Romesco Sauce
This romesco sauce is bold, flavorful, and endlessly versatile. Use it to liven up fish, meat, or grilled vegetables, or serve it as a tasty dip. It's made with mostly pantry ingredients, and it's ready in just 5 minutes!
We love sauces that double as a dip. If you do too, try our mint tzatziki and creamy avocado sauce.
Table of contents
It's no secret that we love sauce, and this Spanish romesco sauce ranks as one of our favorites. It's super easy to make and adds a burst of flavor to any dish.
Since it's made with ingredients you likely already have in your kitchen, it's quick and easy to make any time the mood strikes. Just add all the ingredients to your blender and blend until smooth.
With a base of nuts, it's a hearty sauce that can be made as thick or thin as you'd like. It can also be made spicy or mild depending on your taste preference.
It's delicious year-round, but as it doesn't require any cooking or roasting, it's a great recipe for summertime. It pairs especially well with fish, seafood, grilled meats and vegetables, pasta, or as a dip with cruditƩs!
What is romesco sauce?
Romesco sauce is a bold, flavorful sauce with a base of roasted tomatoes. It originated in Tarragona in Catalonia, a port city in northern Spain. It's said the fishermen in the area made it to be eaten with fish.
It is traditionally made from a mix of roasted tomatoes, garlic, and dried red peppers purƩed then thickened with nuts like toasted almonds, pine nuts, hazelnuts, and sometimes bread. It can also include sherry or red wine vinegar and onions.
It's commonly served with fish or seafood, but can also be served with chicken, red meats like lamb, or vegetables.
Romesco sauce ingredients
Here are the ingredients you need to make this romesco sauce recipe. You may have many of these staples at home already!
- Almonds – look for whole, unsalted almonds. We use raw almonds in this recipe, but roasted works too. And pine nuts or hazelnuts are other traditional options.
- Roasted red bell peppers – go for a good-quality jar of roasted red peppers. You can also easily make your own by roasting them in the oven!
- Fire-roasted tomatoes -while roasted tomatoes are traditional, these fire-roasted tomatoes are sweet, subtly smoky, and easy to find in most grocery stores.
- Sun-dried tomatoes – these give lots of depth to the sauce with their sweet-tart tomato flavor.
- Italian parsley – the fresh taste of parsley adds a nice dimension to this sauce.
- Red wine vinegar – for a pop of acidity to brighten everything up! You can also use sherry vinegar instead.
- Smoked paprika – for a little additional smoky flavor.
- Sea salt – enhances all the amazing flavors in this sauce.
- Garlic – for that classic garlic taste and a little pungent kick.
- Olive oil – to add body to the sauce and help emulsify it.
How to make romesco sauce
Romesco sauce is packed with nutrients, it's super versatile, and it will liven up any dish. Here's how to make it in just two simple steps!
- Just add all the ingredients to a high-speed blender (preferably) or food processor.
- Blend it until it's smooth and creamy. That's it!
- Serve it with meat, pasta, or as a dip. If you're serving it as a dip, drizzle it with olive oil, some chopped almonds, and fresh minced parsley.
Full recipe instructions are in the recipe card below.
FAQS
You can, but they are more acidic and less flavorful. If you do use regular tomatoes, we recommend adding a tablespoon of honey to balance the acidity.
It will keep for 3-4 days when stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
We use oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes because we can use them straight out of the jar. You can also use dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes, but they will need to be rehydrated in a hot water for 30 minutes.
What to do with romesco sauce
Romesco sauce is traditionally served with fish or seafood and meats like chicken or steak, but it's super versatile!
We love it with grilled vegetables like cauliflower, potatoes, or eggplant. And it's wonderful with pasta, dolloped into bowls, or spread onto sandwiches. It also makes a delicious dip with fresh bread, crostini, and raw or grilled veggies.
Favorite recipes to serve with romesco sauce
Popular sauce recipes
Romesco Sauce
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole raw almonds
- 14 ounces roasted red peppers
- 14 ounces fire-roasted tomatoes, drained
- Ā½ cup sun dried tomatoes, packed in oil
- Ā¼ cup Italian parsely
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cloves garlic
- ā cup olive oil
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to your blender (preferably) or food processor.1 cup whole raw almonds, 14 ounces roasted red peppers, 14 ounces fire-roasted tomatoes, Ā½ cup sun dried tomatoes, Ā¼ cup Italian parsely, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, ā cup olive oil, 2 cloves garlic
- Blend until the sauce is smooth and creamy. Taste and add more salt if needed.
- Serve with pasta, meat, seafood, or as a dip.
I have not tried this sauce before, but it is certainly worth a try. The consistency is absolutely amazing!
This looks and sound so good. I can’t wait to try this recipe! What’s your favourite way to use it?!
Thank you so much! The flavors are perfect and I canāt wait to make this recipe again!
delicious and easy to make romesco sauce. great for everything!
I love the versatility of this flavor packed Romesco Sauce. I’ve never used it as a dip before. Can’t wait to make it again.
Hi! This looks amazing! I’m trying to print the recipe and it just takes me back to the top of the recipe. I have tried on 2 browsers.
Hi Robin. It may be that you have popups blocked. Here is the direct link to the recipe print page: https://www.theendlessmeal.com/wprm_print/90718
I actually don’t have pop ups blocked and tried on 2 browsers and the link you sent in the comments takes me to the same location. I have now tried the direct link on a third browser š bc I really want to print it. Still no luck.
The recipe does open up in a new, printer-friendly page. There’s a print button at the very top of the new page and that is the button that will launch your computer’s print settings. Sorry for that confusion!