This Italian-Style Canned Soup Makes For A Perfect Pasta Sauce

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Pasta sauce need not be limited to Prego, Ragu, or even Rao's in their glass jars. Au contraire — there are several pantry items that make worthy sauces for your penne, ditalini, or orecchiette, to name just a few pasta shapes. Canned butternut squash puree is one example of a shelf-stable item that sings with the autumnal trappings of a really good pasta, for instance. And that's not touching the array of condensed soups out there — social media loves broccoli cheddar soup as an easy pasta sauce, but we won't say no to tomato or cream of mushroom. In fact, our new pasta-worthy obsession is Campbell's Condensed Garlic Parmesan Cheese Soup With Herbs, a cheesy, flavorful soup that mimics our favorite high-effort cream sauces for noodles. It even has Italian flair to boot, containing parmesan instead of more usual suspects like cheddar.

There's no secret to the sauce, honestly. Thinned with a splash of boxed chicken broth, this soup makes a near-instant heat-and-eat condiment for pasta. What's the advantage of canned soup over jarred pasta sauce, you might ask? Well, canned soup is not only generally cheaper than most containers of marinara, pesto, or Alfredo on the shelves, but it also lasts far longer. It's ready to swing in as a pinch-hitter on a hectic weeknight when you want a cozy, semi-homemade meal but don't have the energy to make one from scratch. Best of all, you can make a very impressive pasta with your Garlic Parm Cheese Soup With Herbs by tossing in several types of meat and veg that you have available, turning your canned soup pasta into a well-rounded meal.

Got some ground poultry, chicken tenderloins, or prepared shrimp defrosted in your fridge? With a quick seasoning and some light cooking, you have a starring player for your soup-bedecked pasta. Veggies will really sing under a luscious blanket of parmesan and garlic cream sauce as well. We also love the idea of spinach, broccoli, or kale to add a green, earthy note to the bowl. Feel free to spike the sauce with your favorite pantry whammies like crushed red pepper, extra garlic, and black pepper. Fresh herbs from your windowsill garden or a dash of freshly zested lemon are bonuses, but by no means required. Are you flat out of meat for your meal or avoiding animal products? We like adding beans to pasta for a protein boost, and some cannellinis would really go well with the flavor profile, we think!

Of course, what is pasta without cheese? Whether you want to whisk some grated parm into your sauce for extra umami or sprinkle bagged shredded mozzarella atop a baking dish full of dressed pasta before popping it under the broiler, we bet you have the means in your kitchen to add an essential ingredient that makes pasta family-friendly. From beginning to end, you can pull a darn impressive pasta dish together in just 30 minutes using canned soup. That's nothing to sneeze at when you're facing a busy night!