16 Jarred Pestos, Ranked Worst To Best

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Pasta nights are a weekly occurrence in many households. What's not to like about a simple, affordable meal that everyone in the family will enjoy? If you are anything like us, you might be torn over whether to include marinara or pesto sauce on your plate on any given night. We love them both, but some evenings just call for a fresh herbal pesto. Pesto gets its name from the Italian verb pestare, meaning to pound, according to Saveur. The sauce is traditionally made using a mortar and pestle, the latter which also owes its name to the Italian language. 

Any sauce can be a pesto if it contains nuts, oil, and herbs. When we talk about pesto in the US, we are usually referring to a classic Italian sauce made of basil, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic, and Parmesan cheese. When we aren't making a homemade pesto for our pasta nights, we look for a jarred pesto that contains classic ingredients, isn't overly oily, and is fresh with no rancid oil flavor. While we most often serve pesto over pasta, it can be used in so many other ways. We love having it with fish, chicken, hummus, and even on sandwiches.

Feeling a little underwhelmed by the jarred pestos you've purchased in the past? Take a look at the list below for our ranking of the various options available. You will finally no longer have to settle for disappointment when you purchase jarred basil pesto.

Whole Foods 365 Basil Pesto is made from basil, olive oil, sunflower oil, cashews, Parmesan, Pecorino Romano, potato starch, pine nuts, and garlic. Yet again, we see another jarred pesto that contains potato starch. While these ingredients are odd, they are also all organic if that is of importance to you. Nonetheless, we are shocked at the long list of ingredients in this jarred pesto from Whole Foods, of all places. We had suspected that 365 Organic would have the freshest pesto with the least amount of ingredients.

As far as the taste of this jarred pesto, we were equally disappointed. This pesto is very oily and greasy and it tastes bitter like pureed spinach, although spinach is not one of the many ingredients. We would even go so far as to say this jarred pesto is horrible. We'd recommend seeking out other brands if you are looking for a solution for your pasta night because this one has very few redeeming characteristics.

Regioni d'Italia Basil Pesto Sauce is yet another product that curiously contains potatoes as ingredients. Who knew so many brands utilized starchy spuds as an ingredient in their basil pestos? We are shocked about the departure from the classic recipe. While this brand contains olive oil, it also contains sunflower oil, which Healthline remarks is too high in omega-6 fatty acids and can lead to increased inflammation in the body. Health-minded folks tend to dislike sunflower oil, preferring to opt for extra virgin olive oil instead.

As far as texture, the addition of cashews as well as pine nuts helps to create a nutty textural crunch that is quite pleasant. The overall flavor of this jarred basil pesto, however, isn't so fresh and the oil tastes like it has gone bad. If you have any other options available, we would recommend choosing them over this one.

Seggiano's Fresh Basil Pesto Genovese is the only option on the list that is raw and vegan. This means that not only is this pesto void of any animal ingredients, most notably cheese, but this pesto has not been unpasteurized. According to Britannica, pasteurization is a process that many packaged products undergo before they are sold, which involves heating foods to kill off any pathogenic bacteria. This method of sanitation is incredibly important when it comes to foods that pregnant women or other immunocompromised individuals eat, in order to safely avoid foodborne illness, according to FoodSafety.gov.

Skipping the process means that the aroma of fresh basil is preserved, however, depending on your health you should proceed with caution. Although this brand of pesto tastes great, since it is unpasteurized, we've placed it in the middle of our rankings. The potential risks if this product isn't properly made and stored leave us hesitant to recommend it wholeheartedly.

Filippo Berio is a brand that carries many olive oils, pestos, vinegars, and glazes. The selection of jarred pesto flavors that they offer is quite impressive including classic basil, sundried tomato, tomato and ricotta, grilled vegetable, and spicy tomato. We have our eyes on the grilled vegetable pesto ... yum!

As far as the classic basil pesto, according to the images on Amazon, the ingredient list is oddly similar to that of Rao's. It contains potato flakes, sugar, sunflower oil, and an acidity regulator called glucono delta lactone. Although the ingredients aren't ideal, the pesto is actually quite tasty. The Amazon reviews seem to reflect the same assessment, noting that this brand of jarred pesto is pricy but delicious, and some commenters even claim that they "can't stop eating it." A few reviews note that this pesto is a bit dry, so because of this concern and the questionable ingredients, we have placed this brand in the middle of the ranks.

At this point in the ranking, we are beginning to explore some very tasty basil pesto options. While there are many delicious offerings, only a few are excellent enough to make their way to the top of our ranks. One such product is the Rustichella d'Abruzzo Pesto alla Genovese which comes in at our number seven spot. 

According to the images on Amazon, it contains basil, olive oil, salt, walnuts, pine nuts, Grana cheese, whey, garlic, cornstarch, wine vinegar, citric acid, and lactic acid. While it isn't entirely pure as far as the ingredients go, this basil pesto is rather yummy. It has an extra nutty flavor due to the inclusion of walnuts which is great if you're into that taste, but less so if walnuts aren't to your liking. The other characteristic to note about this pesto is that it is very oily. When you open a jar, we recommend giving it a good stir in order to allow the oil to incorporate into the rest of the pesto.

The other Barilla option is the Rustic Basil Pesto, which has a flavor that is more in line with the usual jarred offerings. It is devoid of creaminess but instead, features a classic combination of basil, nuts, oil, and cheese. Interestingly, this pesto also contains spinach in its ingredients, contributing to the extra green flavor and high nutrient content. Since we cannot taste the spinach, we will gladly accept the added nutrition.

The Walmart reviews show that this pesto is well-loved although the comments are somewhat mixed. Some people indicate that the pesto is a bit too sweet, whereas others think it is too salty. In fact, we find that this brand actually has the best balance of sweet and salty that we've found. People note that the flavor is very basil-forward, with not too much garlic to overpower the taste. If you are looking for a classic basil pesto to take home, this one will do just the trick.

Delallo is a brand that sells many Italian specialty food products including pasta, pesto, salami, cheeses, olives, antipasti, sauces, oils, vinegars, dressings, gnocchi, polenta, and risotto. When it comes to pesto, Delallo offers a few flavor varieties including traditional basil, sundried tomato and cheese, sundried tomato and olive, and even the classic option sold in squeeze bottle form.

Consumer reviews about Delallo's Simply Pesto prove that people love the product's bright and simple flavor. Reviewers also mention that the quality is consistently high, which is a great point to consider when relying on a jarred product over a homemade recipe. Many people love the sole inclusion of olive oil in this product, and the fact that it steers clear of less desirable oils that are often included in packaged foods. We love Delallo's product for its minimal ingredient list, which really highlights the classic elements required for the simple sauce.

We've arrived at our number one ranking. Drumroll please ... our top jarred basil pesto spot goes to Mezzetta, a brand that carries olives, pickled peppers, hot sauces, and other specialties. Mezzetta Basil Pesto is undoubtedly our favorite option on the list thanks to its great flavor and fresh ingredients. 

This pesto contains extra virgin olive oil, basil, Parmesan, pine nuts, garlic, and almonds. No oils high in omega-6 fatty acids are to be found here — instead, Mezzetta sticks to high-quality olive oil. While the inclusion of almonds isn't completely traditional, we find that they really help to create the kind of chunky texture that we are looking for in a pesto. In terms of taste, Mezzetta basil pesto boasts fresh complex flavors which taste like a homemade product every time. Basil's herbal aroma really shines in this jarred product. If you see Mezzetta pesto on your supermarket shelves, snag it — we guarantee you'll love it!