As much as we love it when people make food from scratch, there's something to be said about store-bought pasta sauce. I hold it close to my heart because on days when I'm too busy to think about lunch and just need a quick meal, it truly saves the day. I don't like my pasta sweet, so I tend to go for sauces that are low in sugar. And whenever I have the time, I check my kitchen for all the ingredients I can throw in there to jazz it up even more.
Make it spicy.
Ok, I'm going to let you in on a secret: I use Samyang buldak sauce to give my pasta a little kick. The flavor is so unique, I can't compare to anything I've had at a restaurant. Of course, you can also go the more traditional route of just using chili flakes or cayenne pepper.
Add cream.
I actually saw this in a friend's Instagram Stories! The tomato-cream base made the sauce richer. I don't like it when my sauce is malabnaw so this was a perfect hack.
Use an entire head of garlic.
I believe there isn't anything garlic can make better. If I had more talent in the kitchen, I bet I could even make dessert better with garlic, haha. That said, I take a head of garlic, slice them into chips, and throw them into the pasta sauce I'm heating.
Combine your sauces.
As someone who really doesn't want to make her own sauce (lol), I experiment with all the jars available to me in the pasta aisle. When my bank account allows it, that means going home with two to three different sauces. I don't like measuring my food so I usually just combine 'em to see what happens.
Add cheese.
You are probably already topping your pasta with *a lot* of parmesan (and if you haven't been doing this, well, why the hell not?), but stir the cheese into the sauce directly. Most people use mozzarella or goat cheese; step out of your comfort zone and mix in blue cheese instead. ;)
***
What does your zodiac sign say about you? Subscribe to Cosmopolitan Philippines and find out!
Follow Ysa on Instagram.
