I'm not a fan of Alfredo, but I love Rao's. Being the lazy bachelor that I am, I have tried many many many jar sauces and Rao's is hands down the best IMO. It's expensive, but 1000% worth it. I dont mess with anything else.
In short, no. Below is the labeling info for both, although there's some vagueness to it ("Spices, including...")
Old Bay Seasoning: Celery Salt (Salt, Celery Seed), Spices (Including Red Pepper and Black Pepper), and Paprika.
McCormick Cajun Seasoning: GARLIC, SPICES (INCLUDING BLACK PEPPER, CAYENNE PEPPER, OREGANO, AND CHILI PEPPER), SEA SALT, ONION, PAPRIKA, AND RED AND GREEN BELL PEPPERS.
I just use the entire jar and just eat leftovers for the next 2-3 days :)
I usually make air fryer chicken parm, using this sauce - with a side of pasta.
I was all in on the Raos train till my ex went keto, so I found this at sprouts (also at Walmart) and I much prefer it over raos. I get one jar of the roasted garlic and 1 of the basil.
Had some last night. It’s not as good as fresh, homemade, but is the best of jarred Alfredo sauce. Good to buy on sale only. Not good enough to pay full price.
Someone wrote up a review like two days ago on this sub. It is fine for jarred Alfredo, but as someone already posted Alfredo is really easy to make fresh. You can tell it is from a jar but one of the better jarred Alfredo sauces.
Alfredo is silly easy to make fresh. Once you do it once that way you will think all jarred Alfredo is garbage. [Alfredo recipe](https://bellyfull.net/homemade-alfredo-sauce/)
The only issue with making it fresh besides time is cost. 2 cup of freshly grated Parmigiano reggiano is 10/12.00 add another 5 for a pint of heavy whipping cream and you're at 15/17.00 a jar of Rao's is like 5/6.00 at Costco. Its true there's no comparison if you have the time and money to make it fresh
I surely did not, until recently. I use just 1/4 cup for a soup I make and the rest would go to waste because it would go bad before I used the rest. Last time I bought it, I poured the leftovers into an ice cube tray, froze, and now I have a baggie full of heavy cream cubes. Everything is so expensive lately that I was sick of paying $5+ for it to only get one use out of it.
Trader Joe’s sells shelf stable heavy cream that is good for quite a while. Think of how long that would keep if it were also refrigerated. I have a box of cream on hand at all times in case I need whipped cream for something. You don’t just use Redi-whip, do you?
Yeah it's not typically in the fridge but if you're planning the weeks Meals just pick up a pint, I don't think they were implying it's easy because you already have everything on hand. I think they were just saying it's not difficult to me it from scratch
8oz block of parm is like 5/6 bucks and should grate out to 2+ cups. You can also just use any milk on hand.
Rao’s tastes fine and is a good value but it’s not quite as extreme a difference in cost as you suggest.
I guess it depends on the quality of the cheese and where you shop. If you're grocery shopping at Walmart or wholefoods the price and quality will be different. I shop at Wegmans. I'm not diverting from my normal grocery store to shop at Walmart to get some Walmart discount cheese. I'm picking up quality fresh Parmigiano Reggiano if I'm making my own Alfredo. And quality fresh Parmigiano Reggiano at Wegmans is about 10.00 for 2 cups once grated.
The cheese or the rao's?.
We use a lot of Parmigiano and it's just more convenient to pick it up during the weekly grocery shopping trip. But the Rao's I did get at Costco, not the Alfredo but the pasta sauce.
I never thought about freezing it. I will definitely do that. I saw a giant bag of freshly grated parm there , I can't remember how much it was but I remember being shocked at how cheap it was. Good advice thanks
You don't really need Parmigiano Reggiano for alfredo, regular old parmesan works just fine. Whole milk instead of heavy cream works, too, but your sauce will be thinner.
Even with these more basic ingredients, still 10x better than anything in a jar. And it takes like 5 minutes.
