Have you ever heard of Bloves Sauce? Neither had I! It’s a creamy seafood sauce that you’re going to adore.
The Best Seafood Sauce
It’s apparently a seafood sauce made popular by a Youtube lifestyle blog called The Bloves Life.
While researching Bloves sauce I had three initial reactions. The first was that this sauce went viral, so it had to be good.
The second was that the Blove’s sauce recipe has a butter base but it doesn’t really emulsify, kind of like clarified butter in Nashville hot sauce. But I wasn’t sure I wanted that sort of consistency for dipping seafood.
Holy Moly Ingredients!
The last was that there was a long list of ingredients and it all started with making a huge batch of a proprietary seasoning blend. But many of the seasonings served the same flavor purpose.
Since I don’t generally repeat recipes over and over in a short period of time, I didn’t want to make a giant batch of seasoning — and I also didn’t want another butter sauce. So I used the Bloves sauce recipe for inspiration and created my own seafood sauce.
We will call this one the Savory Seafood Sauce and let me tell you, it’s so good that it’s not impossible that it could go viral, too. And I don’t say that about many things.
In fact, it was so good, I also put it on top of my steak and vegetables that night… and then made it again for a party alongside my cocktail sauce for a seafood cocktail. So maybe I will start repeating recipes more often — at least I will with this one!
What is Bloves Sauce?
Bloves seafood sauce is a spicy sauce intended to be used on seafood. It relies on a proprietary seasoning mix for its flavor.
This savory seafood sauce, inspired by the Bloves sauce, can be whipped up anytime you’re in the mood for some spicy flavor with your protein, pasta, or veggies. It’s a delightful dipping sauce — or you can just pour it over top of your favorite foods.
Seafood Sauce Ingredients
Don’t be alarmed by the long list — there are lots of seasonings in this sauce. However, I promise you that most of these ingredients, if not all, will be easily available in your pantry and spice section.
Plus, all you need otherwise is a saucepan and an immersion blender — it’s that easy. With simple ingredients you likely already have you can stir up this delicious sauce quickly.
- Unsalted butter – Make sure to use unsalted butter since other ingredients have an element of saltiness already.
- Garlic cloves – Mince the garlic cloves finely so that they mix well with the sauce.
- Yellow onion – Dice the onion into small uniform pieces so that there aren’t any large chunks.
- Chicken broth – Use your favorite brand or any homemade broth you may have leftover from another recipe.
- Old Bay seasoning – This Chesapeake-style seasoning is usually in the spice aisle but you may also find it in the seafood section at the grocery store.
- Dijon mustard – Dijon mustard imparts earthiness in the sauce.
- Lemon – Use the whole lemon by both juicing it and zesting it. Lemon zest adds extra brightness.
- Worcestershire sauce – Worcestershire gives this sauce a bit of umami.
- Brown sugar – I like to use light brown sugar for this recipe but you can add an even richer sweetness by using dark brown sugar.
- Apple cider vinegar – Apple cider vinegar brings acidic sweetness to the sauce, balancing out the other flavors.
- Garlic powder – While there is fresh garlic in this recipe, I like to add a little extra garlic flavor with powder.
- Smoked paprika – This gives the sauce just the right touch of smokiness.
- Ground black pepper – You can grind the pepper freshly or just use your regular shaker.
- Cayenne pepper – Cayenne lends some spicy heat to the sauce.
- Onion powder – Just like the garlic powder, I like to add a little extra onion flavor with powder.
- Dried oregano – The bold flavor of oregano works well with the other ingredients.
What To Use Seafood Sauce On
The original version of this sauce was used only in seafood recipes, but it is a versatile butter-based sauce that can be used on nearly anything that needs a little pizazz. Don’t limit yourself to using it only on seafood (though it is great for a seafood boil).
Here are my suggestions:
- Shrimp
- Grilled Lobster Tails
- Broiled Lobster Tails
- Clams or Mussels
- Salmon
- Grilled Veggies
- Sauteed Veggies
- Scallops
- Salmon Croquettes
- Grilled Chicken Breasts, Baked Chicken Thighs or Drumsticks
- Pan Fried Steaks
- Pork Tenderloin
- Steamed Veggies
- Pasta, especially linguine
- Crab Imperial
- Crab Cakes
Variations
There are all sorts of ways to make this your own sauce.
- Broth – Instead of chicken stock, try vegetable broth.
- Powders – Instead of fresh garlic and onion, increase the amount of the powders that you use. Fresh is always best, but you can use what you have on hand.
- Heat – For an extra spicy version, increase the cayenne or use red pepper flakes, or chili powder. Using Korean red paste is another great way to spice it up.
- Umami – Add an element of salty umami flavor with a splash of soy.
- Tabasco sauce – Add this for some vinegary heat.
- Lemon pepper – Sprinkle some lemon pepper seasoning in for even more lemony flavor and spice in the sauce.
- Cajun spice mix – Blend in some nuanced spicy flavor with a Cajun seasoning.
- Olive oil – Replace some or all of the butter with olive oil.
- Sweetness – Add a bit more sweet flavor with just a bit of honey or other sweeteners.
Storage, Make Ahead and Freezing
Since it has chicken broth you will want to keep leftover sauce chilled.
Make Ahead: You can make this sauce ahead of time and heat it up when you’re ready to serve — or you can serve it at room temperature.
Refrigerator: Keep this sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Freezer: Freeze this sauce for future use in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. You can freeze it in an ice cube tray for individual servings.
Other Savory Sauces
Savory Seafood Sauce Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1-2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoons yellow onion minced
- 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 lemon zested and juiced
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the garlic and onion, sauteing until soft.
- Add the chicken broth, Old Bay seasoning, Dijon mustard, zest and juice of one lemon, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, paprika, black pepper, cayenne pepper, onion powder and oregano. Whisk until fully combined and simmering.
- Remove from heat and using a stick blender, blend until emulsified and no large bits remain.
- Serve warm or hot.
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings.
Definitely had never heard of this, but saw the ingredient list and knew I had to try it! We had it to dip mussels in, and it was delicious! We can’t wait to try it with crab!
I have to make this to go with our shrimp the next time I make seafood. I love all the flavor packed into this sauce!
This is one of my favorite sauces to dip the shrimp into. Love the consistency, too!
I hadn’t heard of this sauce before, but as soon as I saw the ingredients I knew I had to try it. SO much flavor! I love pairing it with seafood, but honestly I could eat it all on its own!
This sauce is absolutely delicious!! The perfect amount of savory, spice, and everything nice!