Napolina pasta sauce feedback thread; find out what MNers think about the latest range - NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

We asked 250 Mners with children to try the latest range of pasta sauces from Napolina – this is the thread for their feedback.

Napolina say “we are excited to launch a new range of No Added Sugar pasta sauces to complement our existing range of over 130 products including pasta, sauces, canned tomatoes, olive oil, pulses, pizzeria and balsamic vinegar. The sauces enable tasty and convenient meals to be created, whilst reducing ‘added sugar’ intake. Flavours are centred around Italian family classic meals and have been developed to appeal to parents and children alike.

All sauces have a smooth texture and are available in seven flavour variants:

~ Bolognese pasta sauce
~ Pasta sauce for Macaroni Cheese
~ Pasta sauce for Meatballs
~ Creamy Cheese and Tomato pasta sauce
~ Red Lasagne pasta sauce
~ White Lasagne pasta sauce
~ Tomato with Hidden Veg pasta sauce

Available in a 480g/500g jar for families of four or more (RRP £1.69), the sauces are perfect for creating Italian inspired family favourites on busy weekdays or leisurely weekends alike”.

Questions for testers

As a parent, what is the biggest tea-time challenge for you?
Would you say you are more aware of the ‘added sugar’ in food now than you were perhaps a year ago?
What is your top priority as a parent when choosing which products to purchase or meals to cook for your family?
From the ones you tried, which is your favourite flavour in the range? Which did your children like?
Would you use the products again? Why?
If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the sauces to a friend or family member?

Selected testers who add feedback as required will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will get a £300 John Lewis voucher.

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

As a parent, what is the biggest tea-time challenge for you?

• Getting tea on the table quick as everyone is starving

Would you say you are more aware of the ‘added sugar’ in food now than you were perhaps a year ago?

• Yes but don't always have the time to study labels

What is your top priority as a parent when choosing which products to purchase or meals to cook for your family?

• Cost
• Making sure there's not too much salt/sugar
• Everyone likes it

From the ones you tried, which is your favourite flavour in the range? Which did your children like?

• Tomato with hidden veg without a doubt, it was delicious, tasted home made.
• I would never usually buy a sauce for macaroni cheese and this didn't do anything to change my mind, it was awful

Would you use the products again? Why?

• Would use the tomato with hidden veg again as the price seems reasonable and it would be handy to keep in the cupboard for quick meals.

If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the sauces to a friend or family member?

• I have mentioned it to anyone who will listen

I didn't think to check my lids!
We've eaten them all now and seem to be fine though...

Just had a replacement macaroni cheese. The lid hadn't popped, but it wasn't on tight at all and the sauce had a dodgy brown dry crusty bit around the top of the jar so I think we'll be giving it a miss!

First we tried the sauce for meatballs. It was really nice. It was lovely and thick unlike other brands that I've tried which was perfect with meatballs. We all liked it except my 5 year old, the only reason she wasn't keen was the sauce was very slightly spicy. Overall it had a really nice flavour to it and I liked the slight spice in it. I've tried other reduced sugar products and they're usually lacking in flavour but with this I couldn't tell.
I made a lasagne with the red lasagne sauce and the macaroni and cheese sauce in place of the white sauce as none of us like macaroni cheese. It was really nice, the red sauce was nice and thick so it was easy to plate up the lasagne without it going all over the plate. The macaroni cheese sauce was fab on the top with some extra grated cheese added about half way through cooking.
I also got the creamy cheese and tomato sauce which I used to make pasta bake. It was mice and thick and creamy with a nice overall taste.

As a parent, what is the biggest tea-time challenge for you?

The biggest tea-time challenge is making something that everyone likes. I have four children who generally like the same food but one doesn't lile anything with a hint of spice, one isn't keen on curry etc so it can be a pain to find varied dishes that they'll all eat that don't also cost a fortune. My dh and I generally eat later so it's also a challenge to come up with things that can be reheated later without becoming dry or mushy to save time and washing up for me.

Would you say you are more aware of the ‘added sugar’ in food now than you were perhaps a year ago?

I'm definitely more aware of the amount of added sugar in food now than I was a few years ago. My eldest had problems with the enamel on her baby teeth due to reflux so I've cut out a lot of things with added sugar in.

