5 Tips for a Better Tasting Tomato Sauce (2024)

FAQs

5 Tips for a Better Tasting Tomato Sauce? ›

Starting with good quality tomatoes and crushing them by hand offers great flavor and texture later on. The combination of butter and oil releases fat-soluble aromatics and gives the sauce a creamy texture. Slowly cooking the sauce in the oven creates rich caramelization without burning.

Starting with good quality tomatoes and crushing them by hand offers great flavor and texture later on. The combination of butter and oil releases fat-soluble aromatics and gives the sauce a creamy texture. Slowly cooking the sauce in the oven creates rich caramelization without burning.

Even better, season it! Taste the sauce once it's warm and add some seasoning. Maybe it needs a touch of salt, red pepper flakes, or some fresh garlic to liven it up. You could add dried or fresh herbs too: oregano, basil, thyme, tarragon, parsley—they're all great!

Pungent fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary, sage, tarragon, and marjoram can liven up tomato sauce with their bold, distinctive flavors. Add 1 to 2 sprigs of one or more of them to your favorite sauce, cover, and simmer at least 5 minutes to allow them to infuse in the sauce. Remove the sprigs before serving.

Tossing in strips of basil, a sprig of thyme or some oregano can take your sauce to the next level. Although fresh herbs might pop a bit more, dried herbs and spices can work just as well. Sprinkling in some red pepper flakes, a pinch of parsley and a dash of salt and pepper can liven up your jarred pasta sauce.

Well, if you really want to amp up the taste of your tomatoes, cream of tartar is your answer. Yes, there are other ways to make your tomatoes taste even better and increase the acidity. There is lemon, vinegar, or my personal favorite, balsamic.

The salt actually highlights the tomatoes' sweetness by acting as a foil. Think about it: That's why there's salt in nearly every baked good. In the case of tomatoes, the salt is also drawing water out, intensifying the fruits' natural flavors. In this ultimate caprese, the tomatoes are generously sprinkled with salt.

Briny ingredients like olives or capers are another way to brighten up your pasta sauce while also introducing texture and depth of flavor.

Simmering at a low temperature for an extended period also encourages the sauce to reduce and thicken. This reduction concentrates the flavors of the tomato sauce, making it richer and more intense.

According to Larousse (Larousse, 1993), the most important sensory qualities of sauces are “color, luster, aroma, taste, texture and viscosity”, thus underlining the importance of the sauce in a dish.

What are the 5 components of a sauce? ›

Sauces are the melding of ingredients, including stocks, wine, aromatics, herbs, and dairy, into a harmonious taste.

If the reason you're wanting to “sweeten” the sauce is because the tomato is too tart [highly acidic] then a pinch of baking soda should do the trick. Or if you really like your sauce sweet for the sake of sweetness, then add a carrot or bit of sweet potato while it's cooking.

If you're using a plain tomato (marinara) sauce, stir in seasonings to add extra flavor. Red pepper flakes, dehydrated or fresh garlic, dried oregano, parsley, or basil, or an Italian seasoning blend are all good options.

Add butter

Yes, that's right. Toss in a few tablespoons of butter, and let it melt into the sauce. If you've never tried it before, it might seem strange, but a little butter makes tomato sauce rich and smooth, and also balances out too much acidity, which is common in jarred sauces.

Add fresh herbs (basil, oregano, rosemary, bay leaf), and let them simmer to give a punch of fresh flavor.

After the regular herbs and spices, I find carefully adding some lemon juice or vinegar and a little sugar and salt can help “wake up” a bland tomato sauce. For an Alfredo style cream sauce, extra nutmeg, salt, grated parmesean and garlic can help.

Onions: speaking of onions, YES we're caramelizing these babies to give a natural, delicious sweetness to the pasta sauce. WORTH IT. Herbs & spices: you'll also need some fresh basil, dried oregano, and plenty of salt and pepper. Feel free to add a few shakes of red pepper flakes, too, if you like a little spice.

It is widely held that Italian immigrants began adding sugar to their sauce to make up for the overly acidic tomatoes they were forced to work with in their new home. But the history of sugar in pasta sauce actually goes back to Italy itself.

A teaspoon or so of Worcestershire or soy sauce or a dash of Maggi Würze or a couple of anchovies (they will melt into the tomato sauce as you cook it) will add tons of flavor. Enhance canned tomato sauce with these spices for a burst of flavor: Garlic Powder: Adds depth and savory notes.

But the sample enhanced with just ¼ teaspoon of sugar tasted bright, balanced, and more intense in tomato flavor, while the sample with an equal amount of baking soda was deemed a little flat in comparison, with a more one-dimensional sweetness, even when we scaled down the amount to ⅛ teaspoon.

How do you fix bland tomato sauce? ›

Spice it up. If you're using a plain tomato (marinara) sauce, stir in seasonings to add extra flavor. Red pepper flakes, dehydrated or fresh garlic, dried oregano, parsley, or basil, or an Italian seasoning blend are all good options.

Add fresh herbs (basil, oregano, rosemary, bay leaf), and let them simmer to give a punch of fresh flavor.

Insufficient Seasoning: The most common reason for bland sauce is not adding enough seasoning. Spaghetti sauce typically requires a combination of herbs and spices such as garlic, onion, oregano, basil, thyme, and red pepper flakes. Make sure you've added enough of these ingredients to give your sauce depth of flavor.