I Asked Italian Chefs to Name the Best Jarred Marinara Sauce—There Was a Clear Favorite

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5 days ago

Most Italian chefs agree that homemade marinara tastes best—but some jarred sauces come really close.
Rao's Homemade Marinara was the top pick for its simple ingredient list and rich tomato flavor.
In general, the chefs recommend looking for jarred sauces with no added sugar or preservatives.With a last name like Rotondo, I know my way around a marinara sauce. My grandmother's recipe comes together in roughly 20 minutes—about the same time it takes to boil a pot of water and cook pasta—so as a good Italian American, I should never reach for the jarred stuff, right? Ask a lot of chefs (like I did for this story) and they'll agree. "I don't know a single person in Italy that would consider buying jarred sauce," Gregorio Fierro, a Philadelphia-based pizza consultant who has had a hand in some of that city's best pies, tells me in no uncertain terms. And he has a point: When you make your own sauce, you know exactly where the ingredients came from, how much salt's been added, if you need a bit more garlic...and homemade just tastes better.While I would never even think to replace my grandmother's recipe with a jarred version, that doesn't mean I don't keep a jar or two in my pantry for weeknight pasta emergencies (everyone has those, right?) or when I need to quickly turn leftover meatballs in my freezer into sandwiches. Turns out, most of the chefs I spoke with agreed, and many even went so far as to name Rao's Homemade Marinara as one of their top choices.
"Hands down, the best overall," says chef Steve Chiappetti, a James Beard Award–winning chef and the Chicago mainstay behind the Albert at the Hotel EMC2. "It keeps things simple and lets the natural sweetness and acidity of tomatoes shine. No overworked seasoning—just clean, rich tomato flavor. It's as close to homemade as it gets on a shelf."
Marinara sauce is known for its simplicity—the best versions let the tomatoes truly shine. Often, the ingredient list is short: Besides tomatoes (canned or fresh can be used, but fresh ones involve a bit more prep work), expect to see extra-virgin olive oil, garlic and Italian herbs like basil and oregano. Some recipes call for onions, some like to add crushed red pepper for a slight kick. It's more of an art than a science—and it's not meant to be hard to make.That's where supermarket sauces have previously fallen short, several of the chefs I spoke with said. Often, they use preservatives or artificial flavors—or they contain too much added sugar, making the sauce too sweet. "That reputation hasn't come out of nowhere. Plenty of sauces on the market have leaned too heavily on shortcuts, using overly processed ingredients and sacrificing depth of flavor," says Domenico "Mimmo" Tolomeo, a pizzaiola who co-owns Taglio Pizza in Mineola, NY, and is the corporate chef for Orlando Foods, an Italian food importer. But that isn't to say all jarred marinara is a no-go, he adds: "When done right, a jarred sauce can offer both convenience and authenticity. It all comes down to the intention and care behind it."
Many chefs recommended Rao's because the ingredient list is straightforward—just Italian whole peeled tomatoes, olive oil, onions, salt, garlic, basil, black pepper and oregano. "No added sugar is the top thing for me, I want the sauce to have acidity, which is what I crave from tomato-based sauces," Italian American chef Carla Contreras says. "Making my own sauce doesn't take a lot of time, but on a busy night as a parent who has worked all day, I want to get dinner on the table in less than 10 minutes. I can boil the pasta, toss in some sauce, freshly grate Parmesan on top of the pasta and serve a salad or veggies I roasted on the weekend, and dinner is done."Beyond sugar, avoid sauces that have vinegars or citric acid, and try to avoid going the cheapest route. "Treat the sauce like you're going to eat it," says Matt Harding, a former chef and Chief Concept Officer at Piada Italian Street Food. "Pick the ones with the least added sugar, free from preservatives, and for God's sake don't get the least expensive. A jar of expensive sauce is $8, which equates to around $1.50 per serving."
While Rao's doesn't use San Marzano tomatoes, that can also be a clue that a jarred sauce is high-quality. Look for a DOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta) designation on the label, indicating that the tomatoes used in the sauce came from the protected region of Italy known for San Marzano production. "Also, the words 'imported,' 'Italian' or 'San Marzano' before 'tomatoes' on the ingredients list is always a green flag, along with these words being the very first ingredient," advises chef and sommelier Dana Beninati.
While you can certainly use a jar of Rao's to sauce your pasta (spaghetti, penne and rigatoni were the top pasta shapes for marinara among chefs we spoke with), most chefs had plenty of other uses. Chiappetti uses jarred marinara as the base for shakshuka, which makes pulling off the dish in the morning particularly easy. Others mentioned using it as a tomato soup base, along with some water and cream. Whether reaching for Rao's or another brand, nearly all the chefs told us to feel free to punch up the garlic or herbs to your liking. "I treat it like a blank canvas," Chiappetti explains. "I'll warm olive oil in a pan, lightly toast some sliced garlic, add chili flakes and let fresh basil infuse into the oil. Then I stir in the jarred marinara and season to taste. It's a fast way to create a deeply flavored sauce that feels totally your own."
While I certainly wouldn't suggest always forgoing homemade sauce (I'll never stop making my grandmother's recipe), if you're in a pinch, take a suggestion from the chefs we interviewed and try Rao's Homemade Marinara. Chefs like this jarred sauce for its simple ingredient list, no added sugar and rich tomato flavor. You can easily jazz up the sauce by warming it with garlic and olive oil to give it a deeper flavor. It's the perfect solution on a busy weeknight.
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