Can You Use Tomato Paste For Pizza
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.
What Ingredients Are Used In The Best Sauce Recipe
Pizzas original home is Naples, so why wouldnt we use the best pizza sauce recipe from there to make your pizza at home? Given that most of us dont live in Naples, I will share tips on how you can make the best pizza sauce in your homewithout stressing about following the rules to a T. According to the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, the best pizza sauce recipe includes, but is not limited, to the following:
- TOMATOES: you can use fresh tomatoes, however, for guaranteed quality and taste, try to get your hands on pomodoro pelato S.Marzano dellAgro Sarnese-Nocerino D.O.P. Dont be scared of that long name, youll recognize them as San Marzano tomatoes . These are simply the cream of the crop of the Greatest Tomatoes from Europe . Of course, you can use any good quality canned tomatoes for great results, including pomodorini like the photo of the can above. Be careful as to what you consider to be quality, so check the GTFE site to make sure.
- EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL: be sure to use a top quality oil
- CHEESE: grated hard cheese, like authentic Italian Parmigiano Reggiano.
- OREGANO: dried oregano is fine. Fresh herbs are not critical, except for the basil.
- BASIL: fresh basil is best.
- SALT: use a good quality sea salt.
Note: if you want to add hot pepper flakes to the sauce, you can, but in Italy, spicy pizza is called pizza alla diavola, and is topped with a spicy dry cured sausage, more like salami. Its actually one of my favorite pizzas!
How To Use Store
When it comes to jarred pizza sauce, the recipes we think of first are all for homemade pizzaand thats great! There are so many delicious homemade pizza recipes that you can make right now with this shortcut.
But dont feel like youve got to limit yourself to just pizza with this sauce. Use one of our Test Kitchen-Preferred brands to make a tasty casserole, stromboli or sloppy joes.
Don’t Miss: Rao’s Marinara Costco
What You Need To Make Homemade Pizza Sauce:
- Canned whole tomatoes: Ive made this recipe enough times now to have tested it with whole tomatoes, diced canned tomatoes, and pureed tomatoes, and though all three of these work, I still find the whole tomatoes to be the best choice for making pizza sauce at home.
- Olive oil: a generous splash not only helps flavor the sauce, but it also helps cook and bloom all of our aromatics and spices.
- Grated onions: You can grate the onions on a grater box, roughly chop and throw it into a food processor, or you can finely mince the onions for a heartier sauce. I use the food processor for minimum tears!
- Pressed garlic: I use a garlic press to help with this step. It takes seconds and the garlic really works into the sauce that way.
- Dried seasonings: My seasonings of choice are dried oregano, dried basil, and red pepper flakes. Sometimes Ill cut back on the dried oregano a bit, especially if Im topping the pizza with tons of toppings. However, this is your call.
- Sugar and salt: The salt and sugar help flavor the sauce. I find canned tomatoes to be on the acidic side, so the sugar helps tame it a bit. You could omit the sugar completely if this isnt something that bothers you.
The Most Convenientand Deliciousproducts To Top A Homemade Pizza
Our editors independently research, test, and recommend the bestproducts youcan learn more about ourreview process here.We may receive commissions on purchases made from our chosen links.
Before you reach for the jar of marinara sauce in your cabinet on pizza night, theres something you should know: Pizza sauce and pasta sauce are not the same thing. Sure, theyre closeand interchangeable in a pinchbut there is an inherent difference. Pizza sauce is essentially an uncooked tomato sauce pasta sauce is typically low-simmered to develop a deeper flavor. The lack of precooking ensures pizza sauce has a bright, tomato-forward taste. That said, you don’t need to rely on garden-fresh tomatoes for a killer pizza sauce. Today, there are plenty of no-fuss store-bought options that taste just as good.
Here are the best of the best pizza sauces you can buy.
You May Like: Rao’s At Costco
How To Make No Cook Pizza Sauce
For those looking for a homemade sauce that does not require cooking, you can reach for canned tomato paste. This option will yield a thicker sauce that can be adjusted with the addition of a little water. From there, you can easily proceed with garlic, herbs, and seasonings according to taste.
What you will end up with is a pizza sauce with a more cooked flavor and a concentrated tomato flavor.
Related Recipes
Making Pizza At Home After Testing 10 Brands Our Test Kitchen Found The Best Store
Taste of Home
Sure, everyone loves a good delivery pizza here and there, but making your own pizza at home is just way more satisfyingplus you can get the toppings just right.
To make your pizza nights really exceptional, you need quality ingredientsincluding mozzarella cheese, crust and sauce. Sauce from scratch is delicious, but you dont always have the time to stir up a batch of homemade . Thats when you reach for a jar or can of store-bought pizza sauce!
But do you know which sauce will really make your homemade pizzas good enough to rival your favorite pizza joint?
