Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe (With Video)

This pizza sauce recipe uses just 4 ingredients (plus salt) and is so simple to make you won’t ever need to buy store-bought pizza sauce again. In fact, this is the best pizza sauce recipe ever for any kind of homemade pizza (except, of course, Neapolitan pizza and classic Italian pizza recipes). If you’re starting to learn how to make pizza, it’s worth it to also learn how to make an tasty easy pizza sauce to go with it.  Check out the pizza sauce video below to see just how easy this recipe is.

We live in Italy and eat a lot of delicious Italian pizza (all varieties), but we still end up making homemade pizza several times a month (as you can see by the many pizza recipes here on the site).

We make it at home mostly because we enjoy eating all different styles of pizza, it’s also super delicious and easy to make, plus you can save money by skipping delivery.

This is one of my favorite easy homemade pizza sauce recipes to make. And if you’re wondering why I have more than one pizza sauce recipe (that we actually love). I’d tell you that it’s because it depends on two basic and practical things that I think every home cook can identify with:

• First, what ingredients are currently in my pantry when I get a craving for homemade pizza? Do I have chopped canned tomatoes, peeled whole tomatoes, tomato passata, tomato sauce, etc.?
• Second, what style of pizza am I making? If I’m making Neapolitan pizza, classic Italian pizza, or pizza fritte versus a classic American-style pizza like thin-crust, hand-tossed, Imo’s St. Louis-Style pizza, Detroit pizza, Chicago deep dish, or even pan pizza, I will use a different sauce.

This is one of my go-to homemade pizza sauce recipes for making any style of classic (American-style) pizza. It’s herby, garlicky, and simmered until the tomatoes are sweet, thick, and saucy, and takes just 25 minutes to make. If you’re looking for an Italian pizza sauce recipe, head over here to get that recipe.

Why We Love This  Easy Pizza Sauce Recipe

• It’s ready in 25 minutes from start to finish
• It works on even the thinnest thin-crust pizza without making a soggy crust (see photos for proof♡)
• Inexpensive to make
• This is a vegan pizza sauce recipe and perfect for making dairy-free Pizza Marinara
• No preservatives, dyes, etc. (you know exactly what ingredients are in this sauce)
• Using tomato passata means this pizza sauce cooks up a little more quickly than using other canned tomatoes
• A perfect meal-prep pizza sauce recipe you can freeze
• Blooming the oregano in extra virgin olive oil first extracts more pure herb flavor (oregano is a fat-soluble herb)
• This is a no-sugar healthy pizza sauce recipe that works with just about any diet but you can add sugar if desired (especially if the tomatoes aren’t naturally very sweet)

Pizza Sauce Ingredients (with Substitutions)

All you really need to make the very best homemade pizza sauce is tomatoes, salt, oregano, fresh garlic, and extra virgin olive oil. But as mentioned earlier, you may not have these exact ingredients on hand when you have a pizza craving. Below is a snapshot of the ingredients needed for making pizza sauce along with several substitutions.

• tomato passata (sub whole peeled tomatoes, crushed or chopped canned tomatoes, or blanched peeled whole fresh tomatoes) Tomato passata has a thicker consistency than chopped tomatoes or whole peeled tomatoes and therefore reduces to a thick saucy consistency just a little quicker. For the best-tasting sauce, look for a high-quality tomato passata with one or two ingredients maximum (100% tomatoes, or tomatoes and salt). 
• extra virgin olive oil Using olive oil in pizza sauce allows you to draw out more flavor from your herbs (whether dried or fresh) because woody herbs like oregano, rosemary, thyme, etc. are fat-soluble vs. being water-soluble like basil, parsley, etc. 
• garlic cloves (sub garlic powder) Fresh garlic is great if you have it, but garlic powder works in a pinch. You may even use garlic salt, but be sure to reduce the amount of salt called for in the recipe if you do.
• dried oregano (sub Italian seasoning blend or a mix of dried basil, oregano, marjoram, rosemary, and thyme) 
• fresh oregano (optional) (sub fresh basil leaves or fresh marjoram to taste)
• salt (reduce the amount of salt called for if you need a low-sodium pizza sauce recipe)

A few things to consider: Oregano (or Italian seasoning blend) is what gives this pizza sauce that unmistakable pizza restaurant flavor you smell when you walk into a typical American pizzeria (like Pizza Hut or Domino’s Pizza). So, don’t be afraid to shake more of these herbs onto you’re sauced pizzas before adding the rest of the pizza toppings. Also, if your tomatoes are too acidic, add a pinch or two of sugar to help take the edge off.

Overview: How to Make Pizza Sauce 

This easy homemade pizza sauce takes just 25 minutes, doesn’t use tomato sauce, and is easier than ever to meal-prep it and store it in the refrigerator, or freeze it. Get the full recipe details and watch the pizza sauce how-to video in the recipe card.

