Homemade Gluten-Free Sauces: How to Make Them + Easy Recipes

Reading Time: About 10 minutes

Learning how to make homemade gluten-free sauces might be the most useful and satisfying kitchen skill you will ever acquire.

It will take you from the frustration of staring at ingredient lists to the freedom and confidence of mixing up gluten-free sauces in your own kitchen.

When you start making your own sauces, you may notice that most are made from naturally gluten-free ingredients:

• fresh onion, garlic and herbs
• a good-quality gluten-free broth (or stock)
• oils, acids and flavorings you likely already have in your pantry
• thickeners that are either naturally gluten-free like cornstarch, or a simple substitute like gluten-free flour

Once you understand how these elements work together, you’ll start making your own sauces — often without needing a recipe.

The Best Gluten-Free Sauces to Start With 

A gluten-free sauce — like any sauce — is made from a liquid, a thickener, and flavorings. The key is to choose ingredients with no wheat, barley, or rye.

With that in mind, let’s try a few simple sauces you can mix together in minutes using ingredients you likely already have on hand.

Simple Aioli for Fish: 

Mix together: 

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon or dill

Serve this with grilled or baked fish or with my Gluten-Free Baked Haddock.

Easy Pan Gravy

This is the perfect simple sauce for pan fried protein like sausages, pork chops, or chicken breasts.

• Brown your protein on both sides, then remove it from the pan.
• Add diced onion and stir to loosen up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add a little wine, water or stock to loosen if necessary.
• Add stock.
• Add your protein back to the pan to finish cooking.
• Thicken with cornstarch and water.

This is the method I use for my Beer Braised Sausages, where the sauce develops right in the pan.

Stir-Together Seafood Sauce (Cocktail Sauce)

Mix together:

• Ketchup
• Horseradish
• Splash of lemon juice
• Dash of gluten-free Worcestershire sauce

This will complement your shrimp ring perfectly, or serve with my Coconut Shrimp.

Pico de Gallo — Fresh Tomato Salsa

Mix together:

• Diced ripe tomatoes — seeds removed
• Kosher salt
• Finely diced onion
• Jalapeno pepper
• Lime juice
• Chopped cilantro

Serve with nachos or tacos. This easy sauce is perfect for your next Mexican-themed dinner.

What Makes a Sauce Gluten-Free (or Not)

Even though many sauces are naturally gluten-free, gluten does appear in some predictable places.

Knowing what to watch for makes it much easier to substitute safely in gluten-free recipes.

Gluten in Sauces: Four Ingredients to Watch For

You know that gluten comes from wheat, rye, or barley, and that you need to avoid these grains. But what does that look like on a label or in a recipe?

You need to watch for:

• wheat flour
• barley malt
• malt vinegar (often found in Worcestershire sauce)
• soy sauce

If you see any of these, you know you need to avoid them or find a gluten-free alternative.

How to Make Sauces Gluten-Free — Quick Reference

Gluten doesn't "hide" in sauces, it shows up in predictable places. Here is a quick reference guide to finding and avoiding gluten in sauces.

Gluten-Free Recipe Substitutions is your go-to guide to making your recipes gluten-free.

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The Basic Structure of a Sauce

A sauce is a liquid, usually thickened, that we add to our food to improve texture, add moisture, and enhance flavor. 

With that in mind, every sauce can be broken down into three simple parts:

• A base liquid
• A thickener
• Flavor enhancers 

Once you understand this simple structure, you can build almost any sauce — without needing a recipe.

Now let’s look at the options for each part.

Liquid for Homemade Gluten-Free Sauces

Most sauces start with one of these base liquids:

• Stock (or broth) — like chicken, beef, vegetable, turkey or veal.  Just make sure you use gluten-free broth.
• Milk or cream — This includes plant-based milk alternatives like coconut milk, rice milk, almond milk, etc.  These are naturally gluten-free, but check labels anyway.
• Pureed vegetables or fruit — like tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, squash, apples, pears, etc. These are also naturally gluten-free. 

How to Thicken a Gluten-Free Sauce

There are several ways to thicken your homemade gluten-free sauce. Each method gives a slightly different texture and works best in different situations.

Thickening Sauce with a Flour-Based "Roux"

A "roux" is a mixture of equal parts fat and flour.

This is the most traditional thickening method. It gives sauces a rich, smooth texture, and it holds up well to high heat, long cooking, and storage in the fridge or freezer.

Fat — Use butter, olive oil, other cooking oil, bacon fat, or lard.

Flour — Most gluten-free flours will work. Try sweet rice flour or your favorite all-purpose flour blend.

