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An open jar of pasta sauce can make weeknight dinners easier, but how long can you safely keep it in the refrigerator? While it might be tempting to save the rest of a jar for next week’s pasta night, food safety experts recommend using opened commercial pasta sauce much sooner.
Once opened, jarred pasta sauce should generally be used within about four days when refrigerated at 40°F or below, according to Dr. Darin Detwiler, a food safety expert, author, and professor emeritus of food policy at Northeastern University.
“An opened jar is no longer a sealed, shelf-stable product,” Dr. Detwiler explains. “Each use can introduce microorganisms from air, utensils, hands, or food contact. Refrigeration slows growth, but it does not stop it.”
Tomato-based sauces may be more forgiving because of their acidity, especially compared with lower-acid dairy-based sauces. However, that doesn’t mean they can be stored indefinitely. Refrigerate all opened sauces, and follow the recommended storage timeframe.
Signs your pasta sauce has gone bad
Before using leftover sauce, check for signs of spoilage, including mold, bubbling, gas pressure, a swollen lid, a sour or fermented odor, sliminess, discoloration or visible yeast growth. Separation, especially when accompanied by an unusual smell, can also indicate a problem.
However, don’t rely on appearance or smell alone to determine whether your sauce is safe to eat. As Dr. Detwiler warns, “’Looks fine’ is not a reliable food safety control.”
Some harmful bacteria don’t produce noticeable changes in a food’s appearance, smell or texture. That means a jar of sauce can look and smell normal and still be unsafe if it’s been refrigerated longer than the recommended timeframe. Never taste sauce to check whether it’s spoiled. When in doubt, throw it out.
How to store open pasta sauce safely
To keep your pasta sauce fresh as long as possible, refrigerate it promptly after use and keep the lid tightly closed. Always use a clean spoon to scoop out what you need, and avoid dipping cooked pasta directly into the jar, which can introduce additional microorganisms.
It also helps to label the jar with the date you opened it so you can track how long it’s been in the refrigerator. For more consistent cooling, store the sauce in the coldest part of the fridge rather than in the door, where temperatures can fluctuate.
Proper storage can reduce the risk of contamination, but it can’t make opened pasta sauce last forever. Stick to the four-day guideline, and toss any sauce past the recommended window, even if it looks fine.
