Struggling with food inspiration? No time to meal prep? Cleaning out a fridge and tired of the same leftovers? Almost every year, like a ritual to exit winter hibernation, I have had a need for a secret sauce to encourage myself to eat more in, eat more cleaner, eat more lazy. This roasted bell pepper sauce is so easy, it makes it seem like all the food disappeared on it’s own once this sauce is added to nearly any dish.

Originally I wasn’t going to share my secret sauce. It’s a simple sauce. But, I find myself making it every year without fail for over half a decade now. It’s a great way to flavor foods that have, for whatever reason, a bland profile. Because as the saying goes “there’s food at home“. This “bland” food could be leftovers that I’m tired of eating, some hodgepodge of let’s clean out the fridge bowl, a quick chicken/tofu bake that I admittedly intentionally left flavor light to throw into another dish, or when I want to eat more vegetables but am uninspired in how to change up my admittedly root vegetable and pickled vegetable leaning ways. As such, since this is such a useful sauce, I feel like I’d be doing the world a disservice by not sharing this.

How to make Roasted Bell Pepper Sauce even easier

As it is only requires 4 simple, easy to get ingredients and is vegan friendly, it’s truly a sauce for the people. To save time, make it ahead of time or skip roasting the pepper. The only con is that–in my opinion–a lot of complex flavor elevation is lost by not roasting.

Roasted Bell Pepper Sauce aka “Secret Sauce” Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 Red or Yellow Bell Peppers
  • 1 Lemon, juiced
  • 1 small bunch of Cilantro
  • 1/3 cup of Olive Oil
  • 1 pinch of Cayenne, optional
  • Salt & Pepper, to taste

Steps

  1. Turn on stovetop or grill, if using induction stove get a pan (preferably cast iron) and roast pepper there. Blister peppers until skin starts to turn black and bubble.
  2. Set bell peppers aside to cool. Once cooled peel off skin.
  3. Throw all the ingredients in a blender and blend!
  4. Add additional seasonings to taste.

Suggested Roasted Bell Pepper Sauce Applications

Like I said, this can be a catch all for leftovers and cleaning out fridges. However, if someone is excited for this and want to use it for other things, here we are! This sauce is so good I do willingly make and eat salads with it. And those who know me personally know this is a scandalous statement given my stance on bland lettuce.

  • Salads
  • Baked Tofu
  • Baked Chicken
  • Rice bowls
  • Quinoa bowls
  • Roasted vegetables
  • Dip/drizzle for a vegetable board

Stay Hungry
XOXO
Mish  ❤

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