Published: · Modified: by Jen Wooster
We have the secret sauce! These homemade healthy sauces are easy to make and add a zip of flavor to your favorite recipes. Most of these healthy sauce recipes are ready in less than 10 minutes and many require no cooking! How amazing (and delicious) is that?
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Making food at home from scratch can be time-consuming. This is why we specifically chose these recipes. They are easy to make and I have tested each one personally. Whether it is on my own recipe or from another blogger who I trust to make flavorful recipes, these healthy sauces won't disappoint.
Jump to:
- What Makes a Good Sauce Recipe
- What Makes a Sauce Healthy
- Healthy Dressings
- Healthy Pasta Sauces
- Spicy Sauces
- Healthy Dipping Sauces
- Healthy Sauces for Meats and Veggies
- Sweet and Savory Sauces
- 🌡️Storing Homemade Sauces
- ⭐Reviews
What Makes a Good Sauce Recipe
A good sauce recipe typically includes minimal ingredients but each one serves a specific purpose. They may be adding flavor, acid, healthy fats, or texture. Keeping ingredients in balance is key.
A good sauce may only fresh ingredients and others only use pantry staples, meaning you always have options when maintaining a healthy diet.
Good sauces should be versatile. From how you serve it or the dish you pair it with. Or even doing double duty as a dip and a salad dressing, like our gluten-free peanut sauce.
What Makes a Sauce Healthy
The benefits of making sauces at home include controlling the quality of the ingredients, ensuring they are nutritious, and tweaking the flavor to get it just right.
Many store-bought sauces contain extra sugar and salt to add flavor, make them shelf stable, and cover poor-quality ingredients.
Higher quality more flavorful ingredients often result in using less sauce overall so adding a decadent ingredient here or there is no problem!
By making homemade healthy sauce recipes yourself we can control the ingredients to ensure they meet our own personal dietary requirements and preferences.
Our list of healthy sauces is all naturally gluten-free and many are dairy-free, sugar-free, paleo, or vegan.
Other ingredients that make these sauces healthy include:
- Extra fruits and vegetables
- Healthy fats including healthy oils, Greek yogurt, seeds, and nuts
- Citrus fruits and vinegar to add acid
- Fresh herbs, dried spices, and aromatics for flavor
Healthy Dressings
My most popular salad recipe is my shaved brussel sprout salad with pomegranates. The sugar-free poppy seed dressing became so popular I had to give it its own post. Here are a few more dressing recipes to try!
Healthy Cesar Salad Dressing
This Healthy Caesar Salad Dressing Recipe is a classic creamy dressing made with simple, fresh ingredients that can be whipped together in under 5 minutes.
Poppy Seed Dressing (Sugar Free)
A naturally sweetened poppy seed vinaigrette is perfect for your next salad!
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Miso Carrot Ginger Dressing
This carrot ginger dressing is perfect for salads, topping grilled chicken, or vegetables.
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Cilantro and Olive Vinaigrette
A tangy dressing perfect for salads, roasted veggies or grilled chicken.
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Healthy Pasta Sauces
From red tomatoes sauces to bright green pestos. These sauces are perfect for pasta and pizzas. Or just to dip your bread into!
San Marzano Tomato Sauce Recipe
This San Marzano tomato sauce is a simple and authentic Italian pasta sauce with a naturally sweet flavor. Perfect serving over your favorite pasta, on pizza, or as a dipping sauce.
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Ramp Pesto
This wild ramp pesto recipe is made with both the ramp bulbs and the ramp greens for a bold sauce that is perfect on pasta, bread, and veggies. Ramp pesto is a delicious way to use up your Spring harvest.
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Easy No Sugar Pizza Sauce
Get the great flavor of pizzeria sauce without any added sugar with this easy no sugar pizza sauce recipe. It just takes minutes to whip together!
Dairy-Free Pesto
Easy and quick dairy-free pesto recipe is just as flavorful as traditional basil pesto but without the parmesan cheese. This delicious pesto is perfect for fresh pasta, grilled vegetables, sandwiches and more!
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Spicy Sauces
Sometimes a firey kick is just what you need to elevate your recipe. These sauces and dips are big on flavor and heat. But if heat is what you like be sure to check out our roasted salmon with spicy pineapple salsa and our harissa beef and noodles. Both will give you a good kick.
Mango Habanero Salsa
Fresh mango salsa with a spicy kick. Mangos and habanero peppers collide for a sweet and spicy salsa that is perfect for dipping or serving on tacos. You won't be to stop at just one bite!
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Cucumber Chutney
A simple green cucumber chutney with a spicy kick. Use as a topping or a slaw, but beware- it is HOT! But if that is your thing, a 100% 5 star rating doesn't lie.
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Salsa with Canned Tomatoes
A blender salsa recipe using canned roasted tomatoes, charred onions, and jalapeno peppers.
