11 Aldi Pasta Sauces, Ranked Worst To Best

While nothing can beat the taste of fresh, homemade pasta sauce, sometimes the jarred stuff has to do. And, if you're in a time crunch and on a budget, then there's no better place to reach for a jarred pasta sauce than the pantry staples aisle at Aldi. Not only does the beloved budget-friendly grocery chain offer jarred pasta sauce, but it offers an impressive variety flavors, ranging from the classic red marinara to pestos, Alfredos, and flavored red sauces.

Of course, even those on a budget and those who need dinner on the table as soon as possible need a pasta sauce that will do their noodles justice. To help narrow down the choice, I've purchased and sampled 11 of Aldi's pasta sauces, and I've ranked them from worst to best based on overall flavor, texture, and strength of any supposed flavor inclusions or extras. Considering that each of these sauces offers similar price points and the same level of convenience (as in, just crack the jar open and you're basically good to go), quality of flavor and consistency were the key factors here. And, as you'll soon find out, certain sauces definitely didn't live up to expectations, while others proved to be worthy of your next pasta dinner.

I have to admit that I've yet to find a jarred, store-bought pesto sauce that I actually like, and based on the fact that Aldi's take on pesto is coming in dead last place, it's safe to say that my search continues. To me, the key to a good pesto is the brightness and freshness of the herbs at play, and it just doesn't seem possible to translate such necessary freshness to a shelf-stable product (at least not that I've found thus far).

Everything that I don't like about jarred pesto was at play in Aldi's pesto sauce. The basil flavor hits you right away, but in the worst way possible — harsh, bitter, and not at all how fresh basil should taste. Any cheesy notes that might help cancel out that harshness just weren't coming through with that desired savoriness. If anything, I think the grated Parmesan just made the texture worse all-around (you can tell by the picture just how gritty this sauce was). And keep in mind that I mixed the sauce with pasta water to help smooth things out, but there was no saving this sauce. Between the overwhelming bitter notes and gritty texture, Aldi's alla Genovese pesto sauce is a total skip in my book.

Over several years of conducting food reviews and rankings, I've run into quite a few products that boast some variation of four cheese this or three cheese that, only to not really deliver on that multi-cheese front by any means. I've run into this issue with certain Kraft mac and cheese flavors and various cheesy frozen meal duds, and now I'm afraid that Aldi's Four Cheese Alfredo is joining the list.

Not only did this sauce not taste distinctly like four cheeses, but it really didn't taste like cheese at all. Parmesan is often a star flavor in Alfredo sauce, but this one didn't have those sharp, earthy, and slightly nutty notes. I was struggling to even find this sauce to taste truly creamy, because more than anything, the texture and flavor were just incredibly watered down. Now, I will at least say that this sauce fared a little better than the pesto because I did, at the very least, find it (mostly) edible. But trust me when I say that Aldi has better sauces in general in its lineup, and it even has better Alfredos.

Considering all of my qualms about supposed cheese products detailed in the previous slide, it's probably not too surprising to see Aldi's Three Cheese Pasta Sauce ranking as low as it is. Much like with the previous cheesy Alfredo, there were most definitely not three cheese notes to be found in this sauce, but this time we have a tomato-based sauce instead of a creamy one. 

Aside from not tasting like three cheeses, or even any specific cheese for that matter, I also found this sauce to be a little bit lackluster and generally nondescript in flavor. Had this sauce at least boasted some resemblance of a cheese flavor — Parmesan being an obvious choice — it would have fared that much better. Instead, it tasted pretty thoroughly like a very average, very mediocre, and very forgettable jarred tomato sauce. It was, at the very least, inoffensive, and I think there's at least potential to build flavor here than there was with the cheese Alfredo. But when a pasta sauce promises a specific flavor, I want those notes to come through — otherwise, it's going to rank pretty low overall, as proven by this option.

Pesto rosso is the umami-rich take on classic Italian pesto, or at least that's the goal when crafting such a red-hued sauce. I wouldn't go as far as to say Aldi's take on pesto rosso was particularly umami-rich or complex in flavor, but it was at least a step up from the store's classic green pesto.

