Question about store brand canned tomatoes for pasta sauce

I had to pick between name brand San Marzano tomatoes for $3.50 or the store brand for $1.80 at the grocery in Austin last week. I went with the store brand and my sauce came out a little watery and flat tasting, not like my usual batch. Has anyone found a trick to make budget canned tomatoes work better, like adding something specific?

2 comments

2 Comments

victorb171mo ago

Huh, that's a pretty big price difference. Did you drain off the liquid before adding them, or just dump the whole can in? Usually that watery stuff is the main culprit with cheaper tomatoes.

kim_west28d ago

Honestly, I feel that. It’s annoying when you pay more and still end up with watery sauce. I usually drain the liquid first and it helps a lot.