Let’s get to it, shall we? I present an undisputed and 1,000% accurate pasta sauce power ranking. The general rules are:

What Does The Term Lost In The Sauce Mean

I got a jar of sauce (no cans), regular marinara or the closest approximation I could find (no vodka sauce, no puttanesca, etc.) and tried to include more than one jar of each brand. There are many sauces here and, just like looking at Chumbawamba’s roaster, it can be difficult and difficult to distinguish them. You won’t get very far with a dozen or so sauces at the top of this list.

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I’ve listed these items for taste and packaging appeal – let’s face it, when you’re looking for a new pasta sauce, it’s often the label Rustic Simple/Honest (but not too much) that grabs your attention.

Price is hard to pin down and, because depending on the seller you can pay a wide range of prices, I didn’t use it as a metric. That said, when there’s a good (or not so good) price, I notice it’s on point.

It’s hard, so bear with me. Back in December, I posted a photo of Victoria Marina sauce and declared it the best on the market. It was wrong, and we regret the mistake. Nevertheless.

Victoria makes the best sauce, but it’s a premium white linen brand, available at Costco, which is superior, not regular marinara (which is very good). So: why not just put Victoria White Linen at the top of the scale?

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Because I can’t find the thing anywhere. I haven’t seen one on the shelves in six months or more. After a long conversation with a helpful Costco representative, I learned that Victoria White Linen is not available at Los Angeles and Northern California Costcos. (The sauce can be purchased on Amazon at a higher price.) While this may change in the future, it can’t make it any harder for me to rank the sauce higher.

So Rao won by default, two of the best words in the English language. It’s not like the rao is bowing to anyone – it’s the amazing sauce. Light, balanced, with a strong tomato flavor and plenty of oil, leaving a nice greasy slick on the spoon. The texture is juicy without being sticky, and sometimes it’s a big, satisfying slice of tomato. It’s a bullet choice for any pasta…at least until Victoria White Linen becomes widely available again.

Mezzetta, a California company that coined the slogan “Don’t forget the Mezzetta,” makes an excellent sauce in addition to olive oil and preserved vegetables. It has a bright, strong tomato flavor with a hint of onion (I like it, but not everyone will). It has a smooth texture and a slightly smoky flavor, and it avoids one of the most common mistakes that plague marinara—not enough oil. It contains delicious olive oil.

A very important tip when eating jar sauce: don’t forget to stir well. Sometimes the ingredients can be really different.

Steak Au Poivre

The Silver Palette is a name you may recognize from Sheila Lukins and Julie Rosso’s 1982 book, or from its former Upper West Side restaurant. Lukins’ easy-to-use, beautifully illustrated books can be found in almost every kitchen I remember growing up in the Chicago suburbs. “It was ‘reading’ cookbooks,” my mother said.

However, this is a great mariner with a twist. It hits your palate (ahem) simultaneously savory and salty, with a hint of pepper. An interesting list of ingredients includes carrot and pea concentrate, which gives the sauce more depth and depth. The jars are $7.99 on the Silver Palette website, but you can sometimes find them on sale at grocery stores – as I type this, they’re listed at Safeway for $3.99.

Victoria ticks the biggest and most important box when judging marinara: Does it taste more or less like a homemade sauce? This has been done, and then some. Victoria likes tomatoes and olive oil; It’s not too sweet and has a nice texture – even more so than Rao, which I’d say is usually a bit thicker.

A good sauce shouldn’t just sit as a thick paste on the pasta. It should be loose enough to cover the noodles and never stick. As I said above, the standard Victoria Marinara is good, but not as good as the White Linen brand, which is rich and balanced and as close to perfect as a jarred sauce.

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Here’s a big surprise at the next level. Fodi focuses on low FODMAP (which stands for “Oligo-Fermented, Di-, Monosaccharides and Polyols” – there will be an examination later) food items. Without going too far into it, a low-FODMAP diet can help people with IBS.

This sauce does not contain onion or garlic, which can irritate some digestive systems. And you know what? It’s very sweet. A good tomato flavor and enough goodness in the oil. Where garlic or onion might add some depth, foddy makes up for it with carrots and celery. The result is a less traditional Marinara – leaning a bit more into the Mirepoix / Bolognese area – but still good.

DeLallo makes a very sweet sauce – less unpleasant than average with a distinct olive flavor that is very noticeable. This is offset by a mild tomato flavor. It strikes me as a good sauce to doctor with meat or sausage.

If we were judging based on looks alone, this entry would win. It has a distinct jar, with broad shoulders and a simple gold cap. The label is small and unobtrusive, with “Michaels of Brooklyn” written on the boat. The small amount of space provided on the label allows consumers to see the glory of the deep, bright red sauce.

Organic Mild Bbq Sauce

High expectations, in other words. And while Michael may not be the best, it’s still a decent sauce with a bright tomato flavor, if a little on the sweet side. The garlic has a strong profile and the sauce has plenty of garlic, with a nice texture.

One of the best entries is Basil-Forward. The basil is sweet and floral, not as bitter as it can sometimes be, and complements the light, bright tomatoes. With pasta, the flavor of the vegetables recedes and fades like stiff back hair.

Real Northern California tomatoes go into this sauce created by Chris Bianco and Rob DiNapoli. Given Bianco’s pedigree (and impressive label art), I expected greatness.

I have received many favors. Spicy with garlic, and a natural sweetness from the vine that sings the tomato. Although I think it would work well with sweet, salty, melted cheese on spaghetti, it was light and delicious.

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Like cooking a good piece of Wagyu beef, sometimes all you have to do is not waste it. Whole Foods has done a great job here – it doesn’t spoil. It has a nice tomato flavor, not too sweet and has a loose texture. There are seeds and skins, which make for a functional eating experience. Fun fact: Jeff Bezos personally prepares and tests every batch of Whole Foods Mariner! (Editor’s note: This is false.)

It is a Costco house brand. And while they may only sell the best in jeans, dress shirts (one took me about 15 years, true story!) and 72-pound wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano, Marinara isn’t exactly the best.

The sauce has a little bitterness but a good tomato flavor and a little flour, the same consistency. This is the best version of the ragu brand sauce, if that makes sense. While it’s not the best deal, it’s a good deal if you have a Costco membership — $9.49 for three large 32-oz. The bottle looks like zero effort went into designing the label.

I don’t like strong herbs in my marinara, but this is a good choice if you do. Plenty of onions and greens are visible but not overwhelming. This sauce is not too sweet and has a nice, almost smoky, cooked tomato flavor.

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I slightly disagree with this. I love the flavor, it’s rich with tomato and has a nice subtle red cayenne kick, but the texture is good. I love free sauce. Coppola, who directed the “Godfather” movies and one where a 10-year-old boy looks like Robin Williams, has sauce around garden slush poppies.

It’s chunky and has chunks of tomato juice in it, but the texture is like some tomato thrown into a blender – not overcooked. I don’t mind – the taste eventually overcomes any problems with the run. Just be aware that there will be a liquid at the bottom of your pasta bowl.

This Yo Mama sauce has a good texture