This Grocery Store Brand Makes The Absolute Best Jarred Alfredo Sauce

If you've ever looked at a jar of Alfredo sauce and wondered, "Who's Alfredo?" — there's an answer to that. Alfredo Di Lelio was a Roman restaurateur who developed the now-iconic sauce in 1908 in hopes that it would help his wife recover during a difficult postpartum period. Originally, Alfredo's recipe consisted of just pasta, butter, Paremesan and a little pasta water. More to the point, he added this version of "pasta al burro" to his restaurant's menu, where it gained international fame after an American celebrity power couple fell in love with the dish on their Italian honeymoon. Today, most American Alfredo sauce recipes add heavy cream to the mix, along with seasonings like pepper and garlic.

Still, at its core, it remains a pretty simple sauce. If you're in the mood for Alfredo but don't wish to make your own, don't worry: There are multiple canned versions available at the grocery store, and Chowhound has ranked nine of them to help you choose the best option. While you'll want to steer clear of Ragú's version, which found itself in last place, you can't go wrong with bettergoods' offering, which came in first. Chowhound's reviewer appreciated the bettergoods Alfredo sauce's creamy texture. It was neither too thick nor too thin. Moreover, the key flavor note came from the Parmesan cheese, making it stand out positively from brands that were over-salted. A nice addition of garlic made the sauce even more complex and interesting.

Bettergoods is a private Walmart brand that launched in 2004. A 14.5 ounce jar of bettergoods' Alfredo sauce costs just under $6.50, which does put it on the higher end of the sauces included in Chowhound's ranking. If Walmart isn't your go-to grocery source, you may be looking for a second opinion. Prego's Alfredo sauce was ranked second, and the brand is fairly ubiquitous. While the Prego's sauce checked all the boxes texture-wise, its main flavor note, unfortunately, was salt.

Thankfully, if you find yourself facing a jar of inferior Alfredo sauce, there are many ways to elevate it. For example, add lemon to lighten up the flavor, or freshly grated Parmesan to bring that umami element to the forefront. Adding chunky textures like chopped nuts or mushrooms can improve a sauce that's too thin (Chowhound marked down Rao's Alfredo sauce for this very issue). On the other hand, if your sauce is too thick, you can always add some heavy cream. Buon appetito!