Jordan Myrick
The best pasta sauce is flavorful, made with high-quality ingredients—and it’s sitting on the shelf in your local grocery store. You don’t have to go to a fancy Italian trattoria or slave over a pot of homemade sauce to enjoy a delicious pasta dinner. Trust us. We’ve done the (very delicious) legwork (tongue work?). Whether you prefer a rich, creamy alfredo sauce or a bright tomatoey marinara, we’ve found the best store bought pasta sauce for you. The Sporked crew has taste tested everything from arrabbiata to bolognese to find the sauces even the world’s fussiest nonna will love. These are the eight best pasta sauces from our taste tests.
- Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce
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Let’s get this out of the way: Yes, Rao’s Homemade Marinara is more expensive than other pasta sauces on the market, but we swear it’s worth it. Not only is it the best marinara, it’s some of the best pasta sauce, period. It’s pleasantly oily, super savory, and tastes like sauce that’s been simmering on a stove all day long. It’s the best marinara sauce we tried in multiple marinara sauce taste tests. As one Sporked taste tester put it, you should definitely “pay the extra money and [not] look back.”
Read the full ranking of the best marinara sauce
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Giovanni Rana Alfredo Sauce
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Giovanni Rana is the best store bought alfredo sauce we’ve ever tried. To be honest, even though so much store bought pasta sauce is really good, store bought alfredo sauce tends to be pretty bad. But the taste and texture of this sauce are both on point. Plus, we love the fact that Rana uses a combination of Parmigiano Reggiano and Pecorino Romano cheeses, which give it a pungent, salty bite. Make like it’s 1999 and prep some blackened chicken alfredo at home with one of the best pasta sauces you can buy.
Read the full ranking of the best alfredo sauce
Credit: Ryan Martin / Walmart
- Kirkland Basil Pesto
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Kirkland Basil Pesto is the pesto you should be buying. This tastes like restaurant-quality pesto—and we’re talking about a nice Italian restaurant. The taste is unbelievably fresh and there’s none of the odd acidity you’ll find in other store bought pestos. We love that it’s rich, cheesy, earthy, and oily—not to mention that it comes in a gigantic jar. Not impressed yet? This pesto uses D.O.P (Protected Designation of Origin) Genovese basil. If pesto is your pasta sauce of choice, this is the pasta sauce to buy.
Read the full ranking of the best pesto
Credit: Merc / Costco
- Cento Vodka Sauce
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Everyone loves vodka sauce—it’s simultaneously creamy, tangy, and deeply savory (bonus points if it actually contains some vodka). Cento makes the best jarred vodka sauce you can buy at the grocery store. We were Cento fans before our vodka sauce taste tests, and this pasta sauce only made our adoration stronger. It’s the best pasta sauce if you want penne alla vodka that truly tastes homemade. It’s brightly acidic, bitey, and rich, just like a pasta sauce nonna would make. Skip the viral TikTok spicy tomato pasta recipe and just buy a jar of this instead. It’ll be cheaper and easier.
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Cento
- Rao’s Homestyle Bolognese
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When it comes to the best pasta sauce made with meat, this is the stuff to buy. Rao’s Homestyle Bolognese is the best bolognese and the best jarred meat sauce we tried during our in-office taste test and it’s no surprise. We generally love their products and found their bolognese to be ”warm, inviting, and deeply savory.” Rao’s uses ground beef and pancetta in this sauce, which sets it apart from lots of other bolognese sauces on the market. Plus, it has nice big chunks of meat. Rao’s just gets it!
Credit: Merc/Amazon
- Specially Selected Premium Marinara Sauce
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If Rao’s sauces give you sticker shock, we have really, really good news: Aldi sells what is basically a dupe for Rao’s Marinara sauce. Specially Selected Premium Marinara is oily in a good way, deeply savory, and has the same slow-cooked flavor as Rao’s. It’s unreal. It’s some of the best pasta sauce we’ve ever tasted—and it’s cheap!
Read the full ranking of the best Aldi pasta sauce
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- Rao’s Homemade Arrabbiata
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Yep, yet another Rao’s Homemade sauce lands on our list of the best pasta sauce at the grocery store. No surprise, when we taste tested store bought arrabbiata, theirs did not disappoint. It tastes almost exactly like Rao’s marinara (which, as we’ve already established, slaps), with a nice burst of heat on the finish. If you like a spicy sauce, you’re going to like this.