Bloom the herbs and garlic. In a medium-sized pot, add the extra virgin olive oil and herbs and sauté over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes until fragrant and the garlic is blistered. *Be sure not to have the heat turned up too high, or it can burn the herbs and make them bitter. 

Add the tomato passata & reduce the sauce. Add the tomato passata to the herbs and olive oil, add salt, and adjust the seasonings. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, reduce to a simmer, and cook uncovered stirring periodically to avoid scorching for 20-22 minutes, or until the sauce is reduced, and thick. Remove it from the heat and allow it cool to room temperature before adding sauce to your favorite pizza. dough recipe.  Enjoy!

 

How Much Pizza Sauce Should I Add to a Pizza?

If you’re making thin-crust pizza, be sure to use only about 1/4 cup of this pizza sauce (see photos below). But, if you’re making pan pizza, cast iron pizza, or thick-crust pizza use up to 1/3 cup of sauce per pizza. This will help keep your pizza crust from being soggy.

 

My Favorite Pizza Dough Recipes

Use this homemade pizza sauce with any of these delicious and easy homemade pizza dough recipes:

• 00 Flour Pizza Dough Recipe
• Bread Flour Pizza Dough Recipe
• Whole Wheat Pizza Dough Recipe

FAQ: How to Store Pizza Sauce?

The best way to store pizza sauce is in a sealed glass jar. You can refrigerate pizza sauce for up to 5 days or freeze it for up to a year.  I prefer to use wide-mouth glass canning jars, but you can use any repurposed glass jar with a lid. Remove the pizza sauce from the refrigerator and allow it to temper for 30 minutes before using.

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FAQ: Can you Freeze Homemade Pizza Sauce?

You can freeze pizza sauce and my favorite way is to freeze it in tempered glass jars like Ball, Mason, Kerr, Weck, and Bormiolo Rocco. Just be sure to leave at least 1 to 2 inches of headspace (unfilled area at the top) so that as the sauce freezes and expands, it doesn’t break the jar. You can also portion and freeze pizza sauce in an airtight container including freezer bags with the air pressed out.

To thaw, place the sauce into the refrigerator overnight or place it on a kitchen towel on top of the counter for a few hours until no longer frozen. The towel will soak up any condensation.

FAQ: How Many Pizzas Can I Make With This Sauce?

You can make 8 Thin-crust pizzas which use 1/4 cup of pizza sauce per pizza, or 6 thick-crust pizzas which use about 1/3 cup of pizza sauce per pizza.

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FAQ: Should Homemade Pizza Sauce Be Cooked?

Depending on what pizza you’re making, you’ll need to decide which is the best pizza sauce recipe to use. For Neapolitan and traditional Italian pizzas, I don’t cook the pizza sauce. For making regular pizza I typically cook the sauce first to reduce it to a thick consistency. However, if you’re making pizza sauce using tomato paste and tomato sauce, you don’t have to cook it because it will already be thick enough.

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FAQ: Can I Use Pasta Sauce Like Spaghetti Sauce To Make Pizza Sauce?

You can absolutely make great-tasting pizza sauce using leftover pasta sauce — I’ve done it using this easy pasta sauce recipe (see photos below). All you have to do to turn pasta sauce into pizza sauce is to add an Italian spice blend or oregano to taste and cook the sauce for several minutes to reduce the water content. You may also add a little sugar and a dash of garlic powder for even more flavor if desired.

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FAQ: Can I Use Ketchup To Make Pizza Sauce?

If you use ketchup to make pizza sauce, it won’t taste like pizza sauce and your pizza won’t taste like pizza. When I first moved to Chengdu (China) you would often see “pizza” with ketchup being used as sauce and also for making pasta. Use any type of canned tomatoes, but not ketchup.

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Recipes to Serve With Homemade Pizza

Below are a few of our favorite desserts and side dish to serve with this homemade pizza!

• Super Easy Classic Vanilla Bean Cheesecake 
• Super Fudge Biscoff Brownies w/Cornflake Crunch
• Double Oreo Chocolate Chip Confetti Cookies
• Easy All-Natural Strawberry Cheesecake with Biscoff Crust
• Easy Cookies-and-Cream Double Oreo Chocolate Chunk Cookies
• Strawberry-Lemon Sugar Cookies (Soft + Chewy)
• Bakery Style Pan-Banging Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Greek Salad (Easy 15-Minute Salad With Video)
• Mediterranean Pigtail Pasta Salad with Shrimp and Vegetables
• Summer Starburst Vinaigrette (a favorite salad dressing)

Let’s get started!

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I’d love to hear how this recipe turned out for you!

Did you make this recipe and LOVE it or maybe even switch it up a little bit? Please leave a star ⭐️ rating and/or comment below the recipe card to help our readers. I absolutely love hearing from you and do my best to answer all your questions and comments. I love seeing when you make my recipes, so tag me anytime @BitingAtTheBits on Instagram. I’ll repost your beautiful pizza sauce and pizza!

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