Why is my pasta sauce so bland?

[Spilledmycoffee]

Dd (2.5) would happily live off pasta and asked for it tonight. We didn't have a jar of sauce and I didn't fancy going back out. I'm usually pretty good with a tin of tomatos and some herbs and spices, but pasta sauce has always eluded me. Tonight dd would only eat her pasta if every mouth full had a mound of cheese on it because it was so boring. Can anyone suggest where I might be going wrong? I'd love to stop buying the jars because they're so full of sugar and salt (although perhaps that's the secret?!)

Tonight's sauce was:

1 tin tomatos
Half a stock cube
Pepper
2tsp smoked paprika
2tsp italian herbs and spices
1tsp onion granules
1tsp garlic powder
1tsp oregano
1/2 tsp coriander

It wasn't bad it was just really tasteless. Whats would the above need to make it taste better?

Basil instead of coriander.

I add chopped seeet potato, which thickness the sauce and takes the acidic edge off the toms.

So was your pan hot enough and did you season properly

I have recently started to whip my pasta with some of the water it cooked in and butter on the heat before it's done and with Parmesan

Then throw sauce on
X

Sweat onion and garlic, add finely chopped carrot (adds the sweetness) add whatever herbs you like, tinned toms/passata and puree. Simmer, blend.
You can also make tomato soup like this if you add stock.
At the same time as adding onion and garlic you can also add sundried toms, or mushrooms, olives etc but I wouldn't blend if using latter 2 ingredients.

Omg so much to try thanks!

I forgot to mention I simmered it for about 45 mins before dd got too impatient.

Lol at coriander being wrong. Yeah. It was a last ditch attempt because I knew it wasn't going well .

Tomato puree!!! I never even thought of it. Theres some in the fridge too.

Never heard of white pepper but it's peaked my interest so I might get hold of some.

I was out of fresh onion (and the couldnt be added faffing about just for the garlic) but next time I have a go I'll make sure I have fresh, and cook them before anything else

Coriander? Stop this at once!

As previous, fry garlic and onions first, add the herbs, the tinned toms or passata, half a stock cube and some water. Fresh parsley or basil towards the end will lift it, and salt and pepper is a must.

@Spilledmycoffee I buy garlic paste and keep it in the fridge for when I can't be bothered to use fresh - it's much better than dried ☺️

Liking the pesto, red pepper, sundried tomatos, olives and carrots ideas. Dd loves carrots. It'd have to be well blended though because apparently it's wrong of me to mix two favourites together 😅

Dried herbs lose their flavour depressingly quickly. Fresh onions and fresh garlic are about ten times better than the dried, and if you cook the onions in particular really really slowly they go gorgeously sweet. Which means you don't have to add too much of The Secret Ingredient. Which is sugar.

I routinely use veggie stock cubes in all recipes now, including dishes which are actually chicken or beef. Did it first when I was making oxtail stew and found that I'd run out of beef stock in freezer and the beef Oxo cubes in the back of the cupboard were so ancient they were truly rank. I suspect they may have followed DP from three housemoves ago, which would be the early '80's... Anyway I did have some veggie stock cubes which I keep for when DD2 or any other veggie friends and family are about, so used one instead. It was so much less salty but just as umami!

A squirt of lemon juice can also help zing things up if it still tastes a bit meh.

Garlic paste? I'm into anything that means there's less to wash up and the garlic press is a faff to clean. You might have introduced me to my new favourite garlic related thing

I find that dried and garlic paste leaves a bit of an aftertaste and makes my breath stinky the next day. You can chop it and freeze it if you want.

Fresh onion and garlic for sure

Most important ingredient in a decent sauce is patience - simmer for ages!

Miso paste is my secret for tomato pasta sauce - picked up from a deliciously Ella recipe - just a table spoon makes a massive difference.

I also find the brand of tomatoes you use makes a huge difference - I only use cirio - even though they are pricey it makes such a difference.

Ok my family is Italian and this is how you do it.
Half an onion diced
Fry in a bit of olive oil for three/ four mins
add One tin tomato purée
Two tins of chopped tomatoes
One tin of water
A desert spoon of Italian mixed herbs,a bay leaf, salt and pepper
Simmer for two hours.

No need for orange juice, sugar, Worcester sauce or anything else.

The key is to cook it Long and slow. If you want to add meat (like mince or steak) do it after the onion.
I make it in bulk and freeze then can add prawns and chilli or bacon or whatever really at the last minute.

A basic but tasty tomato sauce is:
Onion finely chopped, cooked slowly in plenty of olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Once soft add a big knob of butter and once melted add a generous amount of crushed garlic. Let it cook for a couple of minutes then add 2 or 3 tins of chopped tomatoes (peeled chopped fresh tomatoes are even better but more of a faff). Sometimes I add about half a can of water to the tins and tip that in too so it's quite wet. Bit more salt and pepper then leave to simmer for a good hour til it has reduced a lot and thickened. Done. If you have it fresh chopped basil is good stirred in at the end.

Adding powdered seasoning to a plain tin of tomatoes it never going to make something delicious, even if you add tomato puree

A quick alternative for kids is to put the drained cooked pasta back into the pan and add a big spoonful of creme fraiche and some grated cheese. Instant cheesey sauce pasta. If like my DC they prefer red sauce add tomato puree for a creamy cheesy tomato sauce. And season it obviously, which seems to need saying on mumsnet.

Oh and add a bay leaf or two of course!

Salt, tomato ketup or tomato purée, Worcester sauce and ditch the coriander as you’ve put Italian herbs in

Keep the other things you’ve added and add the things I’ve suggested I mean x

To make it a bit spicer add a few chilli flakes

Fresh garlic, onion and herbs rather than powders/dried herbs definitely. Much more flavour. Some tomato purée and I add a bit of fresh chilli too (not so much that the DC complain it’s too spicy)

Oh and a bit of salt and pepper, obviously

Fresh garlic and fresh onion will help a lot. And a tea spoon on brown sugar with the tomato.

Fry some onions and a couple of cloves of garlic. Maybe a little celery. Add tinned tomatos. Simmer for a while. Add splash of balsamic vinegar, bit of sugar. Some basil

The essential missing ingredient was tomato purée as you’ve probably realised - tinned tomatoes will be horribly watery and tasteless without it whichever extra ingredients you use! Simply tinned toms, purée, sautéed onions makes a perfectly acceptable sauce (delicious puréed on pizza) then add whatever you want to pep it up.

Dried Italian herbs are fine as long as there's oil in the sauce to carry the flavours.