The Canned Ingredient That Adds A Kick To Spaghetti Sauce

Since when did food get so violent? If we're not giving it a kick, we're punching it, popping it, or otherwise making it sound like it's being beaten up by Batman. If you feel your spaghetti sauce is lacking in the biff, bam, pow department — as even the best grocery store spaghetti sauces tend to be — you can always make your own marinara sauce or else add an extra ingredient to give it more bite. (Biting, while also a violent action, is something food should be used to by now.) The one we're recommending here is canned chipotles en adobo, since not only will this add heat, but it will bring a hint of smoky flavor, as well.

If you're adding canned chipotles to store-bought spaghetti sauce, put a few of them in the blender along with sauce and a little bit of the adobo, then puree these ingredients. Stir the spiced-up sauce into the pan along with the rest of the jar, then heat it and eat it (preferably with noodles).

If you're making your own sauce, do the same step using some of the canned tomatoes, then cook the sauce as you usually would. Unless you like super-hot spaghetti, though, you probably won't want to use the entire can of chipotles. Start with one or two and see how it goes, since you can always puree another pepper if you think the spaghetti still needs more heat.

While you could stick with the Italian-style method of serving your chipotle-flavored spaghetti with parmesan and maybe some meatballs or sausage, another idea is to lean into more of a Mexican or Tex-Mex flavor. Try frying up some Mexican-style chorizo and stirring it into the sauce, plus maybe adding chopped onions, corn, and canned beans (black, kidney, or pinto would all work).

As for topping off your spaghetti Western, pass on the parmesan and replace it with shredded cheddar or pepper jack. Swirl on some sour cream then add some chopped cilantro and diced fresh tomatoes to give it some color — red, white, and green, just like the Mexican flag. (Be sure to bookmark this recipe idea for Cinco de Mayo.) You could also top the spaghetti with green onions and maybe a diced jalapeño, as well, but go easy on adding extra peppers — as your sauce itself should be plenty spicy from the chipotles. As a final touch, you could even crumble a few tortilla chips on top. Not the usual thing for spaghetti, true, but culinary innovation's got to start somewhere, so why not in your kitchen?