Image via Complex Original
Weeknight dinners are all about having ingredients on hand that you can easily throw together for satisfying meals with minimal effort on your part. The way to keep dinner low-key and still make your salads, pastas, and grilled meats something to look forward to is by having sauces on hand that you can slather on that take your dishes from meh to major. Here are ten clutch sauces to seriously improve your weeknight rotations.
RELATED: First We Feast - 10 Sauces Everyone Should Know How to Make
10. Fresh Sriracha
Warning: Once you make your own sriracha, you may never be able to go back to commercial stuff again. The vibrant color and piquancy of the fresh fresno peppers, combined with plenty of garlic and a boost of vinegar, make for a zippy, versatile condiment that would be great with anything from banh mi to scrambled eggs. Get the recipe on Food52.
9. Salsa Verde
You can't go wrong with salsa verde. There is no other sauce that pairs so well with your grilled goodies like fish, chicken or steak. It doesn't have the heft of pesto, thanks to the acidity of vinegar and lemon, but it has plenty of kick from anchovy, garlic and red pepper flakes. You could even add some basil or mint, if you're feeling bold. Get the recipe on Food52.
8. Pesto alla Genovese
What type of pasta should you use this fresh, rich, earthy pesto with? All of them. Get the recipe on Food52.
7. Chimichurri
Chimichurri sauce goes great on everything—tomatoes, fish, chicken, or steak, and even as a salad dressing. It bursts with the flavors of garlic, cilantro, mint, and parsley and only benefits from a little time in the fridge while everything marinates. Get the recipe on Food52.
6. Giddy Swamp, South Carolina Mustard Barbecue Sauce
Sauté, whisk, simmer. Boom. You probably have everything you need for this sauce, just waiting in your fridge. Combine the powers of all of them, and you're left with a glorious thing -- a tangy, spicy sauce that is much more than the sum of its parts. Get the recipe on Food52.
5. Sauce Gribiche
This is essentially an aioli, tricked out with herbs and made salty and bright with capers and vinegar, respectively. It's heaven on roast chicken and hard boiled eggs, even better on potatoes and asparagus. Everyone has their own version, so if you're inclined you can add and omit until it's your own. Get the recipe on Food52.
4. Honey Balsamic Sauce
Save your pricey fine balsamic vinegar for another day. Here is a grand and recession-proof sauce you can make yourself for strawberries and ice cream that wants only ordinary grocery store balsamic and a little honey. Get the recipe on Food52.
3. Simple Cocktail Sauce
Like a fancy, bold ketchup, homemade cocktail sauce can take up the wow factor of any seafood boil or shimp cocktail. Proportions in the preparation are always to taste so you can play with it, but make sure to add plenty of horseradish for a sinus-clearing kick. Get the recipe on Food52.
2. Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter
The most famous tomato sauce on the Internet, with just three ingredients and three steps. Sign us up. Get the recipe on Food52.
1. Homemade Red Wine Barbecue Sauce
This barbecue sauce is so easy to make, and once you do you'll have bragging rights that it's your own, homemade, secret recipe. It's rich with the complexity and depth of red wine, tangy with vinegar and sweetened with honey. Plus, it's nice and thick—perfect for slathering on beef or chicken. Get the recipe on Food52.
