If you have been around this blog for a while than you know that I always encourage making your own sauces, marinades, dressings and dips. It’s not just because I like to make everything myself, it is also because the ingredients that are used to make most sauces and such “shelf-stable” until you open it, are not the best for you. They also tend to have way more salt in them than I like. Having said that I do use a number of pre-made base sauces to build on with my own ingredients – because it’s all about balance, right? So below you will find a listing of 15 Homemade Sauce Recipes. Which one are you trying first?
Sauce making really isn’t that difficult. It is all about balancing flavors to specifically go with the dish you are using it for. If it’s to be used as a dressing, you want it to mesh well with the vegetables and proteins you’ve selected. Two important tools to have to make great sauces – a metal whisk and a large clear measuring cup. The whisk is to make sure that things get combined completely. The measuring cup makes is so that you can just measure each ingredient right in the cup and not have to get a bunch of other measuring devices dirty. Another good thing to have on hand is pint sized mason jars with lids – to store left over sauces, if you end up with any.
And without further adieu – here are the 15 Homemade Sauce Recipes from the blog!
Homemade Tzatziki Sauce – This quintessential Greek sauce is actually super simple to make yourself… especially if you have an abundance of cucumbers from that cucumber plant you planted earlier this year. Tzatziki Sauce is that creamy cucumber and lemon sauce that’s loaded with garlic and Dill that you love on all your favorite Greek foods. And my Homemade Tzatziki Sauce is easier to make than you think.
Homemade Fry Sauce – Fry Sauce, Secret Sauce, Special Sauce House Sauce – what ever you may call it, you know you gotta have it for the ultimate burger and fry meal. This recipe for Homemade Fry Sauce is pretty simple, but oh so good. My kids ask for it every time we have burger night. Sometimes I put it on the burger and sometimes we have it for dipping our fries in. When there is some leftover, it gets used with chicken strips for lunch the next day.
Mexican Gravy – Called the true authentic enchilada sauce, Mexican Gravy is a delicious sauce that’s got a smoky, spicy flavor. It is perfect for Enchiladas (like my Beef Enchiladas) but also so good for nachos too (like my Chicken Sheet Pan Nachos). You are going to want to save this sauce recipe for all sorts of dishes!
Easy Chimichurri Sauce – In need of a nice sauce to complete your meal? Have you tried Chimichurri Sauce before? It is a super fresh sauce full of herbs and citrus flavors that compliments any of your Tex-Mex, Central or South American dishes. It is originally an Argentinian sauce that is used with a variety of meats. This recipe for Easy Chimichurri Sauce is going to be a great addition to your sauce repertoire.
Ginger Peanut Lime Dressing – I love trying to create flavor combinations and profiles to match the ingredients in the dish I am making. Sometimes it is just that the dish needs a sauce component and other times the sauce or dressing becomes the key component to it all. This particular dressing is the latter type – a big flavor component of whatever you choose to serve it on. This Ginger Peanut Lime Dressing brings together thos classic Vietnamese flavors into a silky dressing that is perfect for salads, wraps or as a dipping sauce.
Grilled Salsa Verde – I do not always go all in on the spicy factor – but this time I did. This is an all in spicy salsa – no joke. With the serrano peppers and jalapenos both incorporated you get all the heat. But it’s worth it! The flavor is out of this world good. By grilling or roasting the veggies you get an amazing smoky flavor. Grilled Salsa Verde is perfect for your tacos, burritos, and nachos, if you can handle it.
Roasted Red Pepper Pesto – Some times when I am making my menu for the week, I get an idea for a particular flavor profile in my head. Sometimes it is really specific (though not all the time) and that is exactly where this recipe came from. I really wanted to make roasted red peppers myself, but I didn’t just want to add them to a plate. As I thought on it more, I came up with this Roasted Red Pepper Pesto to serve with some flavorful sausage and simple pasta.
