What's your favorite jarred red sauce?

[Kayelle]

To answer your question, Pac, I make two kinds of sauces.
The meat sauce is nearly an all day event, but your question was about my simple Marina sauce.
Like Bucky and Bea I can get it done in about 20min. and the contents are just about like Bea's with a couple of additions.
Equal amounts of diced white onion, chopped celery along with mushrooms if I have them....
Saute in
Olive oil
Garlic clove
Hot pepper flakes
Can of Crushed Tomato
Basil
Oregano
splash of red wine

Simmer about 20 min.

The onion and celery is mandatory in my quick sauce.

 

[Kayelle]

Dang. Twenty to thirty minutes, guys? ... I must be cooking on too low a heat. I can never get it to reduce that fast.

Turn that fire up Buddy!!

 

[pacanis]

I hear ya!
I sauté fast, but I must turn down the heat too much after that. Good tip. It's probably a holdover from hearing people say their sauces take all day.

 

[Aunt Bea]

Pac,

Try making it in a deep frying pan. The increased surface area will help speed up the reduction for you.

 

[ChefJune]

In the winter I make large batches of sauce and homemade meatballs every couple of months, and store in the freezer. In the summer I usually buy a jarred sauce, as I don't want to deal with a long simmering sauce in the summer, it'll heat up my tiny kitchen, and I am not in the mood for that kind of cooking in the summer, I'm weird that way, LOL.

When I do buy jarred sauce, my go-to sauce is Trader Joe's Roasted Garlic Marinara. I've tried their regular marinara and wasn't crazy about it, but this one is good.

In the summer, I chop fresh tomatoes, garlic & some fresh herbs. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. When the pasta has cooked al dente, I drain it roughly and pour the hot pasta on top the bowl of veggies. Let it sit 3-5 minutes, then toss and serve with a hunk of grating cheese on the side. My tiny kitchen stays cool.

 

[Steve Kroll]

Dang. Twenty to thirty minutes, guys? ... I must be cooking on too low a heat. I can never get it to reduce that fast.

My summer pasta sauces tend to be very quick and light. I use fresh ingredients, not canned, and prefer them chunky and barely cooked (preserves the vitamins and nutrients). Just a quick saute and toss with hot pasta.

Quick Sauce for Pasta

1 tbsp EVOO
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 med onion, chopped
1 8 oz. carton of mushrooms, sliced
3 or 4 cloves of garlic
pinch dried red pepper flakes
3 large ripe tomatoes, rough chopped (if using smaller roma tomatoes, it will take about 6)
1/4 c. dry wine, red or white (I use whatever is in the fridge. You can also use brandy in a pinch.)
1/2 cup fresh basil, sliced into thin ribbons (chiffonade)
12 oz. pasta noodles, cooked according to package instructions
Salt and pepper to taste
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce, optional

Saute bell pepper and onion in oil over medium high heat for 2 minutes, or until translucent. Add mushrooms, and cook for a couple of minutes longer. Add garlic and pepper flakes; saute for about 30 seconds.

Add tomatoes and wine. Cook until tomatoes just start to break down and some of the liquid has cooked off. Maybe 5 minutes. Season to taste. Add to a large serving bowl, and toss with noodles and fresh basil.

Note: This recipe makes a chunky sauce, without a lot of liquid. If you prefer more of a gravy type marinara, add a 15 oz. can of tomato sauce at the same time you add the fresh tomatoes.

 

[pacanis]

Some real nice sounding quick pasta "sauce" recipes here. I prefer a traditional sauce for spaghetti, but I can see me making your chunky sauce Steve and tossing it with some penne.

 

[bakechef]

In the summer, I chop fresh tomatoes, garlic & some fresh herbs. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. When the pasta has cooked al dente, I drain it roughly and pour the hot pasta on top the bowl of veggies. Let it sit 3-5 minutes, then toss and serve with a hunk of grating cheese on the side. My tiny kitchen stays cool.

