If someone from the past traveled to the present, they’d be amazed by many things. Cars. The internet. Carpet and zippers! But do you know what would absolutely shatter their souls? The knowledge that we, as a civilization, have access to fresh ingredients, blenders, and endless knowledge yet still choose to buy pre-made sauce.

They’d riot. They’d demand answers. They’d question where humanity went wrong.

Now here’s the thing, I’m not talking about sauces that take four hours of back-breaking work and access to only the most posh of modern equipment. This isn’t even my fancy fermented mustard or hot sauce, which take several weeks of patience and temperature regulation. It’s not even my Everything Sauce, which while simple, is still quite a cocktail of careful measuring. NO, I’m talking about sauces that are literally just two ingredients and take a few seconds to make. The sauces where it takes longer to find the stupid lid to the store-bought sludge than to just make your own. I want sauces that are that simple.

So what are the criteria? FAST. EASY. FREQUENTLY USED.

If a sauce meets those three criteria, we make it ourselves.

It’s not too late. You can be the hero history needs. You can reclaim the lost art of sauce. And it all starts now.

Chimichurri

This is an herby, garlicky, tangy, and slightly spicy miracle of a sauce. It’s got a South American flair and is most commonly associated with grilled meats, especially steak, but honestly, it doesn’t need to be pigeonholed.

The basics are fresh parsley, garlic, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and chili flakes, with optional additions like oregano or cilantro if you’re feeling wild. Making it is about as idiot-proof as it gets—just chop everything up or blitz it in a food processor, then let it sit for at least 10 minutes so the flavors can mingle like awkward guests at a dinner party who suddenly realize they have everything in common.

The result is a bright, punchy sauce that you can drizzle over grilled meat, roasted vegetables, eggs, sandwiches, or even just a spoon because it’s that good. The vinegar gives it a bite, the olive oil smooths it out, and the garlic ensures that no vampires will be bothering you anytime soon.

Pan Sauce (aka “Accidental Sauce”)

This isn’t so much a sauce as it is a byproduct of actually knowing how to cook meat properly. If you’ve ever seared a steak, chicken, or pork chop in a pan and then wondered what to do with the glorious browned bits stuck to the bottom, congratulations, you’ve been standing on the threshold of pan sauce greatness.

The process is absurdly simple: after cooking your meat, you deglaze the pan with a liquid—wine, broth, or even just water if you’re desperate—scraping up the flavorful bits with a wooden spoon (wood is ideal here because it scrapes super efficiently without scratching the pan). Then, you reduce the liquid slightly and swirl in a knob of butter to make it rich and velvety. If you want to get fancy, throw in some shallots, Dijon mustard, or fresh herbs, but the base idea is the same: turn leftover bits into liquid gold. This stuff is tailor-made for meats, obviously, but it’s also fantastic drizzled over roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes, or even as a sneaky addition to rice if you’re feeling indulgent. Best of all, it’s a sauce that makes itself—you just have to not be an idiot and throw the flavor away.

Garlic Butter

This is so simple that I almost feel embarrassed explaining it. But since people still buy that weird, chemical-laden garlic butter spread from the grocery store, clearly, there’s a need.

At its core, garlic butter is just melted butter infused with garlic, but the execution makes all the difference. The best way to do it is to gently cook minced garlic in melted butter over low heat, letting it become fragrant and golden without turning into bitter little burnt bits of regret. Add a pinch of salt, maybe a squeeze of lemon if you’re feeling adventurous, and you’ve got something that can go on literally everything—steak, seafood, pasta, bread, roasted vegetables, popcorn, you name it.

Want to get even more intense? Mix in some fresh parsley and let it solidify into a compound butter that you can slice and slap onto anything hot.

Yogurt Sauce

This is tzatziki’s lazy cousin but in the best possible way. This is one of those sauces that feels fancy even though it requires zero effort. Take some plain yogurt—Greek if you want it thicker, regular if you don’t care—and stir in some minced garlic, lemon juice, salt, and whatever fresh herbs you have lying around (dill and mint are particularly good). That’s it. No cooking, no waiting, just instant tangy, creamy goodness that works on grilled meats, roasted vegetables, sandwiches, grain bowls, or even as a dip for raw veggies.

If you want to get a little extra, throw in some grated cucumber, but the base version is already more than enough to make people feel like they’ve suddenly unlocked Mediterranean cooking secrets.

Honey Mustard

Finally, this one is so easy that I genuinely don’t understand why anyone buys it pre-made. It’s just honey and mustard. That’s it. Mix them together in whatever ratio suits your taste—more honey if you like it sweet, more mustard if you like a little bite—and you’re done. If you want to take it to the next level, add a splash of vinegar for extra tang or a bit of mayo to make it creamy, but even the two-ingredient version is absurdly versatile.

It’s obviously perfect as a dipping sauce for chicken, but it also makes a killer salad dressing, sandwich spread, or glaze for roasted meats and vegetables. You could probably even put it on ice cream if you were feeling particularly unhinged, and honestly, I wouldn’t judge.

So there you have it—five sauces so easy and life-changing that anyone not making them is actively choosing to live in culinary mediocrity. The best part? Once you get comfortable with these, you’ll start improvising, tweaking the ratios, and realizing that store-bought sauces are mostly just overpriced bottles of clever marketing.

    Matthew Christensen
    Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2023
    Email the author! matthew@dvo.com