Bourbon BBQ Sauce – For lots of people, a BBQ sauce recipe is a closely guarded secret. But to be honest, they are all just variations of the same thing. For me – learning to make my own sauce was key because I wanted to control the amount of sugar as well as preservatives in it. I also love the flavor of Bourbon – which, if you follow me at all, you already know! Which is why when I set out to make my own BBQ sauce – I went with Bourbon BBQ Sauce.
Homemade Spicy Mayo – Sometimes you need the perfect sauce spread for your sandwich or burger or wrap. And some times you just want to dip your fries in spicy sauce. A few simple ingredients come together to make for a delicious Homemade Spicy Mayo. It is a great accompaniment to your grilled chicken sandwich or double bacon smash burger
Honey Lime Vinaigrette – I have moved to making all of my own dressings recently. Mostly it’s because I don’t want all the junk that they put in it to make it able to sit on a shelf for months. But also it is because you can really taste the difference in using fresh ingredients versus additives. Which is especially apparent in this Honey Lime Vinaigrette – the fresh lime juice and zest is what truly sells this dressing.
Homemade Ranch – I try to make as much as I can from real ingredients – avoiding pre-jarred and pre-bottled as often as possible. So when I wanted to make Bacon Cheddar Broccoli Salad – I wanted to make the dressing myself. The biggest deterent to making things with bottled ingredients is the stuff they put into it to make is “shelf-stable”. Which is not always the stuff you want your family to be eating. That’s how I developed my own Homemade Veggie Dip recipe.
Easy Cranberry Relish – One thing that I have to have with a whole cooked turkey is my super simple and Easy Cranberry Relish. I have been making it for years and will continue to make it as long as I am cooking the big holiday meals for my family. The amazing flavor you get from adding this tangy tart relish to roasted turkey is everything. It makes it feel like home to me. And it could not be easier to put together – with only five ingredients that you pop into a slow cooker and leave in the corner of the counter while you make all the rest of the meal.
Creamy Honey Mustard Dressing – Homemade dressings are an important part of the Homemade on a Weeknight style of cooking. They bring a real depth of flavor to your dishes that can pull the whole meal together. Cohesiveness is an important box to check when you making a dinner plate – everything needs to have a purpose and play well with the others. When it comes to dressings – ranch and Italian usually get most of the play time. But this recipe for Creamy Honey Mustard Dressing is going to be pulling in solidly to that 3rd place spot.
Jalapeno Dill Dressing – Making my own dressings has been something I wanted to do for years but could never figure out what the secret taste was for creamy dressings. And then one day it hit me – CHIVES! That’s what makes it have that perfect harmony. So now I play with variations of the my ranch dressing recipe all the time. And my latest concoction is this Jalapeño Dill Dressing. It is a creamy style dressing with the bright flavor of dill and the spicy kick of fresh jalapeno.
Simple Blueberry Syrup – Not everything I make is savory – I do like to make some sweet treats for my family on occasion. But it usually left to the kiddos to make the cakes and cookies and treats – as they all love to do that. But when you have an abundance of fresh picked blueberries, you want to make sure they get used up and thoroughly enjoyed. So I decided to make this super Simple Blueberry Syrup. It can be used on a nice bowl of vanilla ice cream, over pancakes, waffle or French toast, or you can use it as a simple syrup in your cocktails and mocktails.
Hope you enjoyed my selections of my Sauciest Recipes – do you have a favorite? Which one will you be trying first?
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
AVAILABLE IN PRINT OR KINDLE eBOOK VERSIONS
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They all look delicious! Melynda @scratchmadefood!
It’s amazing the difference a little sauce can make on a dish! Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party! Have a wonderful week.
They all look so yummy! We’ve taken to making many of our sauces and dressings at home too and the taste difference is incredible.
That’s the most useful post for me I’ve seen in a long time. I’m always searching for sauces, so definitely worth saving. Thank you for sharing!
Hey Estelle, your brilliant! LOL. I’ve been looking for a Tzatziki sauce recipe since I can’t find any sauce in ANY of the stores around here. I’m so happy! I can see here that I’m going to have so many NEW favorites! Pinned 📌
Visiting today from Tuesday Turn About 257 #65,66&67.