Unpopular opinion: I think jarred pasta sauce is a total waste of money

I was reading a food cost breakdown in a cooking magazine at my dentist's office and it said the average jar of marinara is about 85% water and tomato paste. For the price of two jars, I can buy a big can of crushed tomatoes, a tube of paste, and garlic to make triple the amount in 15 minutes. It tastes way better and my kids actually eat it. Does anyone have a favorite simple tomato sauce recipe they make from scratch?

3 comments

3 Comments

thea_chen2mo ago

Totally agree, it's a total scam lol. The canned tomato base is so much cheaper and you can control the salt and sugar. My go-to is just simmering crushed tomatoes with some onion and dried herbs.

charles_price2mo ago

What dried herbs do you usually throw in?

barbaraschmidt3d ago

Oh come on, you can't beat the real stuff! I have a cabinet full of pre-mixed jars from Penzeys and they're way more complex than anything I could whip up with dried herbs from a regular store. Their Italian seasoning has fennel and rosemary that actually taste like something, and their pizza seasoning has this garlic and oregano blend that makes canned sauce taste like it came from a pizzeria. I get that some people want to control the salt, but the flavor depth just isn't there when you're messing with crushed tomatoes and basic herbs. Have you tried their Arizona Dreaming blend?