How To Make Homemade Pizza Sauce

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Can I Use Fresh Tomatoes

Pizza Sauce Recipe – Chef John’s Secret Pizza Sauce Recipe

I have only made pizza sauce from tomato sauce and never from fresh tomatoes. If going the fresh tomato route, youll likely you may need to cook them first, then puree them, and add sufficient salt.

If youre one of those people who has a garden full of fresh tomatoes annually, it may be worth your while to experiment and see how they work.

Ingredients For Easy Pizza Sauce

Chances are, if you have some tomato paste on hand, you have everything else needed to make this tasty sauce! It uses so many pantry staple ingredients and spices. Just another reason why I love this recipe so much! It uses the simplest ingredients, but the flavor is anything but simple! Youre going to love the complex sweet, savory, garlicky flavors in each bite of pizza. All individual ingredients can be found in the recipe card below.

  • Olive Oil: Used for adding moisture and binding ingredients together.
  • Minced Garlic: Garlic is going to add the perfect savory flavor to your sauce!
  • Tomato Paste and Tomato Sauce: A blend of both tomato paste and tomato sauce is what is going to give your sauce its perfect texture. If you dont add tomato paste, your sauce will make your pizza soggy.
  • Italian Seasoning: This is my personal blend of basil, oregano, rosemary, marjoram, and thyme. You can customize the flavors to your liking!
  • Sugar: Granulated sugar is going to balance he flavors of your sauce.
  • Salt: Used to enhance overall flavor!
  • Paprika: Adds a mild spice to your sauce.
  • Pepper: For a hint of sharp, earthy spice.
  • Crushed Red Pepper: A pinch of crushed red pepper adds the perfect amount of heat!

How To Make Pizza Sauce

I promise it is easy! You can make it in the amount of time it takes your pizza dough to rise 20 minutes .

Start by sautéing some onions in olive oil. If you are feeling too lazy for onions Then just start with the garlic. Make sure you dont burn or even brown the garlic.

Add the spices: oregano, basil, garlic powder, salt, crushed red pepper. Toss in some dried minced onions if you skipped fresh onions.

Add the tomato paste to the garlic and spices and swirl it around to heat it up. Just as were toasting the spices first, heating up the tomato paste brings out its beautiful tomato-y flavor!

Next add in the whole tomatoes! Or use crushed tomatoes if you must.

Use a wooden spoon to break up the tomatoes as much as you can. Bring the mixture to a simmer and let bubble for 5 minutes or up to 30 minutes! The longer the better, to give the flavors a chance to meld.

After several minutes of simmering, give the sauce a taste and decide if you want to add any sugar. This ingredient is optional! Every can of tomatoes is different, some are going to be sweeter than others naturally. If you taste it and notice an acidic or bitter aftertaste, add in a half teaspoon sugar to offset that flavor. Dont go crazy. Pizza sauce should not be sweet. Usually 1/2 teaspoon or up to 1 and 1/2 teaspoons will do ya.

Now for some FAQ: these are some of the most common questions people look up about pizza sauce.

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How To Make Pizza Sauce From Scratch:

  • Break down the tomatoes: Using your hands squish the tomatoes in a bowl, or use kitchen shears to break down the tomatoes into smaller pieces. You could also just use an immersion blender and just pulse it so the tomatoes are smaller.
  • Cook the aromatics: In a saucepan over medium heat, add the grated onions, and the dried seasonings. Allow the oil to cook the onions for around 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently so nothing sticks or burns. Then, add the garlic and continue to cook for another 30 seconds.
  • Simmer the sauce: Add the tomatoes along with the sugar and salt and allow the sauce to come to a simmer, then lower the heat and allow for it to cook for 30 minutes. You can taste the sauce and adjust with additional seasoning or salt as desired. You could also simmer the sauce for longer should you find it needs to be a little more concentrated for your taste.
  • Tips For The Best Pizza Sauce

    How to Make Homemade Pizza Sauce
    • Dont skip the brief saute for the garlic. This removes the harsh bite, which would otherwise overpower the sauce. On the other hand dont brown it or it will taste bitter!
    • Also saute the tomato paste to help rid it of that tin-like flavor. This also helps add a deeper tone to it, somewhat of a caramelization.
    • Use fresh basil and fresh garlic for best flavor.

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    How To Make Homemade Pizza Sauce With Step By Step Photo Recipe:

  • firstly, slit x on bottom of tomatoes. this helps to peel the skin of tomatoes easily once blanched.
  • furthermore, add 6 tomatoes into boiling water and blanch.
  • close the vessel and boil for 3-4 minutes or till the skin starts to leave from tomatoes.
  • further, peel the skin of tomatoes once they cooled completely.
  • then take 3 peeled tomatoes and blend to smooth purees.
  • chop other 3 tomatoes discarding the seeds.
  • transfer to the plate and keep aside.
  • furthermore, heat oil in a non stick tawa or heavy bottomed pan.
  • add chopped garlic and saute till they turn slightly golden brown.
  • further, saute chopped onions till they change colour.
  • then add 3 chopped deseeded tomatoes and cook completely.
  • mash in between so that it turns mushy soon.
  • also add prepared tomato puree .
  • mix well and add basil, sugar, chilli powder, oregano, chilli flakes and salt.
  • mix well and get the sauce to a boil.
  • further, cover and simmer the sauce for atleast 5 minutes or till the sauce turns thick.
  • also add tomato sauce. this helps to enhance the flavour of pizza sauce.
  • then add butter to make pizza sauce more silky and tasty.
  • finally, mix well and pizza sauce is ready to prepare pizzas or pastas.
  • Can I Freeze Pizza Sauce

    Yes, you can! The no cook pizza sauce recipe makes about 2 1/2 cups, which will likely cover about two 12-inch pizzas, depending on how saucy you like your pizza.

