The Best Store-Bought Marinara Sauce Isn't Actually Rao's

While making tomato sauce from scratch is a family tradition for many Italians and Italian Americans, sometimes, a store-bought jar of pasta sauce is more convenient. And contrary to what many would say if asked, the best one isn't cult-favorite Rao's. 

Chowhound writer and Italian food aficionado Michelle Bottalico ranked 14 popular brands of marinara sauce from the grocery store. Metrics for ratings included aroma, appearance, mouthfeel, and naturalness. She concluded that California brand Mezzetta — commonly recognized for their pickled vegetables — reigns supreme above competitors because of its solid olive oil flavor and use of real San Marzano tomatoes, which is what many Neapolitans choose for their homemade sauces. Bottalico wrote that Mezzetta's marinara could transport you back to an "Italian table, dining alfresco on a summer's day." That's high praise for a store-bought sauce.

Mezzetta uses a variety of plum tomatoes. Some are grown in California, but the rest are grown in the San Marzano region of Italy. San Marzano plum tomatoes have fewer seeds and a lower water content than others, meaning you're getting the most tomato flavor per tomato. This is the perfect start to an authentic marinara. Top competitors like Rao's and Carbone don't specify having San Marzano plum tomatoes, only "Italian whole-peeled tomatoes." Mezzetta's high-quality tomatoes also mean it doesn't have to add sugar, artificial sweeteners, or flavor or texture improvers. For comparison, the Bertolli brand, which was Bottalico's lowest-ranked marinara, added unnecessary fillers like water, sugar, and citric acid. 

Mezzetta's label says it contains imported olive oil. Although it doesn't specify the oil's region or extraction method, using any olive oil is an improvement over the brands that chose to put canola or soybean oil in their marinara.

Marinara sauce recipes vary, but in addition to tomatoes and olive oil, they often call for ingredients like garlic, onion, salt, pepper, basil, and oregano. Mezzetta hit the nail on the head by making a sauce that keeps the ingredient list short, using only what is necessary. It might be more expensive at $7 to $8 per jar, but you're truly getting better quality for the price.