• Melt your fat in the bottom of a saucepan.
• Add flour, mix and cook for 2 or 3 minutes. 
• Slowly whisk in liquid.

Use 1 - 2 tablespoons of flour to one cup of liquid.

Alternative: Aromatic Roux

If you are browning vegetables or meat — maybe for a stew — sprinkle your flour overtop, stir and cook for a few minutes, then cool and add your liquid.

Using Starches to Thicken a Gluten-Free Sauce

Starches like cornstarch, tapioca starch or arrowroot are naturally gluten-free. Just make sure they are not contaminated with wheat flour from baking.

Starches are popular thickeners because they are easy to use and go in right at the end of cooking. They’re best for quick sauces you’ll serve right away.

The downside is that starch-thickened sauces don’t hold up well to long cooking or freezing.

To use starch as a thickener:

• Combine equal amounts of starch and cold water and stir.
• Slowly whisk into your sauce and let cook for a few minutes.

Use about 1 tablespoon of starch one cup of liquid.

Puree as a Thickening Method

This is one of the easiest ways to keep sauces naturally gluten-free without relying on flours or starches.

Applesauce, or tomato sauce are the first to come to mind when I think of pureed sauces. These are excellent examples, but consider these possibilities:

• Puree some of the vegetables from your stew to thicken up the sauce
• Add pureed potatoes to chili to thicken it up.

You can "reduce" your pureed sauce to thicken it more and intensify the flavor.

Try this Gluten Free Hotpot with Chocolate and Cider.  It combines the starch and puree methods for a naturally gluten-free thickener. 

Reduction — To Thicken and Intensify Flavor

Reduction simply means simmering your sauce so some of the water evaporates. As the liquid reduces, the sauce becomes thicker and more flavorful.

Reduction is often used in combination with other thickening methods.

Emulsifying — To Thicken and Combine Ingredients

An emulsion combines ingredients that don’t normally mix, like oil and vinegar. It will combine into a thick liquid, but it will quickly separate.

Certain "stabilizers" will help the emulsion hold longer. For example:

• Add Dijon mustard to olive oil and lemon juice for a lemon-mustard dressing
• Slowly whisk oil into egg yolks to make mayonnaise.
• Slowly whisk butter into egg yolks to make hollandaise sauce.

If you'd like to make your own salad dressing, my Gluten-Free Salad Dressing Guide will teach you the basics and give you lots of options.

52 Things You Need In Your Gluten-Free Pantry:  Living gluten-free requires some products you may not have bought before.  These are the gluten-free staples that you'll want to stock up on.

The Three Sauces You'll Make Over and Over 

Once you learn these three sauces, you’ll be able to make countless variations without relying on packaged mixes.

Imagine the room in your pantry!

Gluten Free White Sauce or Veloute

This versatile sauce pairs beautifully with chicken or fish. It is one of the classic “mother sauces” in cooking.

Spoon it over a baked salmon fillet or chicken breast. It is also the base for chicken and dumplings, or chicken pot pie.

Make your roux:

• Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan
• Add 2 tablespoons of gluten-free flour. Stir and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Don't let it brown.
• Remove from the heat and let cool a bit.

Add liquid and season:

• Slowly whisk in 2 cups of chicken stock. Continue whisking until well combined — no lumps.
• Simmer gently 8 - 10 minutes, stirring often.
• Season with salt and pepper.

Optional: You can enhance the flavor by tying a clove of garlic and a bay leaf in a piece of cheesecloth and letting it simmer in the sauce.

Versatility of a White Sauce:

It's called a foundation sauce because it can be the base for other sauces. Add cream for a cream sauce or "supreme". Add mushrooms, lemon juice and parsley for a mushroom sauce. You get the picture.

Gluten Free Brown Sauce

This sauce is amazing with red meat. It is the sauce you'll serve with your roast beef and it's the base for beef stew. Pour brown sauce over French fries and cheese curds and you have a French-Canadian delicacy — poutine!

Start with an aromatic roux:

• Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan
• Add diced onion, celery and carrots. Stir and cook until lightly browned.
• Add 2 tablespoons of gluten-free flour. Stir and cook for a few more minutes. 
• Remove from the heat and let cool a bit.

Add liquid and season:

• Slowly whisk in 2 cups of beef stock. Continue whisking until well combined — no lumps.
• Simmer gently 8 - 10 minutes, stirring often.
• Season with salt and pepper.

Options to finish your sauce:

I like to add a splash of gluten-free soy sauce and gluten-free Worcestershire sauce to deepen the color and flavor.

Your sauce as it is will have pieces of onion, carrot, and celery. That's fine, but if you want a smooth sauce you can strain it or puree it.

