DIY Condiments [+ Recipes]
Prepared food does exactly what we need it to do – it’s fast and convenient. The downside of prepared and prepackaged foods is that we sacrifice something very important in the process, namely flavor, nutrition or quality.
Preparing your favorite condiments at home is a great way to retain nutritional value and great homemade flavor while giving your wallet a break. Here are five popular condiments that you can easily make at home.
Mayo
Not only is homemade mayo healthier than its store bought counterpart, it’s a delicious base for a variety of mayonnaise flavors. You can also use it to make other condiments (like tartar sauce) or jazz it up with added flavors like pesto or chipotle peppers.
Finally, there are recipes all over the internet for making your mayo egg-free, vegan, paleo, etc. No More To-Go’s has a great recipe for basic homemade mayo.
Salsa
When making salsa at home, you can add a wide variety of ingredients to make it pop and vary the peppers to suit your heat preferences. You also avoid the excess preservatives and sodium often found in prepared salsa. Using ingredients like fire-roasted tomatoes and grilled corn adds amazing flavor and freshness. This slow cooker recipe uses all fresh ingredients, while The Pioneer Woman’s recipe uses a few shortcuts with ingredients that might already be in your pantry.
Tartar Sauce
It’s creamy, tangy, and rich – a perfect complement for the clean and light flavors of fish and seafood. The downside of store bought tartar sauce is the high sodium content, but making it at home yields a flavorful tartar sauce minus the excess sodium. Use your homemade mayo to make this recipe from Taste of Home.
Pesto
This no-cook sauce is popular and versatile; you can pair it with it with virtually any protein, vegetable, pasta, or a combination of the three. Prepared pesto can be pricey, especially if it’s authentic and contains extra virgin olive oil.
Making pesto from scratch yields at least twice as much for the same price! You can also change up the ingredients, using herbs other than basil, like tarragon or cilantro. Here’s a great recipe from No More To-Go.
Buffalo wing sauce
With buffalo wings, it’s all about the sauce. Making it at home means you can make as much of it as you need, and make it as hot or mild as you like it. The flavor of fresh wing sauce can’t be beat. Allrecipes.com has an easy, tasty recipe.
If you enjoyed these recipes, try making your own salad dressings or your own homemade sauces. Do you have a favorite condiment recipe? Let us know in the comments!