Found out canned pumpkin works as a pasta sauce thickener and it's actually good

My toddler knocked the jar of marinara off the counter and it shattered. All I had was a can of pumpkin in the pantry and some tomato paste. Figured what's the worst that could happen, dumped it in with some garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Honestly? It gave the sauce this creamy texture without adding any pumpkin taste. My kid ate two bowls. Dinner cost me like 3 bucks total. Anyone else got a weird pantry swap that actually worked?

3 comments

3 Comments

carter.joseph1mo ago

Wait, you've had a whole jar of marinara just sitting on your counter? I usually keep mine in the pantry but that's a different argument. Reminds me of the time I was out of heavy cream for a pasta dish and tried plain yogurt instead. Figured it would be a disaster but it actually added a nice tang and made the sauce all velvety. Just had to be real careful not to let it curdle, kept the heat low and stirred like crazy. I still do it sometimes when I'm out of cream.

phoenix5731mo ago

Right? Yogurt in pasta sauce sounds wild but it works if you're careful. @carter.joseph you're braver than me though, I tried sour cream once as a sub and ended up with scrambled eggs floating in my sauce. Took me a solid hour to pick out the chunks. Now I just keep a backup jar of heavy cream powder in the cupboard for emergencies.

the_paul1mo ago

Yogurt is honestly one of the best kept secrets for creamy sauces. The trick with keeping the heat low is huge, I learned that the hard way after a few curdled disasters myself. Sour cream though, man, that's a tough one. It's got a much lower heat tolerance than yogurt, so you're braver than I am for trying it. I've had decent luck with a spoonful of cream cheese mixed in at the very end too, just off the heat. It melts smooth and gives that same velvety texture without the risk of scrambling. Ever tried that when you're out of cream?