The $6.88 Walmart Find I Wish I Knew About Sooner (It's So Delicious)

My dad likes to tell a story about his bachelor days when he worked a job that paid monthly. He says it was impossible to budget for groceries. He ate like a king for the first week and a peasant towards the end of the month. That's when he would make a giant batch of spaghetti. Then he’d slowly eat the leftovers for lunch and dinner every day until a fresh paycheck hit.

While I’m no stranger to stretching a meager budget, I can’t imagine spaghetti as an everyday fallback meal. There’s no way it would be flavorful and appealing enough for an entire week, especially with a store-bought sauce.

Well, that's what I thought until I discovered Rao’s Creamy Marinara at Walmart. 

Why You Need To Try Rao's Creamy Marinara

The flavor is a newer launch from Rao’s, a pasta sauce brand that I had previously avoided due to its high price point. My sticker shock was getting in the way of something crucial: Rao's makes really, really good sauce.

The Creamy Marinara caught my eye because the label said “with mascarpone cheese.” Any time cheese is included, I’m intrigued. For $6.88, I decided to take the leap and bring the sauce home for spaghetti and meatballs.

I used bronze die-cut pasta from Aldi, frozen meatballs, the Rao’s sauce, and fresh basil from my garden. As I heated the sauce, I was already impressed by the smell; it made my mouth water.

This meal couldn’t be simpler, and I couldn’t get enough of the creamy, flavorful sauce. I shredded some asiago cheese to sprinkle on top, but forgot to use it, but I didn’t miss it!

I normally choose pesto sauce over marinara because I like that store-bought pesto contains Parmesan cheese. This is why incorporating mascarpone into this marinara sauce was a brilliant move by Rao’s. It’s one less thing to add when throwing together a simple weeknight meal.

This sauce is hearty, creamy, and well-balanced. If I could, I would heat it up and eat it as a soup. I’m glad that my local Walmart carries it, making it easy to pick up a jar.

The next time you want a restaurant-quality dish with minimal effort, Rao’s Creamy Marinara has your back. My only wish is that I could send a jar back in time to my dad to upgrade his 1980s spaghetti.

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