This One Extra Step Gives Store-Bought Pasta Sauce Optimal Flavor

One of the greatest gifts a grocery store offers the busy home cook is a selection of ready-to-go jarred pasta sauces. And while there are many options out there that easily check the boxes for both deliciousness and convenience (we should know, since we tried and ranked the best premium pasta sauces, as well as 12 jarred classic marinara sauces, which we also ranked worst to best), there is an easy way to make your favorite store-bought selection even more satisfying. Although your jar is technically ready to use straight from the store, heating it up enhances the flavor, aroma, and even the texture of your sauce. 

It doesn't cost a thing or require a single extra ingredient, but this step can be the difference between satisfactory and truly superb store-bought pasta sauce. All you have to do is pour the contents into a saucepan and set it over a low heat until it's sufficiently warmed through. A few minutes will do the trick, but if you have a little extra patience and can let it simmer for 15 minutes or a half hour, the added time will deliver on the benefits of heating your sauce even more.

Heat helps optimize your sauce on multiple levels. First, and perhaps most importantly for hungry diners, it elevates the taste. As you simmer and some of the moisture in your sauce evaporates, natural sugars caramelize and the flavors — whether tomato and basil, a spicy arrabbiata, or just a simple marinara — gradually intensify. Texturally, your sauce will also thicken up, becoming a richer, heartier topping bursting with flavor and better suited to coating your pasta. And don't worry, if you over-simmer and wind up with a sauce that's too thick for your tastes, you can always add a little pasta water to course correct and thin it to your preferred consistency.

This trick is also a game-changer in terms of smell. When your pasta sauce simmers, all the complex, alluring aromatic compounds packed up inside the jar come to life. These can be from tomatoes or alliums, or even seasonings like herbs and spices. That is no small thing when it comes to dinnertime, as aromas can awaken your appetite, trigger comforting pasta-related memories, and even impact how we taste our food — heat is the secret to unlocking those wonderful odors.

Heating up your store-bought pasta sauce also helps if you want to do any further doctoring. For instance, if you intend to stir in spices like red pepper flakes, cumin, or nutmeg, a warm simmer will give them all a major boost. With aromatics like chopped garlic or onion, not only do you have a better chance of evenly infusing their flavor throughout the sauce, but a gentle simmer will also take some of the pungency out of them, instead coaxing out these key ingredients' natural sweetness and complexity.

Warmth will also wake up your herb additions. However, keep in mind that simmering times will vary. Heartier options like rosemary require more heat exposure to access their most robust flavors. Others, like basil and parsley, can simmer longer for more depth of flavor, or alternatively, they can be added just before you pull the sauce from the heat, in which case they'll maintain a more vivid and fresh character.

Whether you're also adding handfuls of grated cheese, a splash of vinegar, some cream, or just following a simple hack to level up your store-bought spaghetti sauce with a little bit of tomato paste, heating your sauce helps those elements meld together and integrate much more seamlessly. Still, even taken straight-from-the-jar, your favorite store-bought sauce will always benefit from a little warmth.