Marinara is an important Italian ingredient in many homes because it forms the base for so many popular dishes.
Pizza, pasta, stew, grilled cheese, soup – the list is endless. There are many fantastic marinara sauces around to choose from, but they vary hugely in how they taste, and how healthy they are.
This article will review the best horseradish sauce brands on the market and considerations when buying horseradish.
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Top Marinara Sauce Brand Comparison
[wptb id=4989]Botticelli Premium Italian Marinara Sauce
Authentic Ingredient Marinara For A True Italian Culinary Experience
Italian food giants Botticelli have a huge range of incredible Italian sauces, and their premium Italian marinara is certainly up there with the best. It’s focus is on ingredient quality and quantity. The result is a phenomenal flavor that will have your pizza, pasta, chicken parmigiana, cheese grills and more, absolutely bursting with sumptuous saucy goodness.
The superstar ingredient in the product is the juicy tomatoes, which are sourced from Parma. Parma, in Italy, is known for being a quality food ingredient paradise, and the tomatoes harvested from the valley really have bought the sunshine with them. By choosing Botticelli marinara, you get world class, plump, sweet, luscious Italian tomatoes right on your plate.
Customers who value healthy ingredients in their cooking will love the marinara sauce simple ingredient list. It only contains tomatoes, onions, sunflower oil, olive oil, basil, garlic and sea salt. This makes it naturally full of goodness and low carbohydrate, ideal for home cooks who only want to give their family the very best, combined with the convenience of using a ready made sauce.
Pros:
- Authentic Italian tomatoes
- Simple ingredient list
- No nasties
- Based on traditional Italian recipes
Cons:
- Flavor may not be as strong as some customers prefer
- Overall jar fat content may be considered high by some customers
Barilla Marinara Sauce
An Ideal Base Sauce For A Wide Variety Of Dishes
If you’re looking for a marinara sauce that provides the perfect simple tomato base for your dishes, then Barilla marinara could be the best product for you. It uses a delicious combination of ingredients to form a tasty, tomato sauce that is well balanced in flavor, without being too overpowered by spice.
Customers who find some brands marinara too rich, bitter or acidic may prefer Barilla, which is an excellent base sauce recipe.
It combines tomato purée, diced tomatoes, sugar, garlic, dried onions, salt, basil, olive oil, citric acid and oregano for a fantastic flavour and texture. The use of dried store cupboard style ingredients in particular, contributes to a homemade flavor suitable for a wide range of family friendly dishes.
Health conscious consumers may be concerned about the addition of sugar to the sauce. Rest assured that adding sugar to homemade tomato sauce is common in Italian cooking to balance the acidity.
All of the ingredients are also recognisable, and there are no added nasties, contributing to a wholesome marinara to enjoy as part of a healthy balanced diet.
Pros:
- A great base sauce
- No nasties
- Smooth and thick consistency
- Great jar size for family sized meals
Cons:
- The amount of sugar added may be more than some customers like
- Flavor could be too sweet for some customers
Raos Homemade Marinara Tomato Sauce
100% American Made Marinara For Delicious Home Cooking
Raos marinara sauce is a premium, smooth, tasty Italian sauce with a delicious homemade flavor, and simple, recognisable ingredients. It’s known for being exceptionally well balanced, with a leading taste of gorgeous sun blushed sweetness from real Italian tomatoes.
Best of all, there are also no nasties hidden in the ingredients list.
Customers who prefer a great marinara without sugar will appreciate that Raos does not add any to its all natural sauce. Instead, it’s full of ingredients you would use to make your own sauce at home, such as Italian whole peeled tomatoes, tomato purée, salt, basil, olive oil, onions, garlic and black pepper.
Although some of the ingredients are sourced across the globe, the sauce itself is American made.
If you like to support American manufacturers and businesses, the ‘made in the USA’ stamp may put this tasty marinara ahead of other brands you’re considering.
Pros:
- No added sugar
- 100% made in the USA
- Recognisable ingredients without nasties
- Real Italian tomatoes
Cons:
- Some customers may find the sauce a little oily
- Salt content could be considered quite high
Lucini Organic Tuscan Marinara Sauce
Health-conscious Consumers Will Love This Organic Marinara
If you’re shopping around for a premium marinara sauce that has healthy, high-quality ingredients and lots of delicious flavor, you’ll love the Lucini organic tuscan marinara sauce.
It’s suitable for a wide range of tasty home cooked dishes such as: pasta, pizza, stews and lasagne.