Read Also: What Alfredo Sauce Is Keto Friendly
Ideas To Use Pizza Sauce
If it just so happens that you find yourself with extra pizza sauce on your hands, there are a number of ways for you to utilize it. Here are a few suggestions:Use it to create a sauce for a baked pasta dish.Spread it over your roti/ chapati to make roti pizza.Use it for a dipping sauce for cheese sticks, bread sticks, or garlic bread.Freeze it to have on hand for the next time you are making pizza.
Easy Pizza Sauce Recipe
This sauce recipe is a homemade version of some of your favorite pizza sauce brands. Heres what youll love about it:
- simply seasoned with pantry staple seasonings
- tomato puree for intense tomato flavor
- add as much or as little water as youd like for a thin or thick sauce
- leave the sugar out if youd like to make it Whole30 and Paleo friendly
Recommended Reading: Texas Pete Hot Sauce Recipe
How To Freeze Pizza Sauce
Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe
This easy Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe is made in 5 minutes with 9 ingredients. It’s the best pizza sauce perfect for homemade pizza nights.
The morning before we go grocery shopping…while I sip my coffee and my kids finish their breakfast…I like to ask them what they want for dinner the next week. Without fail their first answer is always, “pizza!”
We love making pizza at home because it’s easy , fun and less expensive than delivery. This is our go-to easy homemade pizza sauce recipe. It takes five minutes to whip up and will make the best pizza you’ve ever had.
We’re from Chicago …so we’ve enjoyed some of the best pizza in the world. I remember, one evening after dining at a famous pizza restaurant, we got in the car and I asked my husband how he liked it. It turned out he was less than impressed. I thought my pizza-loving-husband had gone crazy!
His problem was with the sauce! “There was only a thin layer and it tasted just like tomatoes” was his personal opinion. He likes his pizza saucy and flavorful and that particular pie just didn’t cut it. Moral of the story: there’s no weak sauce allowed in our household. And this Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe ensures that!
Read Also: Raos Marinara Costco
Easiest Pizza Sauce Ever
Heres a bonus. What if you dont want to take 45 minutes to make a sauce. If you need a pizza sauce NOW?
This is the answer: Take a can of whole plum tomatoes and run them through the food processor until they are smooth. And thats it.
When I visited Chicago last year, we learned all about the best homemade pizza . And the recommended this trick for blending whole canned tomatoes for a quick sauce. I honestly loved it more than I thought I would. It gives such a rich, fresh taste to the pizza.
So while the recipe below is a great alternative to jarred pizza sauce from the store, the blended tomatoes serve as a quick substitute.
Pizza Sauce Recipe Ingredients
Only SIX ingredients to make this ! They are:
- Extra virgin olive oil: This type of olive oil has the most flavor but if standard olive oil is what youve got that will work too.
- Garlic: The fresh garlic used here adds so much flavor to the sauce. If you want a more mild garlic flavor you can reduce to 1 tsp.
- Tomato paste: A crucial ingredient. This adds a rich, concentrated tomato flavor and really thickens up the sauce.
- Canned crushed tomatoes: I highly recommend this option vs. tomato sauce. Ive done a side by side taste test and crushed tomatoes definitely won.
- Dried oregano: A key seasoning in pizza sauce, dont skip this herb.
- Fresh basil: Another highlight to this sauce. It really livens up the flavors.
- Salt and pepper: As always add this to taste, just be careful not to overdue it. Remember theres salt in the dough and toppings as well.
You May Like: Texas Pete Hot Sauce Recipe
How Is It Made
When making a fresh sauce, tomatoes can be prepared by removing the skins and seeds. This is a worthwhile step and is as simple as scoring the skins with a sharp knife and plunging them into a pot of boiling water for just a few seconds. A dip into an ice bath to cool them will help the skins slip off quite easily.
Next, cutting them in half will expose the seeds which are easily moved with a gentle squeeze to yield just the flesh which is what you are after. From there, you are all set to move forward with the process of preparing your sauce.
Alternately, a quicker fresh version is viable that involves pureeing fresh whole tomatoes. This method bypasses the peeling and seeding. By simply pureeing the tomatoes in a blender or food processor, you begin with a sauce that can be then cooked for a thicker consistency, depending on your desired outcome.
The benefit here is the fresh flavor of the tomatoes with greater ease and speed than the blanching method. This recipe uses this easier method.
Gemmas Pro Tips To Making Pizza Sauce
- If you dont have canned tomatoes, fresh tomatoes work just as well! Drop fresh tomatoes in boiling water for a few seconds then transfer to an ice bath to loosen the skin. Chop the tomatoes or crush with your hands. Since they have a lot of moisture, be sure to strain the liquid out through a sieve.
- Not heating the ingredients gives the sauce a fresher flavor. Go from the blender to the top of your pizza dough.