What is your top priority as a parent when choosing which products to purchase or meals to cook for your family?

The top priority when choosing products for cooking for my family is balancing healthy food with as little added sugar and processing with cost and ease of use. With four children, a husband who works away, no car and studying at uni time is at a premium so I don't always have the time or money to cook from scratch every meal. I use ready made sauces about 50% of the time as I don't have the time or energy to cook a pasta sauce from scratch and let it cook for long enough to taste as good, or better, than ready made sauces.

From the ones you tried, which is your favourite flavour in the range?

My favourite was the sauce for meatballs.

Which did your children like?

My children preferred the red lasagne sauce and also liked the macaroni cheese sauce instead of the plain white sauce I usually use.

Would you use the products again? Why?

I'd definitely use the sauces again. They had a really nice flavour and the lower sugar content is a big draw, especially as it didn't affect the overall taste of the sauces.

If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the sauces to a friend or family member?

Yes I'd recommend the sauces to friends and family, especially those with children who refuse to eat sauces with the tiniest lump in them.

Just got the replacement White lasagne sauce thank you. Then realised I had it the wrong way round - all the others had popped and shouldn't be used except for the White sauce! And we've eaten one already (the bolognese one) and we aren't dead so that's good.

Lasagne in the oven atm - it's looking good! Which is good as I have another white sauce to use up! We shan't be using the macaroni cheese or the cheesy tomato sauces as not only have the lids popped, they also came off very easily so have obviously been opened.

The White sauce replacement that arrived today was wrapped in masses of bubble wrap!

Macaroni cheese flavour:

Kids X 4 tested this. They felt it was nice enough (one said it was edible only) but was tasteless. They felt the pasta came out too chewy. They wouldn't eat this again out of preference.
Weirdly there was no instruction about the amount of pasta to use so I added 400g macaroni, it was more complicated than our usual jar of macaroni sauce (Asda own brand) with milk and water being added. No amount of cheese was specified for the topping.
Not a success.

However...
Bolognese sauce
No cooking instructions so I fried some veggie mince and then added the sauce. The kids loved this and even the fussy little ones are it all. It was a brilliant success and I will definitely buy it again.

I will do the questions soon!

As a parent, what is the biggest tea-time challenge for you?

Time, time, time! We are always in a rush and yet don't want to compromise on the quality of dinners.

Would you say you are more aware of the ‘added sugar’ in food now than you were perhaps a year ago?

Yes, there has been quite extensive media coverage about the evils of added sugar and it has been interesting seeing how the food industry are adapting their process methods.

What is your top priority as a parent when choosing which products to purchase or meals to cook for your family?

I like them to be quick, as healthy as they can be and flavoursome.

From the ones you tried, which is your favourite flavour in the range?
Macaroni cheese for me

Which did your children like?
My dd liked the macaroni cheese sauce and my ds like the creamy cheese and tomato pasta sauce.

Would you use the products again?
Absolutely!

Why? Because they were quick to prepare, as healthy as possible and flavoursome.

If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the sauces to a friend or family member?

Already have and will continue to do so!

Thanks so much for including me in this product test. We have loved it as a family. Delicious!!

Yum!

I used the meatball sauce tonight, massive huge hit with all. I will be buying it. One dc usually has her meatballs and spaghetti plain, but even she liked it. I have been requested not to make it from scratch again .

As a parent, what is the biggest tea-time challenge for you?
Coming from work and gettng tea readt that my 14 yr and 2 yr old will both enjoy.
Would you say you are more aware of the ‘added sugar’ in food now than you were perhaps a year ago?
Yes very much so
What is your top priority as a parent when choosing which products to purchase or meals to cook for your family?
Healthy , easy and tasty
From the ones you tried, which is your favourite flavour in the range? White sauce
Which did your children like? they liked the whie sauce as well with lasagne
Would you use the products again? Why? I tried all four sauces that were sent to me and all of them were of very good quality , the hidden veg was an addd bonanza , i will be defienitly buying them again.
If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the sauces to a friend or family member? Yes

Got my big box of sauces on Wednesday and used the first one - macaroni cheese, last night. Now usually my children won't eat macaroni cheese. So I called it pasta bake and got on with it because I needed to make dinner and have one child out to any activity within 45 minutes. Very surprisingly it was popular with two out of three children and even the third, who refuses most food prepared by a parent, did eat some of it and didn't complain too much. I ate it too, perfectly good for a quick supper.

