The Flavorful Boxed Soup That Doubles As A Deliciously Creamy Pasta Sauce

If you have a few cartons of shelf-stable soups hiding in your pantry, it's worth knowing that they're good for much more than just making a light, heat-and-eat bowl of bisque. With just a little finessing, these boxed soups are ideal for effortlessly topping pizza, or as a thick coating for pasta. The roasted red pepper and tomato variety that's fairly popular across brands is especially perfect for this, as it contains many of the flavors traditional to marinara sauce, such as roasted garlic and rich tomato paste in addition to floral and astringently sweet red bell peppers. 

This soup is both light and creamy, making it excellent for creating a cozy, no-fuss, cold-weather gnocchi dish or for draping over cheesy tortellini to build impossibly fast meals you'll actually want to eat. Depending on how you like your pasta sauce, you can simply heat the soup and stir in your pasta, or simmer it for a few minutes to reduce it and make it slightly thicker. Heated right from the box, it's perfect for coating spaghetti and linguine, while the thickened version is great for enjoying with penne, mini shells, and the aforementioned gnocchi and tortellini.

As for where to find these convenient cartons, high on the list of Trader Joe's secrets you wish you'd known sooner is just how delicious and versatile the chain's boxed soups are, which include Organic Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup along with seasonal offerings like pumpkin or autumnal harvest. Other grocery store chains, such as Kroger and ShopRite, carry similar products like the Organic Red Pepper & Tomato blend produced by Pacific Foods, or the Organic Tomato Basil Bisque from Imagine brand foods.

As mentioned, it's fairly easy to heat and simmer these soups right out of the carton to evaporate some of the liquid and make them a little thicker, which also helps concentrate the flavor in addition to making them less "soupy" when using them to coat smaller pasta shapes. Though they're already packed with flavor, you can also add your favorite seasonings to adjust the taste to your liking. For instance, roasted garlic and Italian herbs will make the soup taste a bit more like marinara rather than just a tomato sauce, while adding ribbons of fresh basil and a little parmesan rind will evoke the flavors of a tomato-infused pesto. The sauce will still be smoother and slightly thinner than marinara or pesto, but no less delicious for lacking a distinct texture.

These cartons of soup also make a decent base for a hearty bolognese, as all you have to do is season and brown your meat before deglazing with just a touch of red wine (or beef broth) and adding the soup. As everything simmers, the flavors in the soup will caramelize, intensify, and meld beautifully with the fat and savory flavor from the meat. You can also add some dried red pepper flakes to this dish for a hint of spice that will truly tip the soup over into pasta sauce territory. Serve over tagliatelle, pappardelle, or even over bowtie pasta as these types of pasta shapes are sturdy enough to stand up to the meaty sauce.