A comforting, filling pasta dish is an effortless and affordable midweek meal that appeals to most families and can usually go from pan to plate in a matter of minutes. With various combinations of sauce, toppings and pasta varieties, meals can be made to suit whatever families enjoy.
Personally, I prefer to stick to tradition with a tomato-based sauce. It generally pairs well with most meats, such as diced chicken sausage or beef meatballs, and can even be delicious on its own.
More often than not, I prepare my own sauce using roasted vegetables to make things somewhat healthier. However, when assembling something at short notice, a convenient jar of ready-made sauce is invaluable to have on hand.
I'm typically quite selective with sauces, so I wanted to discover whether some of the more affordable options could rival homemade classics. I ventured out and purchased two similar sauces from Aldi and Lidl to try them.
The cost and recommended serving quantities were identical. Aldi's Smooth Tomato jar and Lidl's Baresa Tomato and Basil sauce were both 69p and stated they would serve four people, reports the Express.
Because they can't be compared fairly on price or serving size, taste will be the real deciding factor. I prepared one batch of pasta, portioned it evenly, and incorporated half a jar of sauce into each portion.
Divided into four portions, each serving of the sauce costs approximately 17p. I included 150g of cooked pasta, amounting to roughly 10-12p, depending on the brand selected.
In total, not adding any additional ingredients, the dishes came in at under 30p per portion. Typically, I would add a sprinkling of cheese or some meatballs alongside these dishes, but for this comparison, I wanted to see how the sauces performed on their own.
Aldi's sauce had a wonderfully fresh taste and boasted a rich, robust flavour. I had slight reservations when the jar listed only tomato as an ingredient, fearing it might fall short on seasoning, but I was pleasantly mistaken.
True to its name, it had a delightfully smooth consistency and was thick enough to avoid feeling watered down, and still stretched comfortably into four servings. It made for a thoroughly satisfying meal that left me reaching for more.
I preferred this bowl over the Lidl alternative, which I felt failed to match its budget competitor. The label states that the sauce includes basil, and there were faint traces of it.
However, it lacked the same depth of flavour as the Aldi offering, which felt far superior to a standard sauce - it was considerably better. With no difference in price or quantity, Aldi would be my go-to choice whenever a quick pasta sauce is needed.
