14 Ways To Upgrade Store-Bought Pasta Sauce

There's no shame in using store-bought pasta sauce. It's inexpensive, ready whenever you need it, and some brands are actually quite tasty. That doesn't mean you can't make them even better though. With just one or two extra ingredients you can easily turn any store-bought sauce into a welcome pasta addition. Even if you find yourself with a subpar sauce, there are plenty of ways to turn it around. Anything from a few pats of butter to red wine to roasted tomatoes has the potential to take it to new heights.

Italian food is our favorite type of cuisine by far. As a result, many of the ways to upgrade store-bought pasta sauce you find below come from our personal experiences experimenting in the kitchen. We also combed through food blogs and chef tips to ensure we gave you a well-rounded collection of helpful store-bought tomato sauce additions. Whether you come across a jarred sauce that is too thick, thin, or simply lacks flavor, you'll be glad to know there is a way to fix it up just how you like. Keep reading to learn what experience and research taught us so you can make any store-bought pasta sauce taste almost like it's homemade.

Some store-bought pasta sauces are so runny that they pour out of the jar like tomato juice. Needless to say, this isn't ideal. You want your tomato sauce to be thick enough that it clings to noodles. If not, you wind up with a runny mess on the bottom of your plate, and the sauce-to-pasta ratio is just plain off. To ensure you get lots of sauce and pasta in every bite, thin store-bought sauces should be thickened. This may sound a bit labor-intensive if you aren't a sauce-making pro, but it's actually quite easy when you start with a premade base.

The best way to thicken a store-bought sauce is to add more tomatoes, either in the form of paste or diced ones. We prefer adding tomato paste to my sauces because it is super effective at thickening, not just filling up extra space. Diced tomatoes, canned or fresh, also help thicken a sauce, but they don't do much for the actual texture of the liquid. Instead, they add bulk, which in turn makes a thicker sauce. You can also simmer a thin sauce for a few minutes to encourage evaporation. It's the same idea, but you don't need any extra ingredients.

Tossing a couple of pats of butter into a store-bought sauce while it heats up is a surefire way to improve flavor. It lends a rich, almost creamy taste that has the power to turn just about any sauce around, even super bland ones. There's something about the extra fat that really elevates and deepens flavor. Stirring in butter may sound a bit strange to some, but if you think about it, butter makes everything better so it's actually not too surprising that it can do the same for tomato sauce.

Adding butter to tomato sauce is one of our top three recommendations for improving flavor, and guess what? It works for both store-bought and homemade tomato sauces. We love the richness butter adds to store-bought tomato sauce. Even a small amount instantly deepens the flavor and rounds out any overly sharp elements. Plus, it is incredibly simple and most of us already have butter in our fridge. All you have to do is add a couple of pats and stir. There's no dicing or extra prep work required, so butter is not only one of the easiest upgrades to pull off, but the payoff is quite big when it comes to flavor.

We're big fans of creamy tomato sauces, but we almost never make them from scratch. Instead, we like to simply jazz up a store-bought jar with a touch of something creamy. Not only is it infinitely simpler, but it gives me the chance to control how creamy the sauce becomes. Unless we're going for a straight-up cream sauce, like Alfredo, we prefer the cream to be on the lighter side. Regardless of your particular preference, upgrading a pre-made sauce gives you complete control — perfect.

When it comes to stirring something creamy into tomato sauce, we start off slow. That way, we can monitor texture and make slight adjustments as needed. One of the best things about this upgrade is that it gives you lots of options, as well. Anything from cream cheese to heavy cream to Greek yogurt gets the job done. Mascarpone and ricotta cheese are also perfect additions. Or, if you want an even lighter option, plain old milk works fine, too. It won't thicken your sauce like the other creamy ingredient options, but it'll definitely make it creamy. Yes, please.

This next tip comes to us from celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis, and she's an Italian cuisine pro, so you know it's a good one. She likes to simmer store-bought pasta sauce along with a Parmesan rind. Just like the cheese itself, the rind is packed with lots of yummy, umami flavor, and it seeps out into the sauce surprisingly well when heated. Giada's recommendation is all you really need, but we can also attest to this superb tip. We've done it many times, both with homemade and store-bought sauce and it works wonders.

Most people simply toss the rind on a block of Parmesan cheese straight into the trash. However, the next time you have one you'd be wise to save it. Then, when you open up a jar of store-bought sauce you can simply toss it in while it simmers on the stove. The longer it cooks, the more flavor you get. Just be careful not to leave it simmering for so long that the sauce becomes too thick. Before serving, scoop the rind out and you are good to go.

