If you never tried this fantastic and easy Spanish sauce recipe, you should asap! It has roasted tomatoes, red peppers, almonds, and a few other ingredients. It comes together quickly and is truly a versatile sauce, good for pasta, sandwiches, as a dip, over fish, chicken, and more. It ranks among my favorite sauces. I make a large batch and eat it every single day until it's gone.
What is Spanish Romesco sauce?
It's a tomato-based sauce originating in Spain. There are several versions, and, similar to gazpacho, some have bread and some don't.
I was taught this recipe by a Spanish woman who wouldn't even think of not adding bread, so I'm following her lead.
After experimenting a bit, I find that the romesco sauce with bread is unique and superior to the one without in my opinion.
Romesco sauce uses
- Grilled and roasted meat: this is a tomato and red pepper-based sauce, so it's especially fantastic with fish and grilled chicken.
- Pasta: one of my favorite sauces ever for any pasta especially fusilli, penne, and spaghetti.
- Sandwich spread: spread a thin layer instead of other condiments in chicken, meat, and roasted veggie sandwiches.
- Romesco dip: serve it as part of an appetizer plate or cheese board with olive oil crackers, pita chips, or crudites. With potato wedges, like in the image below. Bake the potatoes as directed in the Parmesan Baked Potatoes recipe, then dip them in the homemade tomato sauce at room temperature.
Ingredient list
- Red bell peppers: sometimes, I roast all ingredients together, and that's it. I also use jarred or roasted bell peppers like Spanish piquillo peppers. They're a time saver and delicious. I usually have tomatoes and garlic in the house that I can roast, but not red bell peppers.
- Bread: white bread, such as baguette or other crusty bread, is the best. You don't use the crust, but their crumb is denser and with good flavor. That said, you can even use white sandwich bread.
- Almonds: you can buy already-skinned almonds. Since I almost always have whole almonds at home, I take the time to peel them, which I don't usually do for other recipes. But for this one, I do like it because it adds a creamier texture. But you can use whole almonds, absolutely! After all, it's meant to be an easy romesco sauce recipe.
- Garlic: roasting it before is a game-changer. So much flavor without the acrid undertone.
- Olive oil: it's an oil-based sauce, so buy the best extra virgin olive oil you can afford.
- Spicy peppers: I like dishes that are not overly spicy, especially sauces like this one because I want the rest of the flavors to shine. Medium heat is good for me. But hey, be my guest if you're in the high-heat area regarding spiciness.
Quantities are listed on the recipe card towards the end of this post. The Ingredients page has more details and lists the brands we use.
Steps to make romesco sauce
One of the best things about this rich Spanish sauce is that it uses simple ingredients. I'm a firm believer in this romesco recipe as written. It's so delicious, there's no need to make changes.
But, what might be up for debate are the proportions of some ingredients and you can adjust to your taste.
After several tries with different combinations, I like it exactly as it is on the recipe card. But feel free to adjust. Maybe you want a lot of garlic, more tomatoes, or more oil. Your call.
Mixing: you need an immersion blender, my first choice, or a food processor, my second choice, for this sauce.
A blender would work also, but the sauce is thick, take that into account. I, personally, find it annoying to take out the mixture that is at the bottom of the jar, so I rather use one of the other options.
Roasting the vegetables
This method is the best because it concentrates the flavor and adds an amazing natural caramelized flavor.
Vegetables
Combine tomatoes cut in wedges, red peppers in chunks, and whole, unpeeled cloves on a piece of foil and season to taste.
Roasting
Bake them in a medium oven until charred, wrinkled, and maybe slightly burnt here and there and that's fine as it gives depth of flavor to the sauce.
The almonds
You can certainly use them with the skin. It's not mandatory to skin them.
But for me, it's an extra step that's very much worth it as it adds a fresher almond flavor. Sometimes the skins are too thick or earthy-tasting.
How to skin almonds
It's very easy, simply cover almonds with boiling water, let them stand for a few minutes and then slip off the skins with your fingers. They will have separated from the meaty almond.
Watch the video below 👇🏻
Step-by-step VIDEO
Process
Put all ingredients in a jar, a bowl, or the bowl of a food processor. Add some olive oil and start to process.
Add the rest of the oil in a thin stream and keep processing until it's as smooth and thick as you want.
Vintage Kitchen Tip
You might want a thinner sauce, and I recommend adding a few teaspoons of water instead of more oil. So it doesn't get too heavy.
Kitchen Notes
- Organization: read the recipe first and ensure you have ingredients at the correct temperature, utensils and equipment needed, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier.
- Vegetables: you can roast the vegetables a week ahead and keep in a jar with olive oil and a tight lid. Don't drain them and make sure to add less oil when making the sauce.
- Almonds: you can skin them several days before, dry them in a very low oven (don't let them toast, only dry out so they don't become soggy), and keep them in a jar with a tight lid. You can also lightly toast them, either in a large skillet at very low heat stirring them constantly, or on a rimmed baking sheet in a medium oven. Be careful not to burn them! Some recipes call for pine nuts also, instead of almonds or in addition. They work very well with the rest of the ingredients.
- Garlic: you can roast it beforehand and keep it in the refrigerator. And, you might want the addition of raw garlic for a sharper flavor. I don't usually do it, but I know a friend who does, so know that it's an option.
- Tomato paste: some like to add a tiny bit of concentrated tomato paste for an extra boost of flavor.
- Red pepper flakes: another way to add spice is with red pepper flakes or any other dried chile, ground, or in flakes. Chile powder or Merken (smoked paprika from Chile) also works if you want to add some heat.
- Red wine vinegar: a teaspoon or two is a good addition to this sauce as it adds some acid.
- Storage: the best way is to keep it in a glass jar with a tight lid and a thin layer of olive oil on top. This will prevent air from getting into the sauce and ruining it much faster. It keeps well for a week or two in the refrigerator, but really, I've had it for more than that. And you can freeze it for a few months.
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Easy Romesco Sauce Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 large tomato
- ½ cup roasted red peppers, homemade or store-bought see Notes, below
- ½ cup bread cubes, no crust
- 4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup almonds, whole or peeled (skinned)
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh chili, jalapeño type or in adobo (optional)
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- Pinch of ground cumin
- Pinch of coriander
- A few gratings of black pepper, or to taste
Instructions
- Turn on the oven at 350°F (180ºC).
- Put a piece of aluminum foil over a baking dish.
- Arrange 1 large tomato in quarters, chunks of ½ red pepper (if not from a jar) and 4 garlic cloves. If you separate them in rows, they're easier to remove as they are done.
- Drizzle with som of the olive oil, salt, and pepper and cook until each ingredient is done, about 10 minutes for the bread (which is golden but not burned), half an hour for the garlic, and a little more for the tomato and peppers until they are charred and juices flow. Don't throw away the juice that collects in the bottom!
- Peel the almonds if you want to: put them in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave 5-10 and peel them. The skin comes off easy, like chickpeas. If it still won't come off, drain the water and add boiling water and repeat the process again. Dry them with a cloth, chop them just like that and reserve.
- Put all the ingredients (except oil) in the jar of the immersion blender: roasted tomato with the juice that was released, roasted garlic pulp, ½ cup bread cubes, almonds, drained peppers if using from a jar, 1 teaspoon chopped chili if using, ½ teaspoon salt, pinch of ground cumin, pinch of ground coriander and a few gratings of black pepper.
- Add a little oil until you begin to process, them add more gradually, until you have a thick sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings. If you want a more fluid sauce, you can thin it a bit with a few teaspoons of water.
- Store in a glass jar with a thin layer of olive oil on top. It lasts a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.
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