Best Low Sodium Pasta Sauce, According to Pro Taste Testers

The first time we set out to find the best low sodium pasta sauce, the only thing we could find were some lower salt marinara sauces. It was pretty disappointing, especially considering that one of them—Lower Sodium Prego—actually had 350mg of sodium per serving, which isn’t even that low. I had a strong hunch we could do better in our second taste test—and, as usual (just ask my husband), I was right.

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What qualifies as “low sodium” pasta sauce?

Glad you asked! A general rule of thumb is that low sodium foods contain 140mg or less of sodium per serving. If we were sticking to that standard, we’d only be able to list two pasta sauces here—no vodka sauce, no alfredo sauce. So we played it a little fast and loose and decided we’d look for sauces that are low sodium by pasta sauce standards. Our favorite marinara sauce, Rao’s, has 420mg of sodium per half-cup serving. I set out to find pasta sauces with less than 300mg of sodium per serving, and actually found some good ones!

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Best Low Sodium Alfredo Sauce

Giovanni Rana Alfredo Sauce (290 mg)

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I didn’t buy this for our taste test; I actually bought another alfredo sauce that had 330mg per serving and I was considering including it because that’s pretty close to 300mg AND a “lower sodium” marinara we’d previously ranked contained 350mg per serving—I was willing to make an exception. But then I had a thought: How much sodium is in our current favorite alfredo sauce? And sure enough, Rana makes the cut—no exception-making necessary! Rana alfredo sauce, which is sold in the refrigerated aisle rather than the pasta sauce aisle, is creamy, salty, and buttery—really, it’s the only alfredo we tasted that tasted like it came from a restaurant. (Granted, this is a ¼ cup serving and the other sauces on this list are ½ cup, so proceed with caution!)

Credit: Liv Averett / Pavilions

Rating:

9/10

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Best Low Sodium Vodka Sauce

Lidia’s Vodka Sauce (190 mg)

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Yo Mama’s, makers of our favorite low sodium sauce, has a whole line of sauces that are relatively low sodium even though they don’t really advertise that they’re low sodium. Their vodka sauce is great (really nice and cheesy stuff), but this vodka sauce made our list instead because it’s pretty shockingly low in sodium. Made by PBS cooking host Lidia Bastianich, this low sodium vodka sauce has a rustic texture and lots of garlic in the mix. You can chew this sauce—and we mean that in a good way. It’s really just a bonus that it fits into a low sodium diet

Rating:

8.5/10

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Best of the Best

The Silver Palate Low Sodium Marinara (140 mg)

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If you can find Silver Palate Low Sodium Marinara at your grocery store, this is a great low sodium pasta sauce. It’s noticeably lower sodium—in fact, it’s actually low sodium at 140 mg per serving. It makes up for being lower salt in a lot of ways. It’s flavorful without being overly sweet. And you can see and taste basil and garlic in the sauce. It has a little bit of an oily flavor we didn’t love in our second taste test, but it’s still one of those diet-friendly products that I think pretty much anyone would be happy to eat.

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Rating:

8/10

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Best of the Best

Yo Mama’s Marinara (130 mg)

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This Yo Mama’s marinara sauce is low sodium, but somehow very high in flavor. While Silver Palate tastes a bit like oil, this sauce tastes like tomatoes. Rich, savory tomatoes. There’s so much umami. Is there even more umami because there’s less salt? I mean, it’s not out of the question. This has Rao’s vibes but a much less salty flavor. It has the unctuous oiliness and chunky, clingy consistency like Rao’s, but I know some people argue that Rao’s is too salty—this is the stuff! Really, even if you aren’t on a low sodium diet, this is good.

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

10/10

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