How to make store-bought marinara taste more like homemade
As I’ve said before, I’m a fan of kitchen shortcuts that can make cooking easier and faster. Especially if you pick one of the better brands out there, store-bought marinara is a great example.
When we recently ran our taste test of 12 top-selling brands, not only did readers have comments about their favorites, but they also offered ideas on how to upgrade those supermarket jars. Here’s a roundup of some of those suggestions.
TIME
The time you put into a tomato sauce is just as important as the ingredients. If you taste a store-bought marinara and deem it pretty good but you just want to amplify things, try cooking it down. Concentrating the flavors may be all it takes to amplify the flavors and give it that homecooked vibe.
AROMATICS
Think about how you might start a sauce if you were making it from scratch. You’d probably saute some aromatics, right? Same idea here. In some butter or oil, cook one or a combination of such staples as onions, garlic, leeks or shallots to your preferred level of color - until just transparent, golden or richly brown. You can include other parts of the classic French mirepoix or Spanish or Italian sofrito/soffritto bases, if that’s your thing, including carrots, celery, peppers and more tomatoes. Add the marinara and simmer for a bit to allow the flavors to meld.
UMAMI
These are the type of ingredients that have an impact without you necessarily being able to pinpoint their presence. That’s because they’re more about umami, that savory, mouth-filling sensation that is often cited as the fifth taste, after sweet, sour, salty and bitter. A little can go a long way with some of these ingredients - and a lot can go too far, if you’re not careful.
An especially effective option with a low risk is tomato paste. Brown a tablespoon or so in olive oil in your pot or skillet before adding the sauce to simmer or reheat. Anchovies, or anchovy paste, is another umami-rich ingredient, so try cooking a few minced fillets or a teaspoon or so of paste into the sauce. For liquid options, a judicious splash of fish sauce, soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce can add coveted depth. Whether making homemade or doctoring store-bought sauce, readers suggested red wine and rinds from Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
HERBS
While jarred marinara often includes herbs, you can doctor it with more of your favorites. First read the label, noting that herbs may actually be lumped into a parenthetical under “spices.” Then taste the sauce. If it’s lacking that special something, try cooking the sauce with a dried bay leaf or two, one of my favorite subtle but effective herbs. A judicious pinch of dried oregano or basil is another option, but the judicious part is key, as they are rather potent and may already be in the sauce. Or consider stirring in torn or minced fresh herbs right before serving to preserve their bright flavor. Basil is a natural, though I think fresh oregano is really underrated. Fresh thyme or parsley can work, too, if you like them.
MEAT
Several readers talked about how they like to bulk up and flavor store-bought sauce with meat. Sausage - whether sliced links or ground bulk - were both mentioned as possibilities, as was ground beef. I’d recommend hot Italian sausage, which I use in a similar approach when I build the sauce for my spinach and goat cheese lasagna. Brown whatever meat you choose in a bit of olive oil, so that it starts to cook and the fat renders to flavor and enrich the sauce, then add the marinara and simmer to combine.