The 3 Best Jarred Pasta Sauces We Tried This Year (All Better than Homemade!)
As a groceries editor, I encounter a handful of all-star staples that consistently come up in my reporting: eggs, pasta, rice, and, most importantly, jarred pasta sauce. New and exciting pasta sauces of all types pop up on our radar pretty regularly, but none more frequently than red sauce. The jarred stuff is always there for us in times when we want a hearty vegetable soup base or fabulous shakshuka — just a little bit quicker.
As the year comes to a close, we’re looking back at three of the best marinara (and tomato!) sauces we ate this year.
1. Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce
If there’s one marinara sauce that will always be on this list it’s Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce. It’s won the hearts of chefs (including Ina Garten) and our editors alike, because it’s just that good. It’s bright with tomato flavor and light notes of garlic and basil to round it out, and makes everything it touches taste amazing. And although folks were worried about its quality decreasing after the brand got acquired by Campbell Soup Company last year, we’re delighted to say the taste and ingredients have remained top-notch!
Buy: Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce, $6.66 (on sale!) for 24 ounces at Amazon
2. Yo Mama’s Marinara Sauce
Speaking of flavorful sauces … have you met Yo Mama’s? It’s made with a short list of the usual suspects: fresh tomatoes, onions, and garlic seasoned with white wine, basil, oregano, and parsley. This marinara tastes vibrant, zippy, and fresh. It has a nice subtle acidity and is well-seasoned, but not overly salty, which means it can mingle with practically anything and everything — dunking garlic bread, simmering eggs, stirring up an elegant Bloody Mary, you name it.
Buy: Yo Mama’s Marinara Sauce, $7.99 for 25 ounces at Kroger
3. Vincent’s Medium Tomato Sauce
And last, but certainly not least: Vincent’s Medium Tomato Sauce, which some might say is even better than homemade. This could be because it’s made by the iconic team at Vincent’s Clam Bar in Long Island, New York. The jar itself features a tomato paste-based sauce with tons of sun-dried tomatoes that make it bright crimson red and very complex in flavor. It’s great on pasta (of course), pizza, veggies, and plenty of other dishes.
Buy: Vincent’s Medium Tomato Sauce, $4.99 for 16 ounces at LaMonica Fine Foods; also available in bulk at Amazon
Did your favorite marinara sauce make the list? Tell us about it in the comments below.