Pasta sauce has natural sugar from the vegetables used to make it. Furthermore, some sauces contain added sugar that is put into the sauce during processing.
Below you will discover how much sugar is in several popular store-bought pasta sauces. Here is what we found…
Pasta Sauce Sugar Content
Below you will see the total sugars and added sugars for 1/2 cup serving size of various pasta sauces. Total sugars include natural and added sugars in the sauce. Added sugars are the sugars added during processing and are included in the total sugars amount.
For example, Hunt’s Pasta Sauce featured below has 2 grams of added sugars, 4 grams of natural sugars, and 6 total grams of total sugars. The natural sugars are calculated by taking the total sugars and subtracting the added sugars (6g total sugars – 2g added sugars = 4g natural sugars).
Based on the nutrition data of all sauces below, we determined the average total sugars to be approximately 6.8 grams and the average added sugars were about 1.4 grams.
| Sauce | Serving Size | Total Sugars(g) | Added Sugars(g) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ragu Old World Style – Traditional | 1/2 Cup (125g) | 8g | <1g |
| Ragu Chunky Tomato, Garlic, & Onion Sauce | 1/2 Cup (128g) | 12g | 4g |
| Prego Traditional Pasta Sauce | 1/2 Cup (120mL) | 9g | 4g |
| Prego Roasted Garlic & Herb | 1/2 Cup (120mL) | 9g | 2g |
| Classico Traditional | 1/2 Cup (125g) | 8g | 3g |
| Classico Four Cheese | 1/2 Cup (125g) | 6g | 1g |
| Hunt’s Pasta Sauce | 1/2 Cup (126g) | 6g | 2g |
| Hunt’s Garlic & Herb Pasta Sauce | 1/2 Cup (125g) | 4g | 0g |
| Rao’s Homemade Marinara | 1/2 Cup | 4g | 0g |
| Roa’s Italian Sausage & Mushroom Sauce | 1/2 Cup | 4g | 0g |
| Newman’s Own Marinara | 1/2 Cup (124g) | 7g | 0g |
| Newman’s Own Organic Tomato & Basil | 1/2 Cup (124g) | 6g | 0g |
| Muir Glen Organic Italian Herb | 1/2 Cup (125g) | 4g | 0g |
| Muir Glen Organic Portabella Mushroom | 1/2 Cup (125g) | 4g | 0g |
| Eden Organic Spaghetti Sauce | 1/2 Cup (125g) | 6g | 0g |
| Great Value Traditional Pasta Sauce | 1/2 Cup (128g) | 7g | 3g |
| Great Value Tomato Basil Garlic Pasta Sauce | 1/2 Cup (128g) | 6g | 1g |
| Kroger Marinara | 1/2 Cup (128g) | 9g | 3g |
| Kroger Tomato + Basil Pasta Sauce | 1/2 Cup (128g) | 10g | 2g |
| Average | 6.8g | 1.4g |
SEE ALSO>>>Ragu Vs. Prego: What’s The Difference?
Recommended Daily Sugar
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans are produced by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS). These guidelines provide the general public with recommendations on healthy eating.
One of the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines is regarding the maximum added sugar a person should consume in a day. They state that people 2 years and older should limit added sugar to less than 10% of total calories.
For example, say someone is on a 2,500-calorie diet. They should consume less than 250 calories from added sugars (2,500 x 10% = 250 calories) if following the recommendation. This would mean that that person could consume a maximum of about 62.5 grams of added sugar during a given day (250 calories of added sugar ÷ 4 calories per gram of sugar = 62.5 grams of recommended daily added sugar).
Given the average added sugar of the pasta sauces listed above was roughly 1.4 grams, the added sugar in most sauces is not excessive. Most people can eat pasta sauce without too much worry about it putting them over the top in regard to added sugars.
Keep in mind that there is no recommendation for total sugars. Added sugars are the primary concern when it comes to healthy eating.