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Homemade Enchilada Sauce
Make homemade enchilada sauce in10 minutes using pantry staples that you probablyhave in your kitchen this very second. Even better than a store-bought version, this homemade sauce is gluten-free, paleo-friendly, and can be totally customized to your spice and flavor preferences.
Avocado Crema
Avocado crema combines lime, fresh avocados, and sour cream for a tangy sauce. This recipe can be made with or without cilantro.
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Harissa Paste
An authentic harissa paste recipe made from dried peppers and aromatics such as caraway, cumin, and coriander. This North African condiment will add depth and smokey flavors to any dish.
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Healthy Dipping Sauces
Our favorite shawarma-style crispy chicken wings come with a tangy coriander sauce. I use this cool dipping sauce on for so much more.
Gluten- Free Peanut Sauce
Creamy Thai peanut sauce made gluten-free. Perfect for grilled chicken, fish or steamed vegetables. It also includes a peanut-free Paleo option!
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Gyoza Sauce
A simple dipping sauce that is perfect for any type of Chinese dumpling, potstickers, or gyoza. The dumpling sauce recipe only has a few ingredients and gets better as it sits. The flavors meld together and you can try it on new things. My personal favorite is dipping steamed broccoli into it!
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Paleo Raising Cane's Dipping Sauce Recipe
Paleo Raising Cane's Chicken Dipping Sauce is the paleo dipping sauce we have been waiting for. It is peppery, tangy, and so, so good. It tastes just like the real deal Raising Cane's Sauce and is an addicting dipping sauce for fries, chicken, chips, burgers, and more.
Easy Kalamata Olive Tapenade
A briny olive spread with kalamata olives perfect for slathering on bread, dipping veggies or crackers, or use as topping grilled fish.
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Cashew Cream Cheese with Roasted Garlic and Herbs
Spreadable roasted garlic vegan cream cheese made from cashews. Seasoned with herbs we love this as a dairy-free dip for veggies. Thick creamy, and easy to make in a blender or food processor. This dip is vegan and gluten-free.
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Four-Ingredient Avocado Sauce (Vegan)
Tangy, tasty and simple to make. Use as a spread, sauce or dip! This is a vegan and dairy-free version of our avocado crema recipe. It only has 4 ingredients and takes less than 5 minutes!
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Healthy Sauces for Meats and Veggies
My seared bavette steak recipe is served with a balsamic sauce that I also use on chicken. And the sweet and sour dipping sauce on our grilled Vietnamese lemongrass pork is also worth trying.
Plus try some of these other sauces that are perfect for topping meats and fish.
Chimichurri
Chimichurri is a tangy sauce made with a mixture of fresh minced parsley, garlic, red wine vinegar, oregano, and olive oil.Naturally gluten-free and dairy-free.
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Easy Romesco Sauce
No cooking required for this Spanish red pepper sauce. This easy romesco sauce features roasted peppers, tomatoes, and almonds. Perfect for grilled chicken, fish, or vegetables. Serve hot or cold.
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Sweet and Savory Sauces
If you are ready to expand your palate, these sauces balance sweet elements with savory ones for the perfectblance. We recently used the chamoy sauce recipe on our homemade mango and chili popsicles.
Chamoy Sauce
This easy homemade chamoy sauce recipe comes together in minutes. Chamoy delicious condiment that balances sweet, salty, and sour.
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Sweet and Smoky Whole30 Barbecue Sauce
Another highly rated recipe that is also sugar free. A sweet and smoky healthy BBQ sauce is amazing and easy to make. Never buy storebought BBQ sauce again!
Refreshing Pineapple Relish
A quick and easy pineapple relish with cucumbers and fresh herbs.
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Strawberry Butter Fruit Spread
A simple sugar free fruit butter spread. Only four ingredients using your own favorite berry combination.
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Fermented Garlic Honey
Take your food to the next level with this fermented honey garlic recipe. Or make this garlic-infused honey during flu season and enjoy a spoonful for its immune-boosting properties.
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🌡️Storing Homemade Sauces
Most sauces last at least 3 to 5 days when properly stored. However some last longer with fermentation of canning. And a few of these recipes can even be frozen.
Please see the individual recipes for specifics.
Did You Enjoy Making This Recipe? Please rate this recipe with ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ or leave a comment. It helps other wonderful people connect with my food.
Next Recipe
- Cajun Alfredo Sauce
- Olive Tapenade Hummus
- Easy Horseradish Aioli
- Spicy Cashew Dressing
Reader Interactions
Comments
coral l fisher says
where are the amounts? like how much olive oil? where is the recipe???
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Jen says
This is a round up post. Please visit the page for the sauce you want to make. Thanks.
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GiveItAWhirlGirl says
Ooooo I want to try that peanut sauce out! YES and YUM to that!
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W Gunning says
What great food and great photos, Look forward to making these recipes.
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Jen says
The Romesco is my favorite 🙂
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