Sauces—The Real Secret to Fantastic Gluten Free Food

Updated March 29, 2018.

Master sauces, give them a fancy French name and suddenly you’ll be launched from a hash slinging cook located in a backwater corner of some unknown place not even on the map, to a famous chef, creator of yummy marvels!

Sauces, or lack of them, can make or break a meal.  

That’s how important they are!

And good cooks know it.

Think about it.

When you experience a memorable meal in a restaurant, whether it is a local hole-in-the-wall café or a well-appointed establishment that specializes in fine dining, nine times out of ten it is the excellent sauces that made ordinary food, unforgettable

What do You do With All Those Leftovers Collecting in the Refrigerator?  

Throw them together in a baking dish, stir in a delicious sauce and sprinkle the top with grated cheese or toasted bread crumbs (gluten-free, of course).  

While it is baking in the oven until heated through, come up with an upscale name for your impressive new casserole dinner.

Consider the same leftovers, throw them into a big pot on the back burner and add a sauce—soup stock.

Adjust the seasonings.

Serve with a rustic loaf of gluten-free bread and a tossed green salad (salad dressings are sauces, too).

Recipes for Sauces Abound

What family isn’t known for their “special sauce”?

Even these recipes get tweaked through the generations until the original is no longer recognizable.

I’m guilty as charged!

I can’t help tinkering with Grandma’s special recipes. 

Every culture has their signature sauces and each family group has their take on them.

Need evidence to prove my statement?  

Let’s take look at a Mexican food favorite.

Think of all the different salsa and picante sauce bottles sitting on grocery store shelves and they are not collecting dust!

How about an Italian food staple?

Spaghetti sauce bottles line whole rows of shelves at the grocery store and everyone has their favorite brand.

Sauces are a Culinary Palette

What is important to keep in mind is sauces are very versatile.

They can be changed-up and used in many different ways.

A basic cream sauce can be used to make casseroles, soups, gravies, puddings and as a base for many other kinds of sauces, such as brown sauce, cheese sauce or a rich egg sauce.

Stock is a simple sauce used to make broths, soups, stews and is combined with other sauces to create new sauces.

There are vinegar, tomato, butter, wine, mustard and egg based sauces.  

Mention must be made of all the scrumptiously sweet dessert sauces prepared from juices, nectars, sugars, syrups and honey.

My Recipe Collection

Through the years I've managed to master a few sauces.

Some are recipes handed down through the family (yes, they’ve all been tweaked by me).  

Others are my original creations.

Those shared here are the blue-ribbon sauce recipes that continue to receive raves from family, friends and by guests at potlucks and larger events where my cooking usually steals the show.

Recipes for Gluten-free Sauces

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