Tomato sauces from Primal Kitchen, Classico, Rao's, Barilla, and Newman's Own with bowls of sauce in front of each jar on a wooden table
I tried tomato sauce from five different grocery-store brands.Lizzy Briskin
  • I used my experience as a professional chef to review some store-bought sauces.

  • The Newman's Own sauce was ok, but Classico's marinara was better for pizza.

  • The Sensitive marinara sauce was my favorite.

I tasted the Classico cabernet with herbs.

Front of Classico marinara sauce jar; Back of Classico marinara sauce jar with nutrition facts
According to its ingredients list, Classico's marinara is made with Cabernet wine.Lizzy Briskin

The sauce didn't feel right on pasta and I was interested in Classico's use of cabernet.

The sauce was smooth when it was out of the jar.

It could be better as a pizza sauce.

Classico marinara sauce in a white bowl with Classico jar next to it on wooden table
I thought Classico's marinara was just too sweet.Lizzy Briskin

I thought the sauce had a strong sweet taste that wouldn't complement pasta. This was too smooth for me because I like some texture in my pasta sauce.

Classico's marinara might work better on pizza because of its texture and sweet taste.

The price for the jar was $4.29.

Next was the Newman's Own sauce.

Front of Newman's Own marinara sauce; Back of jar of Newman's Own marinara sauce with nutrition facts
I thought the Newman's Own marinara was just OK.Lizzy Briskin

I didn't think the Newman's Own sauce was as good as the other ones.

I thought the sauce was dull and watery.

It was too thin for me.

The Newman's Own marinara didn't have a standout flavor.Lizzy Briskin

The noodles didn't cling to the sauce very well since it was so watery.

When I was at the store, I saw a tomato-basil sauce from the brand.

I paid a small amount for a large jar.

I tried the tomato basil sauce from Primal Kitchen.

Primal Kitchen's marinara sauce was the only one made with avocado oil.Lizzy Briskin

The most expensive dish I tried was from Primal Kitchen, which was made withavocado oil. I don't think it's a benefit or worth paying more for the added oil.

When I poured some sauce into a bowl, it was very thick and had a lot of herbs and small pieces of onion.

The sauce was really good.

The marinara from Primal Kitchen was hearty.Lizzy Briskin

The sauce was good despite my initial thoughts. The other sauces tasted brighter and more acidic than the marinara, which I think was due to the avocados oil.

The basil and oregano flavors were present.

You can get a jar for less than the retail price.

I tried the sauce.

Barilla's marinara had some specks of herbs and onion.Lizzy Briskin

I was surprised by how delicious Barilla's marinara was.

The texture was less dense than some of the other sauces and there were some larger pieces of tomato.

Barilla's sauce had a good taste.

The Barilla marinara was pretty tasty.Lizzy Briskin

I was able to taste the basil and oregano, but it wasn't overpowering the rest of the dish.

When stirred, it came back together after being separated.

The price for a jar is $3.99.

I've been wanting to try Rao's homemade sensitive marinara.

Rao's Sensitive marinara was made without onions or garlic.Lizzy Briskin

There is a difference between the regular one and the Sensitive one.

The sauce was mostly smooth and had a lot of tomatoes in it.

My go-to sauce at home is Rao's sauce and it was my favorite of the bunch.

I thought Rao's marinara sauce truly tasted homemade.Lizzy Briskin

It might have been from roasting the tomatoes. The tomato flavor was the most prominent one in this jar.

The homemade sauce that had been simmering all day had the taste of a homemade sauce.

The jar I bought was 24 ounces.

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