Rao's vs Prego: Added Sugar 0 g vs 4 g per Half Cup

Rao's Homemade Marinara lists 0 g added sugars and olive oil as its second ingredient per 1/2 cup, while Prego Traditional Italian Sauce lists 4 g added sugars and canola oil in its "less than 1%" group per 1/2 cup, and both brands belong to Campbell's.

Key takeaways

• Per 1/2 cup, Rao's lists 0 g added sugars and 4 g total sugars. Per 1/2 cup, Prego lists 4 g added sugars (8% DV) and 9 g total sugars.
• Per 1/2 cup, sodium is 420 mg (18% DV) for Rao's and 470 mg (20% DV) for Prego.
• Per 1/2 cup, Rao's fat comes from olive oil, its second ingredient, at 7 g total fat. Per 1/2 cup, Prego lists canola oil under "less than 1%" and shows 1 g total fat.
• Both brands belong to Campbell's: Prego as its own brand, and Rao's through Campbell's completed acquisition of Sovos Brands in March 2024.
• Both jars say "1/2 cup" but state the serving basis differently (weight for Rao's, volume for Prego), and database entries can differ from the current label, so check the jar you buy. Per 1/2 cup is the basis used throughout this article.

Rao's vs Prego at a Glance: Per Half-Cup Label Facts

The table uses the figures printed on each brand's nutrition panel for one 1/2 cup serving.

Label item (per 1/2 cup)	Rao's Homemade Marinara	Prego Traditional Italian Sauce
Serving basis	125 g	120 mL
Calories	100	70
Total fat	7 g (9% DV)	1 g (1% DV)
Saturated fat	1 g (5% DV)	0 g
Trans fat	0 g	0 g
Cholesterol	0 mg	0 mg
Sodium	420 mg (18% DV)	470 mg (20% DV)
Total carbohydrate	6 g	12 g
Dietary fiber	1 g	3 g (11% DV)
Total sugars	4 g	9 g
Added sugars	0 g	4 g (8% DV)
Protein	2 g	2 g
Calcium	20 mg	30 mg
Iron	0.2 mg	0.8 mg
Potassium	370 mg	330 mg
Oil named on ingredient list	Olive oil (2nd ingredient)	Canola oil (under "less than 1%")

The 7 g of total fat in the Rao's column comes from its olive oil, while the 1 g of total fat in the Prego column is the figure printed on its Nutrition Facts panel.

Prego's brand page says a container holds about 5 servings. Rao's jars are sold in 15.5 oz (about 3.5 servings), 24 oz (about 5), 32 oz (about 7) and 40 oz (about 9) sizes. These labels cannot show how any individual body responds to a given food, so the table is a reading aid, not a health measure.

Does Rao's Homemade Marinara have sugar?

Rao's Homemade Marinara lists 4 g of total sugars and 0 g of added sugars per 1/2 cup (125 g). The brand's product page says the sauce is "Made with no added sugar and no artificial colors." The eight-item ingredient list on the Rao's brand page does not include sugar, which matches the zero added-sugar figure.

Total sugars is a broader number than added sugars. Total sugars counts sugars that occur naturally in ingredients such as tomatoes and onions, plus any sugars added during processing. The added-sugars line reflects sugar put into the product, which is why the two numbers can differ this much.

How much sugar is in Prego Traditional Italian Sauce?

Prego Traditional Italian Sauce lists 9 g of total sugars, including 4 g of added sugars, per 1/2 cup (120 mL). The Prego brand page notes about 5 servings per container. Sugar appears as the third ingredient, after tomato puree and diced tomatoes in tomato juice.

Open Food Facts carries an entry for a 45 oz jar with the same ingredient list. Database entries can lag behind reformulations or differ by package, so the Nutrition Facts panel on the jar in your hand is the reference to use.

Added Sugar Daily Value: What Prego's 4 g Means on the Label

Prego's 4 g of added sugars is listed as 8% of the Daily Value per 1/2 cup. The FDA's added-sugars Daily Value is 50 g per day based on a 2,000-calorie diet, so 4 g is 8% of that reference amount. The FDA's added-sugars page also notes the Dietary Guidelines advice to limit added sugars to under 10% of calories. Sugar can hide under other names too, as this guide to added sugar names on labels shows.