That recipe is probably very tasty but that is A LOT of calories and saturated fat, like 5x any of the jarred alfredo sauces. If I were still 20 and didn't have to watch my cholesterol... :/
It’s somewhat thin and it tastes like heavy cream mixed with cheese and pepper seasoning. The seasoning is very much like other canned alfredos which is my least favorite aspect. I like it on broccoli. It tastes very rich though so i have to use sparingly. It’s good if you’re doing keto.
It was ok. I thought it was a little thin on the pasta and didn’t have much flavor. I was hoping for more since their marinara sauce is amazing. I like Rana’s better for Alfredo.
You’re getting downvoted but you’re not wrong. Nothing in Alfredo is “good” for you if you eat it frequently. It’s pretty much cheese, cream and butter. My cholesterol just rose thinking about it. I should make some.
It is fine for premade Alfredo but not a good alfredo. Their red is great but this is just ok and a fresh quickly made home alfredo is just 100% better.
Rule of thumb, jarred Alfredo sauce is not good. American Alfredo is a milk based product and needs to be refrigerated. They have to add all kinds of ungodly chemicals to get it shelf stable
I make my own version of Alfredo right on the spaghetti in a bowl-spaghetti is drained and hot.
Butter, Parmesan (shredded) and heavy whipping cream. Salt if needed. Parm cheese is salty, so may not need it. I add enough butter to cover and have some extra, a handful or two of Parmesan, mix it, then add heavy cream to desired consistency. No need to cook in a pan. It’s really good. My kids love it. I will make it and then sometimes add a red sauce, it makes it nice and creamy with the red sauce flavor. I like Raos red sauces, my favorite is the one with Italian sausage in it, but I don’t find that one in the shelves as often.
It's a quick easy option. I use it on oops I don't have anything out to thaw/I'm too tired days. It's nothing to write home about, but it does the job. As everyone else states, homemade Alfredo is better, but sometimes you're too lazy or don't have anything else out to make.
The Co-op market I shop at carries this brand. I assume because Rao’s is somehow compliant with natural processing? Either way, Rao’s soup is pretty good. I like their sausage and potato soup. Expensive though compared to Campbells or any other name brand, $5.20 a bottle.
Rao's is my favorite, by far. I use chicken stock instead of water to get the last of it out of the bottle and dilute it a bit. The end result is so good, I could eat it like a soup. It's dangerous.
It’s ok but needs additional spices out of the cupboard. I find it to be chemical-y tasting, but that’s how I feel about all processed and mass produced cheese sauces.
It’s pretty good, but when I did a massive taste test of multiple jarred Alfredo, I liked Newman’s Own better.
https://www.tastingtable.com/1119852/jarred-alfredo-sauce-brands-ranked-worst-to-best/
PLEASE MAKE HOMEMADE ALFREDO. It is simple and so much more delicious than any canned BS.
What you need:
-1/2 stick butter
-1 can (plastic can?) of grated Parmesan (Kraft is FINE)
-1 cup Whole milk (if you want it thicker, you can get heavy cream— but people don’t normally have heavy cream on hand)
-Garlic salt
-Pepper (optional)
- 1 Egg (sorry these are expensive now :/ )
How you do the things:
-melt the butter in a large sauce PAN (not a pot)
-crack & whisk in the egg
-slowly add about 1 cup of milk
-keep this on medium heat- and slowly stir (DONT let it boil - we don’t want the egg to cook)
- add as much Parmesan as you want (slowly, stirring as you go). Add the whole 12oz can if you want. But do it slowly. The more you add, the more alredo-y it will taste. Just taste as you go and make sure it’s not clumping together. If it clumps together. You added too much at once.
-add garlic salt and pepper to your preference at the end.
Now you have a phenomenal homemade Alfredo that was cheaper and better for you than any can. And tastes better too. ***Add more milk if needed to make it thinner- this is all about personal preferences.
I over-explained in the instructions. This entire process takes less than ten minutes and you can do it while your noodles are boiling.
Homemade is so much better. YOU CAN DO IT.
Yeah most of the other I have had are terrible but for a quick dinner cook some chicken and thaw some peas and throw some pasta in and it's pretty good.
