Bobby Flay's Favorite Canned Sauce Brand For Delicious Pasta

Craving a heaping bowl of delicious pasta but not keen on making tomato sauce from scratch? There's no shame in using canned sauce, especially one that has the seal of approval from renowned chef and restaurateur Bobby Flay. After all, even professional chefs have days when they need a quick, easy meal.

Pleased to share his experience and favorite ingredients, Flay let the world peek into his pantry in an Instagram video in 2022 — and we're still not over it. It was as nicely organized and well-stocked as you'd expect. Besides the sections dedicated to condiments, snacks, and oils, he boasts an impressive collection of cuisine-specific ingredients.

As a lover of Italian food, it's unsurprising that one of his shelves is dedicated solely to pasta. Next to the squid ink pasta shells and cans of San Marzano tomatoes, he's stocked up on a specific brand of canned sauce: Mutti's Simply Sugo. This tomato sauce is an excellent base that you can build on for a rich, flavor-packed plate of pasta. So, from Bobby Flay's pantry to yours, here's his favorite pre-made sauce that's worth trying.

Bobby Flay takes pasta and sauce seriously. His appreciation of Italian cuisine is no secret. "Italy has stolen my heart and my soul," Flay emphasized on his website. "I love the people, the language, their approach to lifestyle — and of course the food." His extensive travels to the country, specifically the Amalfi Coast, are the inspiration behind Amalfi, his Italian restaurant in Las Vegas.

If you want to take inspiration from Flay's love for Italian cooking but don't have the time to try out his chunky tomato sauce recipe, he personally recommends Mutti's Simply Sugo sauce. Made by Italy's most popular brand for canned tomatoes, the basil flavor is his go-to when he wants to save time in the kitchen and eat right away. "It's like the sauce is already made for you and then you can embellish upon it," Flay stated in his pantry tour.

While you can enjoy it as is, don't be afraid to build on the flavors of Simply Sugo as it warms up on the stove. There are plenty of ingredients you can use to add that extra oomph to canned tomato sauce, taking your pasta from good to incredible.

While Simply Sugo is delicious as is, there are simple ways to make it — and other pre-made sauces — even better. For instance, consider mixing in other ingredients. Flay likes to add a bit more heat to this pre-made sauce with his favorite Calabrian chilies, a star ingredient on his cooking competition show "Beat Bobby Flay," or some crushed red peppers. His other preferred embellishments include fresh basil, oregano, and, of course, some Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Ingredients like fresh garlic, a dash of heavy cream, or a spoonful or two of red wine can also enhance the sauce's flavors and richness. Feel free to play around with herbs and spices to figure out which combinations you like best.

You can also tweak the consistency of your canned sauce. Reserve some water from your boiled pasta, and add it to the canned sauce a little at a time as it heats up to thicken it to your desired thickness. Rather than water down your sauce, the starches in the pasta water work to thicken the mixture at a molecular level.

Whipping up a scrumptious plate of pasta is simple when you have the right sauce. Preparing one from scratch is always a great option when you have the time (and the tomatoes), but if you don't, you can't go wrong with a canned sauce — especially Bobby Flay's favorite.