Spaghetti in red sauce in a pan on a wooden board.

The Simple Thickening Solution To All Types Of Pasta Sauce

NEWS

By TONY COOPER

Garnished tomato sauce in a bowl.
If your tomato-based pasta sauce is a bit too thin, adding a few spoonfuls of tomato paste can help. For a cream-based sauce, simply stir in some grated cheese of your choice.
Hand adding uncooked spaghetti into a pot of boiling water.
You could even substitute the cheese with a white bean purée for a more neutral flavor profile. This could be important if you cook your pasta in liquids besides water.
A bowl of tomato paste.
Since tomato paste is just concentrated tomatoes, the flavors of the tomatoes are greatly amplified, so add only a little at a time to avoid throwing off your flavor balance.
Hand adding salt into a pan of pasta sauce.
The natural sweetness of tomatoes is also intensified in tomato paste. If your sauce becomes overly sweet, you can balance it by incorporating acidic and/or salty ingredients.
Penne pasta in white sauce in a bowl.
Similarly, too much cheese or bean purée can overpower your cream-based sauces. Use only the amounts necessary to add thickness to your sauces; you likely won’t need much.