5 Sauces You Should Start Making & Stop Buying
Going to the store and buying a can or bottle of sauce is a big timesaver during the week. You need to whip up some dinner for your family, so emptying a pre-made sauce into a pan is a bit of a life hack.
Unfortunately, store-bought sauces tend to be a bit…rubbish. They don’t taste fresh and they are usually packed full of ingredients that don’t need to be there. Instead, you should try making sauces at home, freezing or refrigerating them, and using them whenever you want. There are lots of different sauces you should start making instead of buying, but here are my top picks:
Tomato Sauce
A classic tomato sauce is the backbone of every pasta dish. You can buy so many jars of pre-made tomato sauce, but they’re never that good. To me, they all have the same taste - they taste artificial, rather than fresh tomatoes.
Obviously, that’s because there are loads of added ingredients to preserve the sauce. A classic Italian pasta sauce can be made with literally three main ingredients. All you need are some chopped tomatoes, garlic, and basil. Then, add in a bit of sugar to offset the sharpness of the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Literally, cook everything in a pan for an hour or so and freeze the sauce. It’ll keep for months in the freezer and taste super fresh and tasty each time. Simple, healthy, and much yummier.
Mayonnaise
Mayo is one of the staple table sauces that everyone has. It can be mixed with tuna and added to pasta for a quick and easy dish. Or, you can have it on the side as a dipping sauce. The problem with store-bought mayo is that it’s pretty unhealthy. You usually get some with way too much fat or way too many preservatives.
In reality, making mayonnaise at home is so simple. Just check out this amazing mayo recipe at this blog to see how easy it is. You only need a couple of ingredients, and you’re done. It tastes way better and is far healthier.
Ketchup
Like mayo, ketchup is a table sauce that’s used to compliment dishes. Also, it is pretty damn unhealthy when bought from a store. So, making your own tomato ketchup is a fine idea. It’s not overly difficult, yet you get a sauce that’s way more flavorful than any shop-bought ketchup you’ve had.
Mainly, making it from scratch lets you control the salt and sugar content - both of which are outrageously high in shop-bought bottles. This lets you enjoy ketchup without the extra calories!
Pesto
Another classic Italian sauce that most people go out and buy. Yet again, it will come as no surprise to learn that store-bought pesto isn’t the healthiest thing on the planet. These sauces tend to include way more oil and salt than is necessary, along with loads of other ingredients. Plus, and this might be a personal preference thing, but I find that store-bought pesto tastes too much like raw garlic. It leaves an aftertaste in your mouth that will stay there all day!
Ironically, making pesto from scratch is one of the easiest things you can do. There are all kinds of pesto recipes out there, so feel free to find one that you like the most. The simplest one is to combine basil with lemon juice, pine nuts, grated parmesan, and garlic oil in a blender. Add a splash of water if necessary, then blitz it up. Just like that, you have fresh pesto that keeps in the fridge for a few days or the freezer for a few months.
Curry Sauce
Here, we’re talking about a sauce for a curry, rather than curry sauce that you dip things in. I find that, of all the shop-bought sauces, curry sauces are the worst. They don’t taste great and they are remarkably unhealthy.
So, you should get into the habit of making your own curry sauce. Pick whatever type of curry you like, and then find a recipe for it. I promise it isn’t difficult at all - you can rustle up a sauce within half an hour. Then, it freezes well and can be used whenever you want a quick dinner for the family. It won’t quite be as good as an Indian restaurant, but it’ll be much closer than what you buy from a store.
There you go: five different sauces you should start making and stop buying! Making these sauces will save money, help you enjoy healthier meals, and be much tastier.
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