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Two rows of Rao's Homemade tomato sauce stacked on top of each other: six on top and seven on the bottom.
I tried 14 flavors of Rao's Homemade tomato sauce.

Lizzy Briskin

  • I tried 14 flavors of Rao's Homemade tomato sauce and ranked them from worst to best.
  • I wasn't a fan of Rao's four-cheese or sensitive-marinara sauce.
  • However, I loved many of the brand's vegetable-forward options.

Rao's is a major name in the sauce business throughout the United States and Canada.

But before the brand's sauces were jarred, Rao's started as a family-owned Italian restaurant in the late 1890s in New York City. Today, the company that makes Rao's jarred sauces is owned by Campbell Soup.

Rao's also sells more varieties of jarred sauce than some shoppers realize. To find out which versions were best, I tried every flavor of tomato-based pasta sauce I could find.

Here's how they ranked from worst to best.

Rao's four-cheese sauce was my least favorite.
A jar of Rao's Homemade four-cheese pasta sauce on a wooden table.
Rao's four-cheese tomato sauce had an oddly tangy flavor.

Lizzy Briskin

I love cheesy pasta as much as the next person, but this tomato-forward cheese sauce didn't meet my expectations.

Instead of being rich and creamy, it had a pretty mild cheese flavor and a gritty texture, perhaps from the finely grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano. It also was oddly tangy.

Next time, I'll stick to Rao's four-cheese Alfredo sauce for a more satisfying cheesy taste.

I thought Rao's sensitive marinara was a little bland.
A small bowl of red tomato sauce next to a jar of Rao's Homemade sensitive-marinara pasta sauce lying on a wooden table.
Rao's sensitive marinara doesn't contain onions or garlic.

Lizzy Briskin

As its name suggests, Rao's sensitive marinara is made for those with sensitive stomachs. This sauce differs from Rao's classic marinara because it doesn't contain onions or garlic. As you might guess, it tasted like a blander version of the traditional sauce.

This marinara had some larger chunks of tomato that were nice and juicy, but overall, I missed the garlic.

The flavor in the roasted-garlic sauce was way too strong.
A jar of Rao's Homemade roasted-garlic pasta sauce on a wooden table.
Rao's roasted-garlic sauce was packed with minced garlic.

Lizzy Briskin

I may have missed the garlic in the sensitive marinara, but I was blown away by how present the flavor was in the roasted-garlic sauce.

It was absolutely packed with minced garlic, which gave it a rougher texture.

I also thought the garlic looked and tasted like the pre-minced version you'd buy in a jar instead of the sweet-savory caramelized garlic you'd get when roasting the cloves.

Rao's tomato-basil sauce certainly lived up to its name.
A small bowl of red tomato sauce next to a jar of Rao's Homemade tomato-basil pasta sauce lying on a wooden table.
Rao's tomato-basil sauce reminded me of a soup.

Lizzy Briskin

Rao's tomato-basil sauce was brimming with flavor and reminded me of a tomato-basil soup.

If you love basil's anise-like flavor, this might be your winning sauce. However, I found the strong flavor to be overpowering.

Rao's marinara sauce is a safe option.
A jar of Rao's Homemade marinara sauce on a wooden table.
Although I love Rao's marinara sauce, the brand offers more exciting options.

Lizzy Briskin

Rao's marinara is one of my favorite jarred sauces. However, I found other varieties from the brand outshined this more traditional, slightly sweet option.

The texture was mostly smooth, with a touch of grittiness. It was also loose and pourable, had a nice savory-tomato flavor, and would work great for a simple dish. But overall, Rao's has much more exciting options.

The Italian-sausage-and-mushroom sauce was disappointing.
A small bowl of red tomato sauce next to a jar of Rao's Homemade Italian-sausage-and-mushroom pasta sauce lying on a wooden table.
I thought the mushrooms in Rao's Italian-sausage-and-mushroom sauce were a little rubbery.

Lizzy Briskin

Rao's mushroom sauces typically contain large slivers of sliced baby-bella or white mushrooms. However, I've found the mushrooms tend to become slippery and rubbery in the jarred sauce and don't add much flavor.

When I tried the Italian-sausage-and-mushroom version, it also left me wanting more from the sausage, which was soft, crumbly, and had no spice.

