Pasta Sauce Review: Best Pasta Sauce, Best Marinara

Best gourmet pasta sauce

*Est. $8 for 24 ounces Compare Prices

In blind taste-tests, Rao's sauces are picked as winners more often than any other brand. This marinara's long-cooked taste and depth of flavor impresses taste testers, who say that these pasta sauces hit all the right… notes -- sweet, salty and tangy, yet light. However, at $8 for a 24-ounce jar, Rao's costs substantially more than highly rated sauces from Bertolli and Barilla, and it can be hard to find.

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Expert & User Review Sources:

Rosengarten Report: Food commentator David Rosengarten gathers 500 pasta sauces, cuts the list to 125, tastes them, and identifies the 15 best. Three ...

Good Housekeeping: Good Housekeeping asks an unspecified number of tasters to evaluate 20 sauces, but identifies only the top two choices. Rao's ...

Slate.com: Online magazine Slate.com put 12 sauces through an NCAA basketball tournament-style bracket competition, with Rao's Homemade ...

Ed Levine Eats: Food writer/commentator Ed Levine tastes jarred sauces from Emeril Lagasse, Lidia Bastianich and Frankie Pellegrino of Rao's. ...

Chowhound.com: Chowhound is a message board populated by folks who stress flavor over brand prestige. This thread includes a number of ...

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Best supermarket pasta sauce

Barilla Basilico Tomato & Basil Sauce

*Est. $3 for 26 ounces Compare Prices

Barilla Tomato & Basil pasta sauce doesn't have Rao's complexity or intensity of flavor. However, testers say it tastes like ripe tomatoes, and the basil flavor really comes through without overwhelming the sauce. Tasters… particularly liked this pasta sauce's chunky texture. Experts say that this sauce is far more flavorful and contains fewer additives (such as corn syrup) than mass-market rivals like Prego and Ragú.

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Expert & User Review Sources:

Cook's Illustrated: Twenty-four reviewers sample nine jarred pasta sauces, discussing ingredients and rating them based on flavor and texture.

Rosengarten Report: Food commentator David Rosengarten assembles 500 pasta sauces for taste testing and identifies the 15 best. Barilla Basilico ...

San Francisco Chronicle: The San Francisco Chronicle asks five food professionals to taste 27 jarred sauces, with Barilla Basilico Tomato & Basil Sauce ...

The Palm Beach Post: Five "Italian grandmothers" taste 10 regular jarred sauces and six vodka or cream sauces, with Barilla placing third in the ...

Real Simple: Real Simple selects winners in three price categories but doesn't disclose its testing methods or identify the losers. Barilla ...

Health Magazine: Health magazine editors say they tested 15 brands of jarred pasta sauce but list just four of them, with Barilla Basilico among ...

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Best organic pasta sauce

Amys Organic Family Marinara

*Est. $6 for 24.5 ounces Compare Prices

Amy's doesn't do as well in blind taste tests as Rao's, but its thick texture and slow-simmered taste give it the edge over other organic pasta sauces. Reviewers say it's neither too sweet nor too spicy, which makes it a… good choice for families with children. Ingredients are certified organic -- which means tomatoes and spices are grown without pesticides and are processed without chemicals.

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Expert & User Review Sources:

San Francisco Chronicle: This newspaper asks five food professionals to taste 11 organic jarred sauces, with Amy's placing fifth (the winner is Italy's ...

Health Magazine: Health magazine says it tested 15 brands of jarred past sauce but lists just four of them, naming Amy's Premium Organic Tomato ...

Chowhound.com: Chowhound is a foodie forum; in this thread on pasta sauce, Amy's gets a mention from a couple of fans, but overall, participants ...

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Pasta Sauce: Reviews

Best gourmet pasta sauce

Best supermarket pasta sauce

Best organic pasta sauce

Pasta Sauce by Price Range


	Bertolli Premium Pasta Sauce, Summer Crushed Tomato & Basil, 13.5-Ounce Pouches (Pack of 6) from Amazon.com New: $17.63 In Stock. Average Customer Review: