Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe (2024)

June 22, 2020 Updated March 16, 2021 BySam 125 Comments

An incredibly simple, no-cook, homemade pizza sauce recipe! It literally takes less than five minutes to make this easy, flavorful sauce for your homemade pizza!

A Simple, Flavorful Sauce (In 5 Minutes!)

Today’s recipe is all about keeping thingssimple.

Five minutes needed, simple ingredients with only the bare minimum prep-work required, no chopping or dicing or simmering or cooking… literally all I’m asking you to do is toss some ingredients together and hit a button (or flip a switch). I’m sharing a robustly flavored,easy homemade pizza sauce recipe and I think you’ll really like this one.

On my pizza dough recipe (have you made that yet?? If not, you need to!) I get a lot of requests for a homemade pizza sauce, so I thought it was about time that I share one.

What You Need:

Please note, this is just an overview of the ingredients used and why. For the full recipe/amounts of ingredients, please scroll down to the recipe card.

• Canned, diced tomatoes. Yes, canned! And yes, I’m a bit defensive about this. A bit more on that below.
• Tomato paste. This thickens the sauce and is responsible for much of the tomato flavor.
• Olive oil. This gives the sauce the proper mellow mouthfeel and adds flavor. Use extra virgin olive oil.
• Basil. I use dried basil. While fresh herbs could be use instead, remember, this is meant to be a quick & easy pizza sauce recipe!
• Garlic. I do use fresh here. Easy enough, just toss in a whole clove. If you’re using pre-minced garlic, I recommend a heaping teaspoon.
• Dried oregano. I know I’ve rallied against oregano in the past, but I can’t deny that it’s essential for a classic, robust-tasting pizza sauce.
• Sugar. A pinch deepens the flavor of the sauce and cuts the acidity from the tomatoeswithout making the sauce sweet.
• Sea salt. Finely ground, or you can substitute a bit less table salt.
• Ground black pepper. Again I recommend grinding your own for best flavor.
• Crushed red pepper. This is completely optional but I like the slight heat it adds.

You’ll also need a food processor or a blender to combine everything. I’ve linked to the one that I own and love in the recipe. I got it as a wedding gift and use it for everything (like my scones!).

Canned Tomatoes

Now, about those tomatoes… If I seem a little salty or defensive in the video (below, in the recipe card) about the fact that I’m using canned tomatoes, I am 😂

However, I use them for the same reasons that I use canned tomatoes in my marinara sauce (and prefer to use them in my salsa recipe). Not only is it easier, but the taste of canned tomatoes is actually typically better and less watery than fresh tomatoes.

Look, if there’s anyone who’s going to tell you to go the extra mile or put in the extra effort when making something at home, it’s going to be me. You’re going to have to justtrust me when I tell you that canned tomatoes are just fine here. And let me remind you, this is specifically meant to be a fast, easy, no-cook pizza sauce. We’re not sacrificing flavor, we’re just saving time.

Note: you can substitute whole canned tomatoes for the diced that I use.

A Few Quick Tips…

• Don’t try substituting the canned tomatoes for fresh. You’ll lose a lot of flavor and the sauce will be quite watery. I know we just talked about this above, but it’s worth reiterating here.
• Classic diced tomatoes are great, but try using fire roasted for even more flavor!
• Always do a quick taste test before using your sauce. Different brands of tomatoes may contain different ingredients, you may find you need to add a pinch more salt, or a bit more sugar if the acidic taste is particularly strong.
• Pizza sauce is meant to be a bit thick, but if the sauce is too thick for your liking add a drizzle more olive oil.

How to Use:

Use your pizza sauce right away or store in your fridge until ready to use. I like to use mine for dipping my garlic knots or over my popular pizza dough, simply spread it evenly over the rolled out dough, cover with cheese (and whatever other toppings you like) and then bake until the cheese is melty.

I find that I typically use about ½ cup of sauce for a 10-12″ pizza. This recipe makes about two cups, and you can save any extra in the fridge or freezer.

Storing

Store leftover sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Homemade pizza sauce may also be frozen (in an airtight container, of course), for up to three months. To thaw, I recommend just moving the container to the refrigerator the day before you intend to use it and allowing it to thaw overnight. Stir before using.

More Recipes You Might Like:

• Easy Homemade Biscuits
• Lasagna Soup
• Stuffed Shells

Enjoy!