We tried more than 20 tomato sauces to find nutritious picks so fresh tasting that Grandma might not know if you swapped one for her “gravy” during a family supper.
What we looked for:
Nutritionally, you want the same ingredients on the label that you’d use if you were making sauce at home, says Chris Mohr, Ph.D., R.D., co-owner of the nutrition consulting company Mohr Results. That means tomatoes, olive oil, basil, oregano, and garlic. That also means no added sugar (some brands can carry around 20 grams of the stuff per cup) or soybean oil (one “Old World style” brand we found had it—who are they kidding?). Using Mohr’s recommendations, we narrowed down our list, tasted the remaining contenders, and issued our awards.
Best Classic
Cucina Antica Garlic Marinara
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Traditional shouldn’t mean boring, which was how many marinara sauces we tried tasted. The garlic and a one-two combination of black and white pepper in this one surprised us. “It has a good, chunky texture, and it’s garlicky but not overly so,” one of our testers reported.
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Best Herb-Infused
Newman’s Own for the Common Good Organic Tomato Basil
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Too many “Italian herb” sauces we tested smacked of dried, stale herbs. This sauce, though, “tastes like someone chopped up a bunch of fresh basil and threw it in,” said one tester. It’s fresh, it’s slightly chunky, and 100 percent of the proceeds go to charity.
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Best Spicy
Jar Goods Classic Spicy
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“This one has some HEAT,” one tester wrote, yet the sauce is balanced by a “sweet tomato undercurrent.” In other words, it’ll taste great in a quick seafood fra diavolo, slathered onto a homemade pizza, or as the base for a skilletful of shakshuka.
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Best Wild Card
Muir Glen Organic Roasted Garlic Pasta Sauce
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When they say garlic, they mean garlic. “This will really repel your date, but it’s tasty AF,” one tester wrote. That’s because Muir Glen purees roasted garlic into the sauce, so every bite has a punch of pungency. Brush a good spoonful atop toasted crusty bread.
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