Rao’s Marinara Price Comparison & Review
Rao’s Marinara is one of our favorites and we’re so happy it’s stocked all the time at Costco! The world famous Rao’s Homemade Marinara is a fan favorite and for a very good reason….it’s really, really good! It’s also keto-friendly, gluten free and made with simple, clean ingredients! If you aren’t a connoisseur of marinara…that’s okay…but trust us…it’s worth it and Rao’s Homemade Marinara is VERY well priced at both Costco and Sam’s Club!
Update 10/19/2023: After a 2-month hiatus, Rao’s Homemade Marinara sauce is back at Costco! This is absolutely one of my favorite out of the jar tomato sauces, and I was worried for a little while but it was gone forever. Back in August, Rao’s Homemade was acquired by the Campbell’s Soup – fun fact for $2.7 billion – and quickly after it disappeared from Costco. Long story short, I’m happy to announce that today I found Rao’s Homemade Marinara sauce back at Costco, same jar, same ingredients, same nutritional panel, same label, same price…everything is exactly the same!
Rao’s Marinara Review
Rao’s tastes like homemade slow cooked classic Italian gravy. It’s truly the best I’ve found in a jar yet, and the closest to my Sicilian Grandmother’s homemade Italian gravy (aka Sunday Sauce). It does cost more than your el cheapo pasta sauce, but it’s 100% worthwhile to spend the extra.
One notable and important distinction of Rao’s Marinara is that it doesn’t contain added sugar. For those watching excess sugar, diabetics, keto lifestyle or just trying to eat overall cleaner food…Rao’s is one of the very few marinara’s that doesn’t contain sugar in the ingredients list!
Next, and probably the most important thing…it’s just really good. It’s a simple marinara. Perfect for picky eaters, perfect to doctor up with your favorite veggies or meat, it’s very versatile and delicious!
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FWIW I really like the whole line of Rao’s and in fact my favorite Rao’s sauce is the Arrabiata (warning it’s a little spicy! I love that…but may not be your thing). It’s significantly more expensive at Whole Foods…BUT…you can snag it at Whole Foods delivery via Amazon for 40% off sometimes (right now in fact, as of the time of posting which is Sept. 21, 2021) which brings it right in line with the big box warehouse prices plus there are tons more varieties of Rao’s on Amazon. They also carry the Sensitive Marinara, Vodka Sauce, Pizza Sauce and more.
Preparation Ideas
- Defrost Kirkland Signature All Beef Meatballs and simmer in Rao’s for 20 minutes, put on top of pasta, Healthy Noodles or Hearts of Palm Spaghetti
- Make your own homemade meatballs or saute ground beef/turkey/beyond burger and simmer in Rao’s for 15 minutes before serving
- Offer a small ramekin of Rao’s sauce to kids for dipping instead of ketchup or ranch to cut down on sugar (this works best when you start doing this as toddlers…hard to switch to it from ketchup…but if you take a long break from ketchup first this can work)
- Try making baked ravioli for an appetizer with Rao’s Marinara dipping sauce (these are very similar to the fried ravioli appetizers I grew up eating in St. Louis!)
Rao’s Marinara Price Comparison Costco v. Sam’s Club
The short of the long is that they are very comparably priced at Sam’s and Costco – Costco has slightly larger jars than the standard grocery store jars, whereas Sam’s has a slightly smaller sized jar – but on a per ounce basis, they are essentially the same price. If you spot it at Costco on sale…that’s the best deal! See breakdown below.
Costco Item Number and Price
Rao’s Marinara Sauce (2) 28 oz Jars is Costco Item Number 1234826 and costs $11.99 or $5.89 per jar. That’s $0.21 per ounce.
TIP: You can snag Rao’s on sale…keep your eye out for it to go on sale – we’ve spotted it recently for $2.80 off back in the March-April Savings Book. Check the most recent Costco Coupon Book here.
Previously recorded prices: 9/21/2021 $10.79, 3/21/22 $10.79, 11/14/2022 $11.99
Sam’s Club Item Number and Price
Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce (2) 22 oz Jars is Sam’s Club Item Number 980226016 and costs $9.98 or $4.99 per jar. That’s $0.22 per ounce.
Tip: you can snag this for $2.00 off on sale – keep your eye out!
Note the jar is 6 oz smaller than Costco’s Rao’s jar, so look at price per ounce to compare apples to apples 🙂
Ingredients
ITALIAN WHOLE PEELED TOMATOES (PEELED TOMATOES, TOMATO PUREE, SALT, BASIL LEAF), OLIVE OIL, ONIONS, SALT, GARLIC, BASIL, BLACK PEPPER, OREGANO.
Nutritional Panel
Read More Costco Product Reviews:
Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake at Costco
Costco Apple Pie
Kirkland Signature Spiral Ham at Costco
Costco Food Court Pizza – The Complete Guide
FAQ
Does BJ’s sell Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce?
Yes. Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce (1) 40 oz Jar is BJ’s Item Number 31483 and costs $9.79. TIP: Look for a sale price of $8.29 or $1.50 off.
Does Costco sell Rao’s Marinara Sauce?
yes, Costco sells Rao’s Marinara Sauce. (2) 28 oz Jars of Rao’s Marinara costs $11.99 or $5.35 per jar. TIP: Keep your eye out for deal on Rao’s in the Costco Coupon Book!
Does Sam’s Club sell Rao’s Marinara?
Yes. Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce (2) 22 oz Jars is Sam’s Club Item Number 980226016 and costs $9.98. We occasionally see Rao’s Homemade Marinara go on sale at Sam’s Club too!
Does Rao’s Marinara have added sugars?
No, Rao’s Marinara does not contain sugar. It’s nutritional panel lists 0 added sugars.
Is Rao’s Marinara Keto Friendly?
Yes. One serving of Rao’s Marinara contains 5 net carbs (6 carbs – 1 fiber).