Read the full ranking of the best arrabbiata sauce
Credit: Merc / Target
- The Silver Palate Low Sodium Marinara
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Store bought pasta sauce that’s actually low sodium (versus lower sodium) isn’t easy to come by. The Silver Palate makes a marinara that tastes great and is actually low sodium, with only 140 milligrams a serving. It’s flavorful (but not overly sweet like other low sodium sauces) and unctuous without being oily. As one taste tester said, “This is one of those diet-friendly products pretty much anyone would be happy to eat,” and that makes it one of the best pasta sauces you can buy.
Read the full ranking of the best low sodium pasta sauce
Credit: Merc / Vons
Best Marinara
Best Alfredo
Best Pesto
Best Vodka Sauce
Best Meat Sauce
Best Aldi Sauce
Best Arrabbiata
Best Low Sodium
Danny Palumbo
Gwynedd Stuart
Matt Crowley
Justine Sterling
My favorite sauce is Francesco Rinaldi’s Marinara sauce. It’s so cheap but yet so yummy! It also comes in a plastic jar so you don’t have to worry about a glass jar breaking. Also I keep kosher and not many sauces are but this one is and it’s amazing!
Good afternoon many sauces you had reviewed and I noticed that you did not have the number one sauce in America Chi Italian young lady in Stroudsburg Pennsylvania makes it homemade really regional recipes from Italy the stories wonderful how her father won the recipe in World War II. Absolutely amazing there is no comparison Rios is in my opinion you get an opportunity check it out trulyitaliansauces.com, if you’d like a jar for your information will send you one. 570-460-5526. Thank you for trying Truly Italian in advance. Dr. Brett.
Many of these best of articles omit Mezzetta Brand products. They are the largest tomato producer in California’s central valley. They produce all types of Italian food items, olices peppers and the like. Their sauces are excellent and the Italian Plum Marinara is my favorite. An artisnal blend of tomatoes, onion garlic, olive oil and spices. No added sugar as well. My go to choice.
I love Rao’s and it *was* my all time favorite. Now it is at a 99% rating for me. My new 100% favorite is Mids. That was the only sauce that could be betternthan Rao’s
My homemade spaghetti sauce is much better than Rao’s. My mother learned how to make from an Italian lady in Illinois. No added sugar.
Love you guys, always informational. Great pairing with Rhett and Link
Silver Palate Pasta Sauce is my favorite. They have a few different kinds of sauce are the flavor is like it was simmered all day.
Hello, I work for Zanni’s Ready-Made Sauces, based Virginia. I was wondering what is the process I need to complete to have our pasta sauce considered for this list.
Have you ever tried Grady’s Garden Marinara or Chunky pasta sauce? Check our our website, http://www.gradysgarden.com. Chef Crafted, no artificial colors or flavors, and no added sugar. More than happy to send you a couple of jars for a taste test.
You have no idea what you are missing and not reporting on Jordan
Check out Antonio Carlo Gourmet Sauces and be amazed how a true Italian Marinara Sauce SHOULD taste
Any sauce not cooked with meat (pork, beef, chicken) for several hours is not a real Italian sauce.
Victoria Marinara far surpasses Rao’s any day!
I saw a YT video on Victoria. I bought it. I feel V is flat and one dimensional. No nuances. It tastes fresh but not the mouth feel Rao’s has. The flavor is not deep.
Alessi’s has an online store that sells their sauces, soup mixes, and many other items.
Thank you for this review. I enjoyed the read. I’ve a few of these products and really enjoyed them. Rao’s is fan freakin tastic!!!
I love Rao’s.
Reasonably priced at Costco.
Of so many different pasta sauces, my choice is The Mezzetta brand sauces from Northern California.
I’m just here to beg y’all to never use the word sebaceous to describe food ever again unless it’s a pimple popping cupcake.
when i saw that i just hoped and prayed they meant herbaceous 😭
Michael’s of Brooklyn has the best
It is the best. Because it’s from Brooklyn. And it’s $12 a jar.
I found Rao’s sauce to be very salty. Not what I’m looking for.