I particularly like the reduced sugar aspect, I am trying to cut down on everyone's sugar and salt intake so this would definitely attract me to buy the product in future and recommend if it happened to come up in conversation with friends.

We've now used the lasagne sauces we received and really enjoyed the lasagne I made. I would definitely recommend these two sauces, the children loved it.

As a parent, what is the biggest tea-time challenge for you? prepare healthy food quickly
Would you say you are more aware of the ‘added sugar’ in food now than you were perhaps a year ago? definitely
What is your top priority as a parent when choosing which products to purchase or meals to cook for your family? easy to cook
From the ones you tried, which is your favourite flavour in the range? Which did your children like? meatballs
Would you use the products again? Why? yes, great taste and easy to use
If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the sauces to a friend or family member? totally

Q1 The biggest challenge is preparing meals that all of us will enjoy at a reasonable time as my daughter has swim training on 4 weekday evenings as well as my sons' activities.
Q2 I think I'm more aware of the amount of sugar put into savoury meals/sauces than I was a year ago.
Q3 My top priority is choosing a healthy product, but price does also come into it.
Q4. We firstly tried the macaroni cheese sauce, and I won't be having that again. It was easy to make but had little taste. Our home made macaroni cheese is definitely worth the effort. However the lasagne was much better. Normally I could only imagine making lasagne at the weekend but this was easy and tasted good. We still have the hidden vegetable sauce to try, due to have it with meatballs on Monday. My daughter hates big chunks of vegetables in her pasta so I'm hoping this will be a hit.
Q5. Yes, I can imagine buying the tomato based sauces again as they tasted good and will be very handy when we have limited time to get the evening meal on the table.
Q6 I would not recommend the macaroni cheese sauce, but I would recommend the others.

As a parent, what is the biggest tea-time challenge for you?
finding something healthy that two teenage girls are keen to eat.

Would you say you are more aware of the ‘added sugar’ in food now than you were perhaps a year ago?
Yes, but I wouldn't necessarily choose food for this reason only.

What is your top priority as a parent when choosing which products to purchase or meals to cook for your family?
Balanced diet and taste.

From the ones you tried, which is your favourite flavour in the range? Which did your children like?
have only tried two - tomato and cheese and tomato with vegetables. Both equally enjoyed.

Would you use the products again? Why?
Yes, flavour and texture was good. Both sauces passed the teenage test!

If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the sauces to a friend or family member?
Yes - but don't often talk about food.

As a parent, what is the biggest tea-time challenge for you?

The biggest challenge for me is finding healthy, convenient meals that can be prepared very quickly as I often only have 45 minutes available for the meal to be cooked and eaten before we need to leave for after school clubs etc.

Would you say you are more aware of the ‘added sugar’ in food now than you were perhaps a year ago?

I am more aware of added sugar in food, but I am more concerned about the amount of obvious sugar we are eating as a family.

What is your top priority as a parent when choosing which products to purchase or meals to cook for your family?

At the moment my top priority is convenience. If I could find a convenient product that was also healthy then I would buy it regularly. However once my youngest child is a bit less demanding then I would be more likely to cook sauces from scratch instead.

From the ones you tried, which is your favourite flavour in the range? Which did your children like?

We all really like the Macaroni cheese. I can see myself buying this often as it was quite flavoursome. I normally avoid feeding my children artificial sweeteners so was happy that this sauce didn't contain any. I would have liked the amount of pasta to have been specified as I wasn't sure how much to put in.

Would you use the products again? Why?

I probably wouldn't seek out any of the tomato sauces as I don't actually mind them having some sugar in them. In fact I would add some sugar if I was making one from scratch. I wouldn't avoid them though as they tasted great, so I might buy if they were on a promotional offer. I would buy the macaroni cheese sauce again, and if you created any more pasta bake sauces then I would try them.

If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the sauces to a friend or family member?

Yes I would, as they all tasted great.

