Alright, folks, let’s dive into this whole copycat Prego spaghetti sauce thing. I was feeling adventurous in the kitchen the other day, so I thought, why not try to make a sauce just like the one I always grab from the store?
First things first, I did a little digging to see what makes Prego, well, Prego. Turns out, it’s got your usual suspects like tomato puree and diced tomatoes, but the trick seems to be in balancing the sweetness and acidity. Some folks online were saying that back in the day, Italian immigrants started adding sugar to their sauce because the tomatoes here were too acidic. Who knew?
Anyways, I grabbed a big pot and started by browning some ground beef. You could totally use ground turkey, sausage, or even some chopped-up chicken if that’s your thing. Once the meat was all nice and browned, I tossed in some chopped onions and garlic. I mean, what’s a good sauce without those two, right?
Next, I added in my tomato puree and diced tomatoes. Then came the fun part – playing with the flavor. I threw in a bit of sugar, but not too much, just enough to take the edge off the acidity. Then I added a splash of red wine that added a nice depth to the sauce. You can also try balsamic or sherry vinegars, which are my choices sometimes. After that, I added a mix of dried basil and some other spices. I didn’t have any fresh basil on hand, but if you do, even better!
- Ground beef (or your choice of meat)
- Chopped onions
- Garlic
- Tomato puree
- Diced tomatoes
- Sugar
- Red wine/ balsamic/sherry vinegars
- Dried basil and spices
- Maybe heavy cream or cheese(optional)
I let the whole thing simmer for a while, stirring it every now and then. The longer it simmers, the better it gets, in my opinion. You can add some other ingredients like heavy cream, or soft cheeses to make it creamier, but I skipped that part this time.
When it was finally ready, I boiled up some spaghetti, tossed it with the sauce, and topped it with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. And you know what? It was pretty darn close to Prego! Not bad for a first try, if I do say so myself.
So, if you’re feeling a little adventurous and want to try making your own spaghetti sauce, give this a shot. It’s a fun little kitchen experiment, and you might just surprise yourself with how good it turns out!
