Our Very Favorite Homemade Pizza Sauce
We all know a great pizza must have a perfect crust. Chewy with a few crispy bits here and there; delicious flavor all its own.
But an amazing “pie” is just as much about the pizza sauce, too.
(I remember as a kid, making those English muffin pizzas [totally a legit quick dinner!] with – yes – ketchup in place of the sauce. Red sauce is red sauce, right?! Uh, no. Not even close. So gross.)
In my opinion, a great classic pizza sauce has a pronounced tomato flavor (with a pinch of sugar to both highlight tomatoes’ sweetness and also balance the acidity), a good amount of garlic, a nice hit of earthy oregano, a slight bit of heat, and, well, not much else. Simple is better.
This homemade pizza sauce recipe, slightly adapted from Sunset magazine, calls for either fresh or diced tomatoes – fresh can be better, but diced are still absolutely terrific. Just start with good tomatoes and your sauce will be all the better for it. (And, of course, canned whole tomatoes will work too).
The key to the recipe, other than the simple list of meaningful ingredients, is the time it takes to simmer uncovered. It cooks for an hour and a half, allowing the flavors to mellow and meld and the sauce to thicken to the perfect consistency. And then I like to hit it with the immersion blender to make it nice and smooth.
Making it kid-friendly
Making this sauce for kids? Consider leaving out the red pepper flakes, or only adding a small pinch. I like to make two separate batches – one with more heat for the adults, and no heat for the kiddos. If you end up with leftover sauce, try freezing it for easy homemade pizza-makin’ later on.
Our Very Favorite Homemade Pizza Sauce
This easy classic homemade pizza sauce simmers for a good long time to allow the tomatoes, garlic, and oregano to mingle and meld. Freeze the leftovers so you have pizza sauce at hand whenever you have a hankering for good homemade pizza.
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about two or three large cloves)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano or 1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano (if using fresh, add at the end of the cooking time)
- 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes (undrained) or 2 pounds diced fresh tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, honey, or agave nectar
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (this makes for a lot of heat, which we love, but I recommend you start out with 1/4 teaspoon or even just a generous pinch if you’re unsure)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- Black pepper to taste
Directions:
- In a medium saucepan over low heat, warm the olive oil.
- Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for about a minute. If you’re using dried oregano, add that along with the garlic. If you’re using fresh, add it to the sauce at the end of the cooking time.
- Increase the heat to medium. Add the tomatoes, sugar, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper.
- Leave over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until boiling. Reduce heat to low for a nice simmer.
- Simmer uncovered for 90 minutes.
- Stir in fresh oregano, if using.
- Allow the sauce to cool to a safe temperature and then, using an immersion blender or working in batches with a blender,
- If using fresh oregano, stir that in after the hour and a half cooking time.
Refined sugar-free option:
Replace the granulated sugar with honey (if not vegan) or agave syrup. Try not to leave this little bit of sweetener out entirely, though. It really helps cut the acidity of the tomatoes.
Adapted from Sunset Magazine
// All images and text © for Kitchen Treaty.
Do we have to take the seed out when making it it fresh tomatoe? Thanks
Nope! 🙂 No need – throw them in seeds and all.
I don’t have a blender. Not necessary cause it rocked. Also, I’d like to say emphasis on the garlic. I did 2 large cloves, not nearly enough and did only half recipe. Used 1lbs of fresh Roma tomatoes. I DE-skinned them first, a step that is necessary if not using a blender. Either way great recipe, easy to do. Also had to add water a few times during the simmering process. I’d assume this part would vary depending on the type of tomato you use.
I LOVE this recipe…it’s so easy (which is great when dealing with an active 2-year-old)! My husband and I have not been able to find a great pizza joint since we moved, but now we can make our own pizza! Will definitely share with my Facebook friends.
