Review of Victoria White Linen Marinara Sauce

I've seen this particular marinara sauce sitting on the shelf at Costco on several different occasions and, mostly because it was more expensive than our regular brands, I never had any interest in trying it. However, it was on sale this month and, since it did sound somewhat intriguing, I decided to purchase a couple jars of it.

I don't normally spend more than $3 per jar on sauces like this, mostly because I have not found many that really were worth the money. And, to be honest, the only reason I ultimately caved in this time was the fact the jars were 40-ounces, much larger than the jars I would normally buy, making the higher price a little more palatable. After trying this product last night, when I prepared a spaghetti dinner, I do think the quality also helps justify the higher price.

I've had quite a few jarred pasta sauces, including some that claimed to be as close to homemade as you can get. This is one of the few I've tried that did just that. As the "white linen" description implies, this sauce was as pure as you could expect from a pre-packaged product. It didn't taste salty and the tomatoes and other natural ingredients really stood out.

I also liked how the sauce was seasoned. It wasn't bland and, at the same time, it wasn't over-seasoned either. In other words, it's the way I would expect to make the sauce if I had the time (or ambition) to make it from scratch.

Probably my only real complaint about this sauce is it is a bit on the thin side. It wasn't quite watery (as is the case with many other jarred brands). But, it's also not as thick as some of the better-known brands. I was able to make it work by adding meatballs and mushrooms to the sauce but, if you do prefer thicker, chunkier brands, this is something to keep in mind. Fortunately, for me at least, there was a lot of other things to like about this sauce that easily offset the one thing I wasn't a fan of.

This brand is a little more expensive than most other brands. However, the larger jar and overall quality do make it worth purchasing if you have an opportunity to. After trying it myself, I'm likely going to have it on future shopping lists, especially when it is on sale.

My Grade: B