Sauce for a pasta dish - what would you use?

[Laiste]

OK so like loads of us we're feeling the pinch and i'm back to doing massive pasta mix ups to feed big family, mixed ages, some picky.

I do a sausage, bacon and mushroom cooked and chopped up, stirred into pasta, seasoned, and a big cheap jar of bolognese sauce stirred through it all. This is greeted well by all. Sometimes some cheese sprinkled. No probs.

I also do one with the pasta, some chopped cooked chicken breasts, bacon and sweetcorn. Seasoned obvs. Everyone likes it but we all want a sauce to bung in. Any ideas?

(don't take the pee out of my very basic cooking please 😂)

TIA

I add cream cheese and some Parmesan when I’m making a similar pasta, loosened with a splash of milk or the pasta water.

I'd do crème fraîche and parmesan with pasta water, or a dollop of red pesto and some pasta water would be tasty with the chicken pasta you describe . Pasta water is really quite magnificent for sauces.

Homemade cheese sauce with mushrooms and a pack of cooking bacon.
Last night we had chorizo, onion, garlic, chopped tomatoes (2 tins), tomato puree, lots of seasoning, parsley, butter and mozzarella.
I would ditch the jar of Bolognese sauce. It's really easy to make your own with chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, herbs and seasoning and it's cheaper.

Asda red pepper & mascapone sauce or Asda green pesto sauce.

would it be cheaper to buy tins of tomatoes rather than jars of sauce?
I make tomato sauce by blending a tin of tomatoes with one clove of garlic and then add a vegetable stock cube. It’s really tasty and easy. I don’t even fry the garlic anymore, blend it raw with the tomatoes.

Do your family like tuna? Just add some to the tomato sauce, add the pasta and cheese and bake or grill the top.

A little bit of something extra can make a big difference. Something like a bit of bacon, anchovy or cheese

Definitely ditch the jar of sauce, unless they refuse to eat the home made

Another nice pasta for variety, if your family like tuna, is caramelised onions with mushrooms, peppers, tuna and a few capers and seasoning. (If too dry add just a teeny amount of olive oil and stir gently through.)

I’m also fond of pasta with caramelised onions, courgette, yellow pepper, crumbled feta and seasoning (with maybe some fresh basil). A bit less kid-friendly though as children tend not to be as into courgette and feta as adults are 😂

Cream cheese with a splash of milk makes a nice pasta sauce

To go with the chicken and pasta dish, I'd use either a home made cheese sauce, or cream cheese such as Boursin with plain yoghurt, or creme fraiche etc.

Instead of a jar of bought tomato sauce, try passata with added herbs & garlic, or make your own from tinned tomatoes.

For the chicken dish I'd use a tub of shops own cream cheese stirred through with some herbs. Would you think about buying some cheap herb plants from the supermarket and keeping them on the kitchen windowsill, fresh is so nice! I have basil, coriander, curly parsley, rosemary and thyme. I think each cost £1 and I've had them for over 2 years (helps that dh has a green thumb and keeps them alive for me!).

I recently started making my own bolognese sauce after years of using the jars, and my kids like it more. Cheaper, too!

Places like Asda sell a small jar of red or green pesto for under £1 and it makes a great sauce if your kids like it. Nice to mix a big teaspoon of it in with the cream cheese too.

If you crack the sauce, spaghetti bolognese is great if you can get cheaper mince, I often get it in the reduced bit of the fridge. Cheap spaghetti is 50p.

www.tamingtwins.com/sausage-pasta-recipe/

this is a good one!

Chorizo, or sausage squeezed out of their skins. Just pasta and salad on the side.

If you're trying to save money then do chicken or bacon and chicken or sausages. Chicken and pesto works well together in pasta. Or soft cheese (own brand "philadelphia") melts down ok then add a handful of mature cheddar for a cheesy sauce.
Also make your own tomato based sauces from tinned tomatoes.

Hi

Here are my go ones:
Tasty - Alfredo I use left over roast chicken and add a couple of rashers of bacon. If I have no left overs, I use a packet of thighs
BBC carbonara the chef hfw does a different version using chorizo - shout if you fancy trying
BBC smoky bacon
BBC Delia cheese sauce - I add lightly cooked broccoli and we call it school pasta
Spicy pasta bbc
finally spaghetti bolognese / basic tomato sauce - I finally chop onion, carrot and celery and softened in olive oil around 10 minutes then add mince (250g for 4) if using and brown. Then garlic. Then 2 tins of tomato, herbs (basil/oregano) and seasoning. Leave on low for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Just remembered this goes down well too
Mini meatballs bake bbc

Hope that helps

I do cooking bacon and leeks with a tub creme fraiche and teaspoon of mustard. I use wholegrain. loosen with pasta water.

I make my own tomato based sauce with a tin of tomatoes, clove of garlic, some dried Italian seasoning and black pepper. Cheaper than bought and no sugar!

White sauce (flour/butter/milk) with/without cheese.

Or aldi knock off Philadelphia 69p

Oh my goodness me thank you! ALL these recipes all sound AMAZING 👌😃So many fab ideas to work with!

I'd never have thought of a cream cheese let down with milk! And some of these alternative pasta ideas are mouthwatering!

I'm going back to re-read ...

See, i make a cheese sauce for cauliflour cheese and for macaronni cheese from scratch, but i didn't think of it with pasta!

You just get a bit blinkered with cooking don't you.

Either of these do sound really nice for when it's just DH and me. (rare)

AdaColeman - ... cream cheese such as Boursin with plain yoghurt, or creme fraiche etc.

Boursin + plain yog!... mmmmmmmmm

@weegiemum - Would you think about buying some cheap herb plants from the supermarket and keeping them on the kitchen windowsill, fresh is so nice! I have basil, coriander, curly parsley, rosemary and thyme. I think each cost £1 and I've had them for over 2 years (helps that dh has a green thumb and keeps them alive for me!).

I've always fancied doing this. One of my cats eats random houseplants. I wonder if he'd be ok if he nibbled herbs? I guess so?

Yum again!

Seriously thank each of you for taking the time to add ideas and links. I'll save this thread for future ref.

The cheap philadelphia - reminds me i once made a Nigella recipe for easy cheese cake. It was equal quantities (iirc) of lemon curd and fake phili just mixed up together and spread over a crushed digestive base. Pop in the fridge for a bit and done. It was lovely!

I felt i needed to give something back here 😃

Believe it or noti usethe exact ingredients and use condensed chicken soup as sauce,its from a recipe my mum had when I was a child,with cheese melted on top,sometimes we skip the cheese and sometimes we use peas instead of sweetcorn,sometimes we'll skip the chicken but never the bacon,I like to add black pepper too.

Divided views among friends but I like chicken , bacon , sweet corn and condensed Campbells mushroom or chicken soup , thinned slightly with a splash of milk or water .

If your kids like a stronger taste try bacon , broccoli and Stilton . Fry the bacon and keep aside. Boil pasta and 5 mins before it is ready add the broccoli broken into little florets . Drain , add bacon and then crumble in Stilton and it melts into a really tasty sauce . Thin with a little reserved cooking water if needed . This one is delicious cold too .