The 2 Jarred Sauces To Mix For Pink Pasta Sauce With A Kick

Making a delicious pasta sauce doesn't have to be complicated or ingredient-heavy. The two simplest base sauces — tomato and Alfredo — create "pink sauce," the equal part combination that gives the sauce an orangey/pink tint. Any iconic sauce such as vodka sauce or Olive Garden's five-cheese marinara is pink sauce in disguise, with slight additions and differences.

When choosing some jarred pasta sauces to make a creamy yet rich flavorful sauce that'll save you time, you can mix a jar of Alfredo with tomato to create your own pink sauce in a pinch. But an interesting way to spice up a pink sauce and give it some heat is to replace your classic tomato or marinara jar with arrabbiata instead. Arrabbiata sauce is extremely similar to tomato sauce, with the same ingredients of tomato, garlic, onions, olive oil, and herbs, but with a ton of red peppers.

Most people are familiar with the ingredients and flavor of Alfredo sauce, or at least the typical Americanized version that includes heavy cream, butter, parmesan cheese, and garlic. Arrabbiata, which translates to "angry" in Italian, is completely different, but when the two are combined, it makes the perfect kick that isn't overwhelmingly spicy. The process of adding red pepper flakes to a creamy tomato sauce, which is very similar to arrabbiata, has become very popular; just think about how many people immediately got cooking when the Gigi Hadid spicy vodka pasta recipe went mega-viral.

The choice of chili to look for when buying a jar of arrabbiata sauce is up to you. Some brands use red pepper flakes, other dried chilis, chili paste, etc. Consider trying a jar that has Calabrian chilis for the full Italian experience. Rao's is one of the most popular and well-reviewed jarred sauces out there, which makes a great Alfredo and arrabbiata sauce. Other contenders include Carbone or the Trader Joe's versions.