Sauce Recipes

Arugula Pesto
Arugula Pesto
We have a 3 ft by 6 ft patch of arugula growing in our garden and for the last two months I've been looking for ways to make use of it. By the way, arugula (a.k.a. rocket) grows like a...
Asparagus Pesto with Pasta
Asparagus Pesto with Pasta
A while ago I got together with Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks to try out one of the recipes from her cookbook, Super Natural Cooking. The recipe we selected is perfect for spring, a pesto made with blanched asparagus, baby...
Basic Tomato Sauce
Basic Tomato Sauce
A good tomato sauce is the foundation for so many wonderful dishes - pizza, pasta, chicken, and fish. Here is a recipe for a basic tomato sauce that starts with a soffritto of onions, carrots, and celery cooked in a...
Basil Vinaigrette
Basil Vinaigrette
Have extra basil in your garden right now? Here's a quick and easy vinaigrette dressing you can make with it that you can use not only as a salad dressing, but also as a sauce for fish, chicken, potatoes, tomatoes...
Bolognese Meat Sauce
Bolognese Meat Sauce
This Bolognese sauce is a family recipe of one of our readers and is used in our Lasagna Bolognese recipe. Slow cooked for at least a couple of hours, the sauce is deep, rich, flavorful and worth the extra effort.
Caramel Sauce
Caramel Sauce
Making your own caramel sauce from scratch is a lot easier than you might think, and it takes practically no time at all. This recipe comes from my friend Suzanne who is a baking genius. I've watched her make caramel...
Champagne Mushroom Sauce
Champagne Mushroom Sauce
Watch out, Hank is getting all fancy on us with the sauce. But my oh my this one is good, and a great use of leftover champagne. ~Elise If you've ever had leftover Champagne (yes, some people do!) it seems...
Chimichurri
Chimichurri
Have you ever made a chimichurri sauce? It's an Argentinean sauce or condiment, similar to pesto, that is popular throughout South America. This basic version uses fresh parsley, oregano, garlic, oil and vinegar and a little bit of chili pepper...
Cilantro Lime Herb Butter
Cilantro Lime Herb Butter
An herbed butter is a great way to dress up corn-on-the-cob, veggies of all kinds, chicken, fish, prawns, pork, steak, you name it. Here's an herb butter recipe, Southwestern style, with cilantro and lime. Do you ever make herbed butters...
Cilantro Pesto
Cilantro Pesto
I have, over the years, attempted to grow cilantro several times. Each time the plants bolted before I got much use out of them. This year I planted a bunch of seed in October, when the scorching Sacramento summer weather...
Cranberry Relish
Cranberry Relish
This is a great cranberry relish for all turkey dishes and turkey sandwiches, and a tasty alternative to a more traditional cranberry sauce. The relish consists of raw cranberries, apples, and an orange, all put through a grinder with sugar...
Cranberry Sauce
Cranberry Sauce
My father loves cranberry sauce. I think he enjoys turkey during the holiday season just as an excuse to eat more cranberry sauce. He stocks up on fresh cranberries when they are in season in the fall, and freezes them...
Cucumber Mint Raita
Cucumber Mint Raita
Whenever I go out to eat at an Indian restaurant, I make sure the meal includes plenty of raita on the side. Raita is a yogurt-based condiment that can help douse the fire if a dish is just a little...
Dr. Pepper Barbecue Sauce
Dr. Pepper Barbecue Sauce
Please welcome Hank Shaw as he continues on his tour of barbecue sauce recipes with this Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce. ~Elise Cooking with cola or root beer is common, so we figured why not cook with Dr. Pepper? Using soda...
Easy Blender Hollandaise Sauce
Easy Blender Hollandaise Sauce
Many people are afraid of hollandaise sauce, are you? Some think eating it will make them fat. (It will if you eat it every day, so don't eat it every day.) If you are like me, the thought of making...
Fresh Basil Pesto
Fresh Basil Pesto
Every year we plant basil and every year the plants do so well that we can't use it up fast enough. What to do? Basil pesto, of course! Here is a simple recipe. Note that pesto is always made to...
Giblet Gravy
Giblet Gravy
My love affair with giblets started probably around age 5. That's when my mom would cook the gizzard with her chicken soup, and then fish it out just for me. It was so chewy and good. I loved it. I...
Hank's Barbecue Sauce
Hank's Barbecue Sauce
Please welcome guest author Hank Shaw who shares the recipe for his favorite BBQ sauce with us. This sauce is, btw, outrageously good. ~Elise All barbecue cooks have their own "secret sauce," but for the most part, each relies on...
