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How to make a homemade pizza sauce recipe that’s sure to make pizzas taste so much better! This sauce is quick and easy to make, freezes well, and has zero mystery ingredients!
Say hello to a nice and thick homemade pizza sauce.
It’s warm, hearty, and is the perfect sauce to use on homemade pizzas.
Making homemade pizza sauce isn’t difficult and it doesn’t have to be time-consuming either.
My recipe makes a large batch that you could use on 3-4 pizza crusts depending on your sauce preference. Keep in mind though that it all depends on how long you simmer the sauce. The longer you simmer the tomato sauce, the more concentrated it’ll be.
It also uses mostly pantry staples so you can make it in no time!
Marzia, as a chef for 15 years, I have to tell you, this is the sauce I’m gonna use moving forward. Nicely done dear!
This Homemade pizza sauce recipe is…
- Vegan-friendly
- Gluten-free
- the best pizza sauce
- Ready in around 30 minutes
What you need to make this easy pizza sauce recipe:
- Canned whole tomatoes: I’ve made this recipe enough times now to have tested it with whole tomatoes, diced canned tomatoes, and pureed tomatoes. Though all three work, I still find the whole tomatoes to be the best choice for making pizza sauce at home. Start by crushing San Marzano tomatoes and making my own ‘crushed tomatoes.’
- Olive oil: a generous splash not only helps flavor the sauce but 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 I’ll cut back on the dried oregano a bit, especially if I’m topping the pizza with tons of toppings. However, this is your call. You can also add a tiny pinch of dried marjoram if you’d like!
- 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 isn’t something that bothers you.
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.
FAQs about this recipe
Yes. You can keep the sauce in the refrigerator for about a week, and it lasts for 3 months in the freezer.
Yes. I like to use fresh Roma tomatoes for this recipe. You’ll need about 1½ – 1¾ pounds 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. Then peel the skin and crush.
Ways to use homemade pizza sauce:
- On freshly made lazy no knead pizza dough
- On my traditional homemade pizza dough
- As a sauce for my cheesy garlic pull-apart bread
- On my Detroit-style pizza (a family fave!)
- As a sauce for my pull-apart garlic roll wreath
Other homemade sauces to make and try:
- Homemade pesto
- All-purpose meat sauce
- Arrabbiata sauce
- 2-minute Caesar salad dressing
- Homemade Nutella
The Best Homemade Pizza Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ cup grated onions or finely minced
- ½ – ¾ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ – ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes depending on heat preference
- 3 cloves garlic pressed
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- TOMATOES: Pour the tomatoes into a large bowl and using your hands, kitchen shears, or an immersion blender, break the tomatoes down so that they’re chunky but not completely liquid.
- AROMATICS: In a medium saucepan placed over medium heat, heat the olive oil, grated onions, oregano, basil, and red pepper flakes. Allow them to cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently so nothing sticks or burns. Add garlic and continue to cook for another 30 seconds to a minute.
- SIMMER: Add the prepared tomatoes along with the sugar and salt. Let the sauce reach a simmer, then lower the heat to medium-low and allow the sauce to simmer for 30 minutes. Taste and adjust with additional seasonings as desired. If you like a more concentrated tomato flavor you can continue to simmer the sauce for up to 15 more minutes. Ue the sauce for pizzas immediately or allow to come to room temperature before storing in containers.
Notes
- Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
Made this recipe, without onions (allergy) using canned San Marzano tomatoes – simple and easy, made an amazing improvement in my homemade pizza. really brought out fresh flavor and without the harsh acidity or paste taste. well worth the time!
Do you have the nutritional information for this recipe? It tastes delicious.
This really is a great recipe. Pretty much my go to for homemade pizzas.
Just made the pizza sauce. Really easy and delicious. Thank you!
Looks yummy,will be making it soon. Thank you!
SO SCRUMPTIOUS! I’ve actually used this recipe for pasta and lasagna, too. And one case I added meet and not for the other. Everyone raved! Point being it’s not just for pizza sauce.
In your opinion would fresh basil improve this recipe?
I’ve always made the dough from scratch. This is the 1st time making the sauce….all I heard was complements….the sauce is so good…from 6 different people.
Put everything in the food processor to make it silky smooth, but decreased the garlic by one clove, as hubby isn’t a fan .. lol .. the local Amish-grown garlic is powerful! I used our own garden onions and canned Unico Diced Tomatoes, it came out lovely. Thank you.
I made this last night–my first attempt ever at pizza sauce–and it was delicious! So tasty! Only difference was that I omitted the red-pepper flakes since I can’t handle “spicy.” Will make a bigger batch next time and freeze the extra. 🙂
This sauce tasted like fancy pizza shop sauce. So delicious that I’m making a double batch now to freeze some for next pizza night. I’d be so pleased to offer this on pizza for guests.
Can this sauce be canned
This is literally THE only pizza sauce I will make! Any time I make a pizza, even if the recipe has instructions for its own sauce, I’ll come back to this one!
Good flavor – a keeper recipe
Love this sauce. I use it for pizza and spaghetti.
This is the best sauce ever. I could drink it lol . We use all the time with our Ooni pizza oven. We get compliments on it all the time.
I make this pizza sauce all the time. It is so easy and so good. My favorite part is squishing the tomatoes by hand. I’ve used this sauce for regular pizza, calzones, and the crispy cheesy pan pizza from the King Arthur flour recipe. But it is so good I could just eat it straight. The recipe makes a lot, so I have plenty to freeze, and it’s great to have some on hand. For reference, the last batch I made, it was enough for two large calzones and two pan pizzas.
Made this tonight with my grandson. It is delicious. He loves garlic and it looked like a lot,, so I figured he snuck in extra, however it was perfect. We had only fresh basil and oregano. I did add a little tomato paste which it needed, probably because I used the store brand whole tomatoes, which often have more liquid. I tripled the batch, which covered 3 pizzas with about 3-1/2 cups left over. My grandson insisted we make breadsticks with extra pizza dough just to dip in the sauce because he loved the sauce so much. I am never bothered by a little salt and sugar, and it really is minimal. They balance the flavors.
Why is it SO salty?!
People…I recommend using 1/2 teaspoon and then tasting
This recipe is absolutely delicious! I have added it to my list of “Go To Recipes”–recipes that are a resounding success and crowd/family favorites. I used canned diced tomatoes and smashed them with a potato masher. I left out the sugar (trying to omit sugar whenever possible), but otherwise followed the recipe exactly as written. Simmered for 45 minutes.
I will be visiting your site often now and recommending to others. Can’t wait to try the marinara sauce recipe next.