The Ultimate Sauce Collection
You might want to bookmark this blog post. There is a high likelihood you will want to come back to it often. I have created and collected all of my favorite sauce recipes so that you (and I) can come back anytime you are in need of a good sauce.
My meal prepping is often the same each week…
A protein, a batch of grains, roasted veggies, rinsed and chopped veggies, washed greens, and something ready to be made for breakfast each day. This would feel monotonous if it wasn’t for the revolving door of sauces.
Sauces spice everything up, deliver so much flavor, and pull any combo of foods together to make it feel like a meal.
Well, here is the revolving door of sauces I use. I hope you find these as delicious as I do and can continue to use this resource for years to come.
The Ultimate Sauce Collection
Includes:
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Greens Pesto
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Homemade Tomato Sauce
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Caesar Dressing
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Real-Food Ranch Dressing
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Honey-Mustard Dressing
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Adobe Dressing
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Cilantro-Avo Sauce
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Guacamole
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Nooch Dressing
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Asian Peanut Sauce
1. Greens Pesto
A perfect recipe when you have a fridge full of greens that are about to go bad. I make a big batch of this and freeze it, popping chunks of pesto out to go on my eggs in the morning, to add to a grilled piece of fish or steak, or to dress up my veggies.
Makes about 2 cups
Ingredients
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2 cloves garlic
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3/4 cups pinenuts (walnuts also work well here)
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4 cups basil
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2 cups greens (parsley, arugula, or spinach are tasty options)
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1 cup olive oil
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1.5 cups grated parmesean
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Juice of 1 lemon
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Salt and pepper to taste
Directions Add all of the pesto ingredients except for the salt and pepper to a food processor and process until it is a paste. Sometimes it is necessary to process half of the greens first, then add the remaining greens and process again, scraping down the sides. Add salt and pepper, process and taste. Continue until you have reached the saltiness you like. Note: You may want to add a little water to reach your desired consistency.
Stays in sealed container in fridge for up to 3 days. Also easily freezable buy filling an ice cube tray with pesto, freezing, popping out and placing in glass container to keep in the freezer.
2. Homemade Tomato Sauce
This is a fun sauce to whip up during the summer when your tomato plant is going crazy. You could add this to cauliflower pizza crust and freeze for a homemade and healthy version of Digiorno!
Makes 1.5 cups
Ingredients
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14 ounces of cherry tomatoes (could use variety of tomatoes)
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1 tablespoon avocado oil
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Salt and pepper to taste
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1/4 teaspoon olive oil
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1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, optional
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place tomatoes on baking sheet and drizzle with avocado oil. Toss to combine and roast for about 20 minutes or until they start to burst or get wrinkly. Transfer to a bowl to smash or food processor to puree. Add salt, pepper, olive oil, and vinegar and smash/puree until you have reached desired consistency. Taste and add s&p if needed.
Stays in sealed container in fridge for up to 5 days.
3. Caesar Dressing
A homemade, vegan, gluten free version of the typically unhealthy classic dressing. Your salad will feel decadent and be so delicious with this dressing, it will probably becoming a regular in your home.
Makes about 2 cups
Ingredients
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1/3 cup of olive oil
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Juice of 2 lemons
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1/4 cup sunflower seeds
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1/2 cup hemp seeds
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2 cloves garlic
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1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
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2 tablespoons raw sauerkraut
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1/2 teaspoon dried dill
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1/4-1/3 cup water to reach desired consistency
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Salt and pepper to taste, start with about 1/2 teaspoon each
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1 chopped green onion
Directions
Combine all ingredients except the green onion in a blender and blend until smooth. Add more water if you want it runnier and blend some more. Add green onion and blend for 5 seconds, just until mixed in.
Stays best in a jar with a lid in the fridge up to 4 days.
4. Real-Food Ranch Dressing
Good for dips, dressings, making a grain bowl yummy, or slabbing on any veggie that your kids aren’t into. This is a crowd pleaser, happens to be vegan and gluten-free, and is made with all real-food. I have yet to meet someone that isn’t into it.
This recipe is slightly modified from it’s original form. I do not know the author of the original version, unfortunately.
Makes about 2 cups.
