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This roasted red pepper sauce is perfect for pasta, as a spread, or a dip! Try it with chicken, fish, fries, sandwiches and more.
Looking for a flavor-packed sauce that takes just a few minutes to make? This roasted red pepper sauce is full of zingy flavor, no cooking required! Throw a few ingredients into a blender and it makes a bright orange, tangy garlicky sauce. It’s extremely versatile: use it for a pasta sauce, as a dip for vegetables or fries, or as a sauce for fish or chicken. It makes any meal more fun!
Ingredients in this roasted red pepper sauce
This roasted red pepper sauce is similar to a romesco sauce, that Spanish sauce made with red peppers, olive oil, almonds, and garlic. In fact, it has almost the same ingredients: but this sauce has more red peppers and is lighter in texture. You’ll use an entire 16-ounce jar of roasted red peppers, but it’s worth it for the luxurious texture and flavor. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Jarred roasted red peppers
- Unsalted almonds
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Lemon juice
- Smoked paprika
- Kosher salt
- Optional: heavy cream, grated Parmesan cheese
Making it as a roasted red pepper pasta sauce
On its own, this roasted red pepper sauce makes an excellent dip for vegetables, roasted potatoes or fries, and works well as a sauce for fish or chicken. But want to serve it with pasta? Here are a few things to note:
- Add heavy cream and/or Parmesan if serving as a pasta sauce. When you add this sauce to pasta on its own, it tastes watery and doesn’t cling to the pasta well. Adding heavy cream adds a richness that helps it adhere to pasta. A bit of grated Parmesan cheese makes for a more robust flavor when served with pasta. Go to Roasted Red Pepper Pasta.
- Use 1 cup sauce per 8 ounces pasta. The sauce recipe below makes enough for 1 pound pasta (6 to 8 servings).
Ways to serve it
Once you’ve blended up this tasty roasted red pepper sauce, there are so many tasty ways to enjoy it. Here are some ideas:
- Fish baked fish, baked salmon, grilled salmon, trout, halibut, tuna steak, tilapia or red snapper
- Shellfish like sauteed shrimp, jumbo shrimp, or pan seared scallops
- Roasted or grilled vegetables like best grilled vegetables, grilled broccolini, roasted potatoes, roasted broccoli, grilled Green Beans
- Fries like baked fries or steak fries
- Pasta like spaghetti, bucatini, penne, rigatoni, or tortellini
- Bowl meals like Mediterranean bowl or easy power bowls
And that’s it! Let us know how you serve it.
More pepper recipes
Love a good bell pepper recipe? Here are a few more ways to eat this tasty veggie:
- Try Roasted Bell Peppers in the oven
- Make Sauteed Peppers or Sauteed Peppers and Onions
- Go for Classic Stuffed Peppers
- Blend up Spanish-style Romesco Sauce
Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
This roasted red pepper sauce is perfect for pasta, as a spread, or a dip! Try it with chicken, fish, fries, sandwiches and more.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Blended
- Cuisine: Sauce
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 16-ounce jar roasted red peppers, liquid drained
- ¼ cup roasted unsalted almonds
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Optional: 2 tablespoons heavy cream or ¼ to ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese*
Instructions
- Place the garlic in the blender and blend until finely chopped.
- Add the remaining ingredients and blend. Taste and adjust salt as necessary.
Notes
*If you’re using this sauce for pasta, the cream is helpful for adhering to pasta. We suggest blending in both the cream and Parmesan cheese to make this a pasta sauce. If you’re using it as a dip or sauce for protein, these ingredients aren’t necessary. The 2 cups of sauce works with 1 pound pasta.
This sauce is super yumm! I added about 1 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes.
Has anyone tried this without the almonds? My husband can’t eat nuts.
Let us know if you have any questions!