Problem is, I don't care for chunky tomato sauce, it's a weird texture issue I have. I don't like tomatoes, but I love tomato sauce, tomato soup, ketchup, etc...... I have odd preferences, lol!

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

In the summer I usually buy a jarred sauce, as I don't want to deal with a long simmering sauce in the summer, it'll heat up my tiny kitchen, and I am not in the mood for that kind of cooking in the summer, I'm weird that way, LOL.

I've got two words for you. One is CROCK, and the other is POT!

Just reduce the amount of water you put in your sauce until it's the consistency you want to finish with, because it's not going to cook down in the crock pot.

 

[Steve Kroll]

Problem is, I don't care for chunky tomato sauce, it's a weird texture issue I have. I don't like tomatoes, but I love tomato sauce, tomato soup, ketchup, etc...... I have odd preferences, lol!

In that case, an immersion blender should do the trick.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Problem is, I don't care for chunky tomato sauce, it's a weird texture issue I have. I don't like tomatoes, but I love tomato sauce, tomato soup, ketchup, etc...... I have odd preferences, lol!

In that case, buy tomato puree.

 

[ChefJune]

In that case, an immersion blender should do the trick.

 

[bakechef]

I do make an occasional quick sauce from crushed tomatoes, but when I want a more hearty sauce, the Trader Joe's sauce does the trick, tastes great and is an all natural product.

I have no problem using sauce from a jar if I like the flavor, and it is a natural product, one where the list of ingredients is small, you know where it looks more like food than a chemistry experiment.

 

[larry_stewart]

Ive been growing my own tomatoes, and making my own sauce for 20 + years, But when going for extreme convenience, I always have a few cans of " Don Pepino's " sauce laying around. Comes in a yellow can ( either 14 or 28 ounces). Tastes pretty good without any doctoring up ( in my opinion). I never thought I'd admit to liking a pre-made sauce, especially out of a can, until i tasted this sauce. Great for making Pizza too.

 

[PattY1]

Other than Tomato season I use Hunts plain tomato sauce. I season, add meatballs and simmer. That is the way I have always made it. Prego, Ragu

 

[pacanis]

Other than Tomato season I use Hunts plain tomato sauce. I season, add meatballs and simmer. That is the way I have always made it. Prego, Ragu

You know, I decided not to post what I started typing earlier, but seeing as how you did Patty .
I was going to say the same thing (without the yuk face) about canned sauce. So I'll say it. I swear I can taste the difference of any pre-made or seasoned sauce that comes out of a can, be it spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce. Give me jar or give me death I've tried several recommendations on canned sauces and they all tasted "tinny" to me.

 

[CraigC]

We keep a couple of jars for hurricane supplies. Don't recall ever actually using them except after a hurricane. Don't even know what "style" they are. Usually they get donated after the season, unless used, which thankfully isn't very often.

Craig

 

[jusnikki]

Hunts canned sauce with my own seasoning. I don't like the jarred stuff.

 

[barbieq]

I agree, fresh made is best, but when I do use a commercial sauce, I find Bertolli Vidalia Onion and Roasted Garlic to be a pretty darn good base. Still do a little doctoring, but it's the
best we've found for our tastes.

 

[CWS4322]

Went to one of those "food tasting" parties yesterday. One of the dishes was a chicken dish that used marinara sauce. The dish was very tasty, EXCEPT, salty. The marinara sauce used was very salty (to me) (we tasted the ingredients independently before assembling the dish). None of the others thought it was salty...anyway, I haven't eaten canned/jarred tomatoes or sauce in years and was really surprised how salty it was (and how much sodium) it contained.

I'm harvesting tomatoes from now until the first frost. I am addicted to tomato chips (dehydrated tomato slices). I can taste the sodium in those chips, even though I don't add any salt. I have also been drinking gallons of tomato juice--again, I can taste the sodium, even though there is none added, but neither of these (chips or juice) is nearly as salty as that canned sauce was. I'll make the recipe, but I'll use homemade sauce, thank you very much.