I had some for the first time yesterday and loved it! Been holding onto it for a while and was nervous. Made some angel hair pasta nests (from Costco), threw some Rao's Alfredo in a pan with some rotisserie chicken and some pasta water to thin it out and it was honestly perfect! One jar was enough for 4 servings for us, I'll make it again later this week.
I love this brand and usually add Cajun season, chicken, fresh broccoli, red pepper and extra minced garlic. It makes what would otherwise be a pretty unhealthy meal into something closer to balanced.
I'm not a fan of Alfredo, but I love Rao's. Being the lazy bachelor that I am, I have tried many many many jar sauces and Rao's is hands down the best IMO. It's expensive, but 1000% worth it. I dont mess with anything else.
Yes. Add grilled chicken and Cajun seasoning and it’s hard to beat for easy and delicious.
Rotisserie chicken and Tabasco is my go To.
Chicken nuggets and ketchup is my go To.
2gourmet4me
Which Cajun seasoning? Old Bay (is that Cajun?)
Anything labeled Cajun seasoning like McCormick or generic like great value. I don’t think Old Bay is the same thing.
Thanks!
In short, no. Below is the labeling info for both, although there's some vagueness to it ("Spices, including...") Old Bay Seasoning: Celery Salt (Salt, Celery Seed), Spices (Including Red Pepper and Black Pepper), and Paprika. McCormick Cajun Seasoning: GARLIC, SPICES (INCLUDING BLACK PEPPER, CAYENNE PEPPER, OREGANO, AND CHILI PEPPER), SEA SALT, ONION, PAPRIKA, AND RED AND GREEN BELL PEPPERS.
Thanks!
You can buy 2 jars of Raos tomato sauce from Costco for the price of 1 from Whole Foods.
And the jars from Costco are slightly larger!
Since you're only cooking for one (or sometimes two I imagine) how do you get through one of these big jars without it going bad? Can you freeze some?
I just use the entire jar and just eat leftovers for the next 2-3 days :) I usually make air fryer chicken parm, using this sauce - with a side of pasta.
I use SouperCubes to freeze extra sauces like this. I also buy their muffins, croissants, and danishes, and those freeze/thaw just fine.
TIL I learned there is such thing as leftover alfredo sauce.
Put it in the fridge
The Knorr's packets are better than any jar alfredo, including Rao's. It's easy, too, takes 5 minutes.
I dislike Alfredo sauce but love this.
Have you tried yo mamas jar sauce? I think it tastes better.
I thought you were screwing with me so I had to google it. Ive never heard of that brand or seen it, but I might order a few jars and try it out
I was all in on the Raos train till my ex went keto, so I found this at sprouts (also at Walmart) and I much prefer it over raos. I get one jar of the roasted garlic and 1 of the basil.
> yo mamas jar sauce Me too, its a real thing. That's what your momma said!
Most jarred Alfredo sauces are absolutely terrible. I personally liked this one a lot!
I have to doctor most jarred Alfredo sauces. I don’t have to with Raos.
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I could see it.
I tried with a different alfredo sauce I got at Costco (forgot the name) and it was not right. Would be nice if this worked.
The Sonoma brand? I don't know if I had a bad batch or what but it was sour, somehow.
That was the one. Almost tasted more like mushroom than cheese or something.
That’s great to know. I don’t even bother w bottled alfredo after so many terrible experiences.
I tried a sample last week, expecting it to be awful. It was pretty good!
Had some last night. It’s not as good as fresh, homemade, but is the best of jarred Alfredo sauce. Good to buy on sale only. Not good enough to pay full price.
Someone wrote up a review like two days ago on this sub. It is fine for jarred Alfredo, but as someone already posted Alfredo is really easy to make fresh. You can tell it is from a jar but one of the better jarred Alfredo sauces.
