Make this scrumptious bow tie pasta in red sauce when you are craving for a good bowl of delicious pasta but do not want to take the hassle of making red sauce from scratch! The bottled red pasta sauce from Veeba will come to your rescue!
For a long time I was planning to review bottled pasta sauces that we get in our supermarkets these days quite easily. After making red and white pasta sauces from scratch enumerable times, I thought it would not be a bad idea to give these conveniences a try!
I tasted quite a few brands and finally got the one which I felt is worth reviewing. I am talking about the red pasta sauce from the brand ‘Veeba’ which has gained immense popularity in recent times since it began its operation in 2013.
I believe I have tasted almost 60% of their products, if not all! And they come up with new items every month, so it might be a little difficult to keep up with them! 🙂
My favorites from the brand Veeba are their salad dressings; but I thought of starting my reviews with the one that kids would love the most – their red pasta sauce – because kids are in love with pastas these days!
I have used this sauce multiple times with different variations each time, but today I am sharing the easiest of the lot so that you can get the real flavors of the sauce without much of a hassle.
You will find my detailed feedback of Veeba red pasta sauce at the end of the blog; but if I have to mention the most important selling point about such items is the element of convenience they bring with them! And in terms of taste and flavors, this brand has nailed it, well, almost perfectly!
Ingredients for bow tie pasta in red sauce
Let’s first go through the list of ingredients we need to make this bow tie pasta in red sauce from Veeba and I promise the list is not too long!
Bow tie pasta: Since this is a recipe of bow tie pasta in red sauce, you will of course need about a cup of bow tie pasta which is also known as Farfalle. This pasta looks very cute and that’s why it wins over little kids’ hearts easily!
Veeba red pasta sauce: I had used this bottled red pasta sauce from Veeba earlier and wanted to review it as I am sure many of you would be curious to know before buying it. I do have my detailed feedback below with my final verdict.
Button mushrooms: I wanted to make a minimal pasta recipe in order to keep the flavors of the pasta sauce dominant and that is why I have skipped chicken or any other meat/seafood. I have used only fresh button mushrooms. Mushrooms go really well with any pasta; just sauté them before adding to the pasta.
Garlic: Grate a few cloves of garlic and add it with mushrooms to impart a beautiful flavor.
Cheese: No pasta dish is complete with a good amount of good quality cheese. You can use any cheese of your choice like plain processed cheese, cheddar cheese or even mozzarella. I used grated cheddar.
Italian seasoning: I am simply addicted to this spice mix so I could not resist sprinkling a dash of Italian seasoning to any pasta dish of mine! And in this case, Italian seasoning enhanced the taste of the bottled sauce significantly!
Olive oil: Use a good quality extra virgin olive oil to sauté your mushrooms and red sauce. Make sure you do not heat the olive oil too high and it must never smoke.
Fresh Parsley: Garnish your bow tie pasta in red sauce with a handful of fresh parsley to add a burst of freshness!
Chilli flakes: Sprinkle a dash of chilli flakes to add a kick to your bow tie pasta in red sauce.
Seasoning: Salt and pepper is the must have seasoning but first taste the sauce because all the bottled sauces come with a certain amount of salt.
How to make bow tie pasta in red sauce
Check out the step by step recipe of bow tie pasta in red sauce!
Step 1: Boil a pot of water and add about a tablespoon of salt to it. Add the pasta to boiling water and cook it until al dente i.e. soft but not too much. Check the pasta packet for the time it needs to cook until al dente.
Step 2: Before draining the water out, reserve a cup of pasta water. This starchy water is very useful as we will see in the steps below.
Step 3: Once done, pour the pasta into a colander to let all the water drain out and wash the pasta in cold running water for a few seconds. Set it aside.
Step 4: Now heat a skillet and add about two tablespoons of olive oil. Once the oil is warm, add the sliced mushrooms and the grated garlic. Saute the mushrooms and garlic for a good 10 to 15 minutes on medium heat until mushrooms turn deep brown and are cooked through.
Pro tip: Do not add salt to the mushroom at the very beginning; then mushrooms will release all the water before being cooked and will turn soggy instead of somewhat crispy.
Step 5: Once the mushrooms are nicely sauteed, take them out on a plate and set aside.
Step 6: Now heat the remaining olive oil in the same skillet. Once warm, add the Veeba red pasta sauce to the skillet.
Step 7: Saute the pasta sauce in olive oil for 2 to 3 minutes, keeping the heat low. If the sauce starts to stick, pour the reserved pasta water 2 spoons at a time and keep mixing. The sauce will thin down and become easier to stir.
Step 8: Taste and season the sauce with salt, pepper and the Italian seasoning. Give a good mix so that they are evenly mixed in.
