Romesco sauce is a vibrant Spanish sauce made primarily with roasted red bell peppers, tomatoes, and garlic. Its red-ish orange color is gorgeous, and it’s smoky and packed with incredible flavor.
This versatile sauce pairs beautifully with pasta, seafood, grilled vegetables, and also works as a delicious sandwich spread or appetizer dip.
A staple from the Catalonia region of Spain, romesco sauce is a favorite in our house. Just like our easy chimichurri, it instantly takes any dish to the next level!
It gets its beautiful bold color from roasted bell peppers and tomatoes, while the smoked paprika and roasted garlic give it the most amazing smoky and garlicky flavor!
We love using it to make our romesco pasta recipe, and it’s always a hit as a dip for crudité boards, right alongside our easy homemade tzatziki. It’s such a fresh sauce, perfect for any time of the year.
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Why I Love This Recipe
- Amazing texture and flavor. The almonds and bread create a rustic texture that’s fresh, bold, and smoky.
- Versatile. Toss your romesco with pasta, drizzle over protein, or spread on sandwiches. It’s especially good in my focaccia sandwich!
- Make-ahead and freezer friendly
Ingredients Notes
To make romesco sauce, you only need a handful of ingredients. Here, I included a few notes from recipe testing!
- Red bell peppers: One of the star ingredients! We’ll roast them in the oven until charred and softened.
- Whole head of garlic: You need a medium or large head of garlic. We’ll roast the entire head until it smells amazing for an extra garlicky flavor boost.
- Roma tomatoes: We’ll roast the tomatoes along with the garlic and red bell peppers. Adds a touch of freshness, color, and sweet and tangy flavors.
- Almonds: I use slivered almonds. Adds crunchy texture and nutty flavors.
- Crusty bread: Helps thicken the romesco sauce for a rustic-style texture. Preferably day-old bread.
- Italian parsley: Fresh herbs give great flavor to sauce.
- Red wine vinegar: The acidity will help balance out the sauce.
- Smoked paprika and cayenne pepper: Gives smoky, bold flavor with a kick!
- Extra virgin olive oil (good quality!), salt and pepper.
As always, quantities are located in the recipe card down below.
How to Make Romesco Sauce
Let me show you how I make it, along with some helpful tips!
Step 1 | Roast peppers, tomatoes, garlic
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Cut ¼ off the garlic head top to expose the cloves. Place on aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Wrap it up, seal tightly, and place on a sheet pan.
Arrange the tomatoes and bell peppers on the same pan (use two if needed), drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 to 40 minutes, flipping halfway, until charred and tender.
Step 2 | Peel the roasted peppers
Carefully, peel the skin off the bell peppers. Discard the skin. In a food processor, add the peeled roasted peppers, roasted tomatoes, roasted garlic cloves (squeeze out the cloves).
Step 3 | Pulse in food processor
Add the rest of the ingredients into the food processor: almonds, torn bread, Italian parsley, red wine vinegar, smoked paprika, cayenne powder (optional), olive oil, salt and pepper. Pulse continuously for a few seconds until smooth and thick.
Serve your romesco sauce warm or chilled.
Tips for Success
- Roasting is where the magic happens! Don’t rush the process. The red bell peppers and tomatoes will take about 30 minutes, while the garlic will need closer to 40 minutes.
- Use red bell peppers to get the right color, not orange, yellow or green.
- Use a food processor rather than a blender. This provides the ideal texture.
- Preferably, use day-old crusty bread, such as baguette. The bread gives the romesco sauce body and texture.
- Instead of almonds, you can also use pinenuts, hazelnuts, or cashews.
Make Ahead and Storage
Make ahead: Romesco sauce will keep pretty well in the fridge for up to 5-7 days, sealed in an airtight container. I like to use a mason jar for storage.
Freezing: Let the sauce cool down completely. Transfer to freezer-safe bags or containers (I like to portion it out in my Souper Cubes) and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before using.
Recipe FAQs
Yes definitely! They usually come in jars.
You can use whole plum tomatoes. The flavor will not be quite the same, but can be used if you’re short on time.
You can, but trust me, using roasted garlic will make a huge difference! You can even roast the garlic a few days ahead.
It yields about 2.5 cups.
How to Serve Romesco Sauce
Pasta: Try my romesco sauce pasta recipe!
Seafood: Marinated Grilled Shrimp, Sheet Pan Salmon with Veggies, or my Salmon Florentine.
Sandwiches: Serve with my Grilled Vegetable Sandwich!
Love Spanish recipes? Try my Spanish Chicken Stew or Summer Corn Gazpacho!
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Romesco Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 medium whole head garlic - no need to peel
- 3 medium roma tomatoes - halved lengthwise
- 2 medium red bell peppers - halved, seeds and stems removed
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- ½ cup slivered almonds
- 1 cup baguette, cubed or torn - or other crusty bread
- 3 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley - chopped
- 1 to 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar - to taste
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- A pinch of cayenne - optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- For the roasted garlic: Cut ¼ inch off the garlic head to expose the top cloves. Place it on top of aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fold it up and seal. Set aside.
- For the tomatoes and bell peppers: Place the halved tomatoes and the red bell pepper halves on a large sheet pan without overcrowding (or use 2 sheet pans), and drizzle generously with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Place the prepared garlic head on the same sheet pan.
- Roast the tomatoes, red bell peppers, and garlic for about 30 to 40 minutes. The tomatoes and peppers should be done at the 30-minute mark (flip them halfway through), while the garlic will need closer to 40 minutes.
- Place the roasted peppers in a bowl, then carefully peel off and discard the skin.
- Into the bowl of a food processor, add the peeled roasted bell peppers, roasted tomatoes, and the roasted garlic (cloves only, squeezed out).
- Then, add the almonds, baguette pieces, Italian parsley, red wine vinegar, paprika, cayenne pepper, and about ¼ cup of olive oil. Pulse to process continuously for a few seconds until a somewhat thick sauce comes together. If needed, add more olive oil to reach the right consistency.
- Serve either warm or chilled. Use it as a sauce for your favorite proteins, as a dip, or to toss with pasta. Enjoy!
Notes
- Don’t rush the roasting process! This is the key to amazing flavor.
- The garlic will need closer to 40-45 minutes, while the peppers and tomatoes will be ready in about 30 minutes.
- Can be served warmed or chilled.
- Make ahead: Make the sauce according to the recipe card. Then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container or mason jar with lid for up to 5-7 days.
- Freezing: Store in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months.
- Roasted tomatoes: Canned whole plum tomatoes
- Red bell peppers: Store-bought roasted red bell peppers in a jar
- Almonds: Pine nuts, hazelnuts or cashews
- Bread: Any crusty, day-old bread
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