A comforting and hearty pasta dish is an easy and cost-effective mid-week meal that provides warmth during the colder winter months. The options are virtually limitless when it comes to choosing what to top your dish with, as pasta pairs well with nearly everything.
There are many different ways to mix things up, from different sauce flavours to various pasta shapes. In our home, we typically stick to the classics and opt for something tomato-based, which pairs excellently with any kind of pasta.
We often whip up our own sauce using roasted vegetables to make the meal even healthier. However, if we’re ever short of time or decide to knock up a dish at the last minute, a trusty jar of pre-made sauce usually comes out of the cupboard.
These low-effort jars do vary in price depending on the brand, but they frequently provide a budget-friendly way to feed a small group. I’d typically have at least one on standby to make meal planning a little easier, but it’s usually the same type and brand, so I was curious to see how the supermarkets stacked up.
Most supermarkets stock a basic tomato sauce, so I wanted to compare one of the cheapest and most expensive to determine if the price truly justified it. I bought one jar from my local Aldi and then popped over to M&S for a similar flavour, reports the Daily Record.
The price difference was quite noticeable—Aldi’s Smooth Tomato jar (which serves four) was priced at 69p, while M&S’ Tomato and Basil Sauce (which serves two) came with a significantly higher price tag of £2.20.
Even before I began cooking, I was curious about the difference. I prepared a batch of pasta and cooked some of the sauces separately before dividing them into two portions.
Normally, I would sprinkle a bit of cheese on top or cook some meatballs to accompany these dishes, but for this experiment, I wanted to test if the sauce on its own really offered.
It’s true that some sauces lack flavour, but one tip could enhance that. The Express previously reported that adding one secret ingredient to jar sauces will make them taste ‘20 times better’.
With 100g of cooked pasta in each bowl, each dish costs about 17p (Aldi) and £1.10 (M&S). There’s still a noticeable difference in cost, but that didn’t necessarily mean a better flavour.
M&S
The M&S sauce had a pleasant aroma while cooking, so I was optimistic that it would be worth the price I paid. I served up and enjoyed a portion while it was still steaming hot.
It wasn’t clumpy and spread out evenly over my pasta while maintaining a thick consistency, as if it had been homemade, which was delightful. However, it was slightly too sweet for my palate, which was the only issue I had with the taste.
In general, the biggest drawback to the M&S sauce was the price, which was nearly triple the cost of Aldi’s and it didn’t come in as large a jar as Aldi’s. It was an OK meal, but given the steep price, I was expecting something truly scrumptious.
Aldi
Despite its budget-friendly price tag, Aldi’s sauce tasted remarkably fresh. I really enjoyed the flavour, and it seemed to be loaded with herbs and spices.
It boasted a delightful, smooth texture, living up to its name. It was a lovely winter-warming meal that left me craving more, which was convenient as the jar of sauce contained enough for some leftovers for my lunch the following day.
In comparison to M&S, it was much more affordable and would be easier for a family on a budget to incorporate into their shopping list, being 93p cheaper per portion. Like it did for me, it could easily stretch out to cover an evening meal and have some leftover for your lunch the next day.
