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As a single home cook, I’ve learned to lean on a few crutches to keep meals easy, quick, and economical, and the one I go to more often than not is pasta.
In fact, I make pasta several nights a week (my favorite kind being Banza—here’s why). But, I’m embarrassed to admit, it wasn’t until recently that I learned a harsh truth of adulthood that threw a wrench in my budget pasta equation.
Jarred pasta sauce does not, in fact, last forever.
By “forever,” I mean it doesn’t even last until the printed expiration date. The old me’s reasoning went something like: “How long does pasta sauce last? Well, as long as it takes to eat it.” I’d find a jar floating around in the back of the fridge, ignore any crust on the ring around the top, and use it right up. Thank goodness I’ve lived to tell the tale.
For the record, this is downright dangerous. The real shelf life of opened pasta sauce is five to six days in the fridge, or three to four days for dairy-based sauces. You can’t rely on appearance alone—the jar can still be dangerous even if there are no signs of spoilage.
So, since learning that my store-bought pasta sauce doesn’t last for eternity (or even a week), I’ve been forced to pivot. I simply don’t have the appetite to consume eight servings of pasta that quickly, and even if I did, a life of the same pasta meal every day sounds like no life I want. So, here’s the hack I’ve come up with instead.
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How to Use Dips for Pasta Sauce
Hear me out: I use store-bought dips for pasta sauce.
Dips—the creamy, flavor-packed foods you love to scoop up with chips at a party, but repurposed to coat pasta noodles. With just a couple of splashes of pasta water (or liquid gold, as some call it), your favorite dip can become a creamy, luscious pasta sauce right before your eyes. It’s easy, economical, and lets me indulge in a different pasta dinner every night.
Unlike pasta sauce, the majority of dips are safe to eat until the “best by” date—not within three days of opening. That means you have the entire time between the purchase date and the product expiration (keeping them refrigerated, of course) to enjoy them. For some spreads, that means over a month! Of course, always check your packaging to make sure it’ll stay safe in the fridge after opening.
The solution I’ve come up with not only ensures there’s consumable food in the fridge at all times but also diversifies my pasta nights throughout the week (which, let’s face it, were bound to become bland). Just listen to some of these options: spinach-artichoke pasta, caramelized onion pasta, Buffalo chicken pasta, elote corn pasta, and even beer cheese pasta. Intrigued yet?
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Most of my dips come from Trader Joe’s because they’re well-priced, well-portioned, and offer an array of impressively creative flavors. The Romesco dip adds a zesty Spanish spin with red peppers and almonds, the Zhoug brings a fiery, cilantro-forward flavor, and the briny Smoked Salmon dip delivers an unexpectedly delicious seafood spin. Believe me, Crunchy Chili Onion adds a whole new texture and flavor dimension. And, get ready for a bombshell—Everything But the Bagel pasta. Delicious.
But, even if you’re not a Trader Joe’s regular, you can find delicious dips in any refrigerated section. Nacho cheese pasta, herbed tahini pasta, and green goddess pasta are three dinners I look forward to night after night.
Some of these might sound like restaurant-level dishes, but in reality, they’re just two unexpected ingredients coming together in your kitchen. Just throw in some veggies or a little protein (my go-to is a microwaved bag of spinach) and your complete dinner is ready in minutes. My dip substitution doesn’t make my nightly pasta dinner any more expensive and it helps me minimize food waste from tossed pasta sauce.
We’re not going for authentic Italian meals here, (and if we were, this would all be blasphemous), but we’re just going for a good old-fashioned meal hack that makes dinner a no-brainer. Dips’ unique, crave-worthy flavors should be consumed in more ways than one, and I’d say coating noodles is a brilliant option.
So, as I sit here writing this with a bowl of Buffalo chicken pasta beside me, I wholeheartedly urge you to experience your own pasta sauce liberation and no longer live life tied to the (expired) marinara jar.
This $2, 2-Ingredient Dinner Has Become My Go-To
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