If you really do want exceptional ready made marinara without compromising on the healthy ingredients you would use to make it yourself, Lucini really has pushed the boat out when it comes to this sauce. It only contains organic tomatoes, fresh organic vegetables, sea salt and organic fresh basil.
All ingredients are also non-GMO and there is no added sugar. It really is a no nasties, wholesome base sauce for conscious cooks.
Pros:
- Non-GMO
- Organic ingredients
- No added sugar
- No added oil
Cons:
- May be considered a higher budget product
- Some customers may feel the product is too bitter or acidic
Victoria Marinara Sauce
A Delicious Marinara Sauce With The Added Indulgent Rich Flavor Of Real Italian Olive Oil
Victoria Marinara sauce perfectly balances a mix of simple, high-quality ingredients for a rich, authentic Italian flavor that suits a wide variety of dishes.
Because the sauce is not too spiced, sugary or acidic, it’s easy to include in home cooking. Customers will love using it in all kinds of tasty kitchen treats such as; soups, stews, pizza, pasta and meat dishes.
One of the key features of Victoria Marinara is its true Italian ingredients. Whole tomatoes make the majority of the sauce with a natural sweetness and bite favored in an excellent marinara.
The true indulgence comes from the inclusion of real Italian olive oil, which is deep, and heady in its flavour, taking the finish of the sauce to a new level of taste. Salt, garlic, basic and added spices season the marinara to complete an overall rich and tangy culinary sensation.
Pros:
- Real Italian tomatoes and olive oil
- Simple, recognisable ingredients
- Well balanced flavor
- No nasties
Cons:
- Jar content size may not suit lower budgets
- Recipe change in some areas could impact overall flavor
Emerils Homestyle Marinara Sauce
Great Marinara For Budget-Conscious Shoppers
Emerils is created to taste like you have made it at home, but without the added price tag of fancy ingredients. Sometimes a simple, cost-effective marinara sauce to put on a pizza, or to coat tasty pasta shapes, is just what you need for a convenient, hot family meal.
Customers will love the high quality of flavor of the product without having to invest lots of money into buying it. It does have some ingredients that health conscious consumers may find concerning, such as; sugar and soybean oil.
However, those ingredients form less than 2% of the sauce, which is also Kosher, gluten-free and MSG free. On balance, the sauce is made from a majority of delicious tomatoes as the base, making it overall an excellent buy on a budget.
Pros:
- Budget-friendly
- Kosher, gluten-free, MSG free
- Long expiry date
- Tasty
Cons:
- Some customers may not like the addition of soybean oil and sugar
- Could be too sweet for some customers
How To Choose The Best Marinara Sauce
When choosing a marinara sauce there are certain factors that will help you get the very best product for your taste, ingredient preferences and budget.
When you’re shopping for delicious marinara, consider the following:
Tomato Quality
Tomatoes make up the majority of a marinara sauce, so the quality of their flavor is incredibly important. Look for tomatoes sourced from Italy to get maximum natural sweetness, acidity and richness.
Organic tomatoes may also be more flavorful than standard farm sourced tomatoes.
Healthy Ingredients
How healthy the ingredients are is important to many health-conscious home cooks.
Usually the fewer the ingredients, the better the sauce quality. Ingredients should also be easily recognisable to you, and there will usually be a low amount of oil, sugar and salt.
Preservatives and additives should generally be avoided for the healthiest marinara sauces.
You may also see that some sauces have entirely organic ingredients. Whether that is important to you or not is a personal choice, but it can indicate a higher quality of ingredients overall.
Sugar, Or No Sugar?
Sugar is commonly added to sauces to balance acidity in Italian cooking, so it isn’t necessarily a problematic ingredient unless it is seen in vast amounts. However, the presence of sugar, particularly high on the list, is a good indication of how sweet the sauce will be.
If you’re not a fan of sweet marinara sauces, avoid those which contain sugar.
Spices & Herbs
Sometimes a sauce that already has a lot of herbs and spices added to it can be too overpowering in flavor for some consumers. The presence of multiple spices such as basil and oregano will indicate that a sauce is particularly highly spiced.
If you prefer more of a base sauce that you can add your own flavors to, choose a sauce with fewer spices, ideally just one, such as basil.
Summary
Using our tips and product recommendation above, you can get the perfect marinara sauce.
Soon enough, you’ll be creating exceptional Italian style dishes for the whole family to enjoy time and time again.