15 Trader Joe's Sauces That Are Perfect For Seafood Pasta

Trader Joe's got its start in California in the 1960s, and for years, it was hard to come upon one away from the West Coast. However, the supermarket chain's cult-status popularity eventually led it to spread throughout the country, mostly to large urban areas. With few exceptions, its shelves are filled with its own in-house brands, and its products are sourced from all around the world. Besides its wide array of international foods, the retailer has also garnered some renown for its quirkier items. Perhaps some of the most interesting options available at TJ's are its sauces, which are versatile enough to be paired with almost anything, including seafood and pasta.

Below are 15 Trader Joe's sauces that are perfect for adding flavor and a little whimsy to your next meal of sea critters and Italian-style noodles. There's a little bit of everything in there, from traditional picks to ingredients for making international riffs on classic dishes, along with some tips for how to use these items. Just keep in mind that availability of these products may vary from store to store.

Indian-style pasta dishes are a thing, and they incorporate bold South Asian spices into Italian dishes to create something brand new. Trader Joe's Tikka Masala Curry Sauce deviates from some traditional recipes in that it includes tamarind and is thickened with ground melon seeds. They're both commonly used ingredients in Indian cuisine and add tanginess and body, respectively. Charbroil your seafood so it tastes like it just came out of a tandoor before mixing it into your pasta and sauce.

Tikka Masala Curry Sauce is available at Trader Joe's for $3.29.

Yellow curry is a signature dish of Thai cuisine that goes phenomenally well with seafood. Trader Joe's ready-made version is mild, as it doesn't contain any chiles, but you can customize it with chili flakes or even sriracha. The sauce's rich, slightly sweet coconut milk elevates the natural sweetness in certain shellfish, like scallops, while the freshness of lemongrass and galangal cuts through the richness. Try this with fettuccine.

Thai Style Yellow Curry Sauce is available at Trader Joe's for $3.49.

Imported from Italy, this TJ's pasta sauce is made with a variety of cherry tomatoes from Puglia in southeastern Italy. They're famously delicious for their sweet flavor, which pairs beautifully with the other star ingredient in this sauce: roasted garlic. The ingredients list reads like something you could make at home and also includes basil, which gives the sauce an anise-like herbal undertone, along with onions, which provide a burst of savoriness.

Caro Sugo Datterino Cherry Tomatoes & Roasted Garlic Pasta Sauce is available at Trader Joe's for $5.49.

Most everything that goes into this sauce is organic, including the vodka. Otherwise, it sticks pretty close to tradition, with olive oil, onions, and garlic for depth of flavor, and herbs like basil and oregano. It also includes some parmesan cheese for umami, along with just a hint of lemon juice to brighten things up. Try this with clams for a truly luscious meal, and add an extra dash of a lesser-known vodka to take it to the next level.

You can get a jar of Organic Vodka Sauce at Trader Joe's for $3.49.

Seoul is the capital of South Korea, where yangnyeom sauce traditionally dresses Korean-style fried chicken. However, this sauce is versatile enough to use with fried seafood, too, enabling you to make a fried seafood pasta dish inspired by KFC (that's Korean fried chicken, just to be clear). It's a sweet, salty, umami-rich, and spicy condiment that includes miso, soy sauce, sugar, and bright-yet-prickly gochugaru chili flakes. Top it with some chopped scallions, and serve with pickled daikon.

Yangnyeom Sauce is available at Trader Joe's for $3.99.

Most people would argue that Italian-style tomato sauces are anything but bland, but sometimes you need to kick it up a few notches. Thankfully, TJ's has a bold red sauce that has the power. It will be the He-Man in your seafood pasta with its three types of tomatoes — paste, diced, and sun-dried — along with two types of chile peppers. This is an excellent shortcut for making something akin to a lobster fra diavolo.

Grab a jar of Thick, Bold & Spicy Red Sauce from Trader Joe's for $3.99.