Saturday 27th February---6.30pm
Saturday was the 'Big Test' cooking spaghetti bolognese for my grandchildren ages (6+8) because they are such fussy eaters.
This was my second Napolina sauce test and my relief when I saw that it had no 'bits' as I would have had to blitz the sauce. The colour looked good and the smell tempting. We are big eaters so next time I would use 2 jars for 500g of meat.
I served it with garlic bread. My husband and I gave it 9 out of 10 but my grandchildren gave it a 7 as they said it tasted too herby. I think it was the oregano that they were not too fond of. Still overall pretty good result.

Meatball sauce
Dh (meat eater) tested this. He think it would work with chicken meat balls. The most intense flavour was tomato; the texture was thick rather than runny. He would eat it again.

As a parent, what is the biggest tea-time challenge for you?

I just started a full time job, kids are in after school club and when we get in we just want to eat!

Would you say you are more aware of the ‘added sugar’ in food now than you were perhaps a year ago?

Yes. I try and cook myself where possible and I feel it is ok to take a shortcut once in a while too. We are not perfect.

What is your top priority as a parent when choosing which products to purchase or meals to cook for your family?

Price is a concern, but above that is ingredients and quality.

From the ones you tried, which is your favourite flavour in the range? Which did your children like?

They weren't keen on the macaroni one. It tasted like the canned macaroni. They loved the tomato and cheese one though so that was a winner.

Would you use the products again? Why?

Yes. I'd buy the cheese and tomato one because it is a total time saver and some days it's just what I want.

If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the sauces to a friend or family member?

I'd recommend them yes. I realise they are not for everyone in every flavour, but all jarred sauces are hit and miss until you try them.

As a parent, what is the biggest tea-time challenge for you?

Meal planning for variety - I do three meals and my mum cooks four as she does childcare. So every Sunday I chalk up the meals and make sure the ingredients are all in.

Would you say you are more aware of the ‘added sugar’ in food now than you were perhaps a year ago?
Yes, I'm fine with natural stuff but anything deliberately added worries me!

What is your top priority as a parent when choosing which products to purchase or meals to cook for your family?
Variety and the ability to add vegetables (we are vegetarian)

From the ones you tried, which is your favourite flavour in the range?
So far the bolognese, we still have lasagne white sauce to do

Which did your children like?
The bolognese - massive hit

Would you use the products again?
Yes but not the macaroni

Why?
As per previous post, it didn't turn out very well and lacked flavour

If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the sauces to a friend or family member?

Yes if we were shopping together or we were moaning about meal planning! Happens often to be fair!

We eat a lot of pasta - quick & convenient after work/school. Didn't notice the 'missing' sugar, so that's a plus! However, apparently the macaroni cheese sauce was too cheesey! Will feedback as we try the other varieties. 😁

One jar arrived already opened, no biggy, and the bag of pasta made up for it. Not tried all the jars yet, will post again later. So far:

As a parent, what is the biggest tea-time challenge for you?

Quite often tea-time is a rushed job and things like jars of pasta sauces etc are used a lot. The challenge is doing something different or finding different flavors so meals dont get repetitious or boring.

Would you say you are more aware of the ‘added sugar’ in food now than you were perhaps a year ago?
I would say I notice it more as an issue now but I essentially ignore it as my family is quite active and no-one is overweight.

What is your top priority as a parent when choosing which products to purchase or meals to cook for your family?
Flavor and price every time. Occasionally buy more expensive products that are really tasty but weekdays stick to what I can afford and what tastes best in that range.

From the ones you tried, which is your favourite flavour in the range? Which did your children like?
So far the Creamy Cheese and Tomato pasta sauce wins hands down. After one mouthful DC said "Ohhh! that tastes nice, they were finished the plate in minutes and it was licked clean." Personally I added a bit of salt to my plate but I would definitely buy again. How often would depend on price.

Would you use the products again? Why?
Definitely, some were very luxorious and kids loved them to. Also better/different that other similar brands. One felt like a dish I would get at a restaurant (without the trimmings of course ). Will look out for them at supermarket and compare prices.

If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the sauces to a friend or family member?
Yes, I have already mention the Creamy Cheese and Tomato to a friend.

As a parent, what is the biggest tea-time challenge for you?

