The Unhealthiest Marinara Sauces On Grocery Store Shelves

Marinara sauce seems like a healthy choice. After all, it's just tomatoes, oil, and herbs, right? Well, not always. If you're a health-conscious consumer, know that not all store-bought marinara sauces are created equal, and some may even sabotage those health goals.

Marinara is America's favorite pasta sauce, and the beauty of this traditional sauce lies in its simplicity. The healthiest varieties consist of wholesome ingredients like tomatoes, olive oil, salt, garlic, and oregano, with some recipes featuring additional herbs or cream. However, many commercial versions include questionable extras like added sugars, preservatives, excess sodium, and calorie-dense fillers, turning an otherwise healthy sauce into basically fancy ketchup.

These butchered versions of marinara would have any Nonna gasping in horror — and if you're a health-conscious consumer, you should, too. Luckily, we're here to steer you in the right direction. After reviewing countless labels, we've identified unhealthy marinara sauces. These sauces contain ingredients you probably wouldn't add to homemade varieties, like high fructose corn syrup or cheap inflammatory oils. So, if you're stocking that pantry before pasta night, here are the ones to avoid.

The Gino's brand has been around for over 40 years and prides itself on traditional recipes produced in quality, small batches. The company's marinara sauce boasts a short ingredient list, and although it does contain sugar, you won't find any funny-sounding chemicals. A ½ cup serving contains 70 calories, ½ gram fat, 14 grams carbs (8 from sugar), and 3 grams protein. However, sugar wasn't our primary concern when reviewing this product. Instead, we noticed each serving contained 660 milligrams of sodium.

Marinara is a savory dish, and salt is naturally a primary ingredient, so a higher than average sodium level is to be expected. But while many brands hover around 20% of the recommended daily value, Gino's sits at 27%. Mind you, sodium is an essential nutrient responsible for multiple functions in the body. It keeps your nerves and muscles working properly and is crucial for electrolyte balance. But too much of a good thing can become a negative, and that is the exact case here. The kidneys are responsible for processing sodium, and consuming excessive amounts puts stress on this vital organ. If your kidneys can't filter sodium effectively, this mineral builds up in your bloodstream, potentially leading to high blood pressure.

Del Monte Traditional Pasta Sauce isn't calorically dense compared to other marinara options. It contains 60 calories per ½ cup serving, with 1 gram of fat, 12 grams of carbs, and 1 gram of protein. But of those carbs, 8 grams come from sugar — and not just the natural kind. This marinara sauce was one of the few options made with high fructose corn syrup.

We've all heard that high-fructose corn syrup is bad. But what exactly makes it worse than other types of sugars? Well, fructose is harder to digest than other sugars because it must be converted to glucose or fat by the liver. This puts extra strain on the liver, and if we didn't need those calories to begin with, they're likely sticking around as fat. As such, we weren't surprised that The Journal of Clinical Investigation found that fructose increased the chances of fatty liver more so than regular glucose.

We realize that fructose is naturally found in fruits and vegetables, which are considered healthy. However, the key word here is "high" since high-fructose corn syrup packs in the fructose at 55%, which is far more than other foods. Humans were meant to consume food from nature, but these processed sugars have thrown our bodies for a loop — and we're seeing the negative consequences.

Tomatoes naturally have a subtle sweetness. But for some consumers, those natural sugars aren't nearly enough to satisfy their palates. To meet this sugary demand, several brands — including Francesco Rinaldi — have created a sweeter marinara sauce. The company's Sweet & Tasty Sauce has 60 calories per ½ cup serving. Each serving contains 1 gram of fat, 13 grams of carbs, and 2 grams of protein. Of those carbohydrates, 10 grams are sugars, which includes 4 grams of added sugar. "Added sugar" is just as it sounds: processed sugar rather than the fructose naturally present in tomatoes.

This marinara sauce has more sugar than most, but it's the added sugars that concern us. As humans, we're hardwired to enjoy sweet food. Ancestrally speaking, if we found fruits in the wild, it was advantageous to consume a hearty quantity. After all, you needed the energy and weren't sure when you'd stumble upon more. But nowadays, sugar is absolutely everywhere. Humans consume far more than they ever have — and far more than they likely need. And truthfully, we can't blame them, given sugar's addictive quality.

A Nutritional Neuroscience study looked at the effects of sugar on rats, discovering that sugar had similarly addictive qualities to drugs. After consuming sugar regularly, the rats experienced withdrawal and relapse symptoms, leading them to crave more. We're obviously not rats, but anyone who has developed a taste for the sweet stuff knows it's a habit that's hard to break. Companies are well aware of this weakness and capitalize on it. So, if you want to stay within a healthy range of sugar intake, pay attention to those labels and avoid added sugars when possible.

