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A jar of good-quality marinara can easily replace a long-simmered tomato sauce when you’re short on time. But it’s also a fantastic ingredient in its own right.
Unlike puréed or crushed tomatoes, jars like Rao’s are typically pre-seasoned with ingredients like olive oil, onions, garlic, and salt, making them a flavorful shortcut to creamy vodka sauce or Italian-American dinners like baked shells and lasagna. Plus, you can transform a jar into a whole new sauce with easy additions like harissa or hot honey.
Here are our favorite ways to hack a jar of marinara.
Add a cult condiment
Food & Wine / Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
F&W recipe developer Liz Mervosh stirs hot honey into jarred tomato sauce for a touch of sweet heat before baking these jumbo lemon-ricotta pasta shells.
Level up your plating
F&W contributor Justin Chapple gently warms marinara and spreads it on a plate to create the foundation (and dipping sauce) for this restaurant-worthy appetizer of crispy maitake mushrooms.
Turn it into vodka sauce
Alex Lau / FOOD STYLING by MARGARET MONROE DICKEY / PROP STYLING by JILLIAN KNOX
For this cheesy baked ziti with vodka sauce, F&W recipe developer Liz Mervosh spikes store-bought marinara sauce with vodka for some sharpness and finishes it with a splash of heavy cream.
Make an umami-packed dipping sauce
Gently warm your favorite marinara along with some umami-packed ingredients to serve as a dipping sauce for mozzarella sticks and other appetizers. F&W recipe developer Marianne Williams stirs in roasted garlic and finely chopped anchovies to make an extra flavorful sauce for these soft yeasted pepperoni rolls.
Fall in love with sun-dried tomatoes
Food & Wine / Photo by Robby Lozano / Food Styling by Tricia Manzanero / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle
For these Marry Me Chicken Stuffed Shells, F&W recipe developer Tricia Manzanero Stuedeman makes a shortcut creamy sun-dried tomato sauce with marinara, sun-dried tomatoes, onions, and whipping cream.
Craft a next-level sandwich
Food & Wine / Photo by Stacy Allen / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Tucker Vines
For this satisfying Eggplant Parmesan Sandwich, F&W recipe developer Marianne Williams broils oven-fried eggplant slices, marinara, and Provolone on hoagie rolls so everything gets delightfully crisp and caramelized.
Spike with soy sauce
For her roasted butternut squash Parmesan, a fully vegetarian take on the classic, cookbook author Raquel Pelzel adds soy sauce to jarred tomato sauce to give it a boost of umami flavor.
Make an instant pizza sauce
Instead of making classic pizza sauce, legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola spreads this half-pizza, half-calzone with jarred marinara before adding other toppings and baking. Try with any homemade pizza — the result will be a little richer than what you’d get from a crushed tomato sauce.
Spice it up
Harissa — a peppery, garlicky, and smoky North African chile paste — adds spicy depth to jarred marinara for this skillet lamb lasagna from F&W contributor Justin Chapple.
Use it as a glaze
This meatloaf from cookbook author Anna Painter has a meatball-like flavor thanks to sweet Italian sausage and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. It’s perfectly complemented by marinara sauce, which becomes more concentrated in flavor after baking.
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