Here is a recipe that I’ve been completely hooked on this winter — it’s made it into my batch-cooking routine just about every week, due to the numerous reasons to love it! First, turmeric and ginger are a great anti-inflammatory combination, and I try to use lots of these powerful roots in my cooking to stay feeling great. Second, this recipe uses ingredients that are simple to stock in my pantry, making it a great on-the-fly addition if I haven’t made a plan for dinner. Third, it is one of those recipes that adds flavor to other dishes and helps re-imagine leftovers. Lastly, it keeps well in the refrigerator and freezer, making it a awesome candidate for batch-cooking.
Here are some of my favorite ways to use this sauce:
- Poured on top of protein or vegetables — I often serve it with whole roasted chicken (like my spatchcocked chicken here)
- Added to the end of a stir-fry to flavor a dish
- Used as a base for a curried vegetables or meat and served over cauliflower rice
- Thinned with olive oil and apple cider vinegar and used as a salad dressing
- Added to a soup or stew to infuse flavor
- Used as a dip for raw root vegetables
- Reimagined leftovers — I often heat a “scramble” of leftover shredded protein (chicken, beef, or pork) and vegetables with this sauce to add flavor
The second photo in the below collage I’ve heated up some leftover chicken, sweet potatoes, doused it in turmeric sauce, and garnished with cilantro. This meal took less than 10 minutes to prepare. Did I mention the flavor? Earthy, spicy, with a little zing from the lemon — totally divine! Hopefully this recipe will revolutionize your routine the way it has mine!
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup bone broth
- 2 cups white sweet potato, cubed
- 2 tbsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp ginger powder
- ¼ tsp cinnamon powder
- 1½ tsp sea salt
- 1 can BPA-free coconut milk (or 13.5 ounces homemade)
- 1 lemon, juiced
- Heat the coconut oil in the bottom of a medium saucepan on medium heat. When the fat has melted and the pan is hot, add the onions and cook, stirring, for five minutes, or until lightly browned and translucent.
- Add the garlic and fresh ginger and cook, stirring, for another minute, or until fragrant.
- Add the bone broth, sweet potato, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, and sea salt to the pot and mix. Bring to a boil and then cover and turn down to a simmer on low to cook for 10 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are just soft. When finished, turn off the heat and let the mixture cool for 5 minutes.
- Place the coconut milk and lemon in the blender with the turmeric mixture, and (being careful to use a towel over the lid to protect your hands) blend until fully smooth and combined.
- Your turmeric sauce is ready to be served as an accompaniment to protein, vegetables, stored, or used in another recipe!
69 comments
Can you substitute regular sweet potatoes for the white sweet potatoes? I cannot get them in my area.
Donna,
Yes, you can! The color will be a little different, but I doubt the flavor will change much.
Hi!
I Love to experiment with food and all the different worlds spices and herbs. Your sauce was great Valentine’s dinner 🙂
I changed up the sauce a little. I used 1 garlic – since my Autoimmune illness – SLE, cannot use much garlic. Also i used 1 tsp tumeric – since I am drinking blood thinning tablets. The sauce was very lovely with baked fish , grilled vegetables and pickled baby cucumbers and champagne. (LOTs of beautiful colours on the plats). I freezed the remainder.
Thanks for letting me know Indy!
I just read where to enhance the benefits of turmeric we should add cracked black pepper with a good fat. That way it bypasses the liver which will try and get rid of it.
Hi Jan,
Yes, pepper activates the turmeric, but is not suitable for those on the elimination diet. If you’ve reintroduced pepper with no issues, go for it!
How does pepper”activate” the tumeric?
Piperine, an element in pepper, helps to make the curcumin (in turmeric) more bio-available, or able to be used by the body!
How so does it by pass the liver?
Hi Mickey,
Thanks for this, keen to try it.
A question: is there a reason why you use turmeric powder rather than the fresh root (which is in the pic with the cilantro and sauce in a jar)?