Some store-bought sauces are a touch on the sweeter side. While a sweeter tomato sauce is great for things like pizza and more, it's not everyone's cup of tea. If you tend to prefer a more savory-tasting sauce, you're in luck. You can easily reduce sweetness in store-bought sauces with a bit of something acidic, like citrus or vinegar, and it doesn't take much. Just a small amount is all you need to brighten the flavor and reduce sweetness in one fell swoop.

Lemon juice and white or apple cider vinegar work exceptionally well in store-bought tomato sauces. If you open up a jar and find it is too sweet for your liking, start by adding a teaspoon of your preferred acid. Then, give it a taste and evaluate the results. If it still isn't perfect, add a tiny bit more until you get it just right. Balsamic vinegar can also be used, just keep in mind that it tends to be on the sweeter side, so while it may brighten flavor, it won't really reduce sweetness much.

Some store-bought sauces are overly watery, but others are excessively thick. Fortunately, this can also be fixed. We like to add vegetable broth to overly thick sauces, but really, any kind of broth will work. In addition to helping thin out the texture, it also imparts a rich, savory flavor to the sauce — not much because you only need a small amount (like a spoonful or two), but every bit of seasoning counts when it comes to making delicious pasta sauce.

If we don't have any broth on hand, water is ready to step in. It doesn't add flavor, but there's no doubt it thins out a sauce just as well. Whichever thinning agent you opt for, start by adding a small spoonful. Then, stir until it is thoroughly mixed in. If your sauce still is not at the right consistency, repeat until it is. Just remember, a little goes a long way. You don't want to go overboard or you'll find yourself in another predicament. It'll still be fixable, but you are trying to enhance your sauce, not create more issues to remedy.

Parmesan rinds are not the only way to boost umami flavor in store-bought sauces. You can also add bouillon or anchovies (ideally in paste form) to store-bought spaghetti sauce to achieve a deeper flavor profile. Thanks to the rich taste of both ingredients, the change happens pretty quickly, too.

We always keep a jar of Better Than Bouillon in my fridge and it is perfect for store-bought pasta sauce. If you're unfamiliar with the product, it's bouillon, it's just in a thick paste form, not a hard cube. Typically you dilute it with water, but you don't need to before adding it to tomato sauce. Simply scoop about ½ of a teaspoon into your sauce and stir while heating. It dissolves much faster than a bouillon cube would and I find it has a richer flavor in general, so it's a win-win. Anchovy paste can be used the same way. However, your sauce will no longer be vegetarian-friendly. Just keep that in mind if you are cooking for guests.

Unlike Parmesan rinds, anchovy paste and bouillon are easy to keep on hand, too. It's not like you can't cut a rind off when needed, but how many blocks of Parmesan cheese do most of us go through? Not enough to have them reliably on hand, that's for sure.

It really doesn't matter what you are making, texture is key when it comes to creating delicious foods. If your store-bought sauce isn't very chunky and you plan on pairing it with plain noodles, adding a couple of veggies to the mix will seriously improve the overall texture of your dish. Of course, it also infuses your meal with more nutrition. You gotta get those veggies in somehow, right?

Some of my favorite veggies to add to a store-bought pasta sauce include sautéed onions, peppers, and carrots. Carrots add a sweet element and we're sure we don't have to tell you why onions and peppers are a good idea. You find them in countless Italian dishes. In addition to these veggie staples, you can pretty much add any veggies you like. Mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, and more all add lots of flavor and texture to an otherwise boring or bland sauce. We recommend sautéing your veggies first and then pouring your store-bought sauce over the top for the last few minutes. This allows the veggies to soften nicely and also gives you a chance to season them, which, of course, only adds more flavor to your sauce in the end.

Adding protein to store-bought pasta sauces is always an excellent idea. Not only is it good for you nutrition-wise, but it seriously bulks up a jar of sauce so you can stretch it quite a bit further. Plus, it just makes sense. Ground beef and turkey, Italian sausage, and even chicken have the ability to turn a bland sauce into something special, especially if you season them just right before adding. If you like your sauces to have some heat, try adding spicy sausage and you'll be glad you did.

Meat and tomato sauce are old friends, but you can also add protein with plant-based options. That is, of course, if you are into that kind of thing. Textured vegetable protein (TVP) often comes in a crumbled form and when stirred into tomato sauce the texture is so similar to ground meat that some people might not even pick up on the difference, at least not right away. Tempeh is another fantastic plant-based upgrade. It is easy to crumble and sauté and it adds a nice nuttiness to any tomato sauce.