- Use a ladle to spread the sauce on your dough, ensuring that you dont press down on the dough itself.
- For an added boost of umami flavor, add a filet of anchovy! It will be blended throughout the sauce and those who think they dont like anchovies will be none the wiser.
- Salt to taste!
Recommended Reading: Where To Buy Rao Sauce
The Best Pizza Sauce Recipe
Lets talk about the best pizza sauce recipe. To achieve a yummy tasting pie, you need firstly, a tasty pizza doughand secondly a well-seasoned, delicious sauce. If the sauce is bland, well, guess what, the pizza wont be scrumptious either.
There are two types of pizza sauce:
1) the uncooked sauce which is the easiest and quickest one to prepare.
2) the cooked sauce which requires a little bit more preparation and cooking time. But the result is worth your effort!
Best Ever Pizza Sauce
Best EVER Pizza Sauce | Real Housemoms
Last week I shared the easiest and yummiest homemade pizza dough with you and promised to share this equally delicious pizza sauce with you this week and I will always keep my promises sooooo here it is. Ive done the spaghetti sauce on the pizza dough before but it never tastes like my favorite pizza from up the street. I went on a search of Pinterest and found this recipe posted on Food.com. I had to try it because the person that posted it said it was given to them as a wedding gift. You know it HAS to be good if someone gives it as a wedding gift, right? Let me tell you that I wasnt disappointed. It was soooo good. I was just tasting it with a spoon as it cooked and loved it. I ended up making the Easy Peasey Pizza Dough Bread Sticks from last week so that I could dip them in this sauce. It would be perfect for more than just pizza too. You could use it for your calzones or meatball subs or bread sticks like me.
You May Like: Texas Pete Hot Sauce Recipe
Can You Swap Out Canned Tomatoes For Fresh Ones
That would work. In the summertime when tomatoes are at their best, I like to use fresh Roma tomatoes for this recipe. Youll need about 1 ½ 1 ¾ pound of tomatoes. To prep, the tomatoes, score an x on the bottom of each tomato using a sharp paring knife. Add the tomato to a pot of boiling water and allow them to boil for 1-2 minutes. Remove the tomatoes carefully and place them on a plate or in a bowl. Allow them to cool. Then, peel the skin away from the tomatoes. Once thats done, you can follow the recipe as listed.
How To Crush Fennel Seeds
Crushing the fennel seeds has two purposes. ONE, it releases their oil…and hence, their flavor. And TWO, who wants to bite into a whole fennel seed? The crushed bits blend much more smoothly into a sauce.
As far as how to crush your fennel seeds, there are various options.
- You could of course whiz them up in a spice grinder, should you be lucky enough to own one of those. A clean coffee grinder would also work.
- Using a mortar and pestle is typically my preferred method. Alas, when I unpacked my kitchen boxes after our last move, I located my mortar…but the matching pestle was nowhere to be found. *adds to Amazon list*
- So instead, I’ve been resorting to a good ol’ fashioned method knows as bashing the seeds instead.
Simply put your fennel seeds into a small zip-top baggie and then gently pound and mash them with the flat side of a meat mallet…or a rolling pin…or just about any other solid, heavy kitchen accoutrement you can find.
Ta-daaaaa! Crushed fennel seeds.
Recommended Reading: Texas Pete Hot Wing Sauce Recipe
How To Make Homemade Pizza Sauce
This sauce is so easy to throw together and cook on the stovetop!
Do I need to cook the sauce?
Yes. Cooking the sauce helps the tomatoes to develop their flavor to their full potential and creates an almost roasted taste that you otherwise wouldnt get.
Can I freeze pizza sauce?
Yes! This pizza sauce freezes so well. Store in an airtight container in the freezer and simply thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
Can I make pizza sauce ahead of time?
Sure! This pizza sauce can be made up to 5 days ahead of time. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container until ready to use.
If you make this recipe, Id LOVE to know what you think below! I would so appreciate you leaving a star rating and/or comment. Also, please dont forget to share a photo of your delicious finished recipe on or and give me a tag so I can see!
Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe
A DIY recipe thats perfect for busy days! This quick and easy pizza sauce from scratch is made of basic ingredients, most all of which you likely already have on hand.
And no waiting hours for a sauce to simmer here. Instead we add tomato paste to thicken it up.
The best kind of recipe right? Im all about simplifying things when possible for easy weeknight dinners.
This sauce is naturally vegan, has has intense tomato flavor, its deliciously seasoned with fresh garlic, and it has the best Italian herb taste.
It also has a great consistency because to me that is key to a perfect pizza sauce. I want the sauce to still exist once the pizza is done baking rather than all of it being absorbed into the crust.
Whats not to love here? Its a delicious recipe youll have on repeat!
Recommended Reading: Texas Pete Hot Sauce Recipe