Homemade Tartar Sauce
Homemade Tartar Sauce
Confession time. I am a lover of tartar sauce. I think the seafood eating world is divided into two camps, those who enjoy tartar sauce with their fish, and those who will have nothing to do with it. I am...
Horseradish Sauce
Horseradish Sauce
I grew up with horseradish, sometimes called "German mustard", as a common accompaniment to steak and pork dishes. With dad's German heritage, no wonder there was always a jar of it in the house. These days I suspect many people...
How to Make Butterscotch
How to Make Butterscotch
Please welcome guest author pastry chef Shuna Fish Lydon of Eggbeater who shares with us the (almost) lost art of making butterscotch. ~Elise When was the last time you tasted authentic butterscotch? Flavor, sauce, memory, aroma, era: butterscotch was an...
How to Make Gravy
How to Make Gravy
Here are two basic ways of making gravy from roast drippings, one using corn starch, the other using flour. In each case, you start with the roast drippings. You may have much more drippings than you need for the amount...
Kansas City Barbecue Sauce
Kansas City Barbecue Sauce
Please welcome Hank Shaw as he continues on his tour through barbecue sauces, this time with a Kansas City style barbecue sauce. ~Elise To me, Kansas City barbecue sauces are thick, tomato-based sauces that are just as sweet as they...
Lemon-Garlic Butter Sauce for Seafood
Lemon-Garlic Butter Sauce for Seafood
A few weeks ago I spent a morning with Chef David Lamonica of Scott's Seafood in Folsom, California, learning all about preparing seafood and sauces that work well with seafood. Of everything we prepared that morning, simple pan fried haddock...
Mexican Red Chili Sauce
Mexican Red Chili Sauce
Red chili sauces are used in many Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes, such as red chile enchiladas or tamales. On doing research for this post I found references to many different ways of making red chile sauce; in Mexico alone there...
Mushroom Sugo
Mushroom Sugo
My dad is the kind of dad who will notice we aren't doing something to his standards and then just take over. (Insert growly voice.) "The recipe says mince, not finely chop, but mince. This isn't minced." I'm happy to...
Orange Beurre Blanc Sauce for Seafood
Orange Beurre Blanc Sauce for Seafood
Beurre Blanc is a French sauce ("white butter") based on a reduction of shallots and an acid such as vinegar, citrus juice, or wine, mixed in with cold butter. Its creamy tanginess works well with mild fish such as trout...
Pomegranate Molasses
Pomegranate Molasses
Liquid rubies Ever since Pom Wonderful started marketing the health benefits of pomegranate juice, and selling them in those cool pom shaped bottles, more and more recipes calling for pomegranate molasses have been popping up. Pomegranate molasses is a traditional...
Remoulade Sauce
Remoulade Sauce
Remoulade (reh-moo-lahd) may be a classic French sauce, but it is the Louisiana version with which most of us are familiar. All remoulades are based on either oil or mayonnaise, and most Louisiana remoulades also have mustard, garlic, paprika and...
Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Sauce
Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Sauce
Do you like roasted red bell peppers? You should try them in a pasta sauce! Here's a wonderful roasted bell pepper pasta sauce from the king of sauces himself, Hank Shaw. ~Elise This is a pasta sauce I came up...
Savory Cherry Compote
Savory Cherry Compote
When fresh cherries are in season, it's kind of hard to resist eating as many as you can. Actually, at our house, that goes for any stone fruit. But sometimes, sometimes we have even more cherries than we can justifiably...
Smoky Barbecue Sauce
Smoky Barbecue Sauce
This smoky barbecue sauce from Hank Shaw is one of the best bbq sauces I have ever tasted. Smoky, spicy, and rich in flavor. Seriously good. ~Elise Yep, I’m back with another barbecue creation. This time it’s a dark, rich...
South Carolina Mustard BBQ Sauce
South Carolina Mustard BBQ Sauce
Please welcome Simply Recipes contributor Hank Shaw who is doing a series here on barbecue sauces. If you love mustard, you'll love this sauce! ~Elise Not all barbecue sauces are red. In fact, one of my favorites comes from South...
Spanish Romesco Sauce
Spanish Romesco Sauce
Okay, so I'm sort of old for this acronym, but OMG OMG OMG! Have you ever had Romesco sauce? I had it for the first time recently and nearly fell off my chair. Where has this sauce been my whole...
Spicy Cranberry Sauce with Pinot Noir
Spicy Cranberry Sauce with Pinot Noir
Here is a delightful spin on a fall favorite - cranberry sauce. The cranberries are cooked in Pinot Noir and spiced with curry, ginger, fennel seeds, and other spices. Simply Recipes reader John Klem passed this Epicurious recipe on to...