Best spaghetti sauce in a jar?

clpeters23

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I need recommendations for a jarred spaghetti sauce available in the Midwest USA (Chicagoland). I don't have time nor, know how to, make homemade sauce. I thought I'd start with a good premade sauce and "doctor" it up.
Thanks
 

strange_wings

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Whatever is on sale?
Usually the chunky or garden varieties of Prego or Ragú.

What I usually do though, because I always keep cans of tomato sauce and diced tomatoes around, is to just toss together a sauce from that. Even the premade sauces usually need more seasonings so there's not really a difference in work needed/time. It's cheaper and the easiest way to make as much sauce as you need.
Every kitchen should have basil, italian seasoning, and garlic - your most important ingredients for that sort of sauce.
 

aswient

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Francesco Rinaldi, definitely. My sister is married to an Italian guy whose father only makes his own, (real Italian). So my sister has to make it for her husband, except I was there one time when she was making a sauce, except she handed me a jar to open, it was Francesco Rinaldi, I couldn't believe it, she told me not to tell him, she put some extra stuff in it. At dinner time her husband said "this is good sauce, it tastes like my fathers sauce". good luck.
 

whuckleberry

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I like Rao's. Not sure if it's a national brand- they sell it at both of the big supermarkets near me. Their marinara sauce isn't too heavy on oregano (too much oregano is a pet peeve of mine- I find it overwhelming).
 

yosemite

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IMO, there is no such thing as a good canned spaghetti sauce. Making a sauce from scratch is so easy I cannot imagine why one would use a canned/bottled sauce.

I always keep canned tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste on hand in my cupboard. Saute some chopped onion, garlic, basil, oregano, pepper, salt, bay leaf, touch of allspice, red pepper flakes all together to marry the flavours. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste and pureed tomatoes. Add just a level spoon of sugar to cut the acidity in the tomatoes and simmer. To this can be added sauteed hamburger for a meat sauce or make meatballs, brown the meatballs and add to the sauce for a meatball sauce. I love to make my sauce the night before and let it simmer for at least 3-4 hours. I've been told my sauce is the best by a lot of people so I must be on to something good.
 
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clpeters23

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Originally Posted by Yosemite

IMO, there is no such thing as a good canned spaghetti sauce. Making a sauce from scratch is so easy I cannot imagine why one would use a canned/bottled sauce.

I always keep canned tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste on hand in my cupboard. Saute some chopped onion, garlic, basil, oregano, pepper, salt, bay leaf, touch of allspice, red pepper flakes all together to marry the flavours. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste and pureed tomatoes. Add just a level spoon of sugar to cut the acidity in the tomatoes and simmer. To this can be added sauteed hamburger for a meat sauce or make meatballs, brown the meatballs and add to the sauce for a meatball sauce. I love to make my sauce the night before and let it simmer for at least 3-4 hours. I've been told my sauce is the best by a lot of people so I must be on to something good.
Thanks for the recipe! My mother, a Swede/Norwegian also made great sauce, but I won't have any more than an hour to throw this meal together. When I have some time, I will definitely try to make it homemade.
 

icklemiss21

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Originally Posted by Yosemite

IMO, there is no such thing as a good canned spaghetti sauce. Making a sauce from scratch is so easy I cannot imagine why one would use a canned/bottled sauce.
Same here, I make it when I am home on the weekend and freeze batches of it to reheat during the week
 

addiebee

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I kind of like Classico sauces. Their roasted garlic and caramelized onion is very good and would make a good base for a meat sauce. I pour it over cooked spaghetti squash and dust it with grated parmesan. Really good.

My complaint with a lot of jarred sauces is amount of sugar or corn syrup added to counter the acidity of the tomatoes. Too much. Americans especially have a taste for 'sweet' sauce.

Another option is if a local top notch Chicagoland eatery bottles and sells its sauces. A few of them here in Detroit do, but they are $$$$ for routine use.
 
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