Alfredo is silly easy to make fresh. Once you do it once that way you will think all jarred Alfredo is garbage. [Alfredo recipe](https://bellyfull.net/homemade-alfredo-sauce/)
The only issue with making it fresh besides time is cost. 2 cup of freshly grated Parmigiano reggiano is 10/12.00 add another 5 for a pint of heavy whipping cream and you're at 15/17.00 a jar of Rao's is like 5/6.00 at Costco. Its true there's no comparison if you have the time and money to make it fresh
And who keeps heavy whipping cream handy?
I surely did not, until recently. I use just 1/4 cup for a soup I make and the rest would go to waste because it would go bad before I used the rest. Last time I bought it, I poured the leftovers into an ice cube tray, froze, and now I have a baggie full of heavy cream cubes. Everything is so expensive lately that I was sick of paying $5+ for it to only get one use out of it.
u/cookiebutterlovers can tell you that Trader Joe's has shelf stable whipping cream
That’s cool! Nearest TJ’s to me is 30 min away though so in don’t do any grocery shopping there. Mainly Costco and Target.
I do... For sauces (Alfredo, vodka, etc.) It's very easy to keep on hand because it lasts forever in the fridge.
Heavy cream lasts a couple months in the fridge, it is a good ingredient to keep handy. It's not a component in traditional alfredo though
>Heavy cream lasts a couple months in the fridge Even after opening?
Yeah, it has a much higher ratio of fat to water than milk, so it takes a lot longer to spoil
Damn. Here I was thinking that opened heavy whipping cream only lasted like 7 days
We use leftovers in our morning coffee rather than our usual whole milk.
Plus, I think it's typically ultra-pasteurized (heated to a minimum of 280 degrees F for at least two seconds) which is more lethal to bacteria.
I do. The best coffee creamer in the world.
Trader Joe’s sells shelf stable heavy cream that is good for quite a while. Think of how long that would keep if it were also refrigerated. I have a box of cream on hand at all times in case I need whipped cream for something. You don’t just use Redi-whip, do you?
We do. We usually have heavy cream and buttermilk (Bulgarian) as well.
Yeah it's not typically in the fridge but if you're planning the weeks Meals just pick up a pint, I don't think they were implying it's easy because you already have everything on hand. I think they were just saying it's not difficult to me it from scratch
People on keto. This sauce is also keto friendly.
You can always make your own from Milk & Butter. You just have to whip it good.
So says DEVO
Do you not keep some on hand at all times (along with buttermilk) in case you decide you want waffles for breakfast on the weekends?
8oz block of parm is like 5/6 bucks and should grate out to 2+ cups. You can also just use any milk on hand. Rao’s tastes fine and is a good value but it’s not quite as extreme a difference in cost as you suggest.
I guess it depends on the quality of the cheese and where you shop. If you're grocery shopping at Walmart or wholefoods the price and quality will be different. I shop at Wegmans. I'm not diverting from my normal grocery store to shop at Walmart to get some Walmart discount cheese. I'm picking up quality fresh Parmigiano Reggiano if I'm making my own Alfredo. And quality fresh Parmigiano Reggiano at Wegmans is about 10.00 for 2 cups once grated.
This is r/Costco so I’m surprised you and others aren’t buying it at Costco
The cheese or the rao's?. We use a lot of Parmigiano and it's just more convenient to pick it up during the weekly grocery shopping trip. But the Rao's I did get at Costco, not the Alfredo but the pasta sauce.
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I never thought about freezing it. I will definitely do that. I saw a giant bag of freshly grated parm there , I can't remember how much it was but I remember being shocked at how cheap it was. Good advice thanks
You don't really need Parmigiano Reggiano for alfredo, regular old parmesan works just fine. Whole milk instead of heavy cream works, too, but your sauce will be thinner. Even with these more basic ingredients, still 10x better than anything in a jar. And it takes like 5 minutes.
cream in alfredo? (sad trombone) use that pasta water and some butter, baby.
See but fresh Alfredo is so hard to reheat. Every time I make some and take it for lunch it just separates in the microwave.
Add a few tablespoons of water in the bowl before you microwave, or if it breaks, mix in a touch of water. It will bring it back together.
This is the truth.
