Who Makes The Best Store-Bought Marinara Sauce?
Well, it was a fun question to ask and so The Washington Post did just that – and taste-tested a dozen different ones – and guess what?
A legendary New York sauce romped!
The Post Reporters did a terrific taste test – and I was happily surprised to learn their overwhelming first choice was one I replicated as part of my “52 In 22” cooking challenge!
That’s the Rao’s Meatball and Marinara sauce I made from scratch to see if I could replicate the store bought jar, which was deemed by The Washington Post as the only one worth buying, because it is delicious!
I was happy because Rao’s makes an incredible jarred Marinara sauce – so I made it at home – here’s the recipe!
Meet The Rao’s!
There is a restaurant in East Harlem that has been open since 1896 – run by multi-generations of the Rao family.
This legendary restaurant has only ten tables – and it is impossible to get in to…but that’s OK, because the family has been selling their famous sauces to enjoy at home – and I’m going to see if I can replicate their Marinara sauce – and use on one of their classic recipes!
I found this book on sale a few years ago – and after using their various jarred sauces over the years, I thought it was time to see if I could replicate it!
There’s the Marinara recipe, and some of the ingredients I will be using to try and make it myself – with the jar of Rao’s sauce watching over it – and there will be a taste test at the end!
Of course, I need something to use the sauce on, so there will be their famous meatballs as well – let’s get cooking!
Making Marinara!
The recipe for Rao’s Marinara sauce is simple – and it’s because the ingredients are meant for each other!
First, saute 3-4 tablespoons of minced onion in 1/4 cup of olive oil for 3 minutes, until it becomes translucent, then add two minced garlic cloves and cook for 3 more minutes.
INext up, dump into 2 28-ounce cans of imported plum tomatoes – I used whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes, and the recipe says to smash them up a bit while cooking – but make sure you move your cookbook out of the way first:
Oops!
Yes, I gave those tomatoes a good crush and they promptly sent lots and lots of seeds flying out of the pan and onto my counter!
Luckily I cleaned it up immediately and there were no stains left behind…now, add sat to taste, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat as it’s time to give it a low simmer for an hour:
After an hour or so, stir in 6 leaves of torn fresh basil, a pinch of Oregano, then set the sauce aside – it’s done!
Time To Make Anna & Frankie’s Meatballs!
Here is a look at the ingredients for the family’s famous Meatball recipe – and while I’ve made many Meatballs before, I’ve never made them like this!
Mince a garlic clove ahead of time – yes, I used several but I love garlic so anything worth doing is worth overdoing….then, toss it in a bowl, along with one pound of lean ground beef, 1/2 pound ground veal and the same amount of ground pork…I couldn’t find the veal so I double the pork.
Add two large eggs, a cup of freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese, a tablespoon of fresh parsley and salt and pepper to taste.
As you can see, dumping all of the ingredients into a bowl is pretty straightforrward:
Rao’s Meatballs – Part 2!
Now comes the second part of the preparation – and I entered a whole new world of Meatball-making!
It all started simply enough: add 2 cups of bread crumbs…I used remade but you can make your own of course as well – and then I was told to add an ingredient I’d never used before this way:
Just Add Water!
Yes, it was time to slowly add two cups of lukewarm water, one cup at a time….it was strange to add water, but I didn’t, and slowly, the mixture came together in a surprisingly creamy way!
See how much creamier it looks? The bread crumbs absorb the water, so there is no liquid in the bowl.
Now, time to make some meatballs!
I had enough mixture for a dozen meatballs, so I fried them up in batches…watch this short clip and imagine how delicious my kitchen smelled at this time!
Heat oil in a pan to medium high, then place your Meatballs in, turning them after they begin to form a crispy brown exterior…
While it wasn’t in the recipe, since I doubled the pork, I decided to give them 15 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees to make sure they would be fully cooked…
Here is a look a the Meatballs as they cooked away next to the Marinara sauce…
I carefully lowered them into the sauce and let them cook for another 15 minutes…
Time To Eat!
The smell in the kitchen was incredible: meatballs bubbly softly away in the sauce!
One last thing to do before my taste test: I’m going to scoop out some of the jarred Rao’s Marinara, warm it up a bit, and place it on a plate to top with a Meatball:
Now, I built my presentation: I took some of the homemade sauce and placed a single Meatball on top:
Some fresh parsley went on top, and I did the same with the jarred sauce, and placed them side by side:
Let me share my live taste test for you:
I was completely surprised just how close my homemade sauce was to the flavor of the Rao’s jar…I assumed there would be additives in their product, but it was as pure and minimal as the sauce I made from the cookbook!
As for the Meatball, it was DIVINE.
It had such rich flavor but was also velvety smooth – the addition of water really made the Meatball creamy and soft – but without destroying the shape of the Meatball while I ate!
I loved this recipe – both the Meatballs and the Marinara were delicious and filling – they say you can put them on top of pasta, or just eat them this way!
My first “52 In 22” foray into Italian food was with the help of The Sopranos – and Stanley Tucci!
Click here for a traditional Italian “Sunday Gravy” with some strong advice from the actor!
I ended the year with another Stanley Tucci recipe – and wow, here’s what it looked like when I took it out of its pot:
This family “Timpano” dish was incredible – it is worth the effort!
Click here to see it all!
“Bite! Eat! Repeat!” is your site for all things food – from these step-by-step cooking directions for 52 dishes from around the world – to fun stuff like Caviar Tater Tots!
Here’s just one of the many fun stores you can find there:
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Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
I do love the Rao’s sauce and the meatballs would kick it up a notch
Hi John, both of these are great recipes. I do like Italian food.
Love your taste test John! If I use a jarred sauce, it’s Rao’s!
I have the cookbook as well and made the sauce once day, and realized it was almost identical to the sauce my Italian friend Marie made for us years ago. I remember digging out the recipe (this took more time than making the sauce) and pretty much the only difference was she used a little less fresh basil, but added it at the same time when the sauce was done, and she just said to use a good amount of olive oil!
Rao’s rocks! I am so happy Campbell’s hasn’t messes with the recipe.
Yes so far they have stayed true to their word…I made the recipe out of the cookbook and the store-bought jar was EXACTLY the same flavor, so why go through the bother? Their frozen meatballs are terrific as well…while I like to cook it’s nice to have a time saver that isn’t subpar! Thanks for the comment!
Thank you so much for posting this, John! I made the sauce a couple days ago and made the meatballs tonight. Those were the best meatballs I have ever made, it’s going to be my go-to recipe from now on. The sauce was really good, too. Ten out of ten!
Thanks for the note! I agree that those meatballs are the best I’ve made and the warm water and bread really does the trick…love their sauce as well – so lean and clean and good…great to hear from you!