Hunts Traditional Pasta Sauce has 40 calories per ½ cup serving, which is lower than most marinara sauces we've come across. It consists of 9 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of protein, and 0 grams of fat. But despite these low numbers, this sauce contains 560 milligrams of sodium, nearly a quarter of the daily recommended intake. However, sodium isn't the main reason Hunts made our list of unhealthy marinara sauces.

Hunt's Traditional Pasta Sauce is made with sugar and high fructose corn syrup. We've already discussed some of the dangers of these added sweeteners, and Hunt's Pasta Sauce is a double whammy in this department. However, both of these are also considered "empty" calories, meaning they don't have any nutritional value other than simple energy from the calories themselves.

So what's the harm in a few extra calories? As a one-off event, probably nothing. Unfortunately, empty calories in the form of sugars are sneaking into more and more processed foods. As a result, it isn't surprising that sugar and high fructose corn syrup are linked to obesity and weight gain, which can lead to several different conditions like diabetes and heart disease.

Olive oil is the oil of choice for traditional marinara sauce. However, some brands swap this Italian staple for more economical options like canola oil. Although the Target-owned brand Good & Gather offers an affordable marinara sauce with an otherwise healthy ingredient list, it's guilty in this regard. So, unfortunately, that cheaper price tag comes at a cost.

A ½ cup serving of Good & Gather Marinara Pasta Sauce contains 60 calories, 2 grams of fat, 9 grams of carbs, and 2 grams of protein. The ingredient list is fairly straightforward and doesn't include preservatives or sugar, so using canola oil is the only shortcut the brand takes. Why is this a bad thing? Canola oil is known to be highly refined, often stripping it of nutritional properties. It's also thought to be inflammatory with omega-6 fats, while olive oil is touted as anti-inflammatory.

Mind you, omega-6 fatty acids are healthy in the right amounts, but Americans consume far more than they should, throwing off the balance between omega-3 and omega-6 fats. And since canola oil has more omega-6 fatty acids than olive oil, it contributes to this issue. So ultimately, whether or not you should consume seed oils depends on your overall diet and intake of these fatty acids.

Heinz is a huge name in the sauce and canned goods department, selling everything from world-famous ketchup to baked beans. We've enjoyed a variety of its products and even taste-tested and reviewed Heinz's Flavor Tour sauces, a collection of three new condiments inspired by international flavors. With such diversity, we weren't surprised the brand also sells marinara sauce. However, we weren't expecting it to have so many questionable ingredients.

Heinz Marinara Sauce comes in 2-ounce dipping cups. You'd need two of these to equal the serving size of most other store-bought brands. Taking that into account, ½ cup of this sauce contains 60 calories, 1 gram of fat, 12 grams of carbs, and 2 grams of protein. Macronutrient-wise, it's comparable to many other marinara sauces. However, it contains several questionable ingredients you wouldn't find in homemade marinara or even the majority of store-bought brands, including sugar, soybean oil, potassium sorbate, and xanthan gum.

Potassium sorbate is a synthetic food additive used to preserve the shelf life of foods. Although it's approved for human consumption, it might not be as safe as we originally believed. A Science Direct review noted that potassium sorbate was linked to cytotoxic and genotoxic effects, meaning it can damage cells and DNA, contributing to various cancers. To avoid these harmful chemicals, read nutrition labels or make your own marinara sauce from scratch. And if you want to upgrade your jarred pasta sauce, try adding cooked veggies and herbs.

If you're craving a rich marinara sauce, Ponti delivers. The brand has a far higher calorie count than most marinara sauces. The reason? A higher fat content. A ½ cup serving of Ponti Marinara Italian Pasta Sauce contains 140 calories, double that of most brands we've seen. This consists of 9 grams of fat, 12 grams of carbs, and 2 grams of protein.

The ingredient list is fairly minimal, with solely tomato, oil, and seasonings, which leads us to believe the higher fat content comes from the extra-virgin olive oil. On the plus side, health-conscious consumers consider this oil particularly nutritious and touted as the best type of oil to purchase. The downside is that it contributes a significant amount of calories to an overall dish. While calories aren't inherently bad, consuming too many can result in negative consequences, especially when paired with a sedentary lifestyle.

Excess calories are generally stored as fat in the human body. The math is simple: consuming more than you burn leads to weight gain. If this pattern continues, people run the risk of obesity and obesity related conditions like type 2 diabetes and heart disease. But again, calories themselves are not the enemy. It's merely a matter of how much energy your body needs to thrive. If you find yourself repeatedly going over this limit, you may benefit from reading those nutrition labels and cutting back on high-caloric foods like this pasta sauce.

