data is the growing use of nontraditional and upscale proteins in pasta dishes. Glowbal Grill Steaks & Satays in Vancouver features a Spaghetti & Kobe Meatballs entrée served in a truffle cream sauce with garlic confit and tête de moine cheese; Le Crocodile Restaurant offers Crab Ravioli with an Alfredo cream sauce; and Le Gavroche’s lunch menu lists tagliatelle with chorizo, mussels, roasted tomato sauce and fresh basil.



Top 10 sauces on pasta entrées

MenuMonitor data show that Alfredo and tomato sauces are the most common sauces on pasta entrées at leading Canadian restaurants. Alfredo sauce leads the list, appearing in 80 entrées (14 per cent), followed by tomato sauce, seen in 79 entrées (13.8 per cent). Alfredo sauce is versatile enough to complement pastas both with and without proteins and vegetables. Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar locations in Canada offer Chicken Broccoli Pasta Alfredo, featuring grilled or blackened chicken on a bed of fettuccine noodles tossed with broccoli and creamy Alfredo sauce, while Olive Garden’s Fettuccine Alfredo stars fettuccine noodles with nothing more than a Parmesan cream sauce and a hint of garlic.

Tomato sauce has the second highest showing on Canadian pasta entrées. This sauce is easily added to a variety of noodle entrées in combination with other seasonings and ingredients. For example, Earls Kitchen & Bar offers a Mediterranean Linguini with Chicken, featuring San Marzano tomato sauce, olive oil, marinated roasted red peppers, grape tomatoes, Kalamata olives, Parmesan cheese, crumbled feta cheese and pan-fried chicken.

Also on the list of pasta toppings is pesto sauce, appearing as a part of 37 pasta entrées (6.5 per cent). Pesto is an uncooked sauce generally consisting of crushed or finely chopped basil, garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan or Pecorino cheese, and olive oil. The green-coloured sauce is generally found in pasta entrées that incorporate chicken or seafood. For example, Don Cherry’s Sports Grill menus a Chicken Tetrazzini, featuring chicken, penne pasta, mushrooms and tomatoes tossed in a sun-dried tomato and pesto sauce, and Vinnie Gambini’s Ristorante Bar offers Linguini Con Gamberi E Capesante, with shrimp, scallops and mushrooms sautéed with olive oil, garlic, white wine and pesto sauce.

An emerging trend appearing in the MenuMonitor data is that of blending two sauces in pasta entrées. For example, Ricky’s offers a Pasta Alfredo dish of linguine topped with chicken or shrimp and a pesto-Alfredo sauce, and East Side Mario’s menus Baked Penne Bolognese, penne tossed with beef Bolognese and Alfredo sauces, topped with tomatoes and a blend of cheeses.



See also: 

• Traditional and ethnic flavours showcase chicken’s versatility
• Canadians go hog wild for pork
• Canadians show a preference for strong flavours in Thai food