How an easy switch can help you cut down on salt in your pasta sauce
Of course we’d prefer to make it ourselves, but who has the time? So when you need a quick fix for dinner you can slash the salt or even sugar in your pasta sauce depending on what kind you buy.
Store bought pasta sauce can have hidden added sugar or be loaded with salt - but the amounts can vary wildly based on what brand you choose.
In week five of Shopping Swaps, we are taking a look at the jars of sauce you can buy for a quick and easy serve of spaghetti, fettuccine, penne or gnocchi.
Analysis of some of the most popular brands on sale at your local supermarket shows one jar of sauce can have more than an adult’s daily recommended intake of sodium.
Meanwhile, you wouldn’t think sugar would be in a savoury pasta sauce - but it can be something to watch out for in the ingredient list, although sugar can be naturally from the tomatoes.
Food and nutrition scientist Emma Beckett said while homemade sauces were better, it was possible to find healthy alternatives in the supermarket.
Sometimes we just don’t have the time to cook from scratch.
Her top tip was to compare the 100g column because the per serve section was set by manufacturers and not standardised.
“In a pasta sauce, that can range dramatically and it might not reflect what you’re actually looking at,” she said.
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Passata:
Made from a thick blend of tomatoes, passata usually has very simple ingredients, making it a healthy base to add vegies, mince and spices to.
However, you could save $1.75 and help your blood pressure at the same time with lower salt levels, based on the type you pick.
For instance, the Mutti Brand passata hadfive times more salt than the La Gina Passata.
“When you’re looking for low salt and sugar options, passata always comes out on top,” Dr Beckett said.
Top pick: La Gina Italian Tomato Passata.
Per 100g, it had 1g of saturated fats, 3.6g of sugar and 40mg of sodium
The lowest calorie and sugar levels of all options and low sodium level.
$0.29/100g.
Higher salt: Mutti Tomato Passata.
Per 100g the sugar was at 4.5g and it had 200mg of sodium.
A spokesman for Mutti said the passata contained only two ingredients: 99.5 per cent Italian tomatoes and a small pinch of salt.
“We do not use flavour enhancers, preservatives, additives, or processing aids that alter the natural taste of tomato,” he said.
“The salt we add is minimal and intended solely to balance flavour, not to modify the product’s profile.”
Additionally, they never added sugar.
“A higher natural sugar level is actually the sign of high-quality, well-ripened tomatoes grown in sunny environments,” he said.
$0.93/100g.
Pesto:
In the battle of two popular brands of pesto one hadalmost five times the amount of salt to the other - plus it was $1.40 more expensive and came in a smaller jar.
Dr Beckett noted while the green colour made it look healthy, an oil base could make pesto high in calories.
She said it was also higher in saturated fats compared to most tomato options.
“A very small jar of pesto can have as many calories in it as a large tomato-based pasta sauce,” she said.
Of the popular options, the Coles Kitchen Creamy came out on top because it had a high load of vegies and a significantly lower sodium level than other pesto.
The Woolworths Pesto Basil was still noted as healthy for those wanting more basil in their pesto.
However, the sodium in theLa Molisana was almost five times greater per 100g serve than the Coles Kitchen Creamy option (990 mg compared to 200 mg).
Dietitians pick: Coles Kitchen Creamy Pesto
Per 100g serve, it 200mg of sodium.
Vegetables mad 43 per cent of ingredients, followed by water, cream, milk powder, basil pesto, vegetable parmesan, basil, corn starch, vegetable stock seasoning and natural preservative (234).
It was the lowest in sodium by 1100mg, per 100g serve.
$1.03/100g.
Dietitians said it had high sodium: Barilla Genovese Pesto
Per 100g, it a whopping 1300mg of sodium. But a Barilla spokesman noted it was concentrated so you didn’t need to use as much.
Olive and sunflower oil, basil (30%), cashews, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, maize soluble fibre, whey powder and salt, milk protein, extra virgin olive oil, sugar, basil extract, natural flavourings, lactic acid and garlic were ingredients.
Sodium was exceptionally high per 100g serve, and it had the highest fat and sugar levels compared to other options.
“Added salt serves as a functional ingredient that eliminates the need to add preservatives or other artificial ingredients to guarantee a naturally free-from shelf-stable product,” the spokesman for Barilla said.
$2.50/100g.
Bolognese:
Mostly made with a mix of vegies blended in, bolognese was noted as a nutritious household favourite.
However, the level of tomatoes in jars varied - and dietitians said having more was better.
“They need to list how much tomato they have in them. The range is anywhere from 50 to 90 per cent,” Dr Beckett said.
Products with the highest percentage of tomato had less room for additives and were not as high in saturated fats, she said.
We checked four kinds on supermarket shelves and they all had different amounts of tomato.
TheLeggo’s Bolognese with Chunky Tomato Garlic and Herbs had the largest portion, with 85 per cent chunky tomato.
Dietitians pick: Mutti Sugo Semplice Bolognese.
Per 100g it had 0.5g of saturated fats, 4.5g of sugar and 316mg of sodium.
