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Barilla Basilico Tomato & Basil Sauce

*Est. $3 for 26 ounces
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Barilla Basilico Tomato & Basil Sauce

Best supermarket pasta sauce

Pros
  • Zesty flavor
  • Fresh taste
  • Reasonable price
Cons
  • Better reviews of some more expensive brands
  • Can be too spicy for some
  • Not as thick as others
 
 
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We found the best reviews of Barilla Basilico Tomato & Basil Sauce at Cook's Illustrated, which includes nine pasta sauces in its most recent blind taste test, and in David Rosengarten's Rosengarten Report newsletter, which examines 500 sauces before narrowing the field to a handful of winners. We also found Barilla included in blind taste tests by the San Francisco Chronicle and the Palm Beach Post, which employ a panel of food professionals and of "Italian grandmothers," respectively.

The reasonably priced supermarket brand Barilla Basilico Tomato & Basil Sauce beats out some higher-priced pasta sauces in blind taste tests. We found some criticisms of Barilla for being too spicy or too dominated by oregano, but in general reviewers say it's preferable to similarly priced competitors that either lack zest or contain a lot of sweeteners, such as corn syrup. Most reviews that mention taste and texture praise Barilla's, but a review in the San Francisco Chronicle notes that although this sauce has "large chunks" of tomato, it was still "watery." If you don't mind paying more for a gourmet jarred sauce, Rao's Homemade Marinara Sauce (*est. $8 for 24 ounces) receives the best reviews overall.

Our Sources

1. Cook's Illustrated Magazine

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

Review: Tomato/Pasta/Marinara Sauces, Editors of Cook's Illustrated, Sept. 2004

2. Rosengarten Report

Food commentator David Rosengarten assembles 500 pasta sauces for taste testing and identifies the 15 best. Barilla Basilico Tomato & Basil Sauce doesn't make the short list but does get favorable mention.

Review: A Jarring Discovery, David Rosengarten, Mar. 2005

3. San Francisco Chronicle

The San Francisco Chronicle asks five food professionals to taste 27 jarred sauces, with Barilla Basilico Tomato & Basil Sauce placing a distant second to Sonoma Gourmet. Tasters say Barilla has good flavor, but the sauce around the "big chunks" is "a little watery."

Review: Pasta Sauce Taste-off Yields Hall-of-Famer, Carol Ness, May 3, 2006

4. The Palm Beach Post

Five "Italian grandmothers" taste 10 regular jarred sauces and six vodka or cream sauces, with Barilla placing third in the jarred category (winner La Famiglia DelGrosso Sunday Marinara is about triple Barilla's price). Tasters like Barilla's texture but say it's "too spicy."

Review: The Nonnas Have Spoken, Jan Norris, Jan. 18, 2007

5. Real Simple

Real Simple selects winners in three price categories but doesn't disclose its testing methods or identify the losers. Barilla wins in the $3-and-under class, with the very brief write-up saying its herb-dominated flavor beats its "flat or cloyingly sweet" competitors.

Review: The Best Jarred Tomato Sauces, Editors of Real Simple, Mar. 2006

6. Health Magazine

Health magazine editors say they tested 15 brands of jarred pasta sauce but list just four of them, with Barilla Basilico among the winners. Odd for a health magazine, there's no mention of the sauces' nutritional value.

Review: Taste Test: The Marinara Showdown, Alisa Blackwood, Jan. 2006

Pasta Sauce Runners Up:

Bertolli Tomato and Basil *Est. $3 for a 13.5-ounce bag

2 picks by top review sites.

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