The main thing that visibly distinguishes pesto rosso from regular pesto is its red color, which is attained by the addition of sun-dried tomatoes. I do think that the sun-dried tomatoes in Aldi's pesto rosso did some real heavy lifting to establish a flavor that was far better than the bitter profile found in the regular pesto. Interestingly — and I can't decide if this is a good or bad thing — I found myself picking up on particularly nutty notes at times, to the point where the pasta I was eating felt vaguely reminiscent of peanut butter-infused noodles (for what it's worth, there are no peanuts in the pesto, but there are cashews). 

Between the nuttiness and the tangy acidity of the sun-dried tomato base, this pesto rosso had some interesting flavor notes to offer, but the whole thing still felt a little lackluster and just not quite right. Obviously, this pesto lacked freshness, just like the regular options, and that's something I couldn't quite get past.

Roasted garlic is one of the tastiest ingredients you could add to a pasta sauce, and it's especially well-suited for a creamy Alfredo. If you were to whip up a batch of your own roasted garlic and mix it into a sauce (homemade or otherwise), the distinctly caramelized, rich flavor would be undeniable. In the case of Aldi's Roasted Garlic Alfredo that supposedly already has that flavor baked in, the intensity is a little more tepid.

While it's true that this garlic Alfredo sauce let me down a little bit in the garlic department, I did ultimately taste some garlic, so it wasn't a total loss. Plus, of the three Alfredos I sampled, I'd argue that this one had the thickest, creamiest consistency of the bunch. That said, there was a distinct wateriness to this sauce, not necessarily in texture or consistency but in flavor. Any notes of garlic or savoriness were tempered, making for a generally lackluster sauce that I didn't love, but I also didn't hate it. If you enjoy garlicky sauces but don't like it when they go super overboard on garlic, then you may like this one a little more than I did.

I had high hopes for Aldi's tomato, basil, and garlic pasta sauce, largely because I love a good red sauce that offers a little something extra. In this case, of course, that something extra was meant to be basil and garlic (which, to be fair, one might already reasonably expect from a pasta sauce). While I ultimately wasn't blown away by Aldi's take on such a sauce, I think this one boasted decent enough flavor, but there was one overwhelming factor that kept it from being truly great.

Right off the bat, I appreciated this sauce's acidic flavor profile. It was unmistakably tomato-forward with a nice umami depth. Although I wanted stronger garlic notes, I will give this sauce some credit for having at least some garlicky depth, enough for it to stand out against others. The biggest downside to this sauce was basil, which was a little too harsh for my taste. Nailing that basil flavor in a shelf-stable product seems to be a bit of a challenge for Aldi pasta sauce manufacturers, but this sauce wasn't nearly as harsh or bitter as the green pesto. That basil flavor brought down the quality of the sauce, but it didn't completely ruin it. I enjoyed the general acidic tomato flavor with notes of garlic in the background, so right in the middle felt like the best place to rank this one.

Marinara sauce no doubt has its place in the pasta world, but admittedly, it's never been my first (or even second) choice. There's something about marinara that has always struck me as a bit bland, and though there are clever ways to fix a bland marinara sauce, there's only so much one can realistically do in a pinch with a jar of the store-bought stuff. 

Interestingly enough, despite my long history of feeling meh about marinara, I actually quite enjoyed Aldi's take on the staple sauce. I think it worked so well because it wasn't trying to reinvent the wheel — it just tasted like classic marinara, and sometimes there's nothing wrong with that. Unlike other red sauces on this list that attempted (and failed) at incorporating cheesy elements or those that were too generous on the herbs, this marinara kept it incredibly simple with subtle notes of garlic and onion. Of course, the rich tomato base was the real star, along with some sweetness that was a touch surprising but not unwanted. My only real qualm with this sauce is that it was slightly watery, but otherwise, Aldi's got a pretty solid marinara (at least solid enough to make the top five on this list).

Of the three Aldi Alfredos I sampled for this article, I never would have guessed that the simplest, most bare-bones option would have been the best. Alas, sometimes the simplest option is the best one, and I can confidently say that's the case with Aldi's Creamy Alfredo.

Much like the marinara sauce, the creamy Alfredo is playing it a bit safe, but that safety works to its advantage. I found this sauce to be straightforward for a store-bought Alfredo: creamy, rich, and savory, with subtle garlic notes somewhere in the background. Obviously, this sauce can't compete with homemade Alfredo, but in a pinch, this is what I'd reach for at Aldi (if I didn't want a tomato-based sauce, that is). Something I also appreciated about this particular Alfredo is that black pepper notes stood out more prominently, adding an extra dimension to an otherwise solely creamy, rich sauce. Although this Alfredo rendition wasn't quite as thick as the roasted garlic one, it still had a decent consistency that managed to coat my pasta without a problem. So, all told, creamy Alfredo is a solid option in Aldi's lineup, but it just didn't quite impress me enough to make the top three.

