Here’s how these sauces stacked up.
A jar cost me $7.99.
The look:The deep red sauce lands somewhere between pulped and chunky with basil slivers in every spoonful.
Photos: Rao’s Homemade. Design: Eat This, Not That!
The taste:The entire jar is marred by a sour almost metallic tang that radiates through each bite.
It’s most detectable in the aftertaste, yet the front-end flavors aren’t overly inviting either.
Its simmered tomato core with onions, garlic, oregano, and salt remains the same, however.
Megan Hageman/Eat This Not That
This jar cost me $7.29.
Sensitive Marinara
This marinaraisn’t labeled as “sensitive” because it can’t take a joke.
Instead, it caters to a wider consumer group thanks to its ommission of both garlic and onions.
Megan Hageman/Eat This Not That
I was able to get my hands on four jars of the white sauce, including thisroasted garlicvariety.
A jar cost me $7.99.
And, even then, I really only noticed it long after the sauce had left my taste buds.
Megan Hageman/Eat This Not That
Perhaps my pungency receptors are a bit offI do tend to think the more garlic, the merrier.
However, I expected a bit more zing and zeal.
This sauce cost me $7.99.
Megan Hageman/Eat This Not That
The taste:Cheesy meets savory with just the right amount of smoke.
This sauce was the most affordable of the bunch at $5.99.
It has some oil separation, which is to be expected.
Megan Hageman/Eat This Not That
Otherwise, the sauce is chunky with a paste-like texture.
The consistency is slightly gritty, but it’s not enough to detract from the overall palate.
Overall, I’d say it’s a quality pesto renditiondespite its handful of controversial ingredients.
Megan Hageman/Eat This Not That
Pancetta crumbles also make their way onto the list.
A jar cost me $7.99.
I actually had to coax it out of the jar.
Megan Hageman/Eat This Not That
The background sauce offers a touch of sweetness next to the savory tastes of garlic and roasted tomatoes.
Real, authentic meat crumbles are what really make this sauce, though.
This isn’t just a tomato sauce with some meat, this is a true meat sauce.
Megan Hageman/Eat This Not That
Let’s take a closer look at the brand’s unadorned, no-frillsAlfredo.
A jar cost me $7.99.
The look:Thin in an off-white hue, it’s nearly identical to the earlier roasted garlic Alfredo.
Megan Hageman/Eat This Not That
The taste:In a world full of subpar store-bought Alfredo sauces, Rao’s makes a splash.
Sure, its viscosity is lacking and there isn’t anything complex about its flavor profile.
But, it reels you in with its liquified parmesan-like essence.
Megan Hageman/Eat This Not That
The substance is melt-on-your-tongue creamy, cheesy, and would complement any kind of noodle you throw at it.
What else could you possibly need?
The pork sausage is flavored with salt, sugar, paprika, garlic powder, and other spices.
Megan Hageman/Eat This Not That
This jar cost me $7.99.
I also have to voice my amazement that there are actually full mushroom slices camouflaged into the sauce.
I expected minuscule cut-up pieces at best.
Megan Hageman/Eat This Not That
I’m also admittedly a sucker for earthy mushrooms.
But, with everything else going on those were really just icing on the cake.
That’s all Rao’s wrote.
Megan Hageman/Eat This Not That
This jar cost me $7.99.
The look:A muted red and mild chunkiness.
Larger hunks of tomato join slivers and dices of onion in the sauce.
The taste:Unlike the roasted garlic Alfredo, this sauce is exactly as advertised.
Parmesan and romano feel like a given.
A jar cost me $7.99.
The look:Slightly more yellow and slightly thicker than the standard Alfredo.
It also seems like there are more frequent dots of black pepper.
The taste:Cheesy is an understatement.
Classic flavors of parmesan and romano are what settle on the taste buds first.
Then, it becomes more and more diverse as you continue indulging.
As is the case with all the Rao’s Alfredo sauces, it’s certainly more thin than gloopy.
However, it still clings to noodleseven slippery spaghettilike buttery and smooth liquid gold.
If it wasn’t socially unacceptable, I could probably drink this stuff.
It’s that good!
Like the caramelized onion sauce, the recipe here is incredibly simple.
The jar cost me $7.99.
The look:Unsuspecting.
The spreadable red sauce looks like your typical marinara.
Not even its aroma gives it away.
It’s not messing around with its piquancy (phew!)
and even brought some serious color to my cheeks.
But, it doesn’t just torment you with heat.
The sauce also brings an irresistible taste to the table.
I’m not typically one to go for powerful and pervasive spice.
However, I found myself continuing to go back for more.
But, that didn’t stop Rao’s from adding one to its recipe books.
Its ingredients match that of the prior arrabbiata almost to a tee.
This excellent sauce cost me $7.99.
The look:It has that recognizable vodka sauce red-orange tint.
Otherwise, it has the consistency of any other marinara.
It’s the culmination of everything you would want a good pasta sauce to be.
The savory taste of simmered and lightly spiced tomatoes meets the prominent flavor of parmesan and romano.
It’s somehow creamy without any cream and effortlessly smooth with that cheesy finish.
Why TrustEat This, Not That!
