- Recipes
Kelli Foster
Kelli FosterSenior Contributing Food Editor
Kelli is a Senior Contributing Food Editor for Kitchn. She's a graduate of the French Culinary Institute and author of the cookbooks, Plant-Based Buddha Bowls, The Probiotic Kitchen, Buddha Bowls, and Everyday Freekeh Meals. She lives in New Jersey.
updated Aug 23, 2023
comments
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Even if you make nothing else, a sauce is the one thing I always recommend for meal prepping over the weekend. It’s the small (but oh-so-mighty) component that takes just about anything you’re eating — be it chicken, steak, a side of roasted carrots, a grain and veggies bowl, or even dessert — from pretty good to really amazing. And the best part is that it doesn’t take much effort or many ingredients to put one together.
So get out your favorite saucepan, because here are 53 sauce recipes (both savory and sweet!) to partner with anything you eat.
Sauces with 5 (or Fewer) Ingredients
1
/
12
3-Ingredient Green Tahini Sauce
It has the nuttiness you expect from a tahini sauce and an irresistible light, bright freshness and herbal flavor.
Go to Recipe
2
/
12
3-Ingredient Honey-Lime Sauce
This simple summer sauce has just the right balance of sweet, salty, and sour, and pairs well with everything from the grill.
Go to Recipe
3
/
12
3-Ingredient Avocado Blue Cheese Sauce
We're taking avocados up a notch with a velvety smooth sauce that's tangy and pungent, thanks to crumbled blue cheese and a squeeze of lemon.
Go to Recipe
4
/
12
3-Ingredient Roasted Tomatillo Sauce
This everyday sauce hits your tongue with punchy flavor that's just the right balance of sweet and smoky, with hint of heat at the back of your mouth.
Go to Recipe
5
/
12
Magic Summer Sauce
A quick and easy 3-ingredient sauce that's a perfect condiment for grilled chicken, steak, and vegetables.
Go to Recipe
6
/
12
Maple-Mustard Onion Sauce
This 3-ingredient sauce is just the right balance of smoky, sweet, and tangy.
Go to Recipe
7
/
12
Brown Butter Vinaigrette Sauce
Three highly flavored ingredients are at the core of this sauce and together can go from salad dressing to a sauce for pasta with no more than a whirl in the blender and a shower of salt. Of course the addition of herbs makes this sauce sing louder, but the mix of brown butter, the vinegar of your choice, and Dijon still makes a sauce to bring into your cooking at every twist and turn.
Go to Recipe
8
/
12
3-Ingredient Buttery White Wine Pasta Sauce
Dry white wine, a pat of butter, and nutty Parmesan come together for a light summery sauce for any pasta you're cooking up.
Go to Recipe
9
/
12
3-Ingredient Roasted Lemon Sauce
This easy lemon-garlic sauce is just the right balance of sweet with a hint of bitter, and goes with just about everything.
Go to Recipe
10
/
12
Creamy Honey Mustard Sauce
Classic honey mustard sauce gets a creamy upgrade with the addition of Greek yogurt.
Go to Recipe
11
/
12
Creamy Mushroom Garlic Sauce
A simple three-ingredient sauce that's made in one pan and in less than 30 minutes.
Go to Recipe
12
/
12
Balsamic Glaze
How to turn balsamic vinegar into a thick and glossy balsamic glaze, great for drizzling over caprese salads, grilled veggies and proteins, and even vanilla ice cream.
Go to Recipe
Classic Sauces
1
/
6
Easy Hollandaise Sauce in a Blender
The creamy, buttery sauce will upgrade everything from eggs benedict to asparagus.
Go to Recipe
2
/
6
Béchamel Sauce (White Sauce)
White sauce, one of the French Mother sauces, is requires 3 ingredients and is the backbone to mac and cheese, gratins, and cheese soufflé.
Go to Recipe
3
/
6
This recipe makes enough for a couple of BBQ chicken pizzas (which is where it’s going tonight) or for several pulled pork sandwiches. If you want to marinate a bunch of chicken breasts, you may want to double it.
Go to Recipe
4
/
6
Classic Shrimp co*cktail Sauce
Make this five-ingredient co*cktail sauce in just 30 seconds from the contents of your condiment shelf.
Go to Recipe
5
/
6
Romesco
Learn how to make this classic Catalian roasted red pepper sauce at home.
Go to Recipe
6
/
6
Green Goddess Dressing
This herby creamy green goddess dressing can be used to dress lettuce or as a dip for veggie. We go classic, including anchovies and Greek yogurt.
Go to Recipe
Tomato Sauces
1
/
8
Marinara Pasta Sauce
Forget jars of red sauce — homemade marinara is where it’s at. This tomato sauce takes 20 minutes to make and requires zero planning. If marinara doesn’t already have a spot in your repertoire of easy weeknight recipes, it will soon. Here’s a step-by-step look at how to make this super-simple sauce.
Go to Recipe
2
/
8
Basic Tomato Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
If you've been eyeing those gorgeous tomatoes at the market and wondering what it might take to turn them into jars of sauce, wonder no more.
Go to Recipe
3
/
8
Fresh Tomato Blender Sauce
A quick and easy recipe for fresh, no-cook tomato sauce made in the blender.
Go to Recipe
4
/
8
No-Cook Tomato Sauce
This No-Cook Tomato Sauce would also make a great topping for bruschetta, a dip for flat bread or pita, or as the base for a Tuscan soup.
Go to Recipe
5
/
8
Super Quick 3-Ingredient Pizza Sauce
A recipe for a fast and easy pizza sauce made from tomato purée, garlic, and red wine vinegar.
