The Trick That Makes Pasta Sauce Taste Delectably Sweet

As much as we want to deny it, there's no running from the fact that some of the most delicious jarred tomato sauces contain a boatload of added sugar. Even when making tomato sauce from scratch, added sweetness is still necessary to offset the tartness and acidity of the tomatoes. Instead of using common sweeteners like refined sugar or syrup, reach for Medjool dates as a naturally-sweet alternative. Packed with fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, Medjool dates are nutrient-dense superfoods that can be easily transformed into a sweet paste suitable for any tomato sauce.

To make the dates into a paste, remove the pits, soak them in hot water for 20 to 30 minutes, and blend them. You'll know they're properly blended when the resulting consistency is smooth and caramel-like. Four dates will produce roughly ¼ cup of paste which is ideal for one batch of tomato sauce.

Date-sweetened tomato sauce is a rich, balanced complement to pastas and pizzas but can just as easily be used as a dip for mozzarella sticks or chicken nuggets. Dates enhance tomato sauce by providing natural sweetness, but choosing flavorful tomatoes is also key to maximizing delectability. Smaller tomatoes are typically more flavorful than larger varieties, so Roma, San Marzano, and cherry tomatoes would be excellent to use. The harmonious ratio of natural sweetness to acidity proves this unrefined replacement for traditional sugars to be unequaled in taste and nutrition.

Medjool dates are famed for their caramel-like taste and texture. They are frequently seen in grocery aisles dried (not dehydrated), which preserves their stickiness and sweetness. Despite having a high sugar content (two dates contain 32 grams of sugar), Medjool dates have a low glycemic index (55.3, to be precise). Their abundance in soluble fiber is largely responsible for this paradox since it slows digestion while supplying consistent energy to the body. Still, due to their sugar content they have a high calorie count. With that in mind, dates should be consumed in small servings for optimal nutritional balance.

Sold year-round at most grocery stores, Medjool dates can act as a substitute for refined sugars in many dishes. Eaten fresh in chopped form, blended into a syrup or paste, or ground into a granulated sugar, these dates can be added to salads, drinks, baked goods, and sauces. The options to transform these dates are seemingly endless. A date-sweetened tomato sauce holds well for three to four days in the refrigerator so be sure to put on your thinking cap and creatively add the sauce to pastas and pizzas soon after making it.