Tempting Blush Sauce Recipe You Need to Taste: Time to Get Saucy

Blush sauce is a new sensation in the culinary world. Celebrities, famous chefs, and social media influencers have all tried their versions. The idea is very straightforward; mixing a tomato-based sauce with heavy cream to achieve a lovely soft pink color.

There are many variations of blush sauce. Some people make the sauce by adding wine or vodka. There are also alcohol-free versions. Most people cook it as a pasta sauce. It's common to pair blush sauce with short pasta varieties, such as penne, farfalle, orecchiette, and fusilli. However, it goes well with long kinds of pasta like tagliatelle, spaghetti, or pappardelle. Blush sauce also complements some meat dishes, such as meatballs.

We’ll give you the basic recipe for blush sauce and a few variation ideas. It's up to you how to incorporate this creamy and beautifully colored sauce into your meals. You can serve it with your favorite pasta, add it to a meatball sandwich or find a new and delicious way to enjoy it.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Pro Tips
• Our Blush Sauce Recipe
• Comments

Ingredients

• Extra virgin olive oil — 2 tbsp.
• Onion — 1 pc., medium-sized, finely chopped
• Garlic — 2 cloves, crushed
• Tomato paste — ½ tbsp.
• White wine — ½ cup
• Tomato sauce — 2 cups
• Heavy cream — 1 cup
• Granulated sugar — 1 tsp.
• Ground black pepper — ¼ tsp.
• Dried basil — 1 tsp.
• Red pepper flakes — ½ tsp.
• Salt — 1 tsp.

Instructions

1. Put the olive oil in a saucepan large enough to hold all the ingredients. Put it on the stove and heat on medium to high.

2. Add the chopped onion and crushed garlic to the heated oil. Sauté until the onions become translucent, stirring occasionally. Add the tomato paste and cook for a minute while stirring.

3. Pour the white wine over and, occasionally stirring, let it simmer for a minute or two. When the wine reduces a little, add the tomato sauce. Cook for a few minutes until the mixture thickens. Remember to check for consistency and stir occasionally.

4. Add heavy cream, sugar, spices, and salt to the mixture. Continue stirring occasionally. Cook until the sauce thickens. When it is dense, turn off the stove and let the sauce rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

Substitutions

• Olive oil — For pasta sauce, olive oil is the go-to oil, and it makes a strong Mediterranean team with tomato and basil. But there are other choices. You can substitute extra virgin olive oil with the same amount of sunflower or canola oil. Mixing equal amounts of olive oil and butter is another way to go with this recipe. Butter adds an extra deep layer of flavor to the blush sauce.

• Tomato sauce — If you have fresh tomatoes, you can substitute canned tomato sauce with a natural alternative. Remember to peel the tomatoes if you are going to puree them in the food processor. Another way to use fresh tomatoes is to cut them in half and use a grater.

• White wine — You can replace white wine with the same amount of vodka if that's at your disposal.

Variations

• Make it effortless — If you are short on time, you can make the easiest version of blush sauce by replacing onion with onion flakes and garlic with garlic powder. You can use two tablespoons of onion flakes and a teaspoon of garlic powder.

• Make it vegan — The only animal product of the recipe is heavy cream. Replace it with a vegan brand, and now you have the plant-based version of blush sauce.

• Make it alcohol-free — You can leave out white wine if you prefer your meal to be alcohol-free. You don’t have to substitute anything since the amount of alcohol used in the recipe is insignificant to affect the texture.

Equipment

• Measuring spoons and cups

• Stove

• Chopping board

• Knife

• Saucepan

• Mixing spoon or spatula

Storage

• After cooling it to room temperature, you can store blush sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two days.

• It's best to enjoy freshly made blush sauce, but you can freeze the cooked sauce in cubes in the freezer. When you use them, take as many cubes as needed and heat them. You can store frozen blush sauce cubes for up to a month in the freezer.

Pro Tips

• Whether you serve it with pasta, meatballs, or anything else, adding a few basil leaves and a tablespoon of grated parmesan while serving will elevate the taste of the blush sauce.