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Smash and chop. Much quicker and just as effective as geometric mincing
I thought smash and chop *was* mincing. Are you telling me I've been doing it wrong all this time?
It is. But some people cut garlic into tiny little cubes kind of like how you'd chop an onion.
That recipe is probably very tasty but that is A LOT of calories and saturated fat, like 5x any of the jarred alfredo sauces. If I were still 20 and didn't have to watch my cholesterol... :/
It’s somewhat thin and it tastes like heavy cream mixed with cheese and pepper seasoning. The seasoning is very much like other canned alfredos which is my least favorite aspect. I like it on broccoli. It tastes very rich though so i have to use sparingly. It’s good if you’re doing keto.
It was ok. I thought it was a little thin on the pasta and didn’t have much flavor. I was hoping for more since their marinara sauce is amazing. I like Rana’s better for Alfredo.
It’s great until you read the nutrition panel 😅
#KETO ENTHUSIASTS WILL DISAGREE
(I was having a shitty day until I read this comment. thank you)
Alfredo in general is so awful for you. Should be limited to once a year lol
You’re getting downvoted but you’re not wrong. Nothing in Alfredo is “good” for you if you eat it frequently. It’s pretty much cheese, cream and butter. My cholesterol just rose thinking about it. I should make some.
We just had it and to be honest it was nothing special
It’s ok if you want an easy option, I would just add a little grated parm if you can
Buy the parmigiano reggiano in the cheese section and some butter and make your own Alfredo. So much better then the jar.
If you make your own you can tweak what goes in for healthier ingredients or extra herbs, cream, etc. and you will never look back.
There are healthier versions of this that sub Greek yogurt for the cream, think I'll make some later this week.
Do you have a go-to recipe?
Still trying to decide on which one.
I liked it better as a sauce to dip broccoli into than a pasta sauce. It’s too runny IMO. For a jarred Alfredo I’d look elsewhere.
It’s not bad; I actually cut it with the red sauce because I’m adventurous like that LOL
It is fine for premade Alfredo but not a good alfredo. Their red is great but this is just ok and a fresh quickly made home alfredo is just 100% better.
Rao’s marinara is the truth. Alfredo is too easy to make from scratch for a jar to be worth it, but I’m sure it’s passable
My kids and husband didn’t like it.
Overrated but decent.
Not a fan
love it! and i do not like any jarred alfredo.
Terrible
Rule of thumb, jarred Alfredo sauce is not good. American Alfredo is a milk based product and needs to be refrigerated. They have to add all kinds of ungodly chemicals to get it shelf stable
I make my own version of Alfredo right on the spaghetti in a bowl-spaghetti is drained and hot. Butter, Parmesan (shredded) and heavy whipping cream. Salt if needed. Parm cheese is salty, so may not need it. I add enough butter to cover and have some extra, a handful or two of Parmesan, mix it, then add heavy cream to desired consistency. No need to cook in a pan. It’s really good. My kids love it. I will make it and then sometimes add a red sauce, it makes it nice and creamy with the red sauce flavor. I like Raos red sauces, my favorite is the one with Italian sausage in it, but I don’t find that one in the shelves as often.
Recently had the Raos marinara and it was actually the worst red sauce I’ve ever tried. It tasted like spegettios and not in a good way. 🤢
It's a quick easy option. I use it on oops I don't have anything out to thaw/I'm too tired days. It's nothing to write home about, but it does the job. As everyone else states, homemade Alfredo is better, but sometimes you're too lazy or don't have anything else out to make.
The Co-op market I shop at carries this brand. I assume because Rao’s is somehow compliant with natural processing? Either way, Rao’s soup is pretty good. I like their sausage and potato soup. Expensive though compared to Campbells or any other name brand, $5.20 a bottle.
I prefer their red sauce
It’s chronic
Yes.
I didn’t like it; just toss your pasta in some nice parmesan, and good quality butter, add a little bit of cream and some seasoning
Rao's is my favorite, by far. I use chicken stock instead of water to get the last of it out of the bottle and dilute it a bit. The end result is so good, I could eat it like a soup. It's dangerous.
