In kitchens across the country, the shift toward cleaner, more intentional cooking continues to gain momentum. Shoppers are reading labels more closely, seeking out simple ingredients, and looking for ways to recreate restaurant-quality meals at home. For Grimaldi’s Pizzeria, a brand long associated with coal-fired, Brooklyn-style pizza, that shift presented an opportunity not to reinvent, but to return to its roots.
Now, for the first time, Grimaldi’s is bringing its signature flavors beyond the restaurant table with a line of take-home pasta sauces inspired by more than a century of tradition.
FROM ITALY TO THE HOME KITCHEN
The move began not in a test kitchen, but in Italy. In 2023, CEO Joseph Ciolli traveled with his son and the company’s food purveyors to visit the farms where Grimaldi’s sources its tomatoes and olive oil. The experience sparked something deeper than product development.
“While visiting where our tomatoes and olive oil come from, I was inspired to share some of our century-old recipe secrets with the world,” Ciolli says. “We realized we could bring the flavors from our restaurants to home kitchens across the U.S.”
What followed was a careful process rooted in both heritage and modern expectations. Rather than simply bottle an existing recipe, Grimaldi’s chefs focused on refining sauces that reflect the brand’s commitment to quality, while also aligning with today’s demand for transparency and health-conscious ingredients.
Made with Italian tomatoes and extra virgin olive oil, Grimaldi’s sauces reflect a focus on clean, intentional cooking.
The result is a trio of sauces – marinara, tomato basil, and arrabbiata – crafted with Italian tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, fresh onion, garlic, and a short list of recognizable spices. Each is gluten-free, dairy-free, certified kosher, non-GMO, and made without soy or canola oils, with no added preservatives.
“Our goal was to create the cleanest and best pasta sauce, matching the unparalleled flavor of our pizza sauce,” Ciolli says. “These clean, fresh ingredients elevate the flavors and enhance any recipe made with them.”
That balance between simplicity and depth is where the brand’s legacy shows up most clearly. Grimaldi’s pizza sauce is crafted from a recipe handed down through generations of Italian-Americans who helped define authentic Brooklyn-style pizza more than 100 years ago. That same philosophy carries through in the sauces, which are designed to meet the same standard found in the brand’s coal-fired kitchens.
DESIGNED FOR EVERYDAY COOKING
Each variety offers a distinct experience in the kitchen. The marinara is rich and straightforward, ideal for classic dishes like eggplant parmesan or baked pasta. The tomato basil brings a brighter, herb-forward profile, with fresh basil echoing the signature finish found on Grimaldi’s pizzas and complementing dishes from fettuccine to chicken parmesan.
The arrabbiata rounds out the lineup with heat, reflecting a growing appetite for bold, spicy flavors. Built on garlic, crushed red chili peppers, and olive oil, it adds depth to dishes like sausage and peppers or serves as a lively alternative to traditional red sauce.
While the sauces are designed to elevate everyday cooking, they also reflect a broader shift in how people think about convenience. Increasingly, home cooks are looking for products that save time without compromising on quality or nutrition.
“These sauces are crafted with the same level of care and attention to detail as the menu items in our pizzerias,” Ciolli says. “We’re excited to bring our traditions to our customers’ home-cooked meals.”
Beyond pasta and pizza, the sauces lend themselves to a range of uses. They can serve as a dipping sauce for everything from mozzarella sticks to fresh vegetables, a base for grain bowls, or a finishing touch for chicken and meat dishes.
At its core, the launch is about accessibility, bringing a long-standing culinary tradition into everyday routines.
In a food landscape often driven by trends, Grimaldi’s approach feels grounded. By focusing on ingredient integrity, heritage, and adaptability, the brand offers something increasingly valued by today’s home cook: food that is thoughtfully made and easy to bring to the table.
And in that way, a century-old recipe finds new life, one jar at a time.