Victoria & Mezzettte also make a really good jarred sauce. Rao’s is expensive but here’s a good tip. Costco sells 2 jars for $11 and they’re bigger than the one jar you pay $9 for in a regular supermarket.
I would like to see the full list of all contenders, that way we can see where our favorites lie and if they were included at all. I’ve tried Rao’s twice now, and both times I’ve been disappointed personally.
Doesn’t anyone make their own sauce anymore??… I’ve read many if the ingredients in some pasta sauces, why is sugar in there? I never use sugar. Then I find soy, and carrot juice, and I don’t like oregano. Just asking. Agree with assessment of Roa’s.
Anyone else think Don Pepino’s Sauce as a pure contender – not a fan of the seeds but I’m thinking the seeds maintain the authentic fresh tomato flavor. Yes, I’ve strained the seeds, but the sauce is a perfect viscosity so not easy, tbh. But either way – worth it for the taste.
Not a fan of Rao’s Arribata, for it’s odd flavor – it’s the only Rao’s I’ve tried so far.
So I’m back to Don’s.
Any suggestions for another “pure sauce” – w/o seeds?
That’s really why I always check these lists..
Michael’s of Brooklyn has the best red sauce in my opinion, “Homestyle Gravy”. Fresh and delicious and no garlic, which I love as garlic makes me sick. Try it, it’s very good. Comes in a large jar. Expensive but worth it.
Could not agree more. Michaels of Brooklyn is the best on the market and worth the price.
$12 for a 32oz jar of expensive and pretentious bland water.
I have tasted much better jarred pasta sauce than Rao’s. Just because it’s more expensive doesn’t mean it tastes better.
The first time seeing your site, I really like the feedback from other people I’ve been in the food business since 1979 still in the food business how did Italian restaurant bagel stores catering business and I do think Reyes is one of the better sauces I’ve ever tried out of a jar. Haven’t tried the other ones though I will try don’t like to cook much for just me and the wife, still cook in the stores though and I’ll have other ones to try from the people with feedback. Thank you.
Good job. Right to the point. No unnecessary B.S.
The best jarred sauce that you will ever eat is Casa Visco. There are several flavors, all delicious. The sauce is produced in Rotterdam New York. It’s not available everywhere but it should be. Please try it.
I have always made my own sauce but found one I like very much. Barilla marinara. It’s very good. I add some onions and garlic along with herbs, it is great in a pinch.
Have you ever tried Hoboken pasta sauce??? Thats better than Rao’s and I love Rao’s too. Give it a try. Hoboken farm stand pasta sauce. It’s out of New Jersey where I live. Google it, you’ll absolutely love it. Joe G.
You missed the mark by a country mile
Antonio Carlo Gourmet Sauces blows any and all others away by a wide margin
Do your research better!
Carbone marinara sauce is absolutely legit.
Have you ever tasted Dell’Amore Marinara sauces? Born in Italy, Made in Vermont. In my opinion they are the best! Worth checking out. It is my husband’s family recipe.
Everyone is sick of hearing that Rao’s marinara is the best. It almost seems like they buy every contest. They don’t need this publicity. They have weird pieces of skin and garlic and seeds. Have you ever tried some of the smaller less known brands? Like Ooma Tesoro’s? So smooth and pure and flavorful and authentic,
Agreed. I don’t get it. Raos sauce is just ok to me. Carbones marinara sauce is a million times better
Victoria Marinara far surpasses Rao’s any day!they do buy every contest Victoria Marinara is the very best!
Agreed. Raos is an upscale ketchup
Antonio Carlo Gourmet Sauces are actually authentic Italian and amazing
Alessi sauce is the best but assume only available in the Tampabay Florida aea
It is quite apparent that beauty is in the eye of the beholder when it comes to pasta sauces. Sauces that one person thinks is great, someone else thinks it is awful. That is how it is with food. I have enjoyed cheap jarred sauces at times and thought they were better than the more expensive ones. Hoboken Farms was good, Victoria was good, I like certain Ragu sauces, and am trying Rao’s next. We recently enjoyed Francesco Renaldi. Our favorite sauces are home made from Cento or Wegman’s canned crushed tomatoes. Yes Wegman’s own brand!