Here at Sporked, we’re pretty big fans of Rao’s Homemade pasta sauces. It’s the only brand that makes multiple appearances on our list of the best pasta sauces, and that’s a big deal! But Rao’s does have a shortcoming (and I’m not talking about its pesto—woof): Rao’s sauces are pricey. Entire Reddit threads are dedicated to the issue, with people attempting to determine if Rao’s is worthy of its (roughly) $8 price point, especially when $3 marinara options like Prego and Ragu exist. Should you spend a little more for better flavor? Save your money but sacrifice your taste buds? Or wear yourself out spending an entire Sunday making slow-cooked tomato sauce stove? Well, we’re here to report that there’s a fourth option: Aldi.
The European discount grocer, known for proprietary brands and unusual shopping cart situation, actually sells Rao’s for a slightly lower price than other grocery stores, but that’s not what we’re talking about. Aldi sells a dupe for Rao’s legendary marinara sauce—and it’s about half the price.
Aldi Specially Selected Premium Marinara Sauce? It’s a Rao’s dupe.
First of all, let’s address what we love about Rao’s marinara sauce and why we think it’s the best marinara sauce you can buy. In short, Rao’s Homemade Marinara may be a jarred marinara sauce, but it doesn’t taste like jarred marinara sauce. It tastes like marinara that was lovingly cooked on a stovetop by someone’s doting nonna. It’s oily (too oily for some people, but not for us), rich, and packed with luscious, tangy tomato flavor. The herbs taste fresh rather than dried. It checks every box for true red sauce lovers.
But yes. It’s expensive. If you’re feeding a whole family and need two jars for one dinner, you’ll go broke buying this stuff. That’s why we were so excited when we found Specially Selected Premium Marinara sauce in our taste test of every Aldi pasta sauce. While it might seem hard to believe, this Aldi marinara has the same homemade taste as Rao’s for a fraction of the price ($4.19 a jar in our neck of the woods). For about half the price Rao’s, Aldi’s Specifically Selected Premium Marinara sauce is rich and oily (in a very good way) without being too sweet or salty, and has a chunky texture that’s as close as you can get to restaurant quality.
If you’re looking to splurge for a fancy pasta night, grab that jar of Rao’s. But if you’re looking to treat yourself on a budget, opt for the Aldi sauce and we seriously doubt you’ll be able to tell the difference. Half the price for the same great taste? We love a dupe!
I have been buying solely Rao’s Marinara for about 8 years. When I saw this article I thought “oh my goodness, I have to try Aldi’s…” so I ran out then and there to get some.
Upon returning home, I opened the sauce out of pure excitement (without even a dish to prepare in mind) and tried it.
Lo and behold, the Aldi Marinara sauce tastes NOTHING like my beloved Rao’s… it’s way too sweet to be compared to Rao’s that I won’t even eat it… yuck. Disappointed in the sauce and in this article that had my hopes up yet was so misleading!
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!
Classico brand Pasta sauce is WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY better than that Rao’s trash and like 1/2 the price.
Rao’s is not trash!
If you check ads it is usually 6.99 not 8.00
$4.19 gor Aldi’s Specualty Marinara Sauce that definitely is a Rau dupe, but it’s $5.89 in my Aldi.