Dollar Tree pasta sauce vs. canned tomatoes from Family Dollar, I'm team tomatoes now | Dollar Store Dinners

Jennifer Ellis · 2026-09-09T06:35:07.583608+00:00

Last month I had $6 left for the week's dinners and had to choose between a $1.25 jar of pasta sauce or a $1 can of crushed tomatoes plus a 50 cent packet of Italian seasoning. I went with the tomatoes because the sauce at my local Dollar Tree in Tampa tastes watery and sweet, like they dumped sugar in it. Cooked the tomatoes with a spoon of cheap olive oil and some garlic powder, simmered it for 15 minutes on my one burner. That made enough sauce for 3 nights of spaghetti, where the jar would've maybe covered 1.5 meals. Honestly the tomato version had way more tang and held up better over rice too. Anyone else skip the premade sauce and doctor up plain canned tomatoes instead? What's your go-to seasoning combo under a dollar?

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Dollar Tree pasta sauce vs. canned tomatoes from Family Dollar, I'm team tomatoes now | Dollar Store Dinners - The Community Guide