Romesco Sauce: the effortless recipe for a classic bold Spanish sauce

If you're looking for a delicious, bold sauce that you can use with just about anything, it's time you tried this easy Spanish romesco sauce recipe. Romesco sauce has it all. It's smoky, a little spicy, tangy, and nutty, with a creamy texture that suits all sorts of dishes. Make sure not to confuse Spanish romesco sauce with romanesco, which a type of Italian cauliflower.

This tasty sauce is from the city of Valls, in Catalonia's Tarragona region. You can make romesco thin and smooth or thick and chunky. This easy romesco sauce goes with grilled chicken, seafood, steaks, grilled or roasted vegetables, and also works as a dip. It's so mouthwateringly good, you'll want to put it on everything!

Romesco Sauce Ingredients

Roasted red peppers add the main flavor to this wonderful Spanish sauce. You can roast them at home or save some time and buy roasted peppers in a jar.

Sun-dried tomatoes and garlic add more layers of rich flavor, while vinegar brings a tangy brightness to the sauce.

Paprika and cayenne pepper add spice, and almonds help bright a subtle nutty sweetness.

Finally, olive oil rounds out the sauce and lends a creamy, rich texture to romesco.

How to Make Romesco Sauce

To make the best homemade romesco sauce, place the red peppers, almonds, tomatoes, garlic, sherry vinegar, paprika, salt, and cayenne pepper into a food processor (a blender also works). Start blending the ingredients on low, then gradually work your way up to higher speeds as the sauce becomes smoother.

Slowly pour the oil into the mixture until the sauce reaches your preferred consistency. If you like a chunky romesco, feel free to stop blending once the sauce reaches your ideal consistency. Of course, you can always keep blitzing it until it's perfectly smooth. Dip a spoon into the sauce and taste it. Add more salt, pepper, or spices as needed, then use it or store the sauce for later use.

How to Use Romesco Sauce

There are plenty of fantastic ways to use your homemade romesco sauce. It's excellent served over grilled chicken, steak, or fish and roasted vegetables, as a pasta sauce, or dolloped over roasted potatoes, broccoli, or cauliflower. Anything grilled tastes phenomenal with romesco sauce thanks to the smoky grilled flavors the peppers add to it. Swirl a little bit of the sauce into soups or use it to add a kick to your mac and cheese. Romesco is amazing as a spread on all kinds of sandwiches from burgers to grilled cheese, roast pork sandwiches, grilled veggie sandwiches, and more.

Can You Make Romesco Sauce Ahead of Time?

Absolutely! Make romesco sauce up to several days in advance.

Tips for Easy Romesco Sauce

If you don't have any sherry vinegar, you can use red wine vinegar instead.

If you like a lot of spice, feel free to add extra cayenne pepper to your romesco sauce.

If you don't eat nuts or have an allergy, you can leave the almonds out of the sauce. Alternatively, you can use hazelnuts or pine nuts for a tasty twist.

Don't like tomatoes? You can leave out the sun-dried tomatoes if you prefer.

Other optional ingredients you may like to add to your romesco include mint, onions or shallots, or fennel.

How to Store Romesco

Keep leftover romesco sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.

Can You Freeze Romesco Sauce?

You can definitely make and freeze romesco sauce for later use. Place it in an airtight container for up to 3 months. For smaller portions, you can freeze the sauce in an ice cube tray. Once the sauce has frozen, pop the cubes out and store them in a sealable bag in your freezer.

Instructions

Put the red peppers, almonds, tomatoes, garlic, sherry vinegar, paprika, salt, and cayenne pepper in a food processor.

Starting on the low setting, blitz to combine.

Slowly pour the oil into the mixture until the sauce reaches your preferred consistency.

Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

You can buy roasted red peppers or roast peppers yourself at home.