    Homemade pizza sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or2 months in the freezer.

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    Tips For Making Homemade Pizza

    You need the best homemade pizza crust and the best pizza sauce recipe. Make your homemade pizza crust, top it with this easy homemade pizza sauce and then add on your toppings.

    Spread the sauce evenly and generously. You want to be able to taste the rich tomato flavors of the sauce with every bite you take of the pizza.

    Allow the pizza to cool for 5-10 minutes after baking. Pizza comes out of the oven hot, so it is important to let it cool enough that you do not burn your mouth.

    Can You Use Pasta Sauce For Pizza

    2 Minute Homemade Pizza Sauce

    No, I dont recommend it. Though marinara sauce and pizza sauce are both tomato based the two sauces actually have a few main differences:

    • One of the main differences is the consistency of the sauces. Marinara sauce or spaghetti sauce is thinner while pizza sauce is generally thicker .
    • Pizza sauce usually includes an oregano based flavor whereas spaghetti sauce has more of a basil seasoned flavor.

    Read Also: Rao’s Marinara Sauce Recipe

    Storing And Freezing Instructions

    Store pizza sauce in the refrigerator, in a glass jar with an air-tight lid. In the refrigerator, pizza sauce will last up to 2 weeks. Make sure to use a clean spoon each time you remove sauce from the jar.

    Freezing:

    Portion blended pizza sauce into zip-top freezer bags. Try to get as much air out as you can, seal, and label the bags. Freeze pizza sauce for up to 3 months.

    To use, simply pull a bag out of the freezer and place it into the refrigerator to thaw overnight.

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    Why This Recipe Works

    This pizza sauce recipe is made from simple, fresh ingredients. Using fresh ingredients improves the sauces taste and flavor, making it easily beat any store-bought sauce hands down.

    You can easily adjust the chunkiness or smoothness in the sauce according to your taste.

    For a chunkier version, I stop pureeing the tomatoes sooner, when there are still some bits of tomato left. For a smooth version, I chop the tomatoes finely first and then puree them very well.

    Since the method and recipe is easy, you can also feel free to adjust the quantity of herbs as per your choice.

    This pizza sauce recipe works well for 8 medium-sized pizzas. If you are making more pizzas, the sauce recipe can easily be doubled.

    If you do not use all of the sauce right away, simply store it in a bowl or a jar in the refrigerator and use within the next 10 to 15 days.

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    Tips On Making Homemade Pizza

    You are in luck. I have a whole post dedicated to Pizza Dough to get you that killer crust! And another entire post about how to put it all together to make the best Homemade Pizza. You will learn all my tips and tricks for making incredible pizza at home, with no fancy ingredients or tools required. But in a nutshell:

    • use homemade dough
    • let the dough rise for as much time as possible
    • cook your pizza at the highest temperature your oven will go to. Be prepared with towels to wave at your smoke alarm if necessary. ITS WORTH IT.
    • get a decent pizza stone. This investment really is worth it if you want a great crust. But a baking sheet will work too.

    Can You Use Tomato Paste For Pizza

    How to Make Homemade Pizza Sauce

    Im gonna go with a hard no on this one my friends. Have you tasted the stuff?? Its super concentrated. Its made of tomatoes that have been cooked, strained, and cooked again to remove all the liquid. It is meant to be used as a flavorful thickener, like for adding to soup or sauce. Its a great ingredient in pizza sauce to bring a richer, thicker texture. But no, you really should not slather it straight up on your pizza dough. Dont be like that.

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    The Best Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe

    Homemade pizzas have become a weekly tradition in our house, especially in the summer when we can cook it on the grill or smoker so good!! We love setting out the sauce and toppings so that everyone in the family can make their own individual pizza the way they like it . It is definitely the kids favorite meal of the week and so much fun!

    Also, just to be clear, this is a recipe for pizza sauce, not . Those are two different things but the question does come up a lot!

    Can I Use Tomato Sauce

    While it is possible to use tomato sauce the flavor isnt as good as crushed tomatoes. So I do recommend sticking with the canned crushed tomatoes.

    If you cant find the standard size can of crushed tomatoes you can just measure out 1 3/4 cups from a larger can the reserve the rest for another recipe in the fridge or freezer .

