This delicious, rich and tangy redcurrant sauce is extremely versatile and can be used in savoury as well as sweet recipes. It's made using a handful ingredients and ready in as little as 10 minutes!
So you've bought a punnet of redcurrants (possibly as a result of an impulse decision as the currants were on offer) and are now wondering what you are going to do with them. They are a little too sour to eat on their own (though this depends on individual preference) so you could turn them into jam but you already have a couple of jars of that.
In this post I will show you how you can easily turn your redcurrants into a delicious sauce, which can be enjoyed hot or cold, with a huge range of dishes including savoury as well as sweet ones.
Redcurrant sauce ingredients
To prepare the redcurrant simply rinse it and place in a saucepan. You do NOT need to remove the stems as you'll put the mixture through a sieve anyway. You can also add some blackcurrant into the mixture.
The balsamic vinegar and the port (use any) add depth of flavour and a little savouriness into the sauce. You could also use marsala wine instead of the port.
I used light brown sugar as it adds a little caramel flavour into the mixture but you could use dark brown or muscovado sugar instead if you prefer.
I added a little redcurrant jelly for more flavour but if you can't get it use cranberry jelly instead.
The sauce also contains a pinch of onion granules for more savoury notes but use it only if you want to serve this sauce with a savoury dish, such as roast or grilled meat.
Step-by-step recipe instructions
1.Place all the ingredients in a saucepan.
2. Cook the mixture for about 8 minutes stirring often. The fruit will become very soft and release lots of juice.
3. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool for at least 10 minutes then pour the mixture into a fine-mesh sieve and stir over a bowl to separate the pulp from the sauce.
How to use this sauce
- As a savoury fruit gravy sauce alongside roast duck, turkey or chicken (tastes great with grilled meats too). You may want to add a small sprig of rosemary or thyme or orange zest into the sauce as it's cooking. Stir through a tablespoon of butter before serving (optional).
- As a dessert fruit sauce (warm or cold) to pour over ice cream, custard, quinoa fruit salad and cake. Do not add onion granules to this kind of sauce but consider adding a little more sugar and/or basil or mint (as it's cooking) into the mixture.
- As a salad dressing with summer salads including cantaloupe, blueberry salad and strawberry and spinach salad.
- For breakfast with cottage cheese or in a breakfast parfait.
If you are a fan of redcurrant you may also like this simple almond redcurrant cake recipe.
Top tips and FAQs
- You do NOT need to remove the stems from the redcurrant before cooking.
- Adjust the amount of sugar and balsamic vinegar according to preference and the kind of dish you are planning to serve it with.
- Stir the sauce often as it cooks to prevent it sticking to the pan.
- The sauce will be quite runny to start with but it will thicken as it cools so allow it to cool for at least 10 minutes before separating the pulp from the juice (it will have a better consistency).
- Omit the onion granules if you want to serve this sauce in a dessert dish.
- Serve warm or chilled.
- Once cooled keep refrigerated for up to a week. If you've added butter into the sauce use it within 3 days.
Other summer fruit recipes you might like
- Lemon Blueberry Vinaigrette (No Blender)
- How to Make a Simple Fruit Compote
- Quick Fruit Soup Recipe
- Chocolate Raspberry Sauce
- Cranberry Chutney (Low Sugar)
Keep in touch!
If you make this redcurrant sauce I'd love to know how it turned out for you. What did you serve it with? Let me know in the comments below, thanks!
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Easy Redcurrant Sauce Recipe
Equipment
- Medium saucepan
- Fine mesh sieve
Ingredients
- 250 g redcurrants
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp port
- 1½ tbsp light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp redcurrant jelly
- small pinch of onion granules
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in a saucepan. Cook the mixture for about 8 minutes stirring often. The fruit will become very soft and release lots of juice.
- Remove from the heat and set aside to cool for at least 10 minutes then pour the mixture into a fine-mesh sieve and stir over a bowl to separate the pulp from the sauce. Serve warm or cold (see the post for serving ideas).
Notes
- You do NOT need to remove the stems from the redcurrant before cooking.
- Adjust the amount of sugar and balsamic vinegar according to preference and the kind of dish you are planning to serve it with.
- Stir the sauce often as it cooks to prevent it sticking to the pan.
- The sauce will be quite runny to start with but it will thicken as it cools so allow it to cool for at least 10 minutes before separating the pulp from the juice (it will have a better consistency).
- Omit the onion granules if you want to serve this sauce in a dessert dish.
- Serve warm or chilled.
- Once cooled keep refrigerated for up to a week. If you've added butter into the sauce use it within 3 days.
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is automatically generated and should be considered as an estimate.
**A note about baking: If using a fan-assisted oven refer to your appliance's instructions and adjust the temperature accordingly.
Great tasting sauce - I added some blackberries as suggested.
I have made redcurrant jelly this year and found it easier to make the raw juice first before adding any other ingredients and then strain to find the juice volume for adding the sugar etc.
I added good vintage port and a little Worcester sauce as well as the balsamic vinegar. Sugar is definitely a must for this sauce.
I have frozen it for opening at Christmas to have with the turkey, beef or pork.
I wish I had split it and made half with port and the other half with dark rum. I've tasted some lovely rum sauce in restaurants and wanted to try and make it - maybe next time.
Glad you liked it. Adding a little Worcestershire sauce sounds like a good idea, I am sure it gives the sauce more depth. I need to try to make mine with rum next time too. Thanks for the feedback:)
I harvested a handful of redcurrants this morning, and looked on line for ideas. Found this recipe, and it's delicious! I didn’t have any redcurrant jelly, so used cranberry jelly instead. It will be served with chicken later today.
Glad you liked it, cranberry jelly is a great substitute. Thanks for your feedback:)
What a delicious way to use up your redcurrants!
Thanks Sarah!
This looks like a lovely way to use redcurrants! I had a similar dilemma recently and ended up making muffins with them. Thanks for linking up with #CookBlogShare
Thanks, redcurrants in muffins sound good too, I might make some later on today with whatever is left of my redcurrants...
The gravy for this dish looks totally yummy. My son would really enjoy this - he is a massive protein dodger so a fruity sauce would be a great lure! #cookblogshare
Thanks! Glad to hear that, I thought this gravy would appeal to adults more.
Delicious!!
Thanks!