Looking for advice on making a pasta sauce that isn't too watery

[Girlwhonevercooks]

Hi everyone. I've had a few cracks at making spaghetti with pasta sauce. I've tried with sauce in a jar (Dolmio and Lloyd Grossman) and I've tried using just passata in a jar. The issue I've been having is that the sauce is extremely watery. Here is a photo of what I would like the sauce to look like. It comes up when typing pasta sauce into Google image search. https://www.themediterraneandish.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/homemade-spaghetti-sauce-4.jpg

In short, my sauce never looks like that. The sauce in the photo looks nice and thick. Are there any tips you can give me to make the sauce a bit thicker and not as watery?

Use a tin of chopped tomatoes where you would use passata. Even drain off some of the juice, the chunks will break down into a thick sauce.

If using a jar simmer it either separately or as a constructed sauce until desired thickness.

Cook it for longer. If you leave it on a low heat and keep stirring with no lid the liquid will evaporate. I often find I need to add water when I make pasta sauce, and I only ever use tinned tomatoes. It just takes a bit longer but low and slow will give it plenty of flavour and make it thick.

If you are happy to buy a sauce then I would recommend looking at teh fresh sauces in the chilled section . At the moment we are particularly fond of the M&S tomato and marscapone one and it’s very thick .

Cook it for longer with no lid and it will thicken up, this goes for any sauce/ gravy.

You could try arrowroot, works the same as cornflour in thickening.

If you look at the photo you posted you can see the line on the side of the pan where the sauce was and how it's reduced.

Dolmio and Lloyd Grosman sauces are horrible, sweet and artificial tasting. You need to make your own.
Good quality tinned tomatoes, not value ones, but Napolina and above.
Onions, garlic, tomato puree and cook with lid off so sauce reduces.
Fresh basil at the end is yum

This is a really nice simple tomato sauce recipe. I use tinned tomatoes not fresh and I also add half a teaspoon of sugar. It's always delicious and never watery.

www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta/classic-tomato-spaghetti/

By “watery” you mean too much water, therefore you need to simmer the sauce so that the water evaporates and you have less water.
As others have pointed out, the level of the sauce in the pan will reduce while cooking, as you can see in the photo you put.

You need to cook it for way longer than you think - it will look really thick in the pan, but slacken off a bit when added to pasta. You're right, the store-bought ones are unpleasantly watery, especially the fresh ones (jarred are a bit better) - but you can cook them down in a pan before adding to your pasta.

Same with your own homemade sauce - just cook it down for longer than you are doing now. Saute onions, garlic (chilli is also nice), add tinned toms or passata, herbs, season - may need to add a smidge of sugar depending on how acidic the toms are. Then simmer uncovered for at least half an hour, probably more - until it's so 'dry' it's almost sticking to the pan. Blend if you like your sauce smooth.

If once you've added it to the pasta you find it's too dry (unlikely), add a splash of the water you cooked the pasta in. Pasta water is full of starch, so it moistens everything up in a silky smooth way without making it too watery.

I do the Marcella Hazan one, the recipe is easy to find online and it’s just tinned tomatoes, butter, one onion and seasoning. It’s the simplest one I have ever found and very tasty, much better than from a jar or chilled section at the supermarket.

Simmer, with ragu I don't even use tinned tomato etc.
Cook veg, meat, tomato puree, wine, some water until all is covered and simmer until thick.

Made a sauce just now, meat was covered with water and 2x tin tomato and wine and it simmered until just right.

Keep trying op, you'll get the hang of it!

Make sure you sweat the onions for long enough, they hold a lot of water and you need to evaporate enough off so you don’t get a watery sauce (same goes for chilli, shepherd’s pie etc). As others have said long and low

Once pasta is cooked and drained allow the steam to evaporate before you top with sauce and serve, otherwise the steam is trapped under the sauce and condenses into watery puddles on the plate.

I was just about to suggest this. Definitely a winner. See Rachel Roddys blog post on it: https://racheleats.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/our-first-tomato-sauce-of-the-year/

Apparently tinned carrots blended up ,thicken it and make it tastier too

I agree that good quality tinned tomatoes are a game changer. I now buy Mutti, and stock up when they are on special offer.

When you cook the pasta, do so separately. Retain some of the water it's been cooked in when you drain it, and put that into your sauce. It will thicken it up.

Mutti finely chopped tomatoes. Game changer. Worth the extra money.

It’s probably the mince or onions that has the water in it, try frying those for longer. Also simmer the sauce for at least an hour, or put in the oven on a low heat for 2-3 hours.

I find tomato puree acts as a thickener. A tin of chopped tomato into cooked onion, garlic and mixed herbs. A big table spoon of puree and a heaped teaspoon of branston pickle. Simmer for 10-20 minutes to let the tomato's break down. Salt and pepper to taste.

I never really use chopped tomatoes. I just use a large amount of tomato puree - about 4 heaped tbsps for two. Thin it down with small amounts of pasta water. Much quicker. Sacla has a very nice 'tomato intenso' paste as well - it's like seasoned blitzed sun-dried tomatoes in oil.

Branston pickle!!!

Wash your mouth out.

This Jamie recipient for basic tomato sauce works every time. Base for most tomato dishes or just in its own.
You have to cook it for an hour to reduce it and get it nice and thick. A lightly heated jar of Passata will of course be watery.

https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables/basic-tomato-sauce/