Simple Sauces: Recipes to spice up your meals (GF/DF/VG)

Picture a simple meal: some brown rice topped with grilled chicken. It's healthy, yeah. But a bit boring. And maybe a little dry. Pour on some sauce and - wham! The plate is transformed! You suddenly have a delicious, come-back-for-seconds meal that everyone is raving about.

Sauce is magic like that.

The problem is, store-bought sauces are often loaded with unhealthy ingredients.

A ton of added sugars.

Corn syrup.

Food coloring.

Additives and preservatives I won't even try to pronounce.

So even though it may taste "yum," we give it one big "yuck!"

In lieu of those store bought bottles, we wanted to give you three of our favorite, simple sauce recipes that can elevate any meal. Throw it on a wrap. Drizzle it over a salad. Smother your meats and grains with it. The sky's the limit! Use these sauces to make meals that are customizable, cost effective, and FAST!

Let's get cooking...

Creamy Peanut Sauce Recipe

This is honestly my favorite sauce of all time. It's creamy, infused with lemon grass, and feels like a decadent treat. It takes a little more prep than the other two recipes, but trust me. It is SO worth it.

My favorite way to eat this sauce is over some grilled chicken with rice. But it also makes a killer salad with greens, cucumbers, chopped chicken, and green onions.

I found this recipe on The Forked Spoon as a part of their recipe for "Grilled Thai Peanut Chicken." I tweaked it a bit to reduce the sugar content, and use it on a lot more than just grilled chicken.

Ingredients:

• 1 can full-fat coconut milk

• 1 cup salted peanut butter

• 3 tbs fish sauce

• 1 lime - juiced

• 1.25 tbs brown sugar or 1 tbs honey

• 2 tablespoon Thai red curry paste

• 3 tablespoon coconut aminos or soy sauce

• 1 stalk lemongrass

Directions:

1. Finely chop lemon grass, using only the light colored, non-leafy parts.

2. Add remaining ingredients into sauce pan and heat over low heat.

3. Stir everything together, adding the lemon grass at the end.

4. Simmer gently for 10-20 minutes to let the flavor infuse.

5. Taste and adjust flavors as needed.

Tips:

• Make it ahead! It keeps well in the fridge for up to 7 days.

• This sauce freezes beautifully. Freeze in meal-sized portions and take out the day before for even easier meal prep. Your future self will thank you.

Avocado Dressing Recipe

We shared this recipe in a previous blog post, but it is so delicious we had to include it in this round up. This is great on a salad, but also in wraps or as a dip for chicken strips, shrimp, or raw veggies.

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe avocado

• 1-2Tbsp lemon juice

• 1c extra virgin olive oil

• 1c water

• 6 garlic cloves

• 1-2tsp salt

• 1-2 Tbsp dijon mustard (optional)

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to the blender and blend until smooth.

2. Adjust seasonings and salt to taste.

3. Enjoy!

Tips:

• This dressing can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.

• Play around with the amount of water. If you'd like a thicker dressing or sauce, use less!

• Try adding herbs or poppy seeds for different variations!

  
  

Simple Tahini Sauce Recipe

I discovered this recipe on one of my favorite recipe blogs, The Minimalist Baker. Since then it has been a staple in our house. It makes a wonderful wrap or pita sandwich with some fresh cucumbers, parsley, tomatoes and protein of your choice. If you want to go the extra mile, combine it with some shawarma chicken or homemade falafel. I also love it drizzled on grilled chicken with some rice or quinoa on the side.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup tahini

• 1/4 tsp tsp sea salt (plus more to taste)

• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

• 1/4 cup warm water (plus more as needed)

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together.

2. And... keep mixing! It's common for the tahini to seize up a bit as you're mixing the water in but it will turn more liquidy again soon after a minute of stirring.

3. Adjust as needed. Want in thinner? Add more lemon juice or water. Love garlic? Add another shake. You get the idea.

   
   

Tips:

• This sauce can thicken up when stored. Just add a little water to get it back to your desired consistency.

• You can freeze this sauce for a later date. It gets a tad bit grainy, but in my opinion it's hardly noticeable once you freshen it up with a bit of water or lemon juice.

We'd love to hear which sauce is your favorite! Let us know in the comments below.