It had a high level of vegetables not from paste and no thickeners.
Tomato pulp (40%), baby roma tomato puree (20%), water, tomato paste (7%), onion (7%), carrot (5%), olive oil, grilled eggplant (2.5%), grilled zucchini (2.5%), garlic, salt, basil (0.5%), black pepper, oregano (0.02%).
$1.13/100g.
Least picked by dietitians: Dolmio Extra Pasta Sauce Bolognese.
Per 100g it had 0.1g of saturated fat, 4.8g of sugar and 284g of sodium.
Tomatoes (from Paste) (92%), onion, sugar and modified cornstarch, garlic, salt and acidity regulator were core ingredients.
While it had the lowest sodium, Dr Beckett said the large portion of tomato came from a paste. She preferred chunky tomatoes because they went through less processing.
Dietitian Tania Mathewson said sugar as the third ingredient was also not a good sign.
$0.92/100g.
Napoli:
Napoli is made from a blend of tomato and herbs and because of the processing involved, has higher amounts of a special antioxidant than a whole tomato would.
Dr Beckett said that when processed with heat, olive oil made lycopene more available in tomatoes.
Lycopene is an antioxidant that helpsreduce the risk of chronic and cardiovascular diseases.
“You get more lycopene – a bioactive compound – from a processed tomato sauce than you do from eating a fresh whole tomato at home,” she said.
Of the four chosen options, the Leggo’s Napoletana With Chunky Tomato and herbs had 29g of sugar per jar, one of the highest of analysed sauces among the popular brands.
Dietitian pick: Mutti Sugo Semplice Napoletana Pasta Sauce.
Per 100g it had 0.6g of saturated fats, 3.8g of sugar and 232g of sodium.
Lowest sodium and sugar levels.
Tomato pulp (61%), tomato puree (21%), onion, garlic, olive oil, tomato concentrate, salt and basil were key ingredients.
$1.13/100g.
Dietitians did not prefer: Barilla Napoletana Pasta Sauce.
In every 100g serve it had 0.4g of saturated fats, 5.2g of sugar and 384mg of sodium.
Of the options dietitians analysed, it had the highest saturated fat and sodium levels.
Ingredients include sunflower oil, sugar, salt and flavouring.
A spokeswoman for Barilla said all Barilla red sauces were aligned with the sodium threshold of 400mg per 100g.
$1.23/100g.
Creamy Cheese:
They might say cheese on the name but there’s virtually none of it in the jar.
Instead thickeners and additives take their place.
Plus, Ms Beckett said because of their high sodium content, creamy cheese sauces were best eaten sparingly, to protect your blood pressure.
“Most are just at the 400mg per 100g point, so you could be getting a third of your daily salt limits in one serving,” she said.
While some supermarket jars had only minimal levels of whole cheese, the Dolmio Three Cheese Pasta Bake had Cheddar, Parmesan and Buttermilk, which dietitians said was the best option.
Dietitians pick: Dolmio Three Cheese Pasta Bake Sauce.
Per 100g serve it had 1.7g of saturated fat, 2.4g of sugar and 346mg of sodium.
While there were numerous ingredients, Ms Mathewson said it had a better level of wholefoods compared to other choices.
Key Ingredients: Cream, Modified Cornstarch, Cheese Powder, Buttermilk, Cheddar Cheese and Parmesan Cheese.
$0.92/100g.
Dietitians did not pick: Chicken Tonight Classic Creamy Cheese And Bacon Flavour.
Each 100g portion had 2g of saturated fat, 2.3g of sugar and, 309mg of sodium.
While sodium and sugar were reasonable, the first three ingredients were water, oil and thickeners, with only a small amount of cream and cheese.
Canola oil, cheese powder, flavour and sugar were also ingredients.
$0.82/100g.
Carbonara:
Commonly made with cheese in addition to egg, carbonara is another option dietitians say to be wary of in jars.
However, choosing the right carbonara sauce could trim your saturated fat intake by 3.5g per 100g serve.
Among the four choices dietitians analysed, The Latina Creamy Carbonara had 16.25g of saturated fat in a 250g tub, making it the least recommended.
Dietitians pick: Leggo’s Carbonara with Cream Onion and Cheese.
In every 100g portion, there was 3.1g of saturated fats, 1.9g of sugar and 348mg of sodium.
Cheese, salt, locust bean gum, pecorino cheese, cream, onion and thickeners (1442, xanthan gum) were ingredients.
With cheese as an ingredient early and thickeners further down, Dr Beckett said it was better than other carbonara.
$0.94 per 100g.
Dietitians did not pick: Latina Creamy Carbonara Pasta Sauce.
There was 6.5g of saturated fats, 2.4g of sugar and 416g of sodium in every 100g serving.
It had more than 15 ingredients with high saturated fat and sodium content.
With a real cream base, Dietitian Susie Burrell said it was high in fat and calories.
Modified cornstarch, flavour, salt and preservatives were also ingredients.
$1.76 per 100g.
Originally published as How an easy switch can help you cut down on salt in your pasta sauce
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