I couldn't tell you what truly distinguishes traditional sauce from a marinara or something of a similar tomatoey nature, but I can tell you that I enjoyed Aldi's traditional sauce more than the marinara. Truthfully, I expected traditional and marinara to taste nearly identical, and for the most part, they were quite similar. Interestingly, though, traditional managed to stand out a little bit more due to its herby notes — but dried herbs, so nothing too harsh or bitter like some other sauces on this list.

Boasting a rich, slightly sweet, and perfectly acidic tomato base, this traditional sauce once again proved that sometimes the simple options are the ones worth reaching for. While I enjoyed the tomato base of this sauce quite a bit, what stood out to me were hints of oregano, which added just the right depth of flavor to take this sauce to the next level. Now, don't get me wrong; Aldi's traditional sauce hasn't cracked the code on managing to make jarred pasta sauce taste homemade. But it did at least crack the code in balancing an herby profile with a strong tomato base, and when it comes to a cheap dinner staple that's ready to use right away, sometimes it doesn't take much more than that to be successful.

When I closely inspected Aldi's meat sauce jar to see that "flavored with" stipulation, I wasn't exactly stoked to give this one a spin. That said, I have no aversion to shelf-stable meats (as a certified Spam lover), so I was at the very least curious to see what this sauce could possibly offer, and whether or not those meaty notes could truly shine through.

Much to my surprise and delight, Aldi's (flavored with) meat sauce ended up being one of my absolute favorites of the bunch. Right off the bat I noticed a distinct savory depth that the other sauces just couldn't compete with — a savoriness that only something like beef could provide. Interestingly, there weren't really meat chunks in this sauce, but rather just the essence of beef (so that "flavored with" caveat really makes a lot of sense). I did notice a few very small chunks here and there, but I don't think there was a whole lot of meat going on (and this sauce didn't have a higher protein amount than others). To some, the lack of actual meatiness may be a disappointment, but I actually quite enjoyed the meaty flavor without the actual chunks of meat. Between a nicely flavored tomato base and undeniably delicious savory undertone, Aldi's meat sauce is something of an underdog, but one that managed to win my heart. 

It may seem shocking to see a tomato basil pasta sauce flavor come in first place, given my less-than-stellar experience with other basil-infused sauces on this list, but it seems that Specially Selected cracked the code. I'm not sure what happened during the production of this sauce that made it so much tastier than others that failed at the basil attempt, but whatever happened, I'm just glad it did.

Not only did I enjoy this pasta sauce a whole lot, but I ultimately decided that it does deserve the first place on this list. I was conflicted between this and the meat sauce for the top spot, but I landed on this one for two key reasons. One, I appreciated that the sauce finally got that basil addition right, offering a level of herbaceous flavor that enhanced the sauce instead of hindering it. Second, this sauce simply had the strongest tomato base out of all the sauces on this list. There was a certain vibrancy that this sauce brought to the table, and combined with those familiar acidic notes and a level of umami-depth that other sauces couldn't quite compete with, this one only made sense to take the first place. 

When sampling these pasta sauces, I felt it would be most appropriate to pair them with pasta. After all, that is the most obvious pairing for a pasta sauce. I opted for Aldi-bought penne to get the job done, and all the sauces got the same treatment in terms of how they were served. I put a small amount of cooked penne into a bowl, added 2 tablespoons of the sauce and a splash of pasta water, and gave it a good mix. This method gave me a good idea of how each sauce tasted in a practical application and seemed like the fairest way to give each one a spin. I also tasted the sauces on their own, so as to get a more concentrated flavor (my final rankings ultimately come down to how the sauces tasted with pasta). 

In terms of how I determined the ranking, it all came down to flavor. To me, good quality sauces stood out by having bold base flavors, be they tomato-based or creamy, along with successful flavor additions that enhanced the sauce as opposed to bringing it down. Quite a few sauces were arguably made worse by their flavor additions, but there were a select few that managed to shine with them, hence making them easy choices for top contenders on this list.