Updated on Dec. 09, 2024
Our team of pro cooks and marinara experts sampled 11 options to find the best jarred pasta sauce. Find out which brands had our cooks saying mangia!
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We all agree that nothing can top Nonna’s homemade pasta sauce. But we also know that getting that amazing flavor takes time—time we don’t always have.
That’s why knowing a good store-bought brand is so crucial. Keeping a few jars of marinara on hand is an easy way to make weeknight dinners easy and delicious. But do you know what’s really the best jarred pasta sauce?
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It takes a lot for our team of expert cooks to call a store-bought product good as homemade, but Mezzetta Napa Valley Homemade Marinara has earned that honor!
“It tastes, smells and has the texture of a homemade sauce,” says our Test Kitchen’s Shannon Norris. And Shannon would know! She makes her own homemade marinara en masse each summer.
Mezzetta’s marinara sauce has a vibrant red color and you’ll find bits of tomato, onion and pepper flakes as you spoon it over your pasta. All those flavors come through wonderfully along with black pepper and a ribbon of olive oil—and not just any old olive oil: the good stuff. Our team says something comparable to their favorite olive oil brands.
Overall, this sauce is perfectly balanced. It’s bright, flavorful and fresh—all the qualities home cooks are looking for. A bit of this Mezzetta sauce will instantly elevate these easy recipes that start with a jar of marinara.
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When our Test Kitchen envisions a rustic marinara, it’s slightly chunky and tomato-forward. Those tomatoes, of course, taste fresh from the garden. That’s exactly what Rao’s Homemade Marinara delivers.
“It’s very fresh tasting,” says Shannon. The vibrant tomato flavor here is slightly acidic but mellowed out by onion and a hint of basil. Feel free to add more herbs to the party if you like your sauce with oregano or rosemary.
What makes Rao’s so appealing, though, is the texture. “This is the sort of sauce I want to enjoy with a good crusty bread.” Who doesn’t love to swoop up every bit of tasty sauce with some homemade garlic bread?
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If you’re the type that can’t keep their spice rack stocked with enough Italian seasoning and herbs, Barilla Marinara is for you.
Barilla’s marinara sauce sings with plenty of garlic, basil and oregano. This combination gives the sauce some really wonderful earthy notes, according to Shannon, that pair well with the bright tomato flavor.
Texturally, this marinara walks the line well between smooth and rustic. Inside the jar, there’s plenty of rich sauce with just enough chunks of tomato to make it interesting.
With all these wonderful herbs inside the jar, there’s no need to doctor up this sauce. However, if you want to, here are the best ways to make store-bought sauce taste homemade.
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