Sometimes you can't decide between Alfredo or marinara sauce for your pasta, and this Trader Joe's sauce gives you a little of both. It includes tomatoes and cream, giving it a beautiful peachy color that's reminiscent of the architecture on the Italian Riviera. Grana Padano — a cousin of Parmesan that's a must-try classic Italian cheese — gives it plenty of savoriness, while oregano adds that signature Mediterranean perfume. This sauce works beautifully with crabmeat.

Rosatella Pasta Sauce is available at Trader Joe's for $3.99.

The fermented Calabrian chiles in this sauce are hot, fruity, and just a little tart, and they give more than main-character energy — they are the main character! Dried basil plays a supporting role, adding its unique perfume to the mix. It's a tighter sauce than many tomato-based varieties, and it can work with almost any shape of pasta and type of seafood.

Italian Bomba Hot Pepper Sauce is available at Trader Joe's for $3.79.

This sauce replaces the basil found in pesto Genovese with whole lemons from Amalfi, a town famous for its puckery yellow citrus. It also includes Grana Padano, which imparts creamy savoriness, and almonds, which add some heft to this sauce, along with richness and a bit of sweetness to bring out the natural sugars in the lemons. This sauce is even good enough for an upscale tuna noodle casserole recipe.

You can find Lemon Pesto Sauce at Trader Joe's for $3.49.

Sweet and smoky roasted red bell peppers are the star in the TJ's find, and their sweetness is amplified by almonds, which also help emulsify the sauce and give it a creamy mouthfeel. Sharp Pecorino Romano adds its intense saltiness, which may remove the need for adding extra grated cheese, although we won't blame you if you do. Try this with calamari and fusilli.

Organic Roasted Red Pepper and Almond Pesto Sauce is available at Trader Joe's for $4.29.

Chinese-style chili crisp is wildly popular in the U.S., and people have become hooked on its intense spiciness and deep umami flavor. Trader Joe's has a milder version that cuts some of the heat with red bell pepper and includes onion and garlic for savoriness. It can work in Italian-style seafood pasta dishes, or you can create a riff on Sichuan-style dan dan noodles with spaghetti, crushed peanuts, and some tangy pickled veggies.

You can grab a jar of Crunchy Chili Onion sauce from Trader Joe's for $4.49.

One of the simplest Italian pasta creations, cacio e pepe's flavor and texture mainly come from two ingredients — Pecorino Romano cheese and black pepper — but it's also infamously tricky to make correctly. Trader Joe's saves the day with its jarred version of this classic. It's imported from Italy and will stand up to almost any type of seafood, although long strands of pasta would be best with this sauce.

Cacio E Pepe Pasta Sauce is available at Trader Joe's for $3.99.

From sopa seca to espagueti, Mexico also has its own unique roster of pasta dishes using local ingredients. A convenient way to get those flavors into your seafood pasta recipe is to use a jar of TJ's Enchilada Sauce, which includes jalapeño peppers for bright heat and chipotles for smoky heat, along with cumin and other traditional spices. Serve it with huachinango, or red snapper, along with avocado and a lime wedge for a Mexican-inspired take on seafood pasta.

You can find Enchilada Sauce at Trader Joe's for $4.49.

Gauchos are cowboys in Argentina, the birthplace of chimichurri, an herbaceous, garlicky condiment that's typically enjoyed with grilled beef but is fantastic with seafood. Trader Joe's version puts its own spin on the traditional recipe with its use of cilantro as the star ingredient, which adds freshness and makes this not only good for Argentine-inspired creations but also for many other Latino-influenced seafood pasta recipes.

Chimichurri Sauce is available at Trader Joe's for $3.99.

This sauce is pretty mild, making it versatile in any dish where you need other ingredients to really shine, including more delicately flavored seafood. You can doctor it up as you please with more garlic, herbs, or veggies. But you can also use it to make a pizzaiola-inspired seafood pasta that uses this sauce along with some cheese and basil, allowing you to enjoy pizza flavors in pasta form. You may never need to order a pie again.

A jar of Pizza Sauce is available at Trader Joe's for $1.99.