditional Romesco was sometimes thickened with bread, but I really don’t find it necessary. This mix is thick enough on its own!
I love to have sauces like this on hand, and this one would be used a lot! it looks so good!
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What a gorgeous sauce! I can’t wait ti try it!
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I love to do sauces too to give some flavors to any dish without any stress. Great post and recipe!
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Homemade sauces are the best, this one looks amazing! Love how it comes together in 5 minutes! Its the perfect way to jazz up so many meals, have pinned for later.
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OMG! That looks amazing! I can smell the yummy flavor from here!
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Well, I’ve seen romesco sauce recipes before but they seemed to take forever to prepare. Five minutes, though? Consider me intrigued.
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I loved reading through this recipe! Romesco Sauce is so underrated, and I appreciate that you went into so much detail about all of the ways you can use it. Looks delicious and I can’t wait to try!
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Wow, I haven’t thought about Romanesco Sauce in a very long time. Now you’ve got me drooling all over my keyboard thinking of the possibilities.
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Not only do I love this recipe but I love that you added more ways to try it! SO DELISH!!!
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Okay, this is an absolute Must-try for sure! I am so curious as to how the almonds will flavour and texturize this sauce. It looks so delicious, I can already imagine all of the things I am going to put it on!
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This Romanesco Sauce looks really delicious My mouth is watering!.
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This made my mouth water! Love the idea of homemade romesco sauce, it is so versatile and can be added to almost anything! The smoky flavours are just the best, and this is a great sauce to combine them in!
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This Romesco Sauce is life! I can see adding this to all my favorite grilled dishes this summer.
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I love how I could make this and store it away for later use. There are so many options to top + dip this with that make this a versatile and useful sauce to have on hand. Thanks for the recipe.
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That sauce is calling my name! I’m thinking about all of the things I would love to pair it up with. Such lovely fresh ingredients! I definitely need more sauce recipes to spice up my dinners!
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This looks like a wonderful and versatile sauce! And it only takes a few minutes to make? Perfect!
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Wow this sounds wonderful. I absolutely love roasted peppers flavor and you used here all my favorite spices. I must give this a try. This will be perfect over roasted veggies.
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I am the biggest fan of Romesco you could ever meet! It is so wonderful on so many things and your recipe sounds devine with the extra tomatoes (I usually only use one). I think so many people don’t know about this and how easy and versatile it is 🙂
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This looks like the perfect sauce for pasta, veggies, meatballs…so many options. Nothing beats a good homemade sauce. This is easy to make and I know it would taste super delicious.
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I agree with you 100% having some good sauces in your knowledge base can really kick up even the most basic of recipes! I love how easy this romesco sauce is and so delicious!
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So many tasty ways to enjoy this romesco sauce including a low carb pizza crust that I use often. Boy, this is going to take pizza to a whole new tasty level! Have you tried freezing the sauce? It would be nice to have this ready to go in 1/2 cup portions.
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Oh my goodness this sauce just takes a meal to the next level! So full of flavour and pretty easy to bring together. I am definitely turning into a lick the plate kind of girl with this sauce around.
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Romesco is one of my favorite sauces, and thanks to your post, now I can make it at home! I also appreciate your idea for substituting raw garlic in it; I don’t digest it well, so it’s great to know that there’s an alternative. Can’t wait to serve this with some grilled fish!
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What a great sauce to have on hand!! It is so versatile –I would love it on veggies, pasta, and meat. Your tips are great so that I can make a big batch of Romesco Sauce — I plan on sharing with my kids.
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What a great sauce. Simple. Vegan. Healthy. I can see drizzling it on EVERYTHING. Thank you.
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I’ve always wanted to make romesco but for some reason I haven’t! I’ve got some zoodles in the fridge that I need to use tonight and I can’t wait to top them with this sauce. Thanks for the great recipe!
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Absolutely in love with all the ways you’ve suggested using this good stuff. I love romesco, but I’ve mostly only ever used it with fish and in pasta. I’m pining for it drizzled over roasted veggies or swirled into pesto. Brilliant. And so quick and easy to whip up!
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I can never get enough of tomato based sauces. This looks incredible with so many layers of flavor. Especially the roasted vegetables and smoky seasonings. You would think getting that amount of flavor would take a lot longer than just 5 minutes!
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It’s my favorite 5-minute way to make everything delicious!
I love making homemade sauces and I appreciate the simplicity of this. It looks so delicious on the vegetables.
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Thanks, Erika!
This sauce is something I will eat just by itself ! Love the roasted peppers and tomatoes, makes everything tastes so much better!
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I wouldn’t blame you. I keep grabbing spoonfuls of it out of the food processor every time I make it!
What a great sauce to go with just about anything. It will be great to have in the fridge for last minute dinner plans.
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This is the perfect way to dress just about anything up. Great to keep on hand!
OK, Romesco Sauce has been on many bloggers’ minds but this recipe is definitely special. Love the color, love the consistency. I am sure it tastes incredible!
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It’s certainly a great dish! I hope you love my version!
Lipsmacking Sauce! The roasted peppers and tomatoes really bring out the flavors. The consistency and colour is spot on!
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Thanks, Vidya! It’s really tasty!
I love that you broke down all of the different ingredients. Sometimes I wonder why I need all of these ingredients, or where to get them!
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Thanks, sometimes I find it really helpful to break them down so you can adjust for taste!
This looks and sounds like a fabulous sauce. I’ve never made Romesco before but am going to try it very soon. Love the idea of serving it with fish! Pinning for later!
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Thanks, Jacqueline! It’s so good with fish!
Never knew this amazing sauce can be done in five minutes. Thanks for sharing this recipe. Love it.
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Thanks, Sophie! It’s a favorite in our house!