Friday Food Finds: Pasta Sauces! Bianco DiNapoli, Trader Joe's Bolognese Style, & Rao's Marinara
Grocery Aisle | Ratings: 5/5, 4/5, 3/5
I have a category-based find for you today, acquired from multiple stores: the jarred pasta sauces I regularly choose, when looking for ingredients I like and great flavors I can count on to use for a quick meal.
DiNapoli Pasta Sauce (sold in grocery stores and perhaps “fine” grocery stores): 5/5
I absolutely love the simplicity of this sauce - the ingredients are exactly what you’d use if making from scratch at home. You can even see the pieces of sliced garlic in this one - just how my dad always made it growing up.
It’s excellent - simple, and pure tasting - highly recommend.
I’d say this is my #1 favorite store-bought sauce, though we most often use the TJs one I’m sharing below, simply because I shop there most weeks and not elsewhere as well.
My team member, Niki, also raves about their pizza sauce - not too sweet, and the perfect consistency for homemade pizza night! (She says this is a 5/5 for her!)
You can click here to find a store near you that carries this brand.
I also love the Trader Joe’s Bolognese Style Pasta Sauce, as well as the Rao’s 2-Pack of Marinara Sauce you can find at Costco (or single jars at your local store)!
Trader Joe’s Bolognese Style Tomato & Beef Pasta Sauce (grocery aisle): 4/5
While the flavor of this one isn’t as delicate or homemade-tasting as the first one listed here, it’s a very solid sauce, with ingredients I love, and a great flavor. We use this one regularly - just about every other week - and I enjoy the little extra protein that’s in it.
Don’t be scared off by the fact that there’s beef in it, really, you barely notice it. I thought that was a little weird at first, buying tomato sauce with beef already in it, but I really don’t even realize it’s there when we use it since we always mix it with a combination of ground sausages to put over pasta.
I don’t have the price handy on this one, but it’s definitely well-priced!
Rao’s Marinara Sauce (available at most grocery stores, and Costco sells in a 2-pack): 3/5
This is a very good tasting sauce, and can pair with anything you need a marinara sauce in. That said, I am knocking some points off for the presence of tomato skins in this one. Tomato skins are not only unpalatable, they’re fairly notoriously hard to digest, and in our house, we can tell when we’ve eaten it for dinner (ahem, gas).
My Food Finds rating scale:
1 - not good, would not recommend or buy again
2 - just okay, would not personally buy again, but could be good for others based on preferences
3 - good, but not really my taste and wouldn’t buy again for myself- would buy for Scott if he likes it.
4 - very good, would buy again, likely have gotten more than once before sharing and recommend.
5 - excellent, was either surprised by how good it was, extremely happy with the flavor for the price & convenience, or buy it regularly already and find it solid/tasty/useful