Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

The smoky, sweet taste of the roasted sweet peppers combined with garlic and olive oil in this flavorful roasted red pepper sauce and confit recipes. Perfect for dressing up any dish, even as humble as scrambled eggs. It's versatile, easy to make, and completely vegan.

Why I ❤️ it • Recipe • Ingredients • Preparation

Roasted red pepper sauce with garlic in olive oil.

Why I ❤️ it

You're going to love the creaminess and flavors of this tomato-less, gluten-free, paleo and keto-friendly, roasted red pepper with garlic and olive oil which I use it to dress up otherwise unimpressive dishes. It is cooked in a way that maximizes its taste, and made into a preserve of sorts (the French may call it a "confit").

With this method of cooking, roasted peppers turn into a much milder version of themselves and will dress up whatever dish you use it for with an abundance of flavor. This delicious, comforting and healthy confit is one of my favorite bell peppers recipe.

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Utensils and tools

• Baking tray with parchment paper or silicon liner, or
• Large skillet, or
• Grill
• Food processor, blender, or immersion blender

Ingredients

• 4 red bell peppers
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to grease grill or skillet
• 1 cup of olive oil
• 1 head of garlic, (yes, one entire head, about 8 large garlic cloves), peeled and sliced
• 4 tablespoons of red wine vinegar or rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of  salt
• 1 teaspoon of freshly-cracked black pepper

Preparation

Before starting, please make sure you have all the ingredients and utensils ready.

Step 1: Cut the peppers

Cut the peppers in half lengthwise (through the stem). 

Step 2: Cook the peppers

Cook the peppers in one of these ways:

Oven method: Place the peppers skin-side-up on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone mat. Place under the broiler and cook until the skin is charred. Remove from the oven.

Grill method: Grease the  grill with vegetable oil, and roast the peppers with the skin facing the flame until the skin is charred. Remove from the grill.

Stovetop method: Grease a large cast iron skillet with vegetable oil, and heat over medium-high heat on the stove. Cook the peppers, rotating with tongs until all the skin has charred a bit.

Step 3: Peel the peppers

Immediately after removing from the heat, place in an airtight container or heat-safe plastic bag and let it come to room temperature.

Remove the charred skin, if needed do so under running water, or submerge in a bowl with cold water.

Step 4: Cook

Clean the peppers of seeds and the white parts inside. Slice the peppers into thin strips.

Heat the olive oil over very low heat in a skillet. Add the garlic and cook for 15 minutes (make sure it does not burn). Add the peppers and cook for another 15 minutes; the peppers and garlic should be tender by then. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature. Stir in vinegar (red wine if you'll blend it, rice vinegar if you'll make it into a confit), salt, and black pepper.

Step 5: Serving and storing

You can blend it to make a creamy red pepper sauce or leave it unblended to serve as roasted peppers in olive oil and garlic confit.

Pour it into a jar with a tight-fitting lid and let it rest for at least two hours, or store it in the fridge for up to a week. Always serve at room temperature.

Variations

You can add other things to the unblended preserve; some of my favorite ones are diced feta cheese.

If you like to add more flavors, try a few herbs, my favorite are a few oregano leaves, some fresh basil leaves or some sprigs of rosemary.

Using lemon juice instead of vinegar, it goes great with fish.

Serving suggestions

Serve as dressing for some salads, add to your sandwiches and burgers, great as a sauce for BBQ chicken, meats, and fish, make grilled veggies wraps, serve the confit as a side dish, or toss with your pasta with it – this is one of my favorite red pepper pasta sauces. Many uses for these flavorful roasted bell peppers.

You can use the blended version in the same way you'd use pesto sauce. My favorite way to serve it with pasta is by boiling some penne or rigatoni, mixing it with the pepper sauce, and sprinkle with some parmesan cheese (or nutritional yeast for a vegan, dairy-free version).

I also recommend you try it with the humblest but most comforting dish I can think of: rice and scrambled eggs; please, humor me. You'll love it.

Nutritional information

Calories: 45kcal - Carbohydrates: 4g - Protein: 1g - Fat: 3g - Saturated - Fat: 1g - Sodium: 293mg - Potassium: 126mg - Fiber: 1g - Sugar: 3g - Vitamin A: 1865IU - Vitamin C: 76.1mg - Calcium: 4mg - Iron: 0.3mg

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