9 Super-Simple 2-Ingredient Sauces

By Matt Duckor

Photo: Charles Masters

Call this the Mother List: 9 sauces you can pull together on any weeknight. A few things that we’re not counting as ingredients here: water, salt, and pepper. You’ll turn to water again and again when making simple sauce in order to thin out thicker ingredients. Salt and pepper are givens—season everything to taste.

BROWN BUTTER + SAGE

This tried-and-true combination works alongside everything from filled ravioli to chicken breasts. Grab a few tablespoons of butter (one per person served is a good rule of thumb) and heat it in a skillet over medium-high heat until the butter begins to brown, about 4 minutes. (Keep a close eye on it—the butter can turn from fragrant brown to ruined black in a matter of seconds.) Stir in a few pieces of thinly-sliced fresh sage and you’re done.

OVEN-ROASTED TOMATOES + GARLIC

Add another dimension of flavor to tomato sauce by roasting the tomatoes and garlic cloves in the oven. Or, as associate food editor Anna Stockwell puts it, “the easiest, best tomato sauce ever.” Use canned, whole peeled tomatoes and cook in a 425 degree oven for 35-40 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft and jammy. Purée the roasted results in a blender and add to every weeknight pasta dish.

TAHINI + MISO PASTE

“I use tahini as a base for almost all of my salad dressings,” says assistant food editor Katherine Sacks. The combination is creamy, nutty, and salty. In order to turn these two thick pastes into anything resembling a sauce you’ll need add a fair amount of water to get things to a saucy consistency.

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PAN DRIPPINGS + WINE

Roasting chicken, beef, or any other protein that releases deliciously fatty juices? Don’t throw out that fat when it’s done—you’re one ingredient away from an awesome sauce. Pour off all but a couple of tablespoons of fat and combine with a half cup of dry red wine over medium-high heat until it most of the wine cooks off and the sauce has reduced to your desired consistency. Did you accidentally over-reduce, resulting in a thicker sauce than you envisioned? No problem, just add a couple of tablespoons of water to thin things out.

WHOLE MEYER LEMON + OLIVE OIL

Yep, a whole Meyer lemon. No need to peel the thing. Just drop it into a high-powered blender (like a Vitamix) and slowly add in olive oil until the sauce begins to hold together, about a ¼ cup for each lemon. The result is a bright sauce that packs an incredible balance between sweet and acidic. It pairs especially well with seared fish, pan-fried vegetables, and other light dishes.

YOGURT + STORE-BOUGHT PESTO

Think of this as a spin on green goddess dressing. “I mean, what wouldn’t you put it on?” asks Sacks. Pairing the stuff with vegetables? Serve it thick with crudités. Cooking steak? Use it as an herbed butter alternative.

SOY SAUCE + SRIRACHA

What happens when you combine salty soy sauce with America’s favorite Asian hot condiment? A slightly-sweet, slightly-spicy take on soy sauce. The amount of sriracha you use will determine how thick the sauce is—go thinner if you want to use the mixture as a dipping sauce for thinly sliced meat or vegetables.

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ANY FRUIT + SUGAR

Making a coulis sounds fancy and impressive—until you find out it’s nothing more than fruit and sugar. In summertime, you’ll want to use fresh berries from the market. But during the rest of the year, you can pretend it’s July with the frozen stuff. Combine one 10-ounce package of frozen fruit (or the equivalent amount of fresh berries) with 2 tablespoons sugar. Purée in a blender or food process and pour the mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing on the solids.

WHIPPED CREAM + LEMON CURD

Top anything with whipped cream and we’re happy. But fold a few tablespoons of store-bought lemon curd into that whipped cream? Sweet, tangy ecstasy.

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