Top 8: The best shop-bought creamy sauces for all types of pasta

Or for added interest, heat some olive oil with a sliced clove of garlic to infuse the flavours. Remove the garlic and add a large handful of stale breadcrumbs. 

Toss until crisp and golden, and top the finished pasta and sauce. You can also add some grated parmesan (or the end of any other cheese) on top.

Today’s sauces - we found a good range in supermarkets - can be added to all types of pasta, including layering with lasagne, but creamy sauces cling best to tagliatelle.

Serve a salad on the side – there’s still some local lettuce grown in tunnels – or grate or cut into thin pieces (julienne or mandolin) cabbage, carrot, kohlrabi, and beetroot. Cucumber sprinkled with a pinch each of salt and sugar and left for 10 minutes is also delicious.

Heinz Tomato, Grana Padano & Mascarpone. 490g €3.79 (€7.73/kg)

All tasters liked this best.

Tomato (55%), tomato purée, creamy mascarpone (10%), grana padano cheese (2.5%), onion, olive oil, with apple juice concentrate to sweeten. Sea salt balances well with lemon juice concentrate, garlic, black pepper, thyme and nutmeg for a fresh and light sauce. The cheese is not overpowering. Better value than the 350g size (€8.42/kg).

Score: 9

M&S Creamy Everything Bake 500g €3.75 (€7.50/kg)

Tasters enjoyed this rich blend of tomatoes (25%), milk (23%), cream (8%), tomato paste, garlic, basil, pepper, bay leaf, nutmeg, pecorino and cheddar cheeses. Pieces of tomato and onions punctuate the creamy texture. While a thickener and stabiliser are used, they’re not overdone and the texture seems natural. Good with grated carrot and parsnip added while heating up.

Score: 8.5

Aldi Specially Selected Tomato & Mascarpone stir through sauce 190g €2.09 (€11/kg)

Stir-in sauces are added to a bowl of hot pasta which gently heats it, stopping the cheese from curdling. A generous 21% mascarpone cheese with tomato (19%), tomato and garlic purées make a rich flavour. Onion, leek, celery, parsley, basil, spices, soya sauce, extracts of fenugreek and lovage add interest. Tasters liked it, finding the flavours well-balanced. While small, the jar delivers a lot of flavour. Serves two.

Score: 8.25

Tesco Finest Tomato & Mascarpone 350g €2.50 (€7.14/kg)

This pasta sauce has tomato (45%), garlic purée, mascarpone (12%), cream, olive oil, sugar, pecorino cheese, onion, salt, basil, and parsley. A relatively simple list of ingredients results in a pleasant, creamy, slightly sweet sauce. Very good with penne.

Score: 8

Supervalu Creamy tomato pasta bake 450g €1.35 (€3/kg)

The favourite of young tasters (adults thought there were too many herbs), this has a high 72% tomato, with tomato paste, onion, and is well suited to being cooked in the oven over penne, as suggested. Creaminess comes from added cream and regato cheese. Modified maize starch thickens, while xanthan gum stabilises and stops the eggs and cream from curdling. Lemon juice concentrate gives it a lift.

Score: 7.75

Dunnes Simply Better Italian butternut squash 340g €2.99 (€8.79/kg)

Made with 26% butternut squash, this seasonal sauce divided tasters. Some appreciated its original flavours made unctuous with 15% cream, with added flavour from carrots, onions, celery, butter, honey, Parmigiano Reggiano, garlic, sage, and black pepper. Others didn’t fancy butternut squash as a flavour with pasta, though it’s a popular choice in ravioli in Italy.

Score: 8

Dolmio Stir in Carbonara pasta sauce 150g €1.99 (€13.26/kg)

Tasters liked the lively, peppery, flavoursome sauce, which surprisingly has water as its first ingredient, stabilised by modified maize starch. There is also cream, ham, cheddar cheese, onion, garlic, spices and smoke flavouring. Not many traditional Carbonara ingredients here. Even with that, the result is a pleasant sauce for stirring into pasta for a quick meal for one or two.

Score: 7

Lidl Deluxe Carbonara Italian pasta sauce 340g €1.99 (€5.85/kg)

Water is the top ingredient here, with modified maize starch as the stabiliser. A decent 18% of smoked pork belly is accompanied by 4% cheese powder, dried skimmed milk, egg yolk, and extra smoke flavouring. Ingredients are not what you’d find in a traditional carbonara, which includes pancetta, eggs, garlic, pecorino, and parmesan cheeses. But tasters liked the result well enough to include it in our Top 8.

Score: 6.5