Ever wondered how to make pizza sauce from scratch? Homemade pizza sauce is actually very easy to make, and the taste is far superior to anything you can buy in a jar. Follow my tips and I promise you will end up with the best pizza sauce you have ever tasted.
Total Time Investment: 28 Minutes
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Friday pizza nights are fast becoming a thing in our house. With a bucket of bread dough in the fridge, and a jar of the absolute best pizza sauce (in my not so very humble opinion) in the fridge, we can have dinner on the table in far less time than it takes to order a pizza and go pick it up. And now that Mr Grumpy has mastered his new BBQ, the quality of the pizzas we make at home is far superior to those from our local take-away.
I’ve tried many different commercial pizza sauces over the years, and have never been really happy with any of them. So now I just make my own. It is cheaper, so simple to make, and tastes far better than anything I can buy in a jar.
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I normally use a bottle of my homemade tomato sauce (passata) as the base for my easy pizza sauce. In a pinch I have pressed a a can of chopped tomatoes into service, although I have found that the sauce takes slightly longer to cook down to a spreadable consistency. Canned tomatoes still make a great sauce, so see my tips below if this is all you have on hand.
Keep the herbs and spices to a minimum, so as not to overpower any toppings on the pizza. I only use garlic, oregano, salt and pepper, with just a sprinkle of sugar to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes. The sugar is entirely optional, so leave it out if you prefer. If I make the sauce in summer, when basil is in season, I will stir through a handful of freshly chopped basil right at the end. I leave the basil out in winter as it is harder to get hold of.
The real delight in making your own pizza sauce is that you control the thickness of your sauce. If you like a thinner consistency, then simmer the pizza sauce for a shorter period of time. To make the pizza sauce thicker, just reduce the sauce for a little longer until your preferred consistency is reached.
The Best Pizza Sauce – How To Get Ahead
Once cooked, homemade pizza sauce will last for up to a week in the fridge. The reduction of water in the sauce, and the higher acidity of the tomatoes, increases the storage time. This means you can easily make the sauce on Sunday for a planned pizza night the following Friday.
The sauce also freezes extremely well, so I routinely make larger batches and stock the freezer for the future. I like to freeze the pizza sauce in one cup portions for a family pizza night, and I also use ice cube trays for individual stovetop pizzas through the week.
And lastly, if you ever find yourself without any pizza sauce, and no time to make some, then you can just spread a thin layer of tomato sauce (passata) straight out of the bottle over the base of your pizza before you add your toppings. I have personally resorted to this strategy many times, so can attest that it still makes a great pizza.
Ingredient Substitutions for The Best Pizza Sauce
Tomato sauce is known by many names, depending on where in the world you live. As far as I can determine, tomato sauce, tomato puree and tomato passata are all the same thing, and are the best base for pizza sauce. And by tomato sauce, I do not mean the sweet/sour sauce that Australians put on chips (for some inexplicable reason), and that is known as tomato ketchup in other parts of the world.
Tomatoes are the key ingredient in any pizza sauce, but don’t let the lack of tomato sauce prevent you from making your own. I have made pizza sauce with tins of chopped tomatoes, and with chopped fresh tomatoes. I have also used tomato sauce with the herbs and spices already added in a pinch.
If fresh or tinned tomatoes are all that you have on hand, you have two options:
- puree the tomatoes, then proceed with the recipe below, or
- use the chopped tomatoes, adding a little water to the fry pan as well. The tomatoes will take a little longer to cook down but will still make a great sauce.
You could use a small amount of garlic powder in place of the fresh garlic. I haven’t tried this myself as I always have fresh garlic on hand, but can see no reason why this wouldn’t work.
Use dried marjoram or dried basil (or both) in place of the oregano. Chopped fresh parsley can be added to the sauce if you have it on hand.
Using The Best Pizza Sauce
Pizza is the obvious use for your freshly made sauce. Whip up a batch of homemade frozen pizzas or a quick stovetop pizza for lunch.
