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The Spruce Eats / Amelia Manley
The fresh, zippy taste of Don Pepino Pizza Sauce makes it our top pick to top your pizzas. The Ragú Homemade Style Pizza Sauce is also a great sauce, is widely available, and is cost-effective.
Before you reach for the jar of marinara sauce in your cabinet on pizza night, there’s something you should know: Pizza sauce and pasta sauce are not the same thing. Sure, they’re close—and interchangeable in a pinch—but there is an inherent difference. Pizza sauce is essentially an uncooked tomato sauce; pasta sauce is typically low-simmered to develop a deeper flavor. The lack of precooking ensures pizza sauce has a bright, tomato-forward taste.
That said, you don't need to rely on garden-fresh tomatoes for a killer pizza sauce. Today, there are plenty of no-fuss store-bought options that taste just as good. But each has its own unique flavors and textures, from chunky to smooth or sweet to tangy.
Out of all the options out there, here are the best of the best pizza sauces you can buy.
Best Overall
Don Pepino Pizza Sauce
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Amazon
If you're going to go with one sauce, go with a classic made from Jersey-Fresh tomatoes. Don Pepino's pizza sauce, which has a total of just five ingredients—tomatoes, corn oil, salt, spices, and garlic powder—is free from some of the extra ingredients you sometimes find in store-bought products, including preservatives, starches, artificial sugar, added color, gums, and citric acid. Plus, the product is made with corn oil, rather than olive oil.
Finally, the sauce is packaged in a fun, retro-looking can that’s easier to store than big, bulky glass jars.
Price at time of publish: $1
Serving Size: 0.25 cup | Calories Per Serving: 40 | Sodium: 125 milligrams | Total Sugar: 3 grams
Best Budget
Ragú Homemade Style Pizza Sauce
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Amazon
Just because you’re looking to keep your grocery bill in check, doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice quality. Look no further than Ragú’s Homemade Style Pizza Sauce. Each 14-ounce jar in this four-pack yields plenty of sauce for more than a handful of pies yet rings in at less than a couple of dollars per bottle.
Still, the flavor and the consistency is comparable to other pizza sauces. This is mostly thanks to the fact that, like other great pizza sauces, the formula hinges on vine-ripened tomatoes, olive oil, and spices—not much else. There are also no artificial flavors, added colors, or high fructose corn syrup.
Price at time of publish: $2
Serving Size: 0.25 cup | Calories Per Serving: 30 | Sodium: 260 milligrams | Total Sugar: 3 grams
Best Keto
Rao's Homemade Pizza Sauce
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Rao's Specialty Foods
Though you will spend a bit more for each jar of this pizza sauce, it’s worth the expense. Rao’s Homemade Pizza Sauce is a premium product that’s a better fit than most for the health-minded consumer.
One of the sauces with the lowest amount of sugar, this slow-simmered sauce is bursting with flavors, thanks to a combination of whole peeled tomatoes and Italian cherry tomatoes, as well as olive oil, Italian spices, and a medley of fresh vegetables like carrots and onions. And, like other great sauces, the consistency is nice and thick so it spreads evenly and plentifully atop pizza dough.
Price at time of publish: $5
Serving Size: 0.25 cup | Calories Per Serving: 40 | Sodium: 170 milligrams | Total Sugar: 2 grams
Best Organic
Otamot Organic Pizza Sauce
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Amazon
If you're looking for an organic pizza sauce, Otamot's option is one to try. It is not only made with organic vine-ripened tomatoes, sweet onion, extra virgin olive oil, basil, garlic, white balsamic vinegar, and salt but additional veggies like sweet potato, carrot, butternut squash, red bell pepper, and red beet. Not to worry—all those hidden veggies don't stand a chance against the traditional tomato flavor...Otamot's name is quite literally "tomato" spelled backward! This means your pizza will still taste authentic while also having a nutritional kick.
Price at time of publish: $6
Serving Size: 0.25 cup | Calories Per Serving: 60 | Sodium: 115 milligrams | Total Sugar: 3 grams
Best Canned
Stanislaus Full Red Fully Prepared Pizza Sauce
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Amazon
Stanislaus has been in business for 80 years, and has since perfected the art of canned store-bought pizza sauce. The slightly chunky sauce is made from California-grown tomatoes along with virgin olive oil, sunflower oil, salt, black pepper, basil, oregano, and garlic for a fresh-tasting ingredient in your next pizza pie at home.
Although it is pricier than other pizza sauces on this list, this can is gigantic—weighing almost 7 pounds. That means there are a lot of fresh, homemade pizzas in your future! After opening, it is easy to store the rest of the sauce in a mason jar or another glass storage container to help make it last a while.
Price at time of publish: $20
Serving Size: 0.25 cup | Calories Per Serving: 35 | Sodium: 250 milligrams | Total Sugar: 3 grams
Best Jarred
Paesana Classic Pizza Sauce
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Instacart
Once you taste this classic pizza sauce, it’s pretty clear that the product is manufactured by a family-owned company. Each batch in the single-serve jar is made with plenty of care, using a fairly short list of ingredients—just imported Italian plum tomatoes, fresh onions, olive oil, tomato paste, fresh garlic, salt, sugar, spices, citric acid, and fresh basil.
Though the jar is smaller than some other comparable products, it’s actually a positive attribute—each jar contains just the right amount for a large sheet pan pizza. You won’t be scrounging for more, and you won’t have a small leftover amount that you don’t know what to do with.
