Easy low cost pasta sauces

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if we have pasta it tends to be spag Bol, lasagne, pasta with salmon etc, but I know that I can make cheap meals with a more basic pasta sauce.

I've just about cracked a tomato one, but looking for other low cost ideas.

Any recipes you can share?

Heat milk in a pan, add grated cheese and stir til its all melted. Add pepper, herbs to your taste. It won't be thick but you can mix about a tsp of cornflour with water (cornflour first) in a glass and pour it into your sauce while stirring til its as thick as you like.

It's the easiest way to make cheese sauce ever, takes about 5 minutes and you can use up the last bits of any cheese, its freezable as well.

I do pasta with bacon and a splash of white wine (I buy the cheapest one and keep in in the cupboard) in the frying pan and then just pepper and Parmesan.

Also, roast a squash or pumpkin in the oven and then add cooked gnocchi and stir it all round.

Ground almonds, chopped basil, garlic, olive oil, finely grated Parmesan et voila, homemade pesto.

Flour & butter mixed in pan to form paste. Gradually add milk, stir in grated cheddar, frozen spinach and peas.

Fry bacon as pasta is cooking. Mix eggs and cheese in a bowl. When past is cooked turn off heat on bacon pan and transfer pasta to it. Stir through cheese/egg mix with a bit of pasta water to thin if necessary. Carbonara.

Major pasta cravings going on right now and I've just eaten. Love the stuff!

Carbonara is pretty easy - fry chopped bacon with a couple of cloves of garlic, beat eggs, take the garlic out of the pan then add to the drained pasta with the raw eggs - they will cook slightly to make a nice sauce with the residual heat from the pasta.

Also (and this one is very junky and not remotely authentically Italian but kids seem to like it) add a tin of tuna to the tomato sauce along with a spoonful of cream cheese, then mix with the pasta.

Or you can bung some spinach leaves into the pasta just before you drain it - as you drain, the leaves will wilt. You can then add a bit of dolcelatte or any other soft cheese you like to the pot of drained pasta and spinach and stir the lot together.

Cross-post and oops yes I forgot to say add grated cheese to the beaten eggs for carbonara!

Also, for a variation on carbonara, fry chunks of black pudding instead of bacon, and add some sage instead of the garlic cloves. Black pudding is really cheap if you have a decent butcher.

Tinned tomatoes, butter beans, mushrooms and peppers, add a tin of tuna 5 minutes before serving.

Mix in the pasta and bake in the oven or serve straight away on cooked pasta :)

Haha Wallison and I forgot the garlic! I think between us we've got a whole recipe!

Puttanesca is our favourite.
Finely dice an onion and 2 cloves of garlic and fry til translucent, chop a small tin of anchovies and put in the pan, fry until they've practically disintegrated. Add 2 cartons of passata/chopped toms, a handful of chopped black olives, a little salt and pepper, a tsp of sugar and let it cook down for 5 mins.

mummybare! My son would kill me (or at least refuse to eat) if I served him up carbonara without the cheese!

Fry a couple rashers on bacon per person cut into bit, add some chopped onion and fry until cooked. Add a couple of handfuls of peas. Cook spaghetti until cook, keep a cupful of pasta water.

Drain pasta add to bacon, onion and pea mixture with some black pepper and parmesan cheese (if you have it) use a little of the pasta water to help mix.
'

Fry over onion and garlic plus any veg you have lurking - red pepper, celery courgettes, carrots etc.

When soft, add passata or tinned toms, plus a bit of sugar or apple juice and heat for a few more mins.

Then turn if off, blitz it until smooth and stir in a couple of tablespoons of marscapone or cream cheese. It goes all creamy and silky and the dc don't know they're consuming vast amounts of veg.

One of easiest I like is hardly even a recipe - just cook pasta add good dollop of butter to coat, some Parmesan to f

One of easiest I like is hardly even a recipe - just cook pasta add good dollop of butter and Parmesan to coat. So just buttered cheesy pasta!

can 'fancy' it up with some boiled peas, or fry off some red chilli and garlic and some chopped parsley (or squeeze in lazy garlic And ir chilli)?Good lot of salt n pepper and more Parmesan.

My two dc (5 & 8) love pasta with broccoli and anchovies- very cheap. Fry a squashed clove of garlic in 4tbsp olive oil (will remove it later once it's flavoured the oil). Meanwhile, cook (steam/microwave) a head of broccoli (chopped into medium florets) until cooked but still green. chop 4 anchovies (half a tin - save half for another meal) roughly and fry in the oil. Squash them down so they dissolve. Once broccoli cooked, cut into smaller florets and then put into pan with the anchovies in oil and cook further on low heat whilst you do the pasta. Mix with pasta before serving, add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and grate grana padano cheese (cheaper than parmesan, but just as nice) on top. drizzle with chilli oil for adults.

Don't diss this if you aren't an anchovy fan. I'm not a fan, but it works!

I like using up leftover ham with some garlic, chicken stock concentrate, creme fraiche and chopped parsley.

I usually add peas or sweetcorn to the pasta as well then combine the two.

Another one is chopped leek, courgette and mushroom sauted off, add pesto and creme fraiche and serve with cooked pasta. I have added fried lardons to this as well.

Favourites here are:

• a tub of creme fraiche with a dollop of red pesto (Lidl's one is good), a bit of Boursin and a tin of butter beans all heated together on the hob and then stirred in to the cooked pasta.

-grated courgette, grated carrot, garlic and onion all cooked together, add a tin of tomatoes. Give it a whizz with a hand held blender and you have a tomato sauce with hidden veg. We tend to add olives, capers and mozzarella just before serving.

-One based on a Carluccio's dish is grated courgette, lots of garlic and red chilli. My current fave. I found the link to the recipe for it on a thread here somewhere .

Heres the recipe for the carluccio's one

We don't bother with making the spinach balls though

Cook pasta, stir in a couple of dollops of mascarpone and some chopped, pre-grilled, bacon (pref. streaky, but really any will do). Chuck in some peas for greenery.

Spaghetti Marco Polo: Cook spaghetti and toss in either butter or olive oil with a little bit of chopped garlic, serve up. Put dishes of tuna, grated cheese (can be grana padano, emmenthal, cheddar or whatever's around), olives, chopped walnuts, spring onions out and let people help themselves.

Shallot or onion finely chopped, clove of garlic, Carton of passata, a pinch of chilli flakes, heat through. Serve over pasta.

My fave is butter and Marmite stirred into wholemeal spaghetti and then strong Cheddar grated over. Hungry now, curses!

one of my favourites is pepperoni slices fried in a dry pan, then add onion and any other veg to fry off. add can of tomatoes and cook for a couple of mins. the pepperoni gives a lovely flavour.

Fry chopped onion, mushroom, bacon and garlic. Then add cooked pasta and a couple of tablespoons of creme fraiche and a good sprinkling of black pepper.

My DCs farourite is finely chopped mushrooms, lots of garlic, chopped spinach and a blob of ricotta cheese. I use frozen garlic and spinach. Goes well with gnocchi.

These are all brilliant thank you all!!!

Fry mushrooms, onion and garlic. Add Boursin or cream cheese and lots of black pepper plus some chopped spinach if wished. Unfortunately my evil dds will bot eat mushrooms.

DD2 likes Boursin, a bit of milk to thin it and some frozen peas.

Arrabiata - fry onion and peppers and garlic. Add a splash of wine (any colour) and some passata plus finely chopped red chilli. Cook a bit. Add halved green olives and a load of flat leaf parsley.