Go to Recipe
6
/
8
Homemade Pizza Sauce
Tomato sauce for topping homemade pizzas is an easy DIY. It's just three ingredients and a quick blitz in the blender. Here's what to do.
Go to Recipe
7
/
8
Slow-Cooked Bolognese Sauce
A recipe for Italian Bolognese sauce that can be made in the slow cooker or on the stove.
Go to Recipe
8
/
8
Vodka Sauce
This simple homemade vodka sauce is creamy but not too heavy, with a deep, intense tomato flavor.
Go to Recipe
Peanut Sauces
1
/
2
Easy Creamy Peanut Sauce
The goes-with-anything, does-everything creamy peanut sauce you can make from pantry staples.
Go to Recipe
2
/
2
Spicy Thai Chicken and Brown Rice Bowls
These vibrant Thai chicken and brown rice bowls are topped with a rainbow of crunchy vegetables and drizzled with curried peanut sauce.
Go to Recipe
Creamy Sauces
1
/
6
Cauliflower Cheese Sauce
A better-for-you cheese sauce recipe made with puréed cauliflower.
Go to Recipe
2
/
6
Alfredo Sauce
A dose of dairy is the secret to 5-ingredient, everyday Alfredo sauce.
Go to Recipe
3
/
6
Better-than-McDonald’s Big Mac Sauce
A combination of mayo, mustard, and relish give Big Mac sauce its signature creamy tang. Here's the easiest way to make it at home.
Go to Recipe
4
/
6
Cool, Creamy Greek Tzatziki Sauce
Tzatziki is a Greek yogurt-based sauce with cucumber, garlic, and fresh herbs. Here's how to make the best version of this versatile condiment at home.
Go to Recipe
5
/
6
Fry Sauce
This pink-hued sauce falls somewhere between commonplace condiment and cult food obsession with every chef and local claiming to have a favorite, secret recipe.
Go to Recipe
6
/
6
Moroccan-Spiced Chickpea Bowls
These saucy, spiced chickpea bowls with kale, avocado, and a runny-yolked egg are all the proof you need that comfort food can also be healthy.
Go to Recipe
Herb Sauces
1
/
3
Pesto
Spread it on sandwiches, toss it with pasta, or treat yourself a single happy spoonful, but definitely absolutely positively make pesto any chance you get.
Go to Recipe
2
/
3
Chimichurri Sauce
Chimichurri is a piquant sauce of fresh herbs, vinegar, and olive oil from Argentina. Parsley makes up the bulk of the herbs, with some recipes excluding cilantro, basil, or mint in favor of just parsley. The herbs, lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, and often aromatics like garlic and onion are worked with a mortar and pestle to make a thick, silky paste.
Go to Recipe
3
/
3
Peruvian Roasted Chicken with Green Sauce
How to make flavorful, spicy, Peurvian-style chicken at home with creamy, cilantro-based green sauce.
Go to Recipe
Pan Sauces
1
/
3
Easy Pan Sauce in Minutes
A pan sauce feels like something you read on a menu, doesn’t it? A bit of fancy chef magic that should only be attempted by trained professionals. But here’s the real secret: pan sauces are so incredibly simple. And fast. In the time it takes your steak or pork chop to rest, you can turn those pan drippings into a fantastic sauce, no culinary school degree required.
Go to Recipe
2
/
3
Pan Sauce from Steak Drippings
Pan sauces are designed to turn the browned bits in the bottom of a pan, lovingly known as fond, into a base for making sauce or gravy for the cooked meat. You can turn that pan of drippings into a tasty sauce for your steaks with a little broth or wine, a few aromatics, mustard, and a pat of cold butter.
Go to Recipe
3
/
3
Flank Steak with Bourbon Cream Sauce
Swirled with smoky, sweet bourbon, a splash of stock, and some cream, this combo takes flank steak to a new level.
Go to Recipe
Sweet Sauces
1
/
5
The Ultimate Sauce for Crisps, Crumbles, and Cobblers
Doesn’t vanilla butter sauce just sound delicious? This four-ingredient sauce is a real game-changer when it comes to summer fruit desserts. No need to make or buy ice cream or whipped cream — just warm a little cream, scent with vanilla, sweeten with sugar, and add a luscious knob of butter.
Go to Recipe
2
/
5
Buttermilk Caramel Sauce
This buttermilk caramel sauce starts with a nutty butterscotch flavor you expect, and then surprises you with an irresistible tangy twist.
Go to Recipe
3
/
5
Watermelon Caramel Sauce
This sauce doesn’t take on the same nutty, butterscotch flavor as traditional caramel, nor does it get quite as gooey and sticky. Instead, you’re rewarded with a summery caramel sauce that’s much, much better. Slow cooking transforms watermelon from a once light and bright snack, to a thick sauce with rich, deep sweet undertones. It might even remind you of an ultra-ripe summer tomato.
Go to Recipe
4
/
5
Churros Balls with Warm Chocolate Dipping Sauce
ave you ever wondered what would happen if Goldilocks jumped down Alice’s rabbit hole? Well it might look a little something like my quest for amazing homemade churros. It took some experimenting, you see. The first round of churros? Good but not great. The second batch? Still not quite. Third time? Well you know what they say — third time’s the charm!
Go to Recipe
5
/
5
Oreo Hot Fudge Sauce
There are no Oreos in this fudge sauce. But (and this is an important but) this fudge sauce gets the Oreoesque label because of its special darkness, its extra-sweet and cocoa-y flavor that is actually, yes, just like that of an Oreo cookie. It’s sweet, cocoa-laden, and really, truly dark. And there’s nothing to stop you from putting it on an Oreo cookie.
Go to Recipe
Filed in:
easy
Make Ahead
Recipe Roundup
sauce