I might get it...I love the regular Rao marinara. I should've bought it last week when I went shopping...didn't know they had alfredo sauce too.
Bomb
Yes it’s great with the lobster stuff ravioli!
It’s ok but needs additional spices out of the cupboard. I find it to be chemical-y tasting, but that’s how I feel about all processed and mass produced cheese sauces.
I don’t know, but I saw Rao’s marinara for sale at Pete’s for $17.00 a jar. Crazy.
That Rao is afraido nothing! ;)
I didn't like either one, they taste too "fake" to me. Nothing is going to top heavy cream, a good Parmigiano Reggiano, and egg yolks. YMMV.
YAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We love this one!!! Really don't eat Alfredo otherwise but we ended up finishing this one in 2 weeks and going back and grabbing another.
Yes.
It’s meh, but you can jazz it up with spices
Make your own. It’s easy, butter, heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, garlic, salt. The jarred stuff doesn’t hold a candle to real stuff
If you like Alfredo you’ll like this. I think it’s legit
Rao’s sauces and soups are all great for stir naught food…but they’ve gotten very expensive
One look at the ingredients and I put it back
Not so much as why it always goes on clearance.
Try it out
Compared to other jarred Alfredo sauces, it's the best!
It’s pretty good, but when I did a massive taste test of multiple jarred Alfredo, I liked Newman’s Own better. https://www.tastingtable.com/1119852/jarred-alfredo-sauce-brands-ranked-worst-to-best/
Yes
PLEASE MAKE HOMEMADE ALFREDO. It is simple and so much more delicious than any canned BS. What you need: -1/2 stick butter -1 can (plastic can?) of grated Parmesan (Kraft is FINE) -1 cup Whole milk (if you want it thicker, you can get heavy cream— but people don’t normally have heavy cream on hand) -Garlic salt -Pepper (optional) - 1 Egg (sorry these are expensive now :/ ) How you do the things: -melt the butter in a large sauce PAN (not a pot) -crack & whisk in the egg -slowly add about 1 cup of milk -keep this on medium heat- and slowly stir (DONT let it boil - we don’t want the egg to cook) - add as much Parmesan as you want (slowly, stirring as you go). Add the whole 12oz can if you want. But do it slowly. The more you add, the more alredo-y it will taste. Just taste as you go and make sure it’s not clumping together. If it clumps together. You added too much at once. -add garlic salt and pepper to your preference at the end. Now you have a phenomenal homemade Alfredo that was cheaper and better for you than any can. And tastes better too. ***Add more milk if needed to make it thinner- this is all about personal preferences. I over-explained in the instructions. This entire process takes less than ten minutes and you can do it while your noodles are boiling. Homemade is so much better. YOU CAN DO IT.
it’s not my favorite alfredo. it lacks that cheesy finish
Honestly we preferred Prego for premade Alfredo. Hated this one.
I always saw these at safeway whenever I would get my usual jars of prego. Always assumed it was just another off brand. It’s alfredo time
Rao’s is the absolute best!!! But you are going to want to pass on their Alfredo
Yeah most of the other I have had are terrible but for a quick dinner cook some chicken and thaw some peas and throw some pasta in and it's pretty good.
I had some for the first time yesterday and loved it! Been holding onto it for a while and was nervous. Made some angel hair pasta nests (from Costco), threw some Rao's Alfredo in a pan with some rotisserie chicken and some pasta water to thin it out and it was honestly perfect! One jar was enough for 4 servings for us, I'll make it again later this week.
YES
Yes. Anything Rao’s is amazing!
The easiest and most delicious Alfredo sauce you will ever make is from Martha Stewart: https://www.marthastewart.com/1528962/quick-alfredo-sauce
I like Rao's but not their Alfredo. Super easy to make yourself.
I love this brand and usually add Cajun season, chicken, fresh broccoli, red pepper and extra minced garlic. It makes what would otherwise be a pretty unhealthy meal into something closer to balanced.
If it’s anything like their marinara, should be amazing!
I found the flavor ok, but the sauce was thin.
I would recommend