Level Up Your Lasagna Instantly With Just A Dash Of This Savory Sauce

Lasagna, generally speaking, needs no improvement. When you have a base as dependable as noodles, tomato sauce, meat, and various cheeses, you don't need to do a whole lot more to make it delicious. But if you want to go the extra mile and impress, you may want to boost the flavor a bit. That's why it would do you some good to add a bit of fish sauce to your lasagna sauce mixture.

"Fish sauce!" we hear you cry. "Why on earth would I add something like fish sauce to lasagna?" Well, if you add just a tablespoon of fish sauce to your sauce, whether you're using it by itself or mixed with meat, it won't make your lasagna taste like seafood. It'll just add some nice, well-rounded umami flavor to your dish — a little salty, a little meaty, and enough to make your mouth water. Just let your guests know about the secret ingredient in case they have allergies; they might raise eyebrows at the unusual lasagna addition, but they'll come to agree with you.

Fish sauce is, as we've explained, a perfectly reasonable additive to your lasagna, adding flavor without making it taste unnecessarily fishy. But if you're still a little doubtful about the idea, worry not! There are plenty of other things you can add to your dish to boost its umami. Just consider Worcestershire sauce, that difficult-to-pronounce yet undeniably delicious condiment that is itself a kind of fish sauce. (It's made from fermented anchovies.)

If you have a bottle of soy sauce, or even a few packets left over from your last Chinese takeout order, that can be another welcome addition to your lasagna. Again, if you use just the right amount, it won't make your dish taste too soy sauce-y: It'll just boost the flavors that are already there, much in the same way as salt. Or how about Marmite? That love-it-or-hate-it yeast spread popular in the United Kingdom isn't common stateside, but a little bit in your pasta sauce is a veritable umami tsunami.