I was hoping for something meaty to sink my teeth into, but the sausage bits were crumbled up quite small.

The mushroom-and-bell-pepper sauce wasn't bad.
A jar of Rao's Homemade mushroom-and-red-pepper pasta sauce on a wooden table.
Rao's mushroom-and-bell-pepper sauce was both sweet and savory.

Lizzy Briskin

For the most part, I enjoyed Rao's mushroom-and-bell-pepper offering. It was a wonderfully sweet-and-savory sauce with tons of texture.

The bell peppers were cut into fairly large chunks and were intensely sweet. The mushrooms were a little less flavorful but added more umami flavor to the sauce.

However, I thought the added veggies made it a bit watery.

Rao's caramelized-onion sauce reminded me of a canned soup.
A small bowl of red tomato sauce next to a jar of Rao's Homemade carmelized-onion pasta sauce lying on a wooden table.
Rao's caramelized-onion sauce was a little more watery than the others I tried.

Lizzy Briskin

I expected more umami flavor from Rao's caramelized-onion sauce. The onions added sweetness and a nice variety of texture. However, I found this one to be a little more watery than the others I tried.

Something about the flavor also reminded me of canned soup.

I enjoyed the arrabbiata's subtle heat.
A jar of Rao's Homemade arrabbiata pasta sauce on a wooden table.
Rao's arrabbiata gets its heat from crushed-red-pepper flakes.

Lizzy Briskin

I loved the subtle back-of-the-throat heat from Rao's arrabbiata. It was rich, tomatoey, and not overly spicy, especially when served with pasta.

The heat came from the crushed-red-pepper flakes and didn't linger too long on the palate.

Rao's vodka-arrabbiata was a little more creamy than the standard version.
A small bowl of red tomato sauce next to a jar of Rao's vodka-arrabbiata pasta sauce lying on a wooden table.
Rao's vodka-arrabbiata sauce is made with Parmesan and Romano cheeses.

Lizzy Briskin

When I tried the vodka-arrabbiata sauce, I noticed it was a touch creamier than the plain arrabbiata I tried. However, it had the same pleasant back-of-the-throat heat from red-pepper flakes and wasn't overwhelming.

The tomato-herb version was sweeter than I expected it to be.
A jar of Rao's Homemade tomato-basil pasta sauce on a wooden table.
I think Rao's tomato-herb sauce would make a great alternative to marinara.

Lizzy Briskin

Rao's tomato-herb sauce was surprisingly sweet. I expected more of an herby finish, but the oregano and basil were mild, and the naturally sweet carrots and tomatoes really shone through.

Still, I enjoyed this sauce and think it would make a great alternative to marinara.

I enjoyed Rao's Bolognese sauce.
A small bowl of red tomato sauce next to a jar of Rao's Homemade bolognese pasta sauce lying on a wooden table.
Rao's Bolognese sauce was full of meaty flavor.

Lizzy Briskin

This sauce was full of large, biteable meat chunks and smaller crumbles. The beef, pork, and pancetta gave it complexity, and the Romano cheese gave it lots of body and texture.

There was also a delicious touch of sweetness to balance the richness of the meat.

The roasted-red-pepper sauce had a nice herby finish.
A jar of Rao's Homemade roasted-red-pepper pasta sauce on a wooden table.
Rao's roasted-red-pepper sauce was sweet.

Lizzy Briskin

Roasting red-bell peppers tends to make them sweeter, which worked well in this tomato sauce. This one was naturally sweeter than the other Rao's options I tried and had a nice herby finish from basil and oregano.

Rao's fire-grilled-vegetable sauce was my favorite.
A small bowl of red tomato sauce next to a jar of Rao's Homemade fire-grilled-vegetable pasta sauce lying on a wooden table.
Rao's fire-grilled vegetable sauce had the perfect umami flavor.

Lizzy Briskin

This umami-rich sauce is packed with veggies like red onion and yellow, red, and green bell peppers. It had the deep, rich flavor you could only achieve when your veggies get deliciously crispy and golden on the edges.

This is a winning sauce that I'd happily eat any day.

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I tried every flavor of Rao's tomato sauce I could find and ranked them from wo…