Sporked Awards 2025: Best Pasta Sauce

Are you sick of people saying “the only store-bought pasta sauce worth buying is Rao’s,” like they’ve tried everything on the shelf and know better than you? Well, we’ve literally tried (pretty much) everything on the shelf by now, and while we agree Rao’s is superior to most, we tasted two pasta sauces this year that also blew us away. The next time someone tries to push Rao’s propaganda, you can tell them about these instead. (We love you, Rao’s.) 

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Runner-Up

Sauz Summer Lemon Marinara

Affiliate

We absolutely fell in love with the sheer vibrancy of this lemon marinara. It tastes like it’s made with real preserved lemon. Yes, it’s a pricey jar ($8.99 at Target), but the flavor is unlike anything we’ve ever found in a store-bought pasta sauce and truly worth the splurge, especially if you’re planning a special occasion or date night and really want to impress. We highly recommend a seafood pasta for this bright, zesty marinara. You’ll be in heaven, we promise.

Credit: Liv Averett / Sprouts

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Winner

Carbone Classic Vodka Sauce

Walmart

Carbone is known for its “world famous” spicy vodka sauce—this is not that. We did a whole taste test of Carbone pasta sauces earlier this year, expecting the spicy to come in first place (it came in third, okay), but the classic version just couldn’t be topped. It’s so boozy and rich. Right on par with, if not better than, restaurant vodka sauces we’ve tried. You can serve it two ways: with heavy cream (for that traditional creamy pink sauce) or without (if you’re feeling lazy). The fact is, this vodka sauce is luxurious and indulgent without feeling too thick, over-blended, or cheesy. (Nothing wrong with throwing parmesan in a vodka sauce, but some brands really overdo it.) Congrats, Carbone. You made our pasta sauce of the year. We hope you feel honored. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

The 2025 Sporked Awards

We ate our way through hundreds of products this year to find the best. Check out more of the foods and drinks we loved in 2025!