Want to try it out? My Gluten-Free Beef Stew with Chocolate and Red Wine is a beautiful twist on this sauce. 

Gluten Free Bechamel

This creamy milk-based sauce works well over a grilled chicken breast. If you add cheese, you can pour it over steamed cauliflower or, better yet, make it the star of your own homemade macaroni and cheese. 

Substitute a creamy plant-based milk like coconut milk to make it dairy-free.

Make your roux:

• Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan
• Add 2 tablespoons of gluten-free flour. Stir and cook for a few more minutes. 
• Remove from the heat and let cool a bit.

Add liquid and season:

• Slowly whisk in 2 cups of milk (or plant-based milk.) Continue whisking until well combined — no lumps.
• Simmer gently 8 - 10 minutes, stirring often.
• Season with salt and pepper.

Want to try it out? My Easy, Creamy Gluten-Free Mac and Cheese starts with a creamy gluten-free béchamel sauce and turns into the best mac and cheese you've ever tasted.

Pureed Sauces

Pureed sauces are one of the simplest ways to make naturally gluten-free sauces.

They don't require thickening agents like flour or starches — just fresh ingredients. Here are some examples:

Homemade, Naturally Gluten-Free Tomato Sauce

One of the most common pureed sauces is tomato sauce. It's the base for pasta sauce. You can spread it on pizza or use it in thick and wonderful vegetable stews. And it's so simple:

• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan.
• Add diced onion and minced garlic and cook until soft. Add a teaspoon of sugar.
• Add 2 (28-ounce) cans of whole plum tomatoes.
• Simmer for at least an hour, then use a masher or immersion blender to break up the sauce.
• Stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil.

Tip: San Marzano style tomatoes will give you the best flavor.

Gluten-Free Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce:  What a wonderful and simple way to use up the fall harvest of cherry tomatoes, or to pretend it's fall in the winter.

Vegetable Purees 

Pureed vegetables like bright green peas and beautiful orange sweet potatoes add color, flavor, and nutrients to a dish. Spoon a little on the plate and set your main protein on top.

• Cook your vegetable of choice along with onion, garlic, salt and pepper — roasting brings out the flavor and sweetness best.
• Puree with a blender or immersion blender 
• Add a little white stock or water to thin it out if necessary
• You can add fresh herbs or a pinch of nutmeg.

Troubleshooting Gluten-Free Sauces

Even experienced cooks run into little problems with sauces. Whatever your issue or mistake, rest assured I've made it too. Most sauce problems are easy to diagnose and fix. 

Fixing a Lumpy Sauce

Lumps usually happen when flour or starch isn’t incorporated properly — for example, adding dry flour directly to liquid or skipping the roux.

How to fix it:
Whisk vigorously to break up the lumps. If needed, strain the sauce through a sieve.

How to Thicken a Sauce That's Too Thin

If your sauce is too thin, it usually needs more thickener or more reduction.

How to fix it:

• For flour-thickened sauces, mix equal parts butter and flour into a paste (called a beurre manié). Add a pea-sized portion to your sauce and cook for a minute or two. Repeat until your sauce is the desired thickness.
• Reduce your sauce by simmering on medium heat. This remedy works well for pureed sauces, but can work for other sauces too.
• Mix a little cornstarch and water and add it to your sauce. Cook for a minute or two to thicken.

How to Fix a "Broken" Sauce

A broken sauce is one where the fat and liquid have separated. For a vinaigrette dressing, this is expected. Just whisk or shake it up.  For a "permanent" emulsion like mayonnaise or hollandaise, it's a little trickier. 

A mayonnaise or hollandaise will break if:

• You add the oil too quickly
• The heat is too high (for hollandaise)

How to fix it:

The best fix is to start the emulsion process over:

• Remove from the heat if applicable 
• Put a small amount of the sauce in the bottom of the bowl or pan
• Whisk vigorously and add the remaining broken sauce a little at a time while whisking.

How to Fix a Too Salty Sauce

Sauces often become too salty as they reduce and flavors concentrate.

How to fix it:

• You can add liquid and thickener to make more sauce and dilute the saltiness.
• You can add a little acid like lemon juice to disguise the salty taste.
• You may have heard that adding a raw potato to a sauce will reduce saltiness. I don't think it works but it can't hurt to try.

FAQs About Gluten-Free Sauces

Looking for more sauce ideas? Try:

Gluten-free teriyaki sauce can be hard to find. Try my Homemade Gluten-Free Teriyaki Sauce and you'll stop looking for a bottled version.

My Gluten-Free Curry Pineapple Chutney started as a romantic getaway. Now it accompanies my Easter ham, my summer grilled salmon, and my everyday pork roast.

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