Homemade Pizza Sauce
It doesn’t really get much easier–or tastier–than this homemade pizza sauce. You can also easily double or triple it and store it in the freezer for when pizza night comes calling.
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Grab a can of whole tomatoes and some basic ingredients you likely have on hand, and make some homemade pizza sauce! It tastes better than anything you can get from a jar or carton, and you can easily double or triple it and store it in the freezer for months.
Not only is this homemade pizza sauce delicious on homemade pizza, but it also makes a great dipping sauce for calzones. You can even spread it on some Italian bread, top it with mozzarella, and bake until toasty for a pizza-like snack.
Basically, if you’re eating something and thinking, “This would be awesome with some pizza sauce,” this recipe will come in handy. This pizza sauce also takes just 30 minutes to cook–though, personally, I like to let it simmer for closer to one hour to give it more time to develop its flavor.
Now, I know many pizza sauce recipes are no-cook, but I’m not a fan of them. I like to simmer my sauce as I think it allows it to thicken, the flavors to become more cohesive, and the tomatoes to mellow. If you’re a fan of simmering tomatoes like I am, try my homemade marinara sauce.
Why You’ll Love This Homemade Pizza Sauce
- It requires few ingredients: This is one of those “five-ingredients-or-less” recipes, not counting salt and pepper.
- You can easily double or triple it: This sauce freezes beautifully, so you can make a large batch and have it on hand for all those pizza nights.
- Easy cleanup: Everything cooks in one pot, so there’s very little cleanup.
- Your home will smell wonderful: Garlicky pizza sauce simmering on the stove–what’s not to love?
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Don’t use “ordinary” olive oil. Ensure it’s EVOO for the best flavor.
- Fresh Garlic: Don’t cheat and use garlic powder.
- Canned Whole Tomatoes: These are preferable to crushed, as I think they retain better flavor.
- Dried Oregano: You can use fresh oregano, but use less of it.
- Sugar: Make sure it’s granulated (white) sugar if you need it to sweeten your tomatoes.
See the recipe card below for more information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Homemade Pizza Sauce
- Cook the garlic: Heat the olive oil in a pan and cook the garlic briefly.
- Add the tomatoes: Pour in the tomatoes, dried oregano, salt, pepper, and sugar (if the tomatoes are bitter).
- Simmer the sauce: Simmer the sauce gently for at least 30 minutes.
- Remove from the heat: Adjust for salt, and finish the sauce with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Pro Tips
Use canned whole tomatoes: Whole tomatoes retain better flavor than the canned crushed variety.
Keep sugar on hand: If your tomatoes are acidic, help sweeten them with a pinch of sugar.
Cook closer to one hour: You can cook this homemade pizza sauce in just 30 minutes, but I recommend closer to one hour if you have the time, as it allows the sauce to thicken more and develop deeper flavors.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Cook the garlic in the olive oil.
Add the hand-crushed tomatoes to the pot.
Add the remaining ingredients.
Fully cooked homemade pizza sauce.
Suggestions for Variations and Substitutions
- Use fresh herbs in place of the dried oregano. I often finish mine with fresh basil.
- You can use canned crushed tomatoes in a pinch, but I encourage using the whole ones.
- You can purée the tomatoes to make them smooth if you don’t want any tomato chunks.
Recipe FAQs
Typically, pizza sauce is smoother than marinara sauce (although you will find chunkier pizza sauce–like in this recipe–which you might find on say, a Grandma pizza). Other differences include marinara sauce sometimes containing more ingredients than pizza sauce for a more complex flavor. Another difference is that marinara sauce is typically cooked for longer.
Maybe, but many Italian pizza sauce recipes require a no-cook method. I’m not a fan of that, as I think most canned tomatoes (at least in the U.S., and even some D.O.P. brands) benefit from some cooking. However, if you love the taste of your particular brand of canned tomatoes, feel free to leave the sauce raw (It will only cook when you add it to the pizza and bake it.)
No need to adapt anything, but you may want to decrease the amount of garlic the recipe calls for if you think you might find it too strong in its raw form.
Yes, but I do recommend cooking them to help concentrate the flavor. I also suggest squeezing out any excess water from them first. Make sure you have enough tomatoes to equal one 28-ounce can!
Storage
Refrigerator
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freezer
Store in a freezer-safe container or sturdy ziploc bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator before reheating.
More Sauce Recipes
If you love this recipe, I’d appreciate it if you could take a moment to review it below. You could also tag me on Instagram (@forcarbssake) with a picture of your finished dish!
Homemade Pizza Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 3 large garlic cloves, grated (Note 1)
- 1 28-ounce canned whole tomatoes, hand-crushed (Note 2)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, or more
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Pinch of sugar (if tomatoes taste acidic)
Instructions
- Warm the olive oil in a medium-sized pot on medium-low to medium heat. Add the garlic and sautée for 30 to 45 seconds until aromatic, stirring constantly. 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 3 large garlic cloves, grated
- Pour in the crushed tomatoes along with the salt, pepper, and oregano.1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, hand-crushed; ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, or more; freshly ground black pepper; 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Simmer the sauce gently for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour. Taste, and add more salt if needed. If the tomatoes taste bitter/acidic, add a pinch of sugar. I also recommend drizzling about 1 additional teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil to the sauce when it's halfway through cooking. This helps make it more silky and flavorful.Pinch of sugar (if tomatoes taste acidic); 1 additional teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- Remove the pot from the heat, and go make some pizza!