You probably know that a glass of red wine pairs perfectly with tomato sauce. The richness of both complement each other to perfection and lucky us, this isn't where the duo's perfect pairing ends. You can also seriously upgrade the flavor of store-bought pasta sauces by adding a few splashes of red wine to the mix and simmering. The blend of sweet and tart flavors found in red wine balances the acidity of jarred tomato sauce while also improving flavor in astounding ways.

Like we keep saying, you don't need much either, just a couple of splashes of red wine are plenty for a single jar of sauce. Who knows? Maybe you can even have the rest of the bottle along with your meal. It's not like you need to use a good bottle of wine for sauce, but no one is stopping you. No matter what red wine you select, make sure to simmer your sauce until it is almost completely evaporated. You want to give the alcohol ample time to burn off. It'll still leave plenty of flavor behind. We promise.

If you love a bright, sharp-tasting vodka sauce but making it from scratch isn't in the cards, starting with a store-bought sauce is the perfect shortcut. In fact, even celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis recognizes this time-saving hack as one of the best ways to achieve the authentic flavor of a vodka sauce in a matter of minutes. You could simply opt for a store-bought vodka sauce, but adding the extra ingredients needed to a typical tomato sauce is a surefire way to take it to the next level.

Vodka sauce is a classic tomato sauce with cream, Parmesan, and of course, vodka. When the elements come together correctly, the taste is drool-worthy by any standards. When you start with a store-bought sauce you cut the time down significantly but it's also incredibly easy. All you need to do is simmer a sauce with vodka, cream, and Parmesan. Once you get the hang of it, it shouldn't take you longer than it does to boil a pot of water and cook pasta — score.

The term tomato sauce technically encompasses quite a few things. However, tomato sauce doesn't truly become pasta sauce or marinara without the addition of Italian herbs and spices. Obviously, any store-bought spaghetti sauce you buy will already have a collection of Italian seasonings included, but in our experience, it's not nearly as much as we would add. With this in mind, you can easily amplify the taste of any store-bought jar of sauce by simply adding more of the spices it already contains.

You know, the kind of person who adds double or triple the amount of garlic that any recipe calls for and still thinks it could handle some more? That's us. We want garlic to be at the forefront, especially in tomato sauce, so adding more is always a winning choice in my home. We also like to add extra oregano, thyme, and basil to my sauces. For the best tasting results, fresh herbs are the way to go, but dried ones work, too. They just don't taste quite as fresh and you'll need to add a bit more because they lose some of their flavor when dried.

We already talked about adding extra tomatoes or tomato paste to thicken up thin store-bought sauces, but that's not where this helpful tip ends. You can also increase fresh and complex flavors in your sauce by roasting tomatoes before adding them to a sauce. Roasted tomatoes have a distinct taste that won't go unnoticed. They are rich, deep, and well, delicious. They also add lots of texture, so if you prefer a rustic, chunky sauce, this tip is a no-brainer.

Admittedly, this store-bought pasta sauce upgrade isn't the quickest. You have to preheat the oven and roast the tomatoes for quite some time before they start to caramelize and achieve the ideal flavors. Still, it is more than worth the time and effort when you consider how it transforms a sauce. One way to streamline the process is to use canned tomatoes. We recommend using an Italian tomato like San Marzano or Roma but if you have another type of tomato on hand, don't sweat it. Really, just about any kind of tomato will add the fresh flavor you desire to a lackluster sauce.

Adding pickled ingredients to any store-bought pasta sauce will undoubtedly improve flavor and lend a helping hand in the texture department. Not only do they add some bulk, but the briny flavors of pickled ingredients give you something you wouldn't achieve with fresh ingredients: extra acidity and saltiness. Yum! Best of all, adding pickled ingredients is incredibly simple. Seriously, all you have to do is pop open a jar or can of the ingredient you choose and toss a few in, no extra cooking or dicing required. What's easier than that?

So, what pickled ingredients make store-bought pasta sauces shine? There are quite a few. For starters, olives are a shoo-in. They taste delicious with tomatoes and help you achieve something similar to a puttanesca sauce with minimal effort. Pickled red peppers are another fantastic pick — roasted ones are even better. They add a nice sweetness and complexity that we love. Capers and pickled mushrooms, or even giardanera can also be incorporated to enhance umami flavors and sharpness. What pickled ingredient will you use first?