Vegan
Gluten Free
Roasted red pepper sauce is delicious on gluten free pasta, chicken, salmon, vegetables, or as a snack dip. Make this anti inflammatory recipe in only 5 minutes! Dairy free/Vegan option.
Are you the type of person who has a “go-to” sauce recipe? I’m talking about those favorites that your family loves.
Because you make them so often, you have the recipe stored in your brain. If someone challenged you to make it in your sleep, you probably could! LOL
I LOVE recipes like that, and actually, I have several favorite go-to sauces. Vegan cashew cream. YUM.
Anyway, all of my favorite sauce recipes have a few things in common.
- They’re QUICK and EASY to make. Because let’s face it; there is NEVER enough time to do all of the things. Am I right?
- They’re gluten free. Because if they aren’t gluten-free, they aren’t for me! (See what I did there? I’m a poet and didn’t know it!)
- Useful for multiple purposes– Sauces are great for MORE than one thing. You can use them for dipping sauces, and even as a coulis. By the way, coulis is just a fancy French term for a fruit or vegetable puree. 😉
- The ingredient list is SMALL. As in, usually no more than 6 ingredients. Not counting things like salt and pepper, of course.
Even better than a short list of ingredients, I usually create recipes that require things that almost everyone keeps on hand. Why? Because grocery shopping can be STRESSFUL!
Y’all, the very best news of all is that this recipe for roasted red pepper sauce checks ALL of the above boxes, plus one more. The ingredients in it may just help reduce some of your stress! Yep, and do you know why?
Because this, my friends, is an anti inflammatory recipe! In fact, this is my kick-off to anti inflammatory sauce week!
ANTI INFLAMMATORY RECIPE FACTS:
Reducing inflammation in the body may also help to relieve stress!
Uses for roasted red pepper sauce
There are plenty of ways to use this red pepper coulis (see my intro if you missed what a coulis is).
Of course, my favorite way to use it is as a veggie pasta sauce. It’s creamy and velvety, and it clings perfectly to gluten free pasta.
But I also serve it with vegan mushroom meatballs.
It also tastes fantastic as a dip! I serve it along with Instant Pot steamed artichokes.
Other ways I use it are as a sauce on eggs, baked salmon, and chicken.
Ingredient notes and recipe nutrition
- Roasted red bell peppers– Bell peppers are high in vitamins C and B6, and they have anti-inflammatory properties. Dr. Axe has more info about the nutrition in bell peppers.
I like the convenience of using jarred roasted red peppers. You can use those, or you can roast 1 large or 2 small red bell peppers. Then, remove the skin, slice them in half from top to bottom, and remove the seeds. - Nuts– You can use almonds, cashews, or a combination of them. I talk about the benefits of almonds in my 7 Day Anti-Inflammatory Diet Kick Start or Reset post.
- Cream (dairy free or organic real cream)- If you need a dairy free or vegan sauce, all you need to do use a dairy free alternative like coconut milk, or any other non dairy milk will work.
If you want to get even more creative with this recipe, you can substitute dairy free sour cream, vegan cream cheese, or non-dairy Greek yogurt instead! - Garlic– Next week we’ll be kicking off a month of nightshade free recipes, and garlic is a nightshade. However, it has some great health benefits for those who can tolerate nightshades.
Studies confirm that garlic has antibiotic properties and is an effective anti-fungal. (source) It also fights bacteria and viruses… and I think we all know just how nasty viruses are…
Red pepper sauce recipe notes
- Blend slowly at first. You want to be sure that the nuts are crushed a bit before you kick your blender into high power. This is what the sauce should look like, before and after.
- Add the cream after the initial blending. After the other ingredients are pureed, you’ll transfer them to a saucepan and warm them up. That’s when you’ll stir in the cream or non dairy ingredient that you’re using.
- Adjusting the spice. If you want a zippy, spicy roasted red pepper sauce, feel free to use additional crushed red pepper flakes. Or, leave them out completely if you have trouble tolerating spicy food.
- Storing and freezing. Refrigerate unused roasted red pepper sauce in an airtight container and use within 5-7 days. For longer storage, freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
NOTE: When you freeze cream sauces like this one, you may notice a change in texture and consistency. This is because dairy products don’t freeze well. It’s okay though! As it reheats on the stove top, just stir it occasionally to recombine the ingredients.
Roasted Red Pepper Sauce (Anti Inflammatory Recipe)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 minutes
- Total Time: 8 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup to 1 1/3 cup 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Roasted red pepper sauce is delicious on pasta, meat/seafood, vegetables, or as a snack dip. Make this anti inflammatory recipe in only 5 minutes! Dairy free and nut free options in the recipe notes.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup jarred roasted red peppers (see notes if using fresh peppers)
- 1/4 cup smoked almonds and/or cashews (see notes for nut-free option)
- 1 plum tomato, chopped
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 garlic clove
- Pinch of paprika
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/3 cup heavy cream (or non dairy unsweetened creamer/milk)
- kosher salt (fine grain), to taste
- black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Add all ingredients except cream to a blender or small bowl of food processor. Blend at low power to chop nuts, then increase speed to high and blend to create a creamy puree (coulis).
- Transfer sauce to a small saucepan over low heat and stir in cream. Stir on low heat until warm, smooth, and combined, 2-4 minutes. Serve as desired.
- Refrigerate unused roasted red pepper sauce in an airtight container and use within 5-7 days. For longer storage, freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Want to watch me make this sauce? Then check out this instagram story!
Notes
- If you don’t have jarred peppers, you may use fresh red peppers. Roast 1 large or 2 small red bell peppers, remove skin, slice and remove seeds. Adjust sauce consistency with cream.
- For a nut-free option, substitute 2 tablespoons tahini for the nuts. Alternatively, you can use toasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds.
- Frozen sauce will separate as it thaws, but will recombine as you stir while reheating it. Texture may be slightly different than when it’s freshly made, but it will still taste delicious!
- Category: sauces
- Method: blend
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: roasted red pepper sauce, red pepper coulis, anti inflammatory recipe, veggie pasta sauce
Alright my friends, here’s to the last week of 2020, let’s make it good and saucy and stress free!
Cheers,
LC
Hi, I’m Lindsay! Gluten Free Nutrition Specialist, food photographer and author of 
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This is one of my favorite soup recipes. And all of my kids love it too!
★★★★★
Those kids of yours obviously have great taste in food, Lauren! Haha… we love the soup at our house, too. Just wait until you try the sauce… it’s amazing!
This is really amazing!! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe! We enjoyed it as a dip and I’ll definitely try it with pasta next time.
★★★★★
Absolutely 5 stars! I love how easy and delicious this sauce is and it’s a total bonus that it fights inflammation! Food that is yummy and helps me feel better? Yes, please!
★★★★★
Definite 5 stars! This is very useful.
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