This delicious Roasted Red Pepper Sauce tastes amazing, doesn’t need many ingredients, and is completely easy to make! And be sure to check out my suggestions for 20 things that would taste great with the Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic Aioli Sauce!
PIN the roasted red pepper sauce to try it later!
Say hello to one of my favorite sauce recipes when I want something easy but impressive. I first tried this Roasted Pepper and Garlic Aioli Sauce when my friend Margarethe made it for a party many years ago, and since then I have been eating it on everything! This sauce isn’t spicy, but it’s full of flavor from the roasted red bell peppers and garlic, and slightly creamy from the mayo and olive oil.
Through the years I’ve enjoyed it many times on Grilled Garlic Chicken, frittata, scrambled eggs, and grilled fish. Look below for links to 20 more serving suggestions for this amazing sauce! And this has become such a favorite for me that I’m featuring it as my Friday Favorites pick for this week; hope you will try it when you need a special sauce to impress your family or friends!
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
Where did my friend first find this Roasted Red Pepper Sauce recipe?
Margarethe found the recipe in Giada’s Family Dinners (affiliate link) where it was served with toasted garlic bread, but as soon as I tasted the red pepper aioli that Margarethe made I started thinking of low-carb options you could eat with it.
What makes this roasted red pepper sauce especially good?
If you google it, there are probably literally hundreds of recipes for roasted red pepper sauce. But I’m all about EASY, and I love that this sauce can start with a jar of roasted red peppers, and it literally takes a few minutes to make with a food processor. Then chill for a few hours and you have an amazing sauce that will impress your friends!
What is Aioli Sauce?
Aioli is a creamy emulsion sauce that’s similar to mayonnaise, and it’s use in cuisines around the world. Although they are similar, classic Aioli is not the same as mayo. Now that Aioli has become trendy though, there are many variations to the sauce, but it almost always contains garlic.
Can you make this sauce with freshly-roasted red peppers?
You could definitely make the red pepper sauce even more impressive by roasting red peppers on a grill to make the sauce, but I definitely thought it was completely delicious made with Roasted Red Peppers in a jar (affiliate link).
How to make the Roasted Red Pepper Sauce:
(Scroll down for complete recipe including nutritional information.)
- You could start by roasting red peppers on a grill if you prefer, but I loved the sauce made with Roasted Red Peppers in a jar (affiliate link).
- The original recipe didn’t use the whole jar of peppers, but I adapted it to use 2 whole roasted peppers or a 12 oz. jar of roasted red peppers. If you’re using peppers from a jar, they need to be drained very well.
- Then use a double layer of paper towel and blot both sides of the peppers as dry as you can get them. (Don’t skip doing this or the aioli will be watery.)
- Coarsely chop the peppers (you should have about 1 cup of chopped pepper.)
- Put peppers and garlic in the food processor and process for 20-30 seconds, until peppers are mostly pureed.
- Add the mayo and pulse about 8-10 times, until the mayo is mixed well with the peppers. (You may need to scrape down the sides once or twice.)
- Then leave the motor running and add the olive oil, one tablespoon at a time, while the processor is running.
- Season the finished aioli with a bit of sea salt and fresh ground black pepper.
- Using the whole jar of peppers or two whole freshly-roasted red peppers will give you about 1 1/2 cups of red pepper sauce, or about 8 servings if you use 3 tablespoons as the serving size.
- I liked it after it chilled for an hour or two, when the sauce had slightly thickened.
- This will keep for more than a week in the fridge, but it probably won’t last that long.
- And we absolutely loved the sauce on the Grilled Garlic Chicken that was the first thing I tried it on!
20 Things to Eat with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce:
Greek Meatballs (already tested with the sauce by my friend Bonnie!)
Air Fryer Marinated Chicken Breasts
Rosemary Mustard Grilled Chicken
Grilled Chicken and Veggie Kabobs
Grilled Chicken with Tarragon Mustard Marinade
(If anyone tries the sauce paired with other things and finds a winner, please share in the comments!)
Ingredients
- one 12 oz. jar roasted red peppers (see notes)
- 1 T garlic puree or minced garlic (or a little less if you’re not that into garlic)
- 1/2 cup mayo (see notes)
- 3 T extra-virgin olive oil
- sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Follow instructions for roasting and peeling freshly roasted red peppers if you’re using fresh peppers. If using a jar of red peppers, put peppers into a colander placed in the sink and let drain for a few minutes. Then use a double layer of paper towels to blot both sides of the peppers, drying them off as much as you can.
- Coarsely chop peppers.
- Put chopped peppers and garlic into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process about 20-30 seconds, until peppers and garlic are finely pureed.
- Add mayo and pulse about 8-10 times, or until mayo is well-mixed with the peppers. (You may need to scrape down the sides with a rubber scraper a few times.)
- Leave the motor running and add the olive oil through the feed tube, 1 T at a time, blending for a few seconds after each tablespoon of oil.
- Season sauce to taste with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper.
- I like this best when it’s been chilled for an hour or two, which will slightly thicken the sauce.
- This aioli keeps for at least a week in the fridge, but you probably won’t have it around that long!
Notes
You can use 2 freshly roasted red peppers or about 1 cup diced roasted red pepper if you prefer. I used full-fat mayo, but reduced-fat mayo would also work.
Nutritional information is based on a serving size of three tablespoons of sauce.
Recipe adapted slightly from Giada’s Family Dinners.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8
Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 163Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 161mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 1g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This roasted red pepper sauce is low-carb, Keto, gluten-free, dairy-free, low-glycemic, Paleo, Whole 30, and vegan. The sauce has mayo and olive oil, but it has more roasted red pepper than high-fat ingredients, so even if you use full-fat mayo like I did, I think a few tablespoons of this spooned over some lean chicken or fish would be okay for any phase of the original South Beach Diet.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Sauce Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was first posted in 2010 when my friend Margarethe brought it to a party at my house! It was last updated with more information and serving suggestions in 2022.
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