Having the time to find new meal ideas to give my little ones a varied but healthy diet. I don't have enough time to make meals from scratch all the time but I hate to give them shop-bought pre prepared sauces etc because of the salt and sugar content.

Would you say you are more aware of the ‘added sugar’ in food now than you were perhaps a year ago?

Yes, I was certainly aware that shop bought food contained more sugar than home cooked meals, but I didn't appreciate the levels of 'added sugar' until recent campaigns.

What is your top priority as a parent when choosing which products to purchase or meals to cook for your family?

Healthy, balanced food that help with my children's five a day.

From the ones you tried, which is your favourite flavour in the range? Which did your children like?

We tried all of them. My little ones loved the cheesy tomato pasta sauce best but devoured the lot - brilliant for me as they love pasta and now I have a go-to option if I don't have the time (or inclination) to cook!

Would you use the products again? Why?

Without a doubt, I'll definitely be adding these to my shopping trolley when they hit the shelves - the kids love them and I don't have to feel too guilty using them.

If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the sauces to a friend or family member?

Yes definitely. Just one thing - the macaroni cheese jar was open on arrival (the seal had been tampered with) and the instructions don't state how much macaroni to add either - I guessed at 500g but it should be included on the label :)

Jess x

As a parent, what is the biggest tea-time challenge for you? Getting food on the table as quickly as possibly- we're a working family so often don't get home until 6pm, not ideal when you need the kids in bed by 7.30.

Would you say you are more aware of the ‘added sugar’ in food now than you were perhaps a year ago? Yes, but only because I recently attempted to go sugar free and then realised it was in everything!!

What is your top priority as a parent when choosing which products to purchase or meals to cook for your family? I want to say healthy, but really, it's quick. Has to be quick and simple or I'm not interested!

From the ones you tried, which is your favourite flavour in the range? Which did your children like? The hidden veg pasta sauce was a big hit! We'd definitely buy this again and again. The white lasagne sauce was also good, I usually buy the dolmio lasagne kits that come with red sauce + white sauce + pasta sheets so would only switch if this was offered too, or competitively priced separates.

Would you use the products again? Why?* Yes! Lovely pasta sauces, quick and easy to turn into pasta bakes, hit with the kids.

If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the sauces to a friend or family member?* YEP.

BUTTTTTT....
...we haven't tried our macaroni cheese yet because I have no idea how to cook it! Uncooked pasta, cooked or par-cooked? How much?!

We had the macaroni cheese sauce, both lasagne sauces and meatball sauce. I used the meatball sauce on pasta with some roasted vegetables and mozzarella and made macaroni cheese for the dds. I didn't follow the instructions as I was short on time so I cooked the macaroni the normal way and then stirred the sauce through and warmed it in the oven. To be honest I could make a macaroni cheese from scratch in less time so I wouldn't consider using the jarred sauce if I was looking for a quick option. Like a lot of previous posters, whilst the lack of any added sugar is a bonus I was disappointed that there was any sweetener added at all as I wouldn't add any to my own tomato sauce. The meatball sauce went down better than the macaroni cheese. Everyone finished the meatball sauce and commented positively on the flavour but we all found the macaroni cheese bland and watery compared to my usual recipe.

As a parent, what is the biggest tea-time challenge for you?
Time! I work 3 days a week and by the time I've picked everyone up we're all usually hungry and the dds are tired. Add in after school activities and dinner is usually a rush and/or eaten in separate sittings. I tend to use the slow cooker a lot for this reason.

Would you say you are more aware of the ‘added sugar’ in food now than you were perhaps a year ago?
No, I've always been pretty aware of what we are eating. It's salt content that I tend to worry about more though.

What is your top priority as a parent when choosing which products to purchase or meals to cook for your family?
Their nutritional content.

From the ones you tried, which is your favourite flavour in the range? Which did your children like?
The meatball sauce. We didn't enjoy the macaroni cheese and a lot was wasted. We haven't tried the lasagne yet, I didn't want to eat pasta 3 times in a week.

Would you use the products again? Why?
Maybe the meatball sauce, definitely not the macaroni cheese for the reasons above.

If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the sauces to a friend or family member?
Again not the macaroni cheese, maybe the meatball.