This easy Pizza Sauce recipe takes just a few minutes to make and is full of flavor. Spread onto your favorite homemade pizza dough or serve with cheesy breadsticks for a total upgrade over anything store-bought.
Recipes for pizza sauce with canned tomatoes, such as this one, really require very minimal prep time. All you need to do is saute the garlic and simmer with the rest of the ingredients for about 15 minutes. If you want to make homemade pizza sauce with fresh tomatoes, the only difference will be that you need to chop them up yourself.
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Easy Pizza Sauce Recipe
Anyone who tries it loves this recipe for quick Pizza Sauce. Of course, we all know that homemade sauces usually taste better than anything you can buy at the store. But the best part about this particular homemade Pizza Sauce recipe is that it is so stinking easy and can be made in about 30 minutes flat.
All you need to do is saute a little garlic, toss in your crushed San Marzano tomatoes with a dash of sugar and Italian seasoning and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes until thickened. It uses just one pot, a handful of ingredients and can easily be doubled so that you can freeze some for later.
For more tips and tricks, check out our complete guide to making Homemade Pizza that includes an easy pizza dough recipe, temperature suggestions and more great pizza sauce ideas.
Pizza Sauce Ingredients
- Olive Oil - this is used to cook the garlic as well as add flavor. It’s the traditional cooking oil used in pizza sauce, but if you are looking for a substitute avocado oil would work great.
- Garlic - this recipe calls for fresh minced garlic. You could also use the minced garlic in a jar or add a hefty dose of garlic powder if you want.
- Crushed Tomatoes - if you can find San Marzano tomatoes, use them. They have incredible flavor and are perfect for a tomato-based sauce like this. You could also use diced tomatoes, whole tomatoes or even fresh tomatoes, cooking them down then using an immersion blender to make the sauce smooth.
- Sugar - this cuts some of the acidity from the canned tomatoes and really balances the flavor of the sauce.
- Salt - sea salt works great.
- Italian Seasoning - you can use Italian Seasoning, or even just dried oregano.
- Basil - we usually use fresh basil from the garden, but I have used dried basil and it still tasted great.
How to Make Homemade Pizza Sauce
- Cook the garlic. In a large dutch oven over medium heat, add the olive oil. Once shimmering, add the minced garlic and saute for about 2 minutes, or until translucent.
- Simmer. Add the crushed tomatoes, sugar, salt, and Italian seasoning. Simmer on low for about 15 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.
- Add the basil. Add the chopped basil and cook while stirring for another 2 minutes then remove from the heat.
- Use or store. Use immediately, or let cool and store in jars or an airtight container. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You’ll want to dice the tomatoes, then add the diced tomatoes to the pot along with the sauteed garlic, sugar, salt and seasoning. Cook on low for about 10 minutes, then remove from heat and use an immersion blender to blend them until relatively smooth. From there, you can finish cooking the sauce until slightly thickened.
Absolutely. Just make sure your sauce is completely cooled, then transfer to freezer bags and freeze flat. Store frozen for up to 3 months before using.
Here’s the thing: both Pizza Sauce and pasta sauce are tomato-based sauces that are generally flavored with similar ingredients and seasoning. Some say that Pizza Sauce should be uncooked while Spaghetti Sauce is cooked, but that’s not always the case. Especially in the United States, many Pizza Sauces are cooked low and slow, including this recipe!
For us, the biggest difference between the two is that our Pizza Sauce is a little thicker and a little simpler than our Spaghetti Sauce. It has no onions or meat - just garlic, tomatoes and simple seasoning.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
- Refrigerator: This Homemade Pizza Sauce recipe can be stored in an airtight container or jar in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: freeze completely cooled Pizza Sauce in freezer bags and store frozen for up to 3 months. To thaw, you can run the bag under cool water or transfer to the fridge overnight. (I love to measure out about What I'd use for a meal and then freeze in portion sized bags for later)
- To reheat: add leftover Pizza Sauce to a saucepot with a touch of water and reheat over medium low, occasionally stirring until warmed through.
Easy Pizza Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Garlic minced (about 3 large cloves)
- 1 28-oz can Crushed Tomatoes San Marzano Tomatoes if possible
- 1 Tablespoon Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- ¼ cup Fresh Basil minced
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven over medium heat, add the olive oil. Once shimmering, add the minced garlic and saute for about 2 minutes, or until translucent.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, sugar, salt, and Italian seasoning. Simmer on low for about 15 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.
- Add the chopped basil and cook while stirring for another 2 minutes then remove from the heat.
- Use immediately, or let cool and store in jars or an airtight container. Enjoy!
Nutrition
More of Our Favorite Homemade Pizza Recipes
- Combination Pizza
- Hawaiian Pizza
- Homemade Pizza Recipe
- Pizza Rolls Recipe
- Pizza Sliders
- Taco Pizza
- Easy Homemade Stuffed Crust Pizza
- Grilled Pizza
- French Bread Pizza
- Pizza Monkey Bread
- More Pizza Recipes
- More Homemade Sauces
- More Dinner Ideas
This recipe will show you how to make Pizza Sauce from scratch in no time. It's full of flavor, uses just a few simple ingredients, and tastes much better than canned pizza sauce.
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