Mashed Poll Uncovers Fans' Least Favorite Jarred Pasta Sauce
When it comes to pasta sauce, nothing beats a homemade creation. A beautiful mix of ripe tomatoes, garlic, onions, and spices is sure to elevate your dinner to the next level. However, in a busy world, we don't all have the luxury of dedicating extra time to making meals from scratch. That's why it's easier to grab a jar of premade pasta sauce from your local grocery store. But with so many options available, how do you know which one reigns supreme and which ones to avoid? In a Mashed exclusive survey, we asked the question: "What's your go-to brand of jarred pasta sauce?"
21,000 voters chose their preferred option from a list that included Rao's, Prego, Ragu, Barilla, and Bertolli, thus revealing a fan fave. More importantly, though, we also uncovered the brand that received the least amount of votes. Of those who chose their favorite sauce to put on pasta, only 9% chose Barilla — the lowest percentage there was. And this low rating could be based on a number of factors.
Possible reasons Barilla is at the bottom
Of the five major pasta sauce brands that rounded out our Mashed survey, the one that received the top votes to beat out Barilla was Prego, which claimed 33% of the total vote. This was followed by Rao's with 26%, then Ragu with 21%, and Bertolli with 12%. Last (and least) was Barilla. Although overwhelming sweetness has been noted as one of Barilla's downfalls, there's at least one other reason why customers might be steering clear of the brand.
In 2022, a class-action lawsuit was brought against the company by Matthew Sinatro and Jessica Prost, who claimed that the slogan — "Italy's #1 brand of pasta" — was incredibly misleading given that the brand had manufacturing plants in Iowa and New York. Sinatro and Prost argued that Barilla saying its ingredients are from Italy carries "a certain prestige and [they are] generally viewed as a higher quality product," per Today. Indeed, this alleged false advertising may just be enough to leave a bad taste in consumers' mouths.