Let beans be the secret ingredient in your next batch of rich tomato sauce.

Adding beans to tomato sauce is an easy way to create a sauce that is extra thick, and also packed with protein. If you have picky eaters in your family, it’s a good way to sneak health-promoting beans into their diet, too. Choose canned or well-cooked beans and puree them thoroughly in a food processor. Then stir in ¼ to ½ cup of beans for each cup of tomato sauce, depending on how thick you want it to be. Any type of bean works for this.