The Single Best Pasta Sauce You Can Buy If You’re Shopping at Costco

Written by

Patty CatalanoFood Editor at The Kitchn
Patty CatalanoFood Editor at The Kitchn
At The Kitchn, I develop all of your favorite recipes and help you discover your most beloved grocery finds. I have more than 17 years of recipe development experience, including time spent in cookbook test kitchens and on Alton Brown’s culinary team. My two kids have lots of opinions on dinner.
published Nov 13, 2023
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
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Credit: Joe Lingeman

Some grocery stores dedicate entire aisles to pasta sauces. They offer a myriad of varieties; you could spend an entire afternoon comparing ingredients, examining unit prices, and still walk away frozen in indecision and, worse yet, with nothing for your noodles.

Costco warehouses don’t have the luxury of serving as just a grocery store. Each one is also a tire center, book store, pharmacy, electronics, home goods, clothing, and more — all under one roof. Costco’s buyers have to make difficult decisions when choosing what products to stock on the shelves. They can only choose a few options. But what the store lacks in variety it makes up for in quality. That’s why I say the best spot to shop for pasta sauces is the place where the choices are curated before they earn a place on the shelf. I buy my pasta sauce at Costco. Which jar do I pick? Let’s take a look.

Credit: Patty Catalano

My local Costco carries four varieties of tomato-based marinara sauces and two creamy pasta sauces. I taste tested each sauce warm and on its own, and again with al dente pasta. One jar stood out as the best of the best. If you’re looking for the best jar of pasta sauce to buy at Costco, this is the one.

Credit: Patty Catalano

Rao’s Marinara Sauce, $10.69 for 2 (28-ounce) jars

If I’m honest, I felt a pang of personal vindication upon realization that Rao’s marinara sauce topped the rest in this blind taste test. It’s been a favorite among Kitchn editors for years and is a repeat Kitchn Essentials winner. Rao’s has the perfect balance of tomato and onion sweetness paired with just enough acidity. I’ve never tasted a jarred sauce that could pass for homemade as easily as this one could.

The only drawback to Rao’s marinara is usually the price tag. However, if you buy the sauce at Costco you’ll get two jars for roughly the same price you’d pay for one at your local grocer. Plus, the jars are larger — 28-ounces instead of 24-ounces — so it’s easy to stretch one jar of sauce into two meals. As for the best creamy sauce to buy at Costco? Well, that’s another post … stay tuned!

RelatedCostco Sells Our Favorite Marinara Sauce for Super Cheap — But There’s a Catch

What is your favorite pasta sauce to buy at Costco? Tell us in the comments.

This post originally appeared on The Kitchn. See it there: The Single Best Pasta Sauce You Can Buy If You’re Shopping at Costco