The Red Gold brand is all about tomato-based products. It sells a wide variety of condiments and canned goods like ketchup, salsa, and diced tomatoes. Although the family-owned company prides itself on using the best quality tomatoes in these recipes, some of the other ingredients are less appealing. And when it comes to the brand's Marinara Sauce Sweet, we discovered soybean oil and sugar on the label.

A ½ cup serving of Red Gold Marinara Sauce Sweet contains 50 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 8 grams of carbohydrates, and 2 grams of protein. The ingredient label says that there is less than 2% of soybean oil and sugar, but that doesn't mean they don't have negative health effects.

Rumor has it that people should avoid soybean oil altogether — and science only confirms these rumblings. The University of California at Riverside reports that soybean oil is linked to obesity and a host of diseases, including diabetes, Alzheimer's, anxiety, depression, and inflammatory bowel disease. According to the research, soybean oil negatively affected the gut bacteria of mice, and although more studies need to be done on humans, we'd rather be safe than sorry.

Just Like Home Buttery Marinara Sauce stands out from the bunch for its creamy nature. You can rest assured that this comforting marinara sauce delivers on that buttery promise. However, this satisfying flavor also comes with a caveat: saturated fat.

Like most natural fats, saturated fat has its health benefits. They support hormone production and help you digest fat-soluble vitamins. So why is saturated fat often villainized? It all comes down to the balance of fats we consume. Many health clinicians believe that the standard American diet consists of too much saturated fat, which can negatively affect cholesterol.

Butter is also a calorically dense food. As such, it's not surprising that this marinara sauce has more calories than the average jar. A ½ cup serving contains 110 calories with 8 grams of fat (5 from saturated fat), 9 grams of carbs, and 2 grams of protein. Saturated fat and calories are healthy in the right amounts. But since the modern diet has an excess of these two items, we recommend assessing your overall diet, and if you discover high amounts of saturated fat and calories, consider skipping this brand of marinara sauce.

Bertolli Tomato and Basil Sauce is another offender in the sugar department. We know what you're thinking... we get it. Added sugars are unhealthy. But truthfully, the list of side effects of eating too much sugar feels endless, so we'll share one more point to really drive it home. According to Frontiers in Immunology, sugar is a primary cause of inflammation. In scientific terms, inflammation is a natural immune response. The body senses something harmful, which triggers the healing process. This is healthy if you cut yourself or have the flu. However, chronic inflammation from triggers like too much sugar can cause severe bodily distress. It contributes to that uncomfy physical feeling that's hard to pinpoint. Think achy joints, sluggishness, headaches, and the like.

Several of the marinara sauces on the list have sugar. But when it comes to sheer quantity, Bertolli Tomato and Basil Sauce takes the cake. A ½ cup serving contains 13 grams of carbs, 11 of which are completely from sugar. We're not sure how many of these come from natural versus added sugars. But seeing how sugar is listed as an ingredient, it's obviously a combination of the two. This marinara sauce also has 80 calories, with 2 grams of fat and 2 grams of protein, which is fairly standard compared to other brands. 

Prego is one of the most well-known brands of marinara sauce. But just because it's popular doesn't make it healthy, and when reviewing its nutrition label, several things stood out to us. A ½ cup serving of Prego Traditional Italian Pasta Sauce has 70 calories, 1 gram of fat, 12 grams of carbs, and 2 grams of protein. It also has 9 grams of sugar, 4 of which are added. While these numbers don't outdo other brands on this list, the sauce's overall health profile isn't ideal.

A couple of the ingredients in Prego Traditional Italian Pasta Sauce are also alarming: sugar and canola oil. Sugar helps balance overly acidic tomatoes. However, if companies use canned or processed tomatoes, their acidity is likely regulated. Plus, there are ways to sweeten sauce without sugar. Not to mention, many other brands use all-natural ingredients and zero added sugar. And the fact that Prego opted for canola oil over the more traditional olive oil makes the product seem even less authentic. If you're seeking an economical option, Costco has cheaper and healthier marinara sauce brands, including Victoria and Kirkland Signature.

To determine the unhealthiest marinara sauces, we first had to decide which sauces this category included. We decided to stick to marinara sauces with a tomato, herbs, spices, and oil base and excluded those with meat or spicy peppers since this ventures into Bolognese or Arrabiata territory.

We defined "unhealthy" as sauces that contained excessive amounts of sodium, sugar, saturated fat, or calories when compared to other brands. We also flagged sauces for having questionable ingredients like seed oils or preservatives. Next, we reviewed the ingredients and nutritional info of dozens of these marinara sauces to understand what made them unhealthy, using scientific research to back up our claims.