The Sweet Tomato Variety You'll Find In Rao's Homemade Sauces

Rao's Homemade is one of the most popular pasta sauce brands in the U.S. The Rao family, which still runs its namesake restaurants in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles, began jarring its famous sauces in 1992, leading to a multi-billion-dollar deal with Campbell's in 2024. The secret to all that success? It's in the sauce of course. More specifically, it's in the ingredients, which are slow-cooked with sweet Italian plum tomatoes.

Italian plum tomatoes, or Roma tomatoes, are primarily grown in — you guessed it – Italy. The variety is known for its elongated, oval shape, which is typically about 3-4 inches long and 1-2 inches wide. Plum tomatoes contain less liquid and seeds than their rounder counterparts, making them ideal for sauces and pastes. They're also meatier and firmer, and they have thicker walls than beefsteak or heirloom tomatoes. They have a slightly grainy interior that's tangy, not too acidic, and naturally sweet. All of those flavors peak when the tomatoes are cooked down slowly, which is why Rao's chooses to use them.

Here's where things get slightly confusing. People often refer to all plum tomatoes as Romas, but the Roma, or Italian plum, is simply a type of plum tomato. San Marzano tomatoes, which are also known for their sauce-making capabilities, are another type of plum tomato, as are Big Mamas and Amish Pastes. So while similar, they're not entirely the same. Still with us? 

Romas are among the most common commercially produced plum tomatoes, and many of the canned tomato brands you'll find in stores use them. Contadina sauces are also made with Roma tomatoes, as are Delallo sauces. Other brands choose to use San Marzano tomatoes, while many, like Carbone's pasta sauces, don't list exactly which variety they cook with. 

You can tell when a sauce company uses good tomatoes, however, and Rao's is up there. We ranked 14 Rao's Homemade sauces and recently were blown away by the quality of each. If you want to make a quick tomato sauce or a special Italian Sunday sauce, Roma tomatoes are easy to get a hold of, but Rao's is always a great, authentic backup if you don't have time.