A jar of pesto and a box of pasta mean you’re halfway to having dinner ready, but as many home cooks who have purchased pre-made pesto know, store-bought versions of the Italian sauce can vary wildly in quality and flavor. To find out which pestos we can rely on without suffering through any more acrid basil, we’re placing our trust in the ultimate critic: an Italian home cook.
Content creator duo Jessi and Alessio Pasini, known collectively online as The Pasinis, have amassed over 2.4 million followers on TikTok as they showcase native Italian Alessio’s experience living in the United States.
After living in Italy for more than twenty years, Alessio has high standards for his home cooking and frequently shares grocery shopping tips for the best Italian products available in American supermarkets. To benefit all of us, he’s even taken on the task of figuring out what many home cooks have long been wondering: What’s the best store-bought pesto?
While his wife Jessi coordinated the logistics of the taste test and filmed, Alessio put on a blindfold and headphones to fully focus on the sensory details of the sauces. Unaware of which brand he was tasting at each step, he sampled five jars of common grocery store pestos. The final results of the ranking surprised them both.
Whole Foods Market Basil Pesto
Suffice it to say, Alessio couldn’t be less fond of the Whole Foods Market Basil Pesto. Whole Foods’ Basil Pesto features a blend of basil, Pecorino Romano, extra virgin olive oil, pumpkin seeds, dried minced garlic, lemon juice, and black pepper.
Despite the simple and fresh list of ingredients, Alessio gave this pesto a zero out of 10, a rating that shocked the creator. The married couple admitted to liking the Whole Foods pesto when they had used it on pasta previously, but that’s the magic of an anonymous taste test; external influences like brand names are removed entirely, and it all comes down to the flavors.
RATING: 0/10
Giovanni Rana Pesto
While the creator typically loves Giovanni Rana products — an Italy-based brand — this pesto had too much cheese for his taste. He found the amount of cheese to be overpowering in flavor, giving the sauce a three out of 10 rating.
Giovanni Rana’s pesto contains basil, sunflower oil, Parmesan, Pecorino Romano, extra virgin olive oil, pine nuts, and garlic. It might not be the first choice for the Pasinis, but if you like a strong cheesy flavor, it’s worth giving this one a try.
RATING: 3/10
Simple Truth Organic Basil Pesto
Simple Truth is Kroger’s private label grocery brand, which means the Simple Truth Organic Basil Pesto is sold exclusively at Kroger stores. This USDA Organic pesto contains basil, extra virgin olive oil, sunflower seed oil, Parmigiano Reggiano, cashews, potato starch, pine nuts, and garlic. Alessio initially rated the Simple Truth pesto a three, but after directly comparing its taste to the Rana pesto, he decided Kroger’s premade pesto deserved a score of five out of 10.
RATING: 5/10
Barilla Creamy Genovese Pesto Sauce
While it’s not the most traditional option, the Pasinis included Barilla’s Creamy Genovese Pesto Sauce in their taste test. This offering comes from a well-known brand among home cooks and is readily available in most American supermarkets.
You can expect this pesto to have a smoother texture than competitors, as it’s been puréed to achieve a creamy consistency. The sauce is imported from Italy and made with sweet Italian basil, freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, cashews, sunflower oil, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, basil extract, whey, and milk. Alessio notes that it is very smooth and rates the product seven out of 10.
RATING: 7/10
Filippo Berio Classic Pesto Sauce
The winner of the store-bought pesto taste test, Filippo Berio Classic Pesto Sauce, received an immediate eight out of 10 from the Italian creator. Made in Liguria, Italy, where pesto originates, the brand proclaims that its classic pesto adheres to “a traditional Genovese recipe.”
It’s made with fresh basil, olive oil, sunflower oil, Grana Padano, Pecorino Romano, cashews, potato flakes (used as a thickener), pine nuts, and garlic. Alessio’s positive reaction to the winning pre-made pesto surprised him. He even tried the pesto again after removing his blindfold, but the score remained the same.
None of the options received a 10 out of 10 — it’s safe to say only freshly made pesto could be that good — but when you’re in a pinch for a quick weeknight dinner, one of this creator’s top-rated options can still deliver great flavor without taking much time.
RATING: 8/10
Dining and Cooking