The 1-Ingredient Upgrade for Better Store-Bought Tomato Sauce

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There’s beauty in convenience, especially when it comes to prepared foods. Rip open the bag, pop off the lid, tear off the freshness seal, and you’ve accomplished half the work. It’s a perfect plan, except that many prepared foods fail to pack the same flavorful punch as homemade, relying on salt, sugar, and other ingredients to hide that fact.

Tomato sauce is one of those foods. Many varieties lack not just flavor, but acidity and complexity. It’s not realistic though to make homemade tomato sauce every time you whip up some pasta, so what’s a busy home cook to do? It’s simple. Add some butter.

The beautiful thing about butter is that it’s likely an ingredient you keep stocked in your fridge. That makes this smart trick not just tasty, but convenient. Butter works because it adds body to the sauce, making it feel more luxurious and creamy. The flavor is subtle and balances the natural acidity of the tomatoes. Butter can turn any store-bought tomato sauce into something a little more special.

Simply Recipes / Megan Gordon

How Much Butter You Should Add

Like all good things, butter should be added in moderation. The goal isn’t to turn the tomato sauce into a creamy Alfredo sauce, so begin with a small amount. For one 24-ounce jar of tomato sauce, I like to start with one to two tablespoons of butter. I find that’s enough to boost flavor, without making things greasy or taste too strongly of butter.

What Kind of Butter To Use

Any type of butter will work for this trick. Obviously the higher the quality, the better, but any pat is better than no pat. I recommend using unsalted butter since many prepared tomato sauces are already heavily salted. Even if you opt for a reduced-sodium brand of tomato sauce, I still recommend unsalted butter, that way you can control the amount of salt added.

How To Add Butter

A classic pan sauce, made from the delicious bits on the bottom of the pan, is typically finished with a bit of butter. It’s swirled into the sauce right before serving to create a beautiful rich flavor and velvety texture. You can do the same with tomato sauce. Heat the sauce up and once it’s warm, add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, and swirl until it’s fully melted and combined.

Prepared tomato sauce is the secret to getting meals on the table fast. To boost flavor, add a tablespoon or two of unsalted butter just before serving. It’s the simple one-ingredient upgrade you need to try.

Simply Recipes / Sally Vargas

Recipes That Use Jarred Sauce

• Pizza Lasagna
• Baked Ziti
• Pepperoni Calzones
• Meatball Sub
• 3-Ingredient Pizza Beans

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