The Best Store-Bought Pizza Sauce, According to Someone Who Wrote an Entire Book on Pizza

I wrote an entire cookbook about pizza. That means I’ve spent some quality time with the ingredients required to make it. And while my favorite pizza sauce is the one I make, sometimes, on busy weeknights, making it feels like an extra time-consuming step. That’s when I enlist the help of a store-bought shortcut.

The one I use most often is swapping in my favorite prepared pizza sauce for my own. It can’t be just any sauce though, it has to be one brand in particular. Here’s why I think Rao’s makes the best pizza sauce you can buy.

The Best Store-Bought Pizza Sauce

For me, every component on a pizza is important. Like any delicious dish, the ingredients work together so that when you take a bite, all you can say is, “Mmmm!” One bad ingredient can destroy a whole pizza, and the experience of eating it.

I remember a particular time where a pesto pizza that was promised on the menu failed to deliver once it arrived at the table. The pesto, a normally boldly-flavored ingredient, couldn’t be detected. I remember lifting up the cheese to see if it had somehow been forgotten, but there it was, green-hued and looking like pesto, but not tasting like it. All of the excitement shattered with that one ingredient mishap.

I never want anyone who eats my pizza to have that experience. I want every bite to elicit joy and satisfaction. That’s the reason I make my own dough and many of my own sauces. My standards are high, and yours should be too. I’m also very aware though, that time doesn’t allow us the luxury of making everything from scratch each time we want pizza. If I have to let go of making one ingredient, it’s often the sauce.

After sampling most of what’s out there in a pizza sauce taste test, I determined the Rao’s comes the closest to my homemade pizza sauce, so that’s what I recommend. Perhaps this comes as no surprise, considering how often Rao’s is mentioned as a favorite in a variety of “best” lists on the internet. Maybe you’ve even had Rao’s pizza sauce and liked it and agree with me. If so, then I don’t need to convince you how tasty it is. If you haven’t had it, then let me wax poetic for a minute.

First, let me address the texture of the sauce. Unlike other brands, whose sauces can be smooth and watery, Rao’s has visible pieces of tomato and basil, making it look rustic and feel homemade. That less processed texture makes it seem more like your nonna made it, and not a big machine.

As for taste, no other sauce beats it. The tomatoes taste fresh and the sauce isn’t cloyingly sweet or overly salty, tactics often used to cover up the flavor of sub-par ingredients. Even though it's often more expensive than other brands, it’s perfect and it’s the only sauce I’ll use. It often goes on sale and since it’s shelf-stable, I can store it in my pantry until I’m ready to use it.

Luckily, Rao’s pizza sauce is ready-to-use, so you don’t have to do much to it beyond spreading it over your stretched dough. If you’re looking for a flavor boost, try adding a sprinkle of crushed red pepper and freshly grated Parmesan cheese for a bit of heat and an umami boost. Then simply cover with cheese and your favorite toppings, and voila—pizza is served!