If you use jarred spaghetti/pasta sauce

[poppy]

Do you spice it up at home?
I  usually add olive oil and some oregano.

Sometimes wine.

Occasionally crushed red pepper.

Would like other ideas!

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

Dh puts lemon juice on it.  I think it's a Filipino thing.  I've never been to a Filipino spaghetti dinner where they didn't put lemon juice out along with the parmesan cheese.  

[Rubix]

We'll use an Italian seasoning mix, or oregano, garlic, and basil.  If we cook ground beef for in the sauce, we'll add the sauce to the meat, which adds a lot of flavor as well. 

[milovany]

We found a kind of lesser known brand called Tuscan Traditions that has a roasted garlic version. It is SO tasty and now it's all we'll use; all others are bland. So with it, no, we don't spice it up at all.

[trulycrabby]

I like Muir Glenn and Emeril's Kicked Up Pasta Sauce.

[Mergath]

If it's a brand that doesn't have enough flavor, I'll sometimes add some minced vegetables or garlic, or maybe a little wine.

[MFG]

We buy a locally produced brand. I usually use it as is but have on occasion added olive oil and garlic.

[alisoncooks]

I use store-brand, generic canned sauce (yup, sure do).  I mix in a pound of beef, sometimes sprinkle in Italian seasoning and/or minced garlic. 

If it's particularly acidic, I add a pinch of sugar.

[Melissa in Australia]

I cook minced beef, onion, garlic, zucchini, capsicum, spinach, carrots, mushrooms, thyme, oregano  and basil with the jar of spaghetti sauce.

[KungFuPanda]

I generally add some hot italian sausage and a drained can of petite diced tomatoes. The sausage add aplenty of seasoning to everything.

[Chris in VA]

garlic, oregano and rosemary, plus meat or mushrooms--sausage or hamburger

[Farrar]

The Trader Joe's brand.  I rarely spice it up.  When I was a kid, we always had jarred sauce with onions, peppers, garlic, and ground beef.  Sometimes some other veggies too like zucchini.  I could maybe hide vege that way for my kids, but I haven't really tried it.

[dbmamaz]

a long time ago I saw an article doing a taste test of various spaghetti sauce brands, and they also did a quick home made sauce for comparison.  at that point in my life, i was buying generic spaghetti sauce and spicing it up.  after that article, I just bought crushed, concentrated tomato puree and spiced that up instead.  Not much more work, no more money, better flavor.  

 

that being said, dh has been using Prego spicy sausage straight up.  I make my own with tons of veggies . . . . 

[OrganicAnn]

We will add garlic, onions, mushrooms, oregano depending on the sauce.    I've also seen some add grated Parmesan cheese into the sauce to make it richer.    We usually don't add meat as it is one of our meatless meals, but Italian sausage would kick it up a notch.

[Brilliant]

The Trader Joe's brand.  I rarely spice it up.  ...

 

I keep a jar of TJ's organic sauce on hand for emergencies, and we don't add anything either. 

 

But we almost always make our own - it only takes 10-15 minutes and is so much better.  Even my teenage son will make it instead of using jarred sauce.  (diced onion & garlic sauteed in olive oil, puree some diced tomatoes, add that with some red wine and tomato paste, season with oregano, simmer for as long as you feel like)

[KrissiK]

Sometimes I'll sauté peppers and onions and garlic, throw in some italian sausage and then add Prego or Ragu.

[meena]

Balsamic vinegar, sauteed or roasted garlic, basil, oregano, marjoram, pepper, and a bit of parmesan rind if I have time to simmer it for a while.

[Heather in Neverland]

I but the Classico brand and the flavor called "spicy tomato and pesto."

 

It is so good it doesn't need any additions!

[Jenny in Florida]

I sauté lots of onion and garlic in olive oil and add Italian seasoning blend, extra oregano and a pinch each of sugar and red pepper flakes. I often use one jar of prepared sauce as a base and then add extra of all of the above along with a can or two (the 6-ounce size) of tomato paste or one each of tomato paste and diced tomatoes. This works out to be less expensive and better tasting that buying two jars of sauce, but stretches for at least one family meal plus two or three lunches for my son.

[OnTheBrink]

The Trader Joe's brand.  I rarely spice it up.  When I was a kid, we always had jarred sauce with onions, peppers, garlic, and ground beef.  Sometimes some other veggies too like zucchini.  I could maybe hide vege that way for my kids, but I haven't really tried it.

 

I LOVE TJ's vodka sauce. YUM.

[Lady Florida.]

 I just bought crushed, concentrated tomato puree and spiced that up instead.  Not much more work, no more money, better flavor.  

 

 

 

This is what I do unless I'm making the real thing - my mother's sauce. Most jarred sauces have sugar or hfcs. Adding sugar even to homemade sauce is common, but not not for me. I know that many people of Italian descent add sugar to their sauce, supposedly to cut the acidity, but my family doesn't. I don't like sweet sauce.

[DragonFaerie]

As I have said before, I am NO cook, so please keep that in mind.  I use jarred spaghetti sauce, but it always seems so runny and watery.  Someone suggested adding tomato paste to thicken it up, but that makes it too tomato-y.  So what can a non-cook like me do aside from sopping up the run-off on the plates with a paper towel?

[dbmamaz]

Dragon, use a different brand.  They arent all runny and watery.  

