Choosing a Pasta Sauce

by Shereen Jegtvig

Many of us enjoy the convenience of opening a can or jar of pasta sauce compared the hours it might take to make a pasta sauce from scratch.  And some of us like to take that jar of pasta sauce and add a few extra fresh ingredients to boost the flavor (and if you add tomatoes, spinach, garlic, or mushrooms, you can boost the nutrition and health benefits too).

There are a lot of different brands and varieties of pasta sauces, some made with tomatoes and some white sauces.  How do they stack up nutritionally?  In general, pasta sauce made from tomatoes are lower in fat and calories than the white cream sauces, and the red sauces are rich in a phytonutrient called lycopene that is good for your heart and for men’s prostates.  This is one of those times when a processed food is better than raw – you’ll get more lycopene from tomato sauce than you will from raw fresh tomatoes.  Of course there’s a drawback; cooking the tomatoes cuts out part of the vitamin C. 

So what do you look for in a tomato-based pasta sauce?  I look for sauces that don’t contain added high fructose corn syrup and lower in sodium than other brands.

While none of these brands are ‘low-sodium’ products, the brands at the top of the list only have about half the sodium of some of the high-sodium brands.  I’d take any of the top three brands on this list and add some extra chopped tomatoes, peppers and mushrooms and serve it up on top of some whole-wheat pasta and a light and healthy side salad.  Easy, delicious and good for you.

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