The Daily Value is a reference point, not a personal target. Someone who eats several servings may want to ask a clinician how to account for sauce in their day. Rao's lists 0 g added sugars per 1/2 cup, so the added-sugar line is the most direct difference between the two panels.

Sodium: How Do 420 mg and 470 mg Per Half-Cup Compare?

Per 1/2 cup, Rao's lists 420 mg of sodium (18% DV), and Prego lists 470 mg (20% DV). The gap is 50 mg per serving on these two panels. Salt is the only sodium-bearing ingredient named on either list; for other sodium sources that show up on labels, see sodium ingredients beyond salt.

Both sodium figures are printed per 1/2 cup, so the mg value and the %DV on each panel are the numbers to compare directly.

People who have been asked to limit sodium by a clinician may want to compare the mg figure and %DV on the jar they buy before deciding how much sauce fits their day.

Olive Oil vs Canola Oil: What Each Label Declares

Rao's lists olive oil as its second ingredient, and its 7 g of total fat per 1/2 cup comes from that oil. The label shows 1 g of saturated fat (5% DV) per 1/2 cup. The exact grade of olive oil is not disclosed, because the ingredient panel names only "olive oil."

Prego lists canola oil in its "less than 1%" group, which is how the label places it. The panel shows 1 g of total fat (1% DV) and 0 g of saturated fat per 1/2 cup. The label does not state the canola oil's share more precisely.

Because the two labels name different oils and show very different fat totals, the oil line is one of the clearest side-by-side differences on these panels. For how oils are named on ingredient lists more generally, see seed oils on ingredient lists.

How Do the Per-Half-Cup Labels Compare on Sugar, Fat and Fiber?

Per 1/2 cup, Rao's shows less added sugar and more total fat, while Prego shows more fiber, more sodium and more total sugars. Specifically, Rao's lists 0 g added sugars, 7 g total fat and 1 g fiber, while Prego lists 4 g added sugars, 1 g total fat and 3 g fiber.

Health depends on the rest of a person's diet, portion size, medical history and goals. A nutrition label is one input, and this comparison does not rank the two products.

Ingredient Lists Side by Side: What Is in Each Jar?

Rao's Homemade Marinara lists eight ingredients: Italian whole peeled tomatoes, olive oil, onions, salt, garlic, basil, black pepper and oregano. The Open Food Facts entry lists the same items, with "dried oregano" named.

Prego Traditional Italian Sauce lists:

• Tomato puree (water, tomato paste)
• Diced tomatoes in tomato juice
• Sugar
• Less than 1% of: salt, canola oil, dried onions, dried garlic, spices, basil, citric acid, onion extract, garlic extract

Both ingredient lists, as printed, contain no major food allergen. Prego's brand page says the sauce is "gluten free, vegan and made without artificial colors or added MSG." Rao's brand page makes the no-added-sugar and no-artificial-colors claims discussed above.

Who owns Rao's and Prego?

Both brands belong to Campbell's. Prego is Campbell's own brand and is sold on campbells.com. Rao's came to Campbell's when the company completed its acquisition of Sovos Brands, the maker of Rao's, in March 2024, as described in the Campbell's newsroom.

Whether either recipe has changed since the acquisition is not something the available evidence shows, so read the jar as it is printed.

How to read serving sizes on these two pasta sauce labels

Both labels say "1/2 cup," but the basis differs, and that affects comparisons:

• Rao's declares its serving by weight: 125 g.
• Prego declares its serving by volume: 120 mL.
• Both panels list nutrients per serving, and Prego's brand page says the container holds about 5 servings.
• Rao's jar sizes run from 15.5 oz to 40 oz, so the number of servings per jar changes with size.
• Database entries may not match the printed label after a reformulation or package change.

The same label habits appear in other packaged-food comparisons, such as Coffee mate vs International Delight: Ingredients and Sugar, where the serving basis changes the numbers a reader sees.

To see how the ingredients in either jar line up with your own priorities, you can scan the label with the Aurascan app. It explains each ingredient one by one with cited evidence. You can preview the format on the Aurascan sample result.

Related reading: for Prego against Ragú, see Does Prego Have Added Sugar? Prego vs Ragú.