My Three Favorite Sauces and Dressings

My three favorite sauces and dressings

So, my days get busy. That’s nothing special. It seems we all have places to go and things to do every waking moment of the day. Since I don’t have the ability to stop and grab food wherever between all of the busy moments of the day, it makes it incredibly important to not only have food batch cooked and stashed away for easy grabbing, but to have ways to keep those foods interesting.

One of my favorite ways to keep things different is by changing up the sauces. Again, store bought isn’t much of an option for our house so I need to be able to have some quick, easy recipes in my back pocket.

Any of these dressing combos are great on salad, pasta, rice, quinoa, and just about anything else. Even just veggies and tofu or beans.

Here’s my top three favorite sauces that take about a minute to make and help add variety to what I’m eating.

Tahini Sauce

Many people think that buying tahini is enough and you can just drizzle it on whatever. Which ends up being why most people think they don’t like it. Tahini on its own is very bitter and also thick. It’s not something great solo. So make sure to try it in a recipe like the one below, or add it into something. (I’ll share how I use it to make creamy pasta sauce soon!)

You really don’t need much for this one.

• Tahini

• Salt

• Pepper

• Onion powder

• Water

I made this in small batches and you can adjust it to your taste and texture preferences. Once you know the ration you like, it’s easy to scale up if you want to make larger amounts. I typically do 1TBS tahini to ½ tsp salt and onion powder and ¼ tsp pepper. Then for the water I just add little bits at a time to thin it out to a sauce consistency.

Because the spices are dry, if it sits a minute or two it’s going to thicken up. So let it rest and add more water if needed.

Italian dressing

Many people buy Italian dressing, but the bottles you find in the store are often going to be loaded with sugar and preservatives. The thing is, it’s SO easy to make on your own and requires ingredients you probably always have on hand.

• Olive oil (make sure it’s good quality as that effects the flavor)

• Lemon juice or white vinegar

• Basil

• Oregano

• Salt

• Pepper

Seriously, that’s it! I do equal parts olive oil and lemon juice/vinegar then you can add the spices to your liking. I go heavy on the basil and oregano and lighter on the salt and pepper. The quantities of the spices will depend on how much liquid you use. My recommendation is to start off light, and add more until you get it to your preference.

Maple Mustard

This is a great, vegan alternative to honey mustard and it’s just 4 ingredients!

• Dijon mustard

• Pure maple syrup

• Salt

• Pepper

Again, I like to make this as I use it. I typically go for 4tsp of mustard to 1tsp of maple syrup. Then for the spices about ¼ tsp of salt and 1/8tsp of pepper. Again, do it to your preference! If you like it sweeter, add more syrup. Want it saltier? You know what to do!

The bottom line with all of these is that with just a few ingredients you can easily make your own sauces and dressings. The best part is they are customizable to your own tastebuds!

What’s your favorite sauce? Let me know in the comments!