Price at time of publish: $5
Serving Size: 0.25 cup | Calories Per Serving: 35 | Sodium: 180 milligrams | Total Sugar: 2 grams
Best Chunky
Williams Sonoma San Marzano Pizza Sauce
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Williams Sonoma
This pizza sauce is unique because it gets its sweet and delightful flavor from the world-renowned San Marzano tomatoes—a variety of plum tomato known to be well-balanced and nuanced in flavor. Beyond the tomatoes, the ingredient list is abbreviated—extra-virgin olive oil, sea salt, basil, black pepper, and citric acid—to let that natural flavor shine through.
The consistency is spot on, too. The sauce is thick and slightly chunky, but consistent. You won’t get large chunks in some spots and a thin sauce in others. Instead, it spreads beautifully, so each bite is just right.
Price at time of publish: $13
Serving Size: 2 tablespoons | Calories Per Serving: 30 | Sodium: 150 milligrams | Total Sugar: 5 grams
Best No Sugar Added
Yo Mama's Classic Pizza Sauce
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Amazon
There are just 10 ingredients in this store-bought pizza sauce, and not a single one is sugar. Although many types of tomatoes have a sweeter taste, sometimes products will contain sugar or other sweeteners to try and mimic the natural stuff. Yo Mama's pizza sauce contains fresh non-GMO tomatoes, onions, garlic, olive oil, oregano, basil, salt, black pepper, natural spices, and balsamic vinegar for a smooth, fresh sauce the company guarantees you will love, or it will refund your purchase. One 12.5-ounce jar can make up to around 6 pizzas, depending on how much sauce you use.
Price at time of publish: $7
Serving Size: 0.25 cup | Calories Per Serving: 30 | Sodium: 50 milligrams | Total Sugar: 1 gram
Best for Kids
Contadina Pizza Squeeze Original Pizza Sauce
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Amazon
Making pizza is one of the most fun family activities you can do in the kitchen, but there’s a price to pay: It can be a very, very messy endeavor. This pizza sauce really shines because it comes in an easy-to-use squeeze bottle. Rather than fiddle with spoons that inevitably lead to spills, kids can get a good grip on the packaging and squeeze sauce right where it needs to be (less work for you later).
It’s not all about convenience, though. The budget-friendly sauce tastes great, has a desirable consistency, is packaged in the USA, and is non-GMO.
Price at time of publish: $2
Serving Size: 0.25 cup | Calories Per Serving: 30 | Sodium: 340 milligrams | Total Sugar: 3 grams
Don Pepino Pizza Sauce is an overwhelmingly popular choice because it will help you recreate your favorite slice at home. If you want a great jarred sauce, look no further than Paesana Classic Pizza Sauce.
What to Look for in Store-Bought Pizza Sauces
Ingredients
As with most products, your best bet is usually an item with a shorter ingredient list. Most sauces will start with a tomato base and include spices, oil, and a preservative. "I would avoid sauces with lots of unknown ingredients," says Frank Linn, owner/chef of Frankly Pizza in Kensington, Maryland. "If you can't pronounce it, you may not want to eat it. Sauces with the least amount of ingredients are best."
Type of Sauce
The type of sauce you choose can dramatically change the type of pizza you’ll be having for dinner. Are you looking for a white pizza? You’ll want to look for a cream-based/white sauce. Are you hoping to make a margarita pizza? You’ll want a classic tomato sauce with just a little bit if sweetness. In the mood for a pesto pizza? You’ll want to shop for pre-made pestos instead.
Sodium
Sodium can often be on the higher end when it comes to pre-packaged foods, so you’ll want to check that nutrition facts panel before adding the pizza sauce to your cart. It's good to be aware of how much added salt is already in the sauce, so you can be careful and not add too much extra salt later when you’re assembling the pizza (many popular pizza toppings can be high in sodium too!).
FAQs
How can you make store-bought pizza sauce better?
According to Linn, you can spruce up your store-bought pizza sauce with other ingredients you likely already have in your kitchen, "such as dried herbs and spices, things like red pepper flakes, dried oregano, dried basil, or maybe some garlic or onion powder." He warns against using garlic salt, however, "because sometimes the store-bought sauces already contain a lot of sodium."
Can you freeze store-bought pizza sauce?
Yes, you should have no problem freezing any extra pizza sauce you have on hand, says Linn.
Can you use store-bought alfredo sauce instead of pizza sauce?
When it comes to trying other sauces on your pizza, Linn says "experiment away!" Whether it’s alfredo sauce or getting creative with different cheeses (Linn suggests Gruyere or Parmesan), pizza is a relatively forgiving dish and it’s hard to go wrong.
How We Researched
To compile this list, our team of editors and contributors spent hours researching the best store-bought pizza sauces on the market, evaluating their key features—like ingredients, style, and price—in addition to reviews from customers and other trusted sources. We then used this research to assign a star rating from one to five (five being the best; one being the worst) to certain products on the list.
Why Trust The Spruce Eats?
This roundup was written by Brigitt Earley, who has written and edited food content for various publications over the course of the last 10 years. She also holds a culinary degree from the French Culinary Institute.
This roundup was updated by Alyssa Langer, who is a registered dietitian and foodie, always curious about the next food or ingredient craze and hungry to learn and try more. Having worked in cookbook publishing, CPG label data, nutrition writing, and meal kits, her diverse background and varied interests provide a unique perspective that fosters clear, well-researched, and trustworthy reviews. She updated this story to include the best products and their information.
Amanda McDonald is an editor at The Spruce Eats and has over seven years of experience researching, writing, and editing about all things food — from what new products are at the grocery store to chef-approved hacks that keep tricky leftovers fresh for days. She also updated this article to include the most up-to-date information.
Sources
- Frank Linn, owner/chef of Frankly Pizza in Kensington, Maryland
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