And whilst pizza is the obvious choice for using your pizza sauce, don’t just stop there. Use it to bring a little pizza flavour to many other dishes. Why not try:
- Margherita Pizza Scrolls
- Wholewheat Pizza Braid
- Pepperoni Pizza Dip
- Meat Lover’s Spaghetti Squash Pizza Casserole
- Pizza Fries
The Best Pizza Sauce – Frequently Asked Questions
Is pizza sauce and spaghetti sauce the same thing? No, they are different sauces. Pizza sauce is typically a thick tomato sauce, seasoned with herbs and garlic, that is only lightly cooked. Spaghetti sauce typically contains onions, and sometimes other vegetables, and is cooked for longer periods. Spaghetti sauce can be used on pizza though, in a pinch.
What can you add to pizza sauce? You can add almost anything you want to pizza sauce, but I would adhere to the old adage of less is more. If you like things spicy, add some chili pepper or chipotle powder. Keep your seasonings for the pizza itself rather than trying to add to many things to the pizza sauce.
Can you use pizza sauce for pasta? Absolutely, although I would thin the sauce slightly with a little of the pasta cooking water to ensure that the pizza sauce will coat the pasta properly.
How do you make pizza sauce from scratch? Just follow my delicious recipe below.
How long does pizza sauce last? Homemade pizza sauce will last for up to a week in the fridge, and can be frozen for up to three months.
One year ago: Mini Vegan Pavlovas
Two years ago: Coconut Macadamia Granola
Three years ago: Roasted Beetroot Salad with Goats Cheese & Walnuts
Made this recipe? Tell me how it went in the comments below.
And if you loved it, please don’t forget to rate it.
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The Best Pizza Sauce
Ingredients
- 40 ml (2 Tablespoons) olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 750 ml (3 cups) tomato sauce*
- 1 scant teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon sugar optional
- Handful of fresh basil, chopped optional
- Salt & pepper
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a medium fry pan. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Do not allow it to colour.
- Add the tomato sauce, oregano and sugar.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Bring the sauce to the boil, then reduce the heat to low. The sauce should be simmering gently.
- Simmer for about 25 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened to your preferred consistency.
- Remove from the fry pan from the heat. Stir in the chopped basil if using.
- The sauce can be used immediately, or allow to cool then refrigerate or freeze until required.
Notes
Nutrition
Update notes: This post was updated on 16th May 2018 to include frequently asked questions and to add minor changes to the text.
Could this recipe be canned instead I found frozen? I just gave 4 stars because the recipesounds wonderful but I haven’t it yet
Funny you should ask that question Laura. I was actually just thinking the other day that I should make a huge batch and can it as we use it almost every week, and I regularly run out.
I can’t see any problems canning it. I can my slow cooked pasta sauce with no issues, and this is just a lighter version of that really.
Thank you for the quick reply. I normally can much of my garden produce but this summer I also plan to stock my shelves with much of the other foods I am buying repeatedly through the winter, my family makes homemade pizza at least twice a month so this recipe with be perfect!
I used to can quite a lot of plain produce Laura, but have discovered that it takes the pressure off me in the long run if I just turn the produce immediately into things we can use. So I can large batches of pasta sauce, and will do the pizza sauce, and have started to can my own black beans and chickpeas. I’ve also started making up more sauces and chutneys as we use them a lot on sandwiches and burgers. I do still can lots of plain tomatoes though as they are useful for so many things. Enjoy the sauce!
Please can I blend fresh tomatoes after that cook as required. And the pepper and salt how many spoons is needed thank u
You can use fresh tomatoes in the recipe Owusu, however just be aware that this will substantially increase the cook time. You could then blend the sauce, however I probably wouldn’t bother as the tomatoes should break down with the long cook time.
As to the amount of salt & pepper to use, I find the amount required is very personal, so I just add enough to make it taste good 😀 You could start with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and add more if you feel it necessary.
How long will this last in the fridge? Trying to decide if I’ll need to freeze it or not😊
I’ve kept it in the fridge for up to a week before Ashley. The acidity of the tomatoes helps with preservation, but any longer than that and I would definitely freeze it.