Ingredients
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3/4 cup olive oil
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Juice of 1 lemon
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2 tablespoons Raw Coconut Aminos OR 1.5 tablespoons tamari/soy sauce + 1/2 teaspoon agave or maple syrup
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1/2 cup water
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1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
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1 cup raw hemp seeds
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3 cloves garlic
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1 teaspoon salt
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1/2 teaspoon black pepper
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1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
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1/4 cup fresh green onions, chopped
Directions
Combine all the ingredients except the dill and green onions in a blender. Blend until smooth, adding water as needed to reach desired consistency. Pour ranch into a bowl or jar. Add the dill and green onions and stir/shake.
Stays best in a jar with a lid in the fridge up to 4 days.
5. Honey-Mustard Dressing
My go-to dressing when I haven’t shopped for the week and need a dressing fast but is still yummy!
Makes about 1 cup
Ingredients
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1/3 cup olive oil
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1/4 cup red wine vinegar
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2 tablespoons raw honey
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2 tablespoons dijon mustard
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1 crushed garlic clove, optional
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Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Combine all ingredients in a jar with the lid and shake. Taste and add more of what you think it needs. (I typically like mine a little sweet so often add more honey. If you like yours more zesty, add more mustard.)
Stays best in a jar with a lid for up to a week.
To make vegan use pure maple syrup or agave in place of the honey.
6. Adobe Dressing
A fun, zesty dressing that is great for a salad or burrito bowl.
Makes about 1.5 cups
Ingredients
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1/4 cup olive oil
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1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
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Juice of 1 lime
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1 teaspoon adobe sauce *
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1/2 teaspoon pure maple syrup
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1 garlic clove, minced
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Salt to taste
Directions
Combine all ingredients in a jar with a lid. Shake well, taste, and add more salt if needed.
Stays well in sealed jar in the fridge for up to a week.
*Adobe sauce is the sauce from the small cans of chipotle peppers that say “In adobe sauce”. It is often found in the International section of the grocery store.
7. Cilantro-Avo Sauce
This is a favorite of Brian’s on his burrito bowl lunches. Great for grain bowls or a veggie dipping sauce.
Makes about 2.5 cups
Ingredients
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2 ripe avocados, sliced
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1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
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2 cloves of garlic
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1/4 cup olive oil
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Juice of 1 large lime
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Salt and pepper to taste
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Water, as needed
Directions
Combine all ingredients except the water
in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Add small bits of water at a time and process more, until desired consistency is reached. Taste, adding salt and pepper as needed.
Keeps best in a bowl with a lid for about 3 days. Add one of the avocado pits to the bowl to keep the dressing from browning.
8. Guacamole
One of the more basic guac recipes you will come across but it let’s the deliciousness of avocados take the spotlight. Pair this dip with my Sweet Chips recipe, any high quality tortilla chip, or veggies and you will be happy.
Makes a medium-large bowl of guacamole.
Ingredients
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4-5 ripe avoados, diced, pits reserved and placed to the side
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3 cloves of garlic, minced
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Juice of 3 limes
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Sea salt to taste
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Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Directions
Combine all ingredients into a large bowl and mash together until you have reached the desired consistency. Taste. Add salt and pepper as needed. Serve.
Keeps ok in sealed container in fridge for 2-3 days. Add the avocado pit to the container to keep from browning.
9. Nooch Dressing
This nutritionally packed powerhouse of a dressing is perfect for a hearty kale salad. Throw this on finely chopped and stemmed kale and massage it into the leaves for a few minutes and you will forever be a kale salad lover.
Makes about 1.5 cups
Ingredients
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1/2- 3/4 cup nutritional yeast
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Juice of 3 lemons (or two large lemons)
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3 sprigs of fresh dill, chopped
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1/2 teaspoon salt
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1 teaspoon dulse flakes (optional)
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1/4 cup water
Directions
Add all ingredients to a bowl or jar. Whisk/shake. If your desired consistency is not achieved, add water.
Keeps well in a sealed jar for about 5 days.
10. Sweet Peanut Sauce
This is a crowd pleaser. Whenever I have a random array of veggies that are on their last leg, I roast them and throw together this sauce to drizzle on top, suddenly creating an epic meal. This sauce is so good I have had veggie haters claim that it makes veggies taste good. You will be licking the sauce bowl and I will not be judging you.
Makes a little over a cup
Ingredients
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1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (almond butter is also good)
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2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
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1 tablespoon rice vinegar
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1 tablespoons honey
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2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
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Pinch of red pepper flakes
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Water, as needed
Directions
Combine all ingredients except for the water in a bowl. Whisk. Add water according to the consistency you want.
Keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week.
Make vegan by swapping out the honey for pure maple syrup.
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