This sweet, roasted red pepper sauce is an easy and quick way to add extra flavor to your next meal prep veggie bowl, pita wraps, or even pasta. The best part about this roasted red pepper sauce is all you need is a food processor.
Where’s red pepper sauce from?
When you search for roasted red pepper sauce, there are a myriad of recipes and varieties. There’s Italian-style pasta sauce with roasted red bell peppers and tomatoes, like Rao’s, Catalan romesco sauce with nuts and peppers, or Serbian ajvar with roasted peppers and eggplants.
This recipe is inspired by Italian sauces incorporating roasted red bell peppers and flavors like olive oil, garlic, basil leaves, and balsamic vinegar. Roasted red pepper sauce has a sweet and tangy taste and is an excellent alternative option for those who don’t want a tomato-based sauce. And if you have dairy or other dietary restrictions, this sauce is vegan.
Ingredients in roasted red pepper sauce
This roasted red pepper sauce is quick and easy to make and doesn’t require cooking.
- Use store-bought roasted red peppers from the grocery store to make this recipe effortless. We like to use chopped roasted red peppers to make this recipe even faster. Make sure to drain the peppers because sometimes the liquid in the jar can be pretty acidic. You also have the option to roast fresh red bell peppers in the oven or stove.
- Extra virgin olive oil is the flavorful and rich base for this sauce.
- Aromatics like shallots and garlic add layers of complexity to the tangy and sweet red peppers.
- Seasonings of fresh basil leaves and Italian seasoning add more flavor to the sauce. You can add other spices and herbs, like rosemary, sage, or thyme. If you prefer spicy pasta, add ingredients like red chili flakes, paprika, or cayenne.
- Fresh lemon juice adds a nice citrus flavor to the rich olive oil and enhances the red peppers.
- Balsamic vinegar balances a nice acidity and caramel-like sweetness to the sauce. It’s an extra flavor of umami that rounds out all the flavors.
An optional ingredient is also white sugar if the premade roasted red peppers are too tangy and need to be balanced.
How to serve this sauce
You can use this sauce by itself as a dip or dollop with your favorite salad bowls full of chicken kebabs, quinoa black beans and rice, and roasted veggie kabobs. You can also cook with it for broiled salmon filets or tofu. If you have handmade pasta dough, you can saute the roasted red pepper sauce with some heavy cream and add parmesan on top. Bonus, if you want to make roasted red pepper sauce and need to figure out how much pasta per person to cook, I’ve got ya covered here.
How long the sauce stays fresh
Keep the roasted red pepper sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days or in the freezer for up to one month in a freezer-safe container. When you want to eat the sauce later, place it in the fridge overnight to defrost or heat up over the stove until warm.
Roasted Red Pepper Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
Roasted red pepper sauce
- 1 c chopped roasted red bell peppers drained
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ shallot
- 2 cloves garlic
- 4 fresh basil leaves
- ½ tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- ⅛ tsp Italian seasoning
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ⅛ tsp black pepper
- white sugar optional
- red chili flakes optional
How to serve
- pasta
- roasted chicken
- vegetable wrap
- protein bowl
- baked salmon
- pita dip
Equipment Used
- measuring cups and spoons
- knife and cutting board
- food processor (or blender)
- spatula
Instructions
- In a food processor (or blender), add all the sauce ingredients: 1 c chopped roasted red bell peppers, 1 tbsp olive oil, ½ shallot, 2 cloves garlic, 4 fresh basil leaves, ½ tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, ⅛ tsp Italian seasoning, ¼ tsp kosher salt, and ⅛ tsp black pepper. If you want a spicy sauce add red chili flakes.
- Process until all the ingredients turn into a smooth sauce. This is a forgiving sauce, and you can’t really overblend it.
- Taste test the sauce and adjust based on your preferences. If the sauce is too tangy, try to add ⅛ tsp of white sugar to balance.
- Serve as is, or heat it in a saucepan over medium-low for 1-2 minutes until warm.
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