Hi Caroline! Fresh turmeric root is great, but not accessible for everyone–I try to consider this when writing my recipes, so everyone can benefit from them. 🙂
Thanks, I see that would be helpful. Additional question though: if I use fresh, what would the amount to use be?
Add a bit of black pepper to unlock the anti-inflammatory properties of the turmeric. Otherwise you will be doing all this for nothing.
Hi Shannon! It is true that pepper amplifies the anti-inflammatory properties, but it is not included on the elimination diet.
If you were to use fresh turmeric and ginger root how much would you use, would the amount stay the same or would it change?
Thanks!
Carey
Hi Carey, you will want to use 3x the amount if your spices are fresh!
Will this be tasty if I eliminate the garlic and lemon (citrus) juice? I have food intolerancies. Any subs for these two items? TY Much!
Hi Deborah, I would use celery instead of garlic and onion and use ACV instead of lemon. You might have to experiment with the ratios, but I bet you can come up with something tasty!
I’m a bit unclear on the instuctions. Do we blend all the ingredients into a puree?
Hi Sharon,
See step 4: “Place the coconut milk and lemon in the blender with the turmeric mixture, and (being careful to use a towel over the lid to protect your hands) blend until fully smooth and combined.”
My naturopathic doctor has restricted my intake of potatoes and related foods. Would you have a recommendation on substituting the potatoes from your tumeric sauce recipe? Maybe coconut flour?
Hi Lee,
Sweet potatoes and regular potatoes are actually not related–I would inquire if they mean sweet potatoes. If they do, I’d try cooking some parsnips instead!
This was delicious! How long will it keep in the fridge?
Hi Natalie, about a week!
How long will it keep in the freezer?
Hi Tanya,
As long as it is well-sealed, it should be OK for 3-6 months in the freezer.
If one is sensitive to coconut milk, do you think the sauce would still taste good without it? Or would you try making it with tigernut milk, for example?
Noel,
I do think the coconut milk helps thicken it and add flavor, but it would be interesting to see if the tigernut milk is a nice replacement. I honestly don’t know since I haven’t tried it, but it would be a great idea! Do report back if you are successful and I’ll add a note for those who are intolerant to coconut 🙂
What about taking out the coconut milk- will it still work?
Hi Tina,
I don’t think the flavor would be the same, but you could try adding some more broth and sweet potato to thicken it. I don’t think it would taste bad, just not as creamy!
So glad to see you are supporting Natural Value coconut milk. I only recently learned about guar gum, and all other emulsifiers as being detrimental to the gut, yet another pesky additive to pay attention to. As far as I know Natural Value is the only manufacturer providing coconut milk that is free of these additives, and BPA free. Also, just seeing this recipe, it looks delicious, I look forward to trying it soon!
Hi Andrea,
I’ve heard that Trader Joes has a version now without thickeners, but I have yet to try it!
I found Golden Star brand coconut milk at Albertson’s, it has no additives!
I cooked up a bunch of this sauce to use with broiled scallops and leftover cauliflower rice, and it was great. Now I have a lot of leftover sauce and don’t know what to do with it though. I’m doing my meal planning for next week and need a few ideas. Could I add it to the rainbow roasted root veggies recipe (my weekly staple!), and if so, how would that change the cooking? Any other suggestions?
Hi Amy! This sauce is great literally on anything. You can definitely drizzle it on recipes, add to thicken soup, thin to make a salad dressing – you can even freeze it if you have too much to eat. Hope it helps!
I will sub red Palm oil for the coconut oil. Can you suggest a sub for the coconut milk?
Hi Tina, see my other replies!
