Our Favorite Store-Bought Pizza Sauce Comes From A Brand Famous For Pasta

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Making your own pizza sauce at home is actually pretty easy, but you really can't beat the convenience of a jarred product. We tried and ranked 14 store-bought pizza sauces to see which one tasted as if it were straight from the pizzeria. While we found some duds along the way (many were too sweet, sour, or bitter), there was one brand that stood out as a clear winner, and it's from a brand that won't entirely surprise you.

Rao's Homemade Classic Pizza sauce outshone the rest with a thick texture, featuring pleasant chunks of tomatoes and a flavor that tastes genuinely homemade. It contains only nine simple ingredients: whole peeled Italian tomatoes, Italian cherry tomatoes, olive oil, carrots, onions, salt, oregano, garlic, and basil. That recipe will cost you significantly more than most brands — the jar we bought was $6.49 for 12.3 ounces. Just like Rao's costly pasta sauces, we maintain that it's well worth it, though, especially if you want to elevate a quick homemade pizza. 

"Its flavor is impeccable; on its own, its taste reminds me of a lasagna from a five-star restaurant," our tester wrote. "The flavor is extremely robust, as if it had been simmering for hours. The onion, garlic, and herbs blend seamlessly to yield a taste that needs no adjusting at all."

It turns out this sauce doesn't just work magic on homemade pizzas; it is also one of the base ingredients for our favorite store-bought frozen cheese pizza. We also tried and ranked 10 frozen cheese pizzas, and not only did the combination of five cheeses (mozzarella, provolone, fontina, Romano, and parmesan) work in harmony with each other, the sauce really tied the proverbial room together in terms of flavor. (We will concede that Rao's does not make the best store-bought frozen pepperoni pizza, however.)

If there's one thing we know for certain, it's that Rao's really does know its way around a proper tomato sauce. That's, in part, because the brand was started by an actual restaurant, its namesake, in New York City. Pasta and pizza are really where this brand shines, but just be prepared to shell out a lot of extra dough for this stuff (pun totally intended). 

Thankfully, pizza sauce is more than just a one-trick pony. Aside from making a homemade pie, you can also use it for dipping mozzarella sticks, filling calzones, or topping chicken parmesan. We think it's worth stocking, provided you have the budget for it.