Step 9: Add the cooked pasta now and using a spatula, carefully mix them with the sauce. Make sure each pasta is coated with the sauce on all sides. You may add a few more spoons of pasta water to help mix the sauce & pasta.
Step 10: Now add the sauteed mushrooms to the pasta and mix them in. Sprinkle the red chilli flakes if you are using them.
Step 11: Finally, sprinkle the grated cheese and mix them lightly with the bow tie pasta in red sauce. Then cover the skillet and leave it on low heat for 3 to 4 minutes to let the cheese melt completely.
Step 12: Your bow tie pasta in red sauce using Veeba red sauce is ready to serve! Garnish with freshly chopped parsley and serve warm with little more grated cheese on top! Enjoy!
My feedback and final verdict on Veeba red pasta sauce
The Veeba red pasta sauce is quite a savior when you want to eat something fancy at home and avoid ordering takeaways. Just keep below pointers in mind:
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- Among many other bottled pasta sauce brands, I liked Veeba red pasta sauce the most because I felt it is the closest to the red sauce made from scratch using fresh tomatoes. Plus there is no odd smell which I had found in many others due to the preservatives.
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- You will need a good amount of sauce to make a serving of 2 adults. Use about half a cup of tightly packed sauce to make this bow tie pasta in red sauce.
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- For extracting the best flavor from the sauce, sauté it in extra virgin olive oil for a good 2 to 3 minutes before adding your cooked pasta. And never add the sauce directly to the pasta without sautéing or thinning it down. You will have a hard time mixing it in.
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- You can significantly enhance this sauce by adding your own personal touch. For example, I added Italian seasoning to add great flavors. You can add fresh basil leaves, mixed dried herbs like oregano, parsley, basil and rosemary, a dash of cream or a cheese sauce and then add your pasta to it. This sauce is like a blank canvas and you can play around it!
- The only downside I found about this Veeba red pasta sauce is that it is way too sweet for my liking. I guess that’s because their target consumers are the kids who would love their pasta sauce. I recommend seasoning your sauce well with salt, pepper and chilli flakes to mellow down the sweetness significantly.
More delicious meatless pasta recipes from Flavor Quotient
- Simple Basil Pesto Pasta
- Creamy Mushroom Spaghetti in White Sauce
- Basil Pesto Pasta with Bocconcini and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
- Bow Tie pasta - 1 cup
- Veeba red pasta sauce - ½ cup
- Button mushrooms - 200 gms, sliced thinly
- Garlic - 8 to 10 cloves, grated
- Grated cheese - ½ cup (Use any of cheddar, mozzarella or processed)
- Italian seasoning - 1 tsp
- Extra virgin olive oil - 4 to 6 tbsp
- Fresh parsley - handful to garnish
- Chilli flakes - 1 tsp
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Boil a pot of water and add about a tablespoon of salt to it. Add the pasta to boiling water and cook it until al dente i.e. soft but not too much. Check the pasta packet for the time it needs to cook until al dente.
- Before draining the water out, reserve a cup of pasta water. This starchy water is very useful as we will see in the steps below.
- Once done, pour the pasta into a colander to let all the water drain out and wash the pasta in cold running water for a few seconds. Set it aside.
- Now heat a skillet and add about two tablespoons of olive oil. Once the oil is warm, add the sliced mushrooms and the grated garlic. Sauté the mushrooms and garlic for a good 10 to 15 minutes on medium heat until mushrooms turn deep brown and are cooked through.
- Once the mushrooms are nicely sautéed, take them out on a plate and set aside.
- Now heat the remaining olive oil in the same skillet. Once warm, add the Veeba red pasta sauce to the skillet.
- Sauté the pasta sauce in olive oil for 2 to 3 minutes, keeping the heat low. If the sauce starts to stick, pour the reserved pasta water 2 spoons at a time and keep mixing. The sauce will thin down and become easier to stir.
- Taste and season the sauce with salt, pepper and the Italian seasoning. Give a good mix so that they are evenly mixed in.
- Add the cooked pasta now and using a spatula, carefully mix them with the sauce. Make sure each pasta is coated with the sauce on all sides. You may add a few more spoons of pasta water to help mix the sauce & pasta.
- Now add the sautéed mushrooms to the pasta and mix them in. Sprinkle the red chilli flakes if you are using them.
- Finally, sprinkle the grated cheese and mix them lightly with the bow tie pasta in red sauce. Then cover the skillet and leave it on low heat for 3 to 4 minutes to let the cheese melt completely.
- Your bow tie pasta in red sauce using Veeba pasta sauce is ready to serve! Garnish with freshly chopped parsley and serve warm with little more grated cheese on top! Enjoy!
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