Effortlessly Upgrade Jarred Pasta Sauce With This Frozen Ingredient

There's a lot to be said for jarred pasta sauce. Life is busy, days are long enough, and sometimes, we want to try something we might not be capable of making ourselves. Oftentimes, though, the best store-bought sauces need a little help to reach the heights of flavor, even if it's just adding something for the sake of variety. The good news is, one of our favorite additions is probably in your freezer right now: frozen vegetables.

Frozen vegetables might not have quite the same pristine reputation as their fresh counterparts, but even professional chefs know that frozen vegetables can take meals to the next level. Plus, here's some food for thought: Modern research shows that frozen vegetables are just as nutritious as fresh, and in some cases, contain even more nutrients. They're harvested and frozen when they're at their peak, which means that when you add them to your pasta sauce, you're adding not just flavor, but serious health benefits. It's a win-win!

The only thing better than an upgrade to jarred pasta sauce that's delicious is one that's also easy and versatile. Adding frozen veggies ticks all three boxes. There are, however, a few things to keep in mind. First is that it's not quite as simple as dumping a bag of frozen veggies into a pot of sauce and calling it a night. If you're using a type of vegetable that typically has a lot of liquid, like broccoli or leafy greens,  consider thawing the addition first and draining away the liquid. You don't want to water down your sauce too much, right?

You may also want to consider giving your veggie-filled sauce a textural upgrade as well. That's incredibly easy to do, especially if you have an immersion blender. These hand-held blenders are invaluable kitchen tools that you'll find yourself using for soups, sauces, and dressings, as well as pasta sauce. Blend the sauce a little to leave it chunky or a lot to turn it smooth. There's a bonus to this, too: If you have little kids in your life who balk at vegetables, this is a great way to serve them up and get no complaints.

The great thing about adding vegetables to pasta sauces is that there's an almost infinite number of combinations to explore — but let's talk about some of our favorites. There's no better place to start than a creamy, easy-to-upgrade alfredo. Bell peppers, peas, asparagus, and broccoli all pair really well with this creamy white sauce. It's also a great way to use up some of the zucchini that invariably gets frozen during the summer months — as any gardener knows, it's easy to end up with way too much. Mushrooms make an amazing and enjoyably hearty upgrade here, too.

Now, let's talk about red sauce. Carrots can add much-needed sweetness to such a sauce, particularly if you're going to blend it with your handy immersion blender. Zucchini is pretty delicious here too, along with veggies like spinach, peppers, celery, leeks, parsnips, and squash. You can also add a game-changing upgrade in the form of smoked tomatoes, which are easy to create in your oven. There are plenty of other ingredients that can upgrade your pasta sauce from acceptable to amazing beyond these options. Add garlic, gochujang, a dash of wine, or even some anchovies for a fun sauce that definitely doesn't taste like it came out of a jar. The sky's the limit.