I’m so glad you like it! And I have an active 2-year-old, too, so I can totally relate. 🙂
Mine turned out really good, and tasted amazing! But i don’t think i did it right though; mine turned orange haha
Oh weird! Did you use fresh tomatoes? Mine can vary in color depending on the type of tomatoes I use. I’m glad it still tasted good, though! I say, keep making it orange if you can. It can be your signature. 🙂
What’s the best way to store the sauce and how long does it keep?
Hi Ken, it’ll keep in the fridge for 3-ish days (airtight container), or I like to freeze it in silicone muffin tins, then plop the frozen pucks into a zipper bag. Then on pizza night, I just pull two or three out of the freezer to thaw. I’ve kept it in the freezer for up to 6 months with no problems.
Just wanted to say THANK YOU so much for this recipe! Our family finally dipped our toes into making homemade pizza, and I think we will rarely be going back to store-bought! I did want to share that I made this recipe in an even easier way that just involves getting one pot and one blender dirty (lazy and simple, just the way I like it). I just blend the raw garlic (whole cloves) with some of the tomatoes to make it just liquidy enough to blend well. After that, I add rest of the tomatoes and blend it all up. Then just pour that into the pot, add your ingredients to that (minus oil, though I suppose I could still add some for extra flavor), reduce, and then DONE! It was so yummy, my picky husband couldn’t stop raving about this pizza (which I’m sure was in large part due to the yummy sauce), Anyways, thank you!! 🙂
Yay! I’m so glad you and your family like it! Thank you for your nice comment. 🙂
This looks wonderful! I can’t wait to try it out on my grilled pizzas! Thanks for sharing.
Do I need to blanch the toms first to get rid of the skins? (I hope not:)
Nope, I don’t! They tend to cook down to almost nothing; and if you hit it with an immersion blender at the end, even better!
This recipe is so solid that it turned out great with a little bit of this and a little more of that. Used my son’s Bullet because our Betty Crocker blender is a piece of [expletive deleted].
Wife taught me to toss the tomatoes into boiling water for 15 sec then iced water. Most of the skins split and pulled right off. Looked watery at first but the 90 min simmer took care of that.
Yum.
This was delicious, and even great the next day tossed with some leftover spaghetti, kale and chickpeas 🙂
How long can it last in the fridge or freezer? Thanks
Hi Suzette, I find it keeps 3-4 days in the fridge and a good 6 months in the freezer.
Hi Karen,
Thanks for the recipe! How many pizzas do you think I could cover made as is?
Hi Marian, it really depends on how much sauce you like! When I make a single batch, it’s usually enough to cover both of our (smallish) pizzas for pizza night plus enough left over for a couple more pizzas down the road.
I made this yesterday! Wonderful!
I’m so glad you liked it! 🙂
I’m ten and I was making a pizza for my family and I found this recipe and tried it, my family loved the sauce they thought it was amazing!!!!!! the best homed sauce I have ever made.
Yay! I’m so glad you and your family liked it, Athena! Keep on cooking!
Can this recipe be used for canning?
I’m very leery to use any recipe for canning that hasn’t gone through a rigorous testing process (such as those in the Ball Blue Book). Whether or not a recipe is safe for canning relies in part on the pH balance of the contents so it’s important that a recipe is tested and then given the green light. So I would say “no” but I do freeze it and find it works great.
If you want to can it add lemon juice to each jar to increase acidity. Quart= 2 Tablespoons, pint= 1 Tablespoon, 1/2 pint= 1& 1/2 teaspoons. Process quarts in hot water bath for 30 min. if hot pack; pints and 1/2 pints for 15 min. if hot pack.
I LOVE this sauce! For the third year in a row I’m quadupling the recipe to make good use of the Roma tomatoes from our garden. I’ve canned it twice now and it’s tuned out GREAT each time. I do add a little lemon juice to each jar before sealing. Thank you!
Fantastic! I didn’t change a thing … used fresh oregano. We have homemade pizza almost weekly and I wanted to try out a new sauce. Everyone raved about it … so fresh!! I’ll be using this going forward. thank you!
