The Canned Item That Replaces Marinara In An Instant

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As grocery prices continue to rise, people are on the hunt for affordable alternatives to their premade favorites. And while there are quite a few kinds of grocery store pasta sauces that taste homemade, they can set you back anywhere between $5-$12. Luckily, if you want another option to marinara for a fraction of the cost, you can use canned tomato soup concentrate. Sold on Amazon for .69 cents a can, condensed tomato soup is a great base for any marinara and/or red sauce. On top of its low price, canned tomato soup concentrate is also shelf-stable, so you can stock up as it can retain freshness for anywhere between 18-24 months.

The best way to use canned tomato soup concentrate is to use it as a base for a meat sauce. First, brown up the ground meat of your choice; ground beef, turkey, or Italian sausage would work great. Then add any aromatics like garlic, onion, and sautee them together. For a more authentic flavor, season the meat with Italian seasonings like thyme, oregano, basil, and parsley. Finally, add in the can of tomato soup concentrate and let it simmer for about 20 minutes before serving it with cooked pasta.

The good thing about this recipe is that it is completely customizable. If you want a thicker sauce, you can add 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour to the ground meat to make a roux before adding in the tomato soup. Another hack for thicker sauce is to mix in a tablespoon of tomato paste before you simmer. As always, when you cook pasta, reserve at least one cup of the water used to boil pasta, in case you would like to thin out your sauce slightly while the starch lets the sauce emulsify.

Tomato soup is not the only soup that boasts versatility. There are quite a lot of ways to repurpose canned soups that will allow you to make a great-tasting meal that isn't going to break the bank. If you want to keep it simple, using an immersion blender to aerate your canned soup elevates the taste significantly.

But if you really want to upgrade the canned soups to taste homemade, try adding some mix-ins. Want a fresher taste? Check the label to see how the soup was seasoned. Add some more, for example, if parsley is listed on the ingredient list, add in some more dried parsley to boost the flavor. This also works with complementary spices. Want a more hearty meal? Bulk up the soup with carbs like rice and potatoes, or add in some protein like chicken, ground beef, or even beans. When in doubt, top the soup with some shredded cheese.

There are plenty of uses for canned soup if you want to step out of soup territory. Canned tomato soup is a good base for dishes like oven beef and potato stew, Golabki (Polish cabbage rolls), and even Butter chicken curry. Cream of mushroom soup is a great base for risottos, pork chops with wine sauce, and the American Thanksgiving staple green bean casserole. Cream of chicken soup is the base of endless casseroles, pot pies, and even chilis.