According to chef Giada de Laurentiis, store-bought pasta sauce will taste like gourmet marinara if it features tomatoes instead of sugar as the first ingredient.

Per FDA requirements, ingredients are always listed on product labels in descending order by weight. Whatever ingredient is listed on the label first is the primary ingredient.

In the case of tomato sauce, the first ingredient will likely always be tomatoes. However, the higher that sugar is listed on the ingredients label, the sweeter your sauce will be.

Opt for products with no added sugars, such as Classico Roasted Garlic Tomato Spaghetti Pasta Sauce and Rao's Homemade Marinara Sauce.

A better option is to slather your noodles the Giada de Laurentiis way — with Bio Orto. The Puglia, Italy-based brand is a staple of her Italian food and lifestyle brand, Giadzy.

You can balance out the sweet flavors of store-bought sauces by adding acidic ingredients, but it’s best to shop for brands that make basic tomato sauces using minimal ingredients.