Low-Carb Sauce Recipes

Turn the bounty of summer basil into a delicious sauce with this easy pesto recipe. Try it stirred into a tomato or potato salad, or spread onto a sandwich in place of your favorite condiment.

This easy, creamy sauce is bound to become a favorite. Roasting the garlic brings out its inherent sweetness for a rich, flavorful sauce that's healthy too. Toss with pasta or use as a pizza sauce.

Try this salty-sweet hard-boiled egg recipe as a swap for deviled eggs at your next party or as a midday snack. Or serve on top of your next ramen noodle bowl.

Simplicity reigns in this traditional sauce--just basil, garlic, cheese and olive oil. Our one modification? We like omega-3-laden walnuts in the mix for their crunch and delicate flavor, but pine nuts, almonds, pecans or even pistachios may be substituted for the walnuts.

Cutting mayonnaise with yogurt is an excellent technique for reducing calories and fat. Here, it makes a simple sauce that goes perfectly with delicate preparations.

Creamy avocado becomes an amazing burger or sandwich spread when mixed with a touch of mayo in this healthy condiment recipe. It's particularly good on a BLT.

Like an Alfredo sauce with a little added pizazz, this easy sauce recipe is great over pasta with chicken or even to top steak and green beans. Grate your own Parmesan instead of buying pre-grated--the cheese will melt better for a silkier sauce.

These fork-tender fish fillets reflect the cooking style of the Provence region of France. Dishes from the area often include olive oil, onion, garlic, tomatoes, and olives--and you'll find all of those in this 25-minute entree.

This easy homemade spaghetti sauce recipe calls for fresh tomatoes, so it's perfect for summertime when you have a bumper crop of homegrown beauties or you went overboard at the farmers' market. Aside from the tomatoes and a sprig of fresh basil, you need just a handful of pantry ingredients and 15 minutes of active time to make this healthy pasta sauce. Serve it over spaghetti or your favorite pasta shape on its own or with the addition of cheese, herbs, meatballs or sausage. Or use it in recipes such as lasagna and eggplant Parmesan.

You'll look like an expert with this easy hummus recipe that produces the lightest, silkiest hummus you've ever had. Chilling the cooked chickpeas ensures that when they're blended with the oil and cold tahini the hummus will come out creamy rather than oily. In a pinch, you can use the quick-soak technique (see Step 1), reduce the chilling time and still get great hummus.

In addition to being a delicious dipping sauce for dumplings, this can be used as a marinade for chicken, pork or tofu.

In this easy guacamole recipe, musician Mraz prefers California Hass or Reed avocados because they are the creamiest. Adjust the heat, tang or other flavorings to suit your tastes.

This delicious guacamole recipe replaces half the amount of high-calorie avocado in a traditional guacamole recipe with a stealth, low-calorie vegetable--zucchini--to cut 100 calories and 6 grams of fat so we can eat more guacamole with fewer calories. We use the microwave to cook the zucchini until it's very tender, but you can steam it on the stovetop if you prefer.

Using sweet brine instead of sour tempers the heat of hot peppers in these sweet pickled peppers.

The French flavor of tarragon inspires this pesto, which is wonderful stirred into a simple fish or chicken soup and brings a je ne sais quoi to chicken salad.

Try this oregano-, rosemary-and marjoram-infused vinegar drizzled over tomatoes and fresh mozzarella or combine with olive oil and a little Dijon mustard to make a quick dressing for pasta salad. The recipe makes enough vinegar so you'll have extra to decant into a decorative bottle or two to give away as a simple homemade gift.

The delightful richness of Ellie Krieger's sundried tomato and almond pesto is a perfect partner for nutty whole-wheat pasta. It's also delicious spread on grilled chicken.

Here's an exceptionally easy condiment, perfect for a summer barbecue. Not only great on burgers, it's terrific as a glaze on grilled salmon or served alongside barbecued chicken.

This Mexican-style pickled carrot recipe is great for topping tacos, tostadas and/or quesadillas or as a side to any South-of-the-border entrée. These spicy carrots are also delicious added to a bowl of soup or tossed with spring greens, feta cheese and just a drizzle of olive oil.

Turn an ordinary taco into something special with this creamy, herb-studded sauce in place of plain sour cream. It's traditionally made with Mexican crema, a tangy-sweet cultured cream; if it's available in your area, it can be used in place of the sour cream.

Sure, it's convenient to purchase ready-made tomato sauce at the grocery store, but one look at the label will show you that many brands are high in sodium and added sugars. This easy made-from-scratch tomato sauce uses fresh ingredients and has no added sugar. Make a double batch and store portions for up to 3 months in your freezer. Talk about convenience!

Indian chutneys (or chatnis) are savory, vibrant and exploding with flavor, with a thin, saucy consistency. In this green chutney recipe, cilantro creates the basic sauce that serves as a condiment for many Indian snacks, street foods and sandwiches. The serrano chile gives it quite a blast of heat, so use less if you like a tamer sauce. Try this chutney in place of your favorite hot sauce.

A riff on chimichurri sauce, this healthy herb sauce recipe brings together mint, basil and ground coriander. Use as a healthy sauce for topping chicken, fish or pasta.

This green hot sauce originating in Yemen gets its heat from jalapeños. If you like it spicy, leave the seeds and ribs on your peppers. For a milder version, take them out. Serve this quick hot sauce with hot-off-the-grill meats, fish and vegetables to add a bright pop of flavor to dinner all summer long.