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    A Few Tips For The Best Pizza Sauce

  • Use a large, wide skillet instead of a saucepan. A skillet has more surface area, which lets extra water evaporate from the sauce more quickly – meaning your sauce will be ready faster!
  • Cook your sauce until it’s quite thick – almost like tomato paste. If your pizza sauce is too runny, it will make the crust soggy, form pools of liquid at the center of the pie, and turn your pizza into a floppy mess For best results, use a very thick sauce on your homemade pizza. If you’d like to make this sauce thicker , add a few Tablespoons of tomato paste!
  • Use high-quality tomatoes. Use good canned tomatoes here for the best flavor. We usually grab the Cento brand they use very ripe tomatoes and have a BPA-free can lining. You can also check out this list of the best chef-approved canned tomato brands!
  • Taste your sauce and adjust as you go! Tomatoes are typically very acidic and can vary by brand and season, so it’s important to taste and season your sauce! Let the sauce simmer and give it a taste when it looks almost done. If the flavors don’t quite “pop” yet, add a pinch of salt. If the sauce is too acidic, add ½ teaspoon of honey, sugar, or brown sugar to cut the acidity.
  • How To Make Bbq Chicken French Bread Pizza

    How to Make Pizza Sauce | Awesome Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe

    Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

    Cut your loaf of french bread in half and then cut each half lengthwise. You will have 4 large pieces of bread.

    Place bread on a baking sheet and then use a spoon to spread BBQ sauce evenly over each piece of bread.

    Next top each piece with cheddar cheese

    The shredded chicken and red onion

    And mozzarella cheese on top.

    Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is melted and starting to bubble.

    Top with fresh chives, cut into slices and serve the pizza warm.

    How easy was that? Enjoy your pizza!

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    Should Homemade Pizza Sauce Be Cooked

    It doesnt HAVE to be cooked before you use it, but we definitely recommend cooking it for a bit. A quick sauté for the onion and garlic helps to break them down and bring out their flavor, plus simmering the whole sauce for a few minutes helps to cook off some liquid, resulting in a thicker sauce, and it really amps up all the flavors in the sauce overall.

    Make A Big Batch Of Your Homemade Sauce Now And Can It For Later With These Tips

    Andrea Beck spent more than three years writing about food for Better Homes & Gardens before serving as the assistant digital garden editor. Now, she writes about lifestyle topics, including food, garden, home, and health for Hy-Vee’s Seasons magazine. Her work has appeared on Food & Wine, Martha Stewart, MyRecipes, and more. Andrea holds a double degree in magazines and English, with a minor in politics from Drake University.

    Making and canning homemade tomato sauce now = saving yourself tons of time later! Plus, when you can tomato sauce in advance, you can take advantage of fresh garden tomatoes and make your sauce even more scrumptious than usual. We’ll show you how to make canned tomato sauce with our basic tomato sauce recipe and share some tips for canning other tomato-based sauces . One taste and you’ll be hooked on homemade!

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    More Ways To Use Pizza Sauce

    In addition to pizza, the sauce also works well with pasta. Just toss some cooked pasta, along with some steamed or sautéed veggies, in the sauce. Then top with some cheese and bake or grill the pasta till until the cheese melts.

    Make pizza toasts, pizza loaves, calzone, pizza puffs and grilled sandwiches with this pizza sauce recipe.

    Can I Use The Sauce Right Away Without Letting It Rest

    Homemade Pizza Sauce

    Well, you could, but I wouldnt recommend it. It really is worth the wait. By waiting, it gives the seasonings time to blend together for the most robust flavors. If you are not using the sauce after 1-2 hours, store it in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to 5 days. It makes 1 2/3 cups of sauce.

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    How To Make Homemade Pizza Sauce

    • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh oregano leaves
    • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
    • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
    • 1 can whole peeled tomatoes , crushed
    • 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
    • 1 small pinch baking soda
    • Step 1

      Heat olive oil over medium-low heat in a saucepan stir anchovy fillets into olive oil and cook, stirring often, until the fillets begin to sizzle, about 1 minute. Mix garlic into oil and cook just until fragrant, 1 minute more. Add fresh oregano and reduce heat to low cook until oregano is wilted, 2 or 3 more minutes.

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    • Step 2

      Mix red pepper flakes, dried oregano, and tomatoes into olive oil mixture. Bring sauce to a simmer and season with salt, sugar, and black pepper. Turn heat to low simmer sauce until thickened and oil rises to the top, 35 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

    • Step 3

      Stir baking soda into pizza sauce, mixing until thoroughly combined.

    A Blend Of Fats Builds Flavor

    Most pizza sauces start with a base of extra-virgin olive oil, which is fine, but there’s a better option. Is there anyone in the food world who has yet to hear about Marcella Hazan’s amazingly simple and delicious tomato sauce with onion and butter? Made by simply simmering tomatoes, butter, and a couple of onion halves , it produces an exceptionally smooth, complex, and delicious sauce.

    French chefs have known for years that adding butter to a sauce can help round off the rough edges and give it a richer, fuller mouthfeel. This pizza sauce is no exception. Simply replacing one of the two tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil I was using with unsalted butter added sweetness, complexity, and smoothness to my sauce without creating any extra work.

    I also decided to use Marcella’s onion trick, further upping the sweetness.

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