Hi Mickey,
I absolutely love your website, blogs and emails:) My naturopath has me on a combination of AIP, GAPS, and FODMAP (Hashimoto’s, chronic fatigue and gut permeability issues) so no garlic, no onion, no nuts or seeds of any kind incl. coconut, which often leaves me fairly challenged even though I normally am a very creative cook. I am guessing that the exhaustion and depression I feel have contributed to my lack of enthusiasm lately for life in general. Do you have any suggestions as far as a substitute for coconut milk? No nuts and no seeds is my toughest elimination. Avocados secondly, and seaweed a close third. I have been successfully making and drinking bone broth now for 2 months (after not being able to eat anything without pain). Your heartfelt care, compassion and service to the AIP community does help me keep “my chin up” although some days it is hard not to give up. Thanks for your work, Mele
Hi Mele! I’ve given some ideas for coconut subs up above, more broth/sweet potato puree or tigernut milk (which is actually not a nut). Thanks for being here and hope you can find a combination here that works for you! 🙂
Very tasty and satisfying! I drizzled it over cauliflower rice. Can’t wait to try it on chicken and other veggies.
Happy you liked it Claire!
Lovely recipe, easy to make. Just what I was looking for
I’ve been putting this on everything! So delicious! 🙂
Happy you like it Alyssa!
I also tried it thinned with olive oil and apple cider vinegar as a salad dressing and it was really good! Just in case anyone was wondering 🙂
Anyone have a recommendation for a good turmeric powder brand and where to buy it?
Casey,
I don’t have a specific brand, but it is important to make sure you get spices from a gluten-free facility. The entire Mccormick gourmet line is GF to my knowledge!
I was tempted to eat it by the spoonful. It’s quite tasty, and it makes a good general dip for things that one would normally want to put in ketchup.
Wendy,
Yep, it literally is good on everything! Happy you enjoyed 🙂
[…] that I used to “dress” this burger: Hauskraut slaw which tastes a bit like a relish; Golden Turmeric sauce which doesn’t taste like mustard but is oh, so delicious and Nightshade free cherry BBQ sauce […]
I recently was introduced to the best turmeric and ginger powder in the world!!! The ginger has over 3x the gingerols of other ginger and the turmeric over 5x the curcumin. I’ve ordered them both and now have another great recipe to use them in!
When including a contributors comment like this, “best source for Turmeric and Ginger”, what warnings would you share for such an unique/intense product or hints to assist in locating this source?
Hi Debi! We do share unique products, but I find turmeric and ginger can easily be found at most grocery stores. I have been ordering from Diaspora lately and enjoy their product: https://www.diasporaco.com/
OMG. I can’t even. This recipe is life changing. Literally the best thing I have ever made / eaten. MAKE THIS.
Thank you thank you thank you for this recipe 🙂
Rebecca,
Happy you love it!
Saw this on your Facebook post today — YUM! I’m always looking to add some flavor to my “basic” meal prep, so this looks like it’ll do just the trick! 🙂
Hope you enjoy Julia!
Hi! love this recipe. If I can’t have potatoes – is there anything I can sub with? Not supposed to have sweet potatoes or regular ones…womp womp. Help, please? xx
Hi Nitika, Try parsnips!
Has anyone tried this with almond milk instead of coconut milk? I’d love to hear how it came out. Thanks!
Hi Debbi, I don’t think it would work well with almond milk – besides not being AIP, almond milk doesn’t have the same creaminess that coconut milk does.
[…] Golden Turmeric Sauce from Autoimmune Wellness […]
When a recipe states “bone broth”, what kind should be used? Beef or chicken? Or does it not really matter?
Hi Erin! You can use bone broth made from whatever bones you have available – I frequently mix them!
I love your recipes, but need to follow a low FODMAP diet. When you post your recipes, could you please also post the low fodmap alternatives to those ingredients that are high fodmaps(like onions and garlic)?
Hi Lisa! I’m sorry but we focus on AIP recipes here. We aren’t a low-FODMAP blog. You’ll need to do some research and figure out which swaps work for you.
I substituted taro, corn and apples for the sweet potatoes and I used pork bone broth. Topped with parsley. My guest and I really enjoyed it! This dish has a wonderful flavor and color. Thank you for sharing your masterpiece!
Steve, what interesting subs, I’m happy it worked out for you!
What is the nutritional info of this recipe?
Hi Gina, we don’t provide that info but you could take a few minutes to plug the ingredients into a nutrition tracker to find out!