[meena]

As I have said before, I am NO cook, so please keep that in mind.  I use jarred spaghetti sauce, but it always seems so runny and watery.  Someone suggested adding tomato paste to thicken it up, but that makes it too tomato-y.  So what can a non-cook like me do aside from sopping up the run-off on the plates with a paper towel?

 

The easiest thing to do is let it simmer uncovered for awhile (probably like 30+ minutes) until the liquid has evaporated to your preferred thickness. 

[DragonFaerie]

The easiest thing to do is let it simmer uncovered for awhile (probably like 30+ minutes) until the liquid has evaporated to your preferred thickness. 

 

How do you keep it from spattering?  Or does that mean I have the temp too high?

 

[zoobie]

As I have said before, I am NO cook, so please keep that in mind. I use jarred spaghetti sauce, but it always seems so runny and watery. Someone suggested adding tomato paste to thicken it up, but that makes it too tomato-y. So what can a non-cook like me do aside from sopping up the run-off on the plates with a paper towel?

You're probably not draining your pasta well enough. I throw it back in the hot pan for a few seconds and stir unless I am combining it with the sauce, then it goes in the sauce pan and gets stirred. :)

 

I usually make quick tomato sauce from crushed tomatoes, but Giada's creamy tomato sauce from Target is pretty good. I think there's some mascarpone or something? I've thrown it in a crockpot with frozen chicken breasts for an easy, hands-off desperation meal. Or used with a tortellini/ravioli bake (toss fresh, stuffed pasta with a jar of sauce, spread in a casserole dish, top with cheese and bake).

[ThatHomeschoolDad]

Alomst all TJ's sauces are excellent - the only one we didn't like was the puttanesca. I only wish TJ would get Muir Glen fire roasted diced tomatoes as a house brand, since I use those in lasagna along with the sauce.

[Happy]

We always toss in some crushed red pepper, some garlic, and a bit of Italian seasoning. If I have fresh tomatoes (they can be the tomatoes about to be goners) and basil, in they go, too. A 1/4 cup of parmesan and a splash of cream is nice, too. We simmer it with a mixture of ground beef and Italian sausage. In fact, that's what we are doing tonight for supper. :)

[meena]

How do you keep it from spattering?  Or does that mean I have the temp too high?

 

 

If you don't mind the longer cooking time, yes, lower the temperature to a lightly bubbling simmer. If you are impatient like me, you can keep the temp a bit higher and use a splatter screen or put a cover on only part way, leaving a decent gap for the steam to escape while still covering most of the opening (that's my usual technique when I make fresh sauce and want to thicken it).

[JennyD]

I usually make quick tomato sauce from crushed tomatoes, but Giada's creamy tomato sauce from Target is pretty good. 

 

I also usually make my own sauce, but I agree that Giada's is pretty decent.  The absolute best jarred sauce, IMNSHO, though, is Rao's.  Egregiously expensive, but on the rare occasions I see it on sale I stock up.

[mytwomonkeys]

I use Prego with mushrooms and add hamburger and sautéed onions (and leave a few tablespoons of the hamburger drippings in the sauce) and let it simmer for a couple of hours. I add chili powder, cayenne, Italian seasoning, minced garlic and salt and pepper. Everyone loves it!

 

Oh. And diced tomatoes. I add those too. I usually make my own, but this is my jarred version

[8circles]

We use Mid's almost exclusively. It's perfect as-is. But if not, I doctor diced tomatoes with spicy Italian sausage, onions, etc.

[AimeeM]

Always. I'm married to an Italian. If I feel I *must* use jarred sauce, I *almost* always spice it up (okay, so sometimes if I'm in a foul mood, I don't, lol).

I generally use an Italian seasoning mix and garlic powder, some salt ad pepper. DH often adds red pepper flakes to his as well.

[OneStepAtATime]

We'll use an Italian seasoning mix, or oregano, garlic, and basil.  If we cook ground beef for in the sauce, we'll add the sauce to the meat, which adds a lot of flavor as well. 

We also sometimes add ground beef or crumbled Italian sausage.

 

Frequently add garlic, basil, roasted garlic, etc. and we sometimes mix different jarred sauces.

 

No matter how I serve it, though, my husband adds a slice of Velveeta cheese on top... :)

[Camelfeet]

I add tons of veg - I usually fry up garlic, onions, zucchini, grilled eggplant (if we've got left overs), and mushrooms in olive oil.  Then add the sauce + oregano and basil. 

[redsquirrel]

This is what I do unless I'm making the real thing - my mother's sauce. Most jarred sauces have sugar or hfcs. Adding sugar even to homemade sauce is common, but not not for me. I know that many people of Italian descent add sugar to their sauce, supposedly to cut the acidity, but my family doesn't. I don't like sweet sauce.

 

I shop at Wegmans and they have the only jarred sauce I will buy. It doesn't have any added sweetener at all. Other jarred sauce tastes like candy to me. Tomato candy on pasta is not good.

 

If I can't get that, then I make my own.

[mrsrevmeg]

The only thing I have put in jarred sauce is meat and then put cheese on it to serve. Normally I only buy La Famiglia DelGrosso sauce in Aunt Mary Ann's Sunday Marinade flavor. For Christmas, my son wanted to cook Chicken Parmesan. Instead of a home made sauce (This was his first time ever to cook anything) he used jarred. It was either Classico or Barrilla (sorry I can't remember which brand) flavored with Italian sausage. I was good. Of course, the chicken had a lot of flavor, which may have added to the goodness. My husband and I were both skeptical until we too the first bite.