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We get it. The modern foodie doesn’t necessarily have time to make a six-hour Sunday sauce. When pasta night falls on a busy evening after work, foodies are realistically reaching for a jar of store-bought pasta sauce, which totally gets the job done…if you pick the right brand. Home cooks have long trusted Rao’s, but not all jarred pasta sauces are created equal, and worthy competitors have risen to the challenge and picked up Rao’s gauntlet. In Tasting Table’s ranking of 15 popular store-bought pasta sauce brands, Carbone came in first place, followed by Rao’s Homemade in second and Victoria in third.
As we mentioned in our review, both Rao’s Homemade and Victoria’s expertly showcase minimal, quality ingredients, using tomatoes and olive oil sourced from Italy. We appreciate that Rao’s Homemade is “thick, chunky, and colorful,” as opposed to the processed look of many uniformly-hued store-bought sauces. We were also impressed by Victoria’s slow, Sunday sauce-esque preparation, noting that the “brand also kettle-cooks its sauces for hours, giving the finished product more of a homemade taste compared to other major sauce brands.” However, ultimately, the Rao’s rival that won our hearts comes from Carbone Fine Foods — the team behind Manhattan’s Carbone. The world-renowned Italian restaurant is beloved by celebrities, and it’s nearly impossible to get a reservation there. With such accolades surrounding its makers, it’s perhaps no surprise that the jarred pasta sauce line swept the competition.
Carbone pasta sauce beats out Victoria — it even beats out Rao’s
Like Rao’s, Carbone pasta sauce comes in a variety of flavors. That includes a spicy version of its famous vodka sauce, which was originally created as an afterthought, according to chef Carbone himself in an interview recorded by Tasting Table. Earlier this year, Carbone further expanded its pasta sauce line with five new flavors.
They aren’t just special because of their diversity. As we noted in our review, “We have different nuanced opinions about each variety of this line of sauces, but as a whole, they’re high-quality, consistent, and aromatic and tasty, melding with the starch of the pasta to bring out their full transformation of body and flavor.”
Carbone’s classic marinara has also received rave reviews on Amazon. One shopper called it the “Best jar sauce I’ve ever tasted.” Another exclaimed, “This is the best sauce you can [possibly] buy from a jar!” Some reviewers also mention the higher cost, but many feel the sauce’s quality justifies the price. Still, it’s worth mentioning that Carbone’s premium product is roughly on-par pricewise with its lower-performing competitors. A 24-ounce jar of Carbone marinara is currently listed for $8.99 on Amazon (note that prices may fluctuate in response to various factors, such as changes in consumer demand). Rao’s Homemade costs $8.94 per 32-ounce jar, and Victoria’s is pulling $9.50 per 25-ounce jar.
