Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce

Content… Pizza Sauce vs. Marinara Recipe Ingredients How to Make It Recipe Variations Tips and Tricks Make-Ahead Instructions Serving and Storage Instructions How to Use It More Mouthwatering Homemade Sauces to Try Watch How to Make It

Pizza Sauce vs. Marinara

Generally, pizza sauce is thicker than marinara sauce, so you can spread it without it being runny. Marinara is for dipping and enhancing pasta dishes, so it’s not quite as thick, but it still works on a pizza. Just open a can of San Marzano tomatoes and give it a spin in a blender with a couple of garlic cloves, and you’re done.

Back to pizza! The secret to the bold flavor in the best homemade pizza sauce is slow cooking it ahead to let the flavors bloom and meld. Trust me, it’s worth the extra step. 😋

The rich, tomatoey goodness and herby flavors layer without one overpowering each other. It just makes for such a delicious pizza pie! 🤩

Recipe Ingredients

1. Olive Oil – Sauteing the garlic in olive oil adds authenticity and depth of flavor. 
2. Garlic – Fragrant minced garlic gives this sauce an incredible aroma and flavor.
3. Tomatoes – One undrained can of diced tomatoes, along with tomato paste, make for this delightful sauce’s simple base. Fresh tomatoes also work, but they’ll take a little longer to cook down.
4. Seasonings – Onion powder, Italian seasoning, extra basil, and a dash of pepper flakes make that classic pizza sauce flavor really come to life. The sugar balances the tomatoes’ acidity, but you can leave it out.

How to Make Homemade Pizza Sauce

• Saute Garlic -In a medium saucepan, add the olive oil and garlic and cook over medium heat for about a minute or until fragrant. (Photo 1)
• Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, onion powder, sugar, Italian seasoning, basil, and pepper flakes to the pan. Stir well to combine. Next, add salt and some freshly ground black pepper to taste. (Photo 2)
• Simmer – Bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer. It should take 20-30 minutes to reach the desired thickness and depth of flavor, but that can change depending on your stove, altitude, and climate. (Photo 3)
• Use or Store – Let it cool and store it for later, or whip up your favorite pizza dough recipe and spread the sauce on it. (Photo 4)

Recipe Variations

1. Go sugar-free. This sauce will still taste great without the sugar, so feel free to omit it if you need or want to. Coconut or date sugar does the same thing if you’re on a paleo diet.
2. Make it mild. I like the extra kick of heat from the pepper flakes, but you can totally omit them if you aren’t a fan of spicy foods. 
3. Roasted garlic pizza sauce. If I’m craving garlicky pizza, I’ll roast a whole head of garlic, mash it up, and incorporate it into the pizza sauce. A must-try for garlic lovers 🧄

Tips and Tricks

1. Double or triple this recipe so you have pizza sauce for freezing.
2. For the best flavor, use high-quality ingredients. That goes for the tomatoes, herbs, and olive oil.
3. Letting the sauce cool slightly before spreading it on the pizza dough prevents the dough from becoming soggy and helps the sauce set properly during baking.

Make-Ahead Instructions

You can store homemade pizza sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week, which makes it an ideal make-ahead recipe. And the flavor is better the next day.

You can even freeze it for 2-3 months. Simply spoon the sauce into ice cube trays (or any mold) and freeze it. Thaw the sauce in the fridge overnight when you’re ready to use it. Alternatively, microwave frozen sauce cubes for about 30 seconds until they melt into a spreadable sauce.

Serving and Storage Instructions

Spread this sauce over homemade pizza dough, cover it with your favorite toppings, and bake for a crazy good pizza that will blow delivery pizza out of the water! Refrigerate the extra pizza sauce in an airtight container for up to a week. 

How to Use Homemade Pizza Sauce

Besides pizza, this sauce works fantastic in pizza rolls and chicken calzones. But feel free to get creative, too!

You can use this sauce in tomato-based soups, over pasta, or to flavor rice! (Just replace one cup of water with a cup of the sauce in your rice recipe.) It’s also delicious as a dip for grilled bread or homemade focaccia bread.

More Mouthwatering Homemade Sauces to Try

1. BBQ Sauce
2. Chimichurri Sauce
3. Alfredo Sauce
4. Remoulade Sauce
5. Homemade Gravy
6. African Pepper Sauce

Watch How to Make It

This blog post was originally published in October 2019 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video