The Good Housekeeping Institute tested 20 nationally available brands of marinara sauce.
The different varieties were judged on texture, flavor and color.
"A basic marinara sauce is tomatoes, basil, garlic and onions," said Samantha Seneviratne, Good Housekeeping.
$9/24 oz.
Rao's homemade marinara sauce came out the winner. At $9-dollars for a 24-ounce bottle, it isn't cheap, but sure is tasty. The sauce is made with fresh ingredients.
"I felt it had a really rich tomato flavor and I could definitely get a little bit of the herbs and the olive oil, but nothing was too strong. nothing was too overpowering for me," said Tester.
$4.89/26 oz.
Good Housekeeping's second place winner is half the price of Rao's. Colavita marinara sauce costs $4.89 for a 26 ounce jar.
"Colavita's all natural. That makes a big difference. It had really fresh taste to it," said Samantha Seneviratne, Good Houskeeping.
"But the thing I really liked about it is that the tomatoes actually tasted like fresh tomatoes," said Tester.
$5.40.
And if you're interested in saving a little time, Good Housekeeping recommends a new garlic paste in a tube from Amore.
You can find the magazine's favorite paste recipes in its new cookbook, Good Housekeeping Pasta.