Yay, I’m so glad you liked it!
I am making a big batch of this recipe for the second time with the remainder of my garden tomatoes ( 4 different varieties). I leave out the crushed red pepper and add a 6 oz can of tomato paste with italian herbs. This time I am also adding a teaspoon of dried fennel seed because we like the taste suggestion of sausage, but don’t actually like putting the extra fat and calories on our pizzas. I find that the flavors in this sauce really come alive after it has been frozen and gently thawed. I freeze a half cup in a snack size storage bag, which is enough for a 12-inch pizza.
Oh my goodness, I LOVE the addition of fennel. I must try that!
A pair of additions that seriously sends the flavor into high orbit: 1 tsp. dried rosemary and ½ tsp. dried basil. Both of these herbs play especially well with the chili flakes and the tomatoes, bringing out even more zing and complexity.
Yum!
Featuring your pizza sauce recipe in a workshop on “Christmas Pizza” that I’m teaching this weekend. It will be my first time using canned tomatoes, but I made about 30-40 batches during the tomato season. It’s a winner! I freeze the batches in square tupperware, then pop them out and freeze in quart bags.
Love it! That sounds like a fun workshop. Everyone should have pizza on Christmas! 🙂
Just wanted to say that I’ve been using this recipe for years now (since at least 2014, possibly earlier) and haven’t bought pizza sauce or used a different recipe since! With how easy and perfect this sauce is, it’s just not worth taking shortcuts.
I have always used canned tomatoes (28oz diced), dried oregano, and the full amount of red pepper flakes and freeze any extra sauce in 1/4 cup increments in snack-sized bags for weeknight pita pizzas.
I honestly cannot say enough good things about this recipe and have talked it up to any and all friends whenever the topic of homemade pizza has come up.
Thank you!
Oh I love this Katie! Seriously, your comment makes my afternoon. Isn’t it just the best to have the freezer stocked with this stuff? 🙂 Thank you!
Is it a must you deskin the tomatoes? You should do a post on vegan pizza recipes btw
How much does yield? I am looking to can this for pizza in the winter 🙂
Also, do you know how long to process it in the hot water bath?
I used four large tomatos, five cherry tomatoes and a can of rotel, along with adding just a pinch of sage. Family loves it! I love it! Thank you so much for the recipe, its gonna stay in my arsenal.
My Parents came from Italy back in the sixties and opened 3 pizzerias in New York. Sadly after they sold the business, at the time I was in my teens I went to work for a few upper westside joints. Of course, the recipes vary from place to place, however, the main integrant was never, ever cook the pizza sauce. Yours has a little more than most but the flavor is there for a dipping sauce for calamari, motz sticks, calzones, etc… Respectfully, Joseph.
Hi Joseph! How interesting – I had no idea that a no-cook pizza sauce was considered key by the pros! Thank you for sharing. I actually do have a no-cook pizza sauce too – while I think it’s delicious my main motivation though was saving time. 😉 https://www.kitchentreaty.com/5-minute-no-cook-fresh-tomato-pizza-sauce/
Awesome, thanks.
Pretty good basic recipe! Thank you for the idea of using fresher tomatoes. I used extra garlic, brown sugar, and Italian and onion seasoning. Made it taste store bought. I also did not cook it for the full time just enough for it to taste good and blended it. Awating to do the pizza test.
If you like a sweeter sauce skip sugar and mince a few skinned carrots and sauce them down. They add a natural sweetness and a nice texture to boot.
I love that idea! And the sugar in the carrots should theoretically still help cut the acid in the tomatoes. I’m going to try this – thanks!
Great recipe, but 2 pounds of fresh tomatoes only yeilds about 2 cups of sauce.
Was wondering if you could do this in a slow cooker as opposed to stovetop?
Thank you
Hmm. Probably, but I haven’t tried it! I’d maybe saute the garlic and oregano first then put it in the slow cooker on low but not for all day or anything. If you try it please report back and let us know how it goes!