We Taste-Tested 24 Marinara Sauces—Here Are Our Favorites

I make pasta sauce from scratch 99% of the time, but sometimes… ya just wanna open a jar.

I also rarely use up the entire sauce jar, which makes it enough for two meals — cutting the price in half.

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Same for me with the Pomi passata or their chopped tomatoes in a box. I tape the box shut with paint tape (tape does not touch the food) and mark the date with a Sharpie pen so I’ll remember when I opened the box. The rest gets used as pizza sauce, in a stew, or in another pasta.

My frugal grandmother would not allow sauce from a jar when I was young because we didn’t have the budget. I do believe I’m channeling my Grandma. :wink:

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Italian canned cherry tomatoes are evidently a well-kept secret aside from here. I bought a can out of curiosity zillions of years ago in a supermarket and was hooked. Unless I order online, I’m stuck with whatever is on the shelf - if any are on the shelf at all …

Funny, I have almost the same problem finding no-salt added canned corn

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I like the size of the cans. I have been buying Aurora brand, too, which is usually cheaper than Mutti.
$2.50 CAD from Aurora direct. I paid a bit less at my Greek grocer today.

Mutti Cherry tomatoes are running $2.99-$3.49 CAD a can at the big 3 grocery store chains in Canada

https://voila.ca/products/mutti-cherry-tomatoes-398-ml/274849EA

https://www.metro.ca/en/online-grocery/aisles/pantry/canned-jarred/tomatoes-paste/cherry-tomatoes/p/854693000447

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That’s the size I get - 14 oz. The last time I stocked up I ordered a bunch from Supermarket Italy - either Mutti or La Valle, whichever they had in stock. I have to complement Supermarket Italy on their shipping practices - every item is carefully wrapped like it’s a precious gift. I even emailed them to compliment them once. Not like Amazon (We pre-break It For you!!) at all. And if they’re out of something, they will email me to OK a substitute- usually something better!

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my absolute favorite is their 3 cheese. i could eat it straight of of the jar with a spoon — one particularly bad day, ate the entire jar

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I’ve sure never seen it anywhere.

I wish they had rated them all. I have not tried all of them, but of the ones mentioned I like Rao’s and Bertolli’s the best.
But I have to admit that I almost always doctor my store bought sauces with minced onions and garlic, (plus a little Italian mix of seasonings) I sauté in the pan before I add the sauce.
I also like the Prego and Michael’s. Prego is not as bad as I thought it would be.
I only had the 365 and Ragu once each, they were not as good in my book. But I am not the most demanding of cooks/diners.
I have never tried Mezzetta. I have seen some of their tomato products but never noticed their marinara sauce on the shelf.
Odd that they did not show the runners up.

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One chain grocery carries it, as does Walmart (in the little 8 oz cans, too). I have set foot in a Walmart only once, in 2004, to purchase a Tracfone because I’d lost my regular phone in the airport and I needed a way for my Dad’s doctors to contact me.

So I can order the corn if I want it.

Have a gander at the earlier marinara thread, most of the same brands covered, rated, discussed:

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Thank you for the link, Saregama! I do not remember that one. I got this far and Vecchiouomo said:

And I had to agree with him. Considering how much I add to my store bought sauces, it is probably unfair of me to say I like any of them better than the others. I really should try eating them without adding my own ingredients a time or two.
205 posts in that thread, I may need a while to finish it! LOL!

Same, usually — which begs the question why I don’t just make it from scratch in that case :upside_down_face:

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I’ll have to check Walmart. I don’t go there often, but they have a surprisingly diverse grocery selection, I’ve found out, so sometimes I’ll make the trip, it’s only a mile and a half from my house.

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I have never seen canned cherry tomatoes, but I have not been looking.

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I’ve used canned cherry tomatoes from Sclafani and Mutti. The only place I have found them are in small, independent Italian groceries. I live just outside NYC, so they are plentiful here.

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Canned cherry tomatoes are found at most grocery stores in larger cities in Ontario. They’re cheaper at the indie grocery stores that cater to specific cultural demographics.

I suspect we have a lot more Greeks, Italians, Portuguese, Turks and other demographics buying canned tomatoes in southern ON, relative to the consumption of canned tomatoes in NC, leading to more options here.

You Americans (:blush:) have more flavours of cereal (Cookie Crisp! We still don’t have that!), Cheezits, Doritos and Fancy Yogurt.

This is the first time I’ve been aware of Canadians having a wider selection of something. LOL. Although, now that I think about it, we probably have a wider selection of frozen pierogi. Maybe more types of feta, too.

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I’ve actually seen the Mutti brand at World Market. Although I suspect prices will go up.

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I got the Mutti cherry tomatoes when Centos weren’t available for a few months. They’re very good.

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Adding a can of Muir Glen fire roasted diced tomato, drained, to most any jarred tomato sauce can make it taste acceptable. Of course, now you are making more sauce. the leftover will keep pretty well in the fridge, but I freeze it if it’s going to be a while before using it again.

My gold standard for marinara was the big green cans of Trader Joe’s. Then it was discontinued and was replaced by a jarred sauce with all kinds of added awfulness, especially acidic and sweet ingredients.

I have tried so many, but none are satisfying on their own. I have resorted to ordering the artichoke tomato sauce from the Pennsylvania Macaroni Company. But the shipping makes it pricey. I like it for how inoffensive it is.

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I liked that one, too. RIP canned marinara.