Why we love it
This quick pizza sauce, made with tomato paste, passata (or puree) and seasonings not only has all the flavour you want but there’s no cooking involved so you can rustle this up in no time. Loosened with a little vegetable stock, it’s even great as a quick pasta sauce!
Rich in umami, this DIY pizza sauce is an absolute flavour-bomb. Taking just 5 minutes, you can mix and use straight away or store it at the ready for pizza night. Speaking of which, this easy red sauce is the perfect addition to pizza night!
So you’ve got the sauce, now you just need the homemade pizza dough. This is the same sauce I use on my pizza fritta (fried pizza)
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Ingredients for pizza sauce
You need just 6 very simple pantry staples meaning you can always have what you need on hand ready to make pizza sauce.
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
- Tomato passata: Tomato passata is an uncooked puree of fresh tomatoes that’s been strained to a smooth sauce. You can get away with using tomato puree or tomato sugo too, both of which are cooked sauces and contain other ingredients.
- Tomato paste: Tomato paste is a thick tomato concentrate and has the spreadable consistency of a paste. Use a regular tomato paste or a sundried tomato paste for even more umami.
- Seasonings: The simple seasonings in this sauce are just dried Italian herbs (you can use a blend or make your own up using your favourite dried herbs), salt, sugar and onion powder. You can also add some garlic powder if you like to give it even more of a flavour boost.
Don’t skip the sugar. It’s only a tiny amount and does two important jobs – it adds balance, taking bitterness out and actually enhances the tomato flavour.
Substitutions
If you want to make your dried Italian herbs yourself, use a combination of things like dried basil, dried oregano, dried parsley, dried rosemary, dried thyme or dried marjoram. Just one or two will still add great flavour.
Feel free to add some dried chilli flakes (red pepper flakes) to the sauce too for a bit of a spicy kick.
For an added zing, add up 2 tsp of balsamic vinegar.
How to make pizza sauce at home (step-by-step)
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
Being so incredibly easy, there is no reason not to make your own pizza sauce each week and store it in the fridge at the ready. You know exactly what’s in it and it only takes 5 minutes. You can add more salt to taste if needed. That’s it, no need to simmer on the stove – it’s so easy.
It truly is as simple as mixing all the ingredients together. As this homemade pizza sauce recipe isn’t cooked at all, this recipe is best when used in a recipe where it is cooked later (like on pizza or in these pizza scrolls). You can use it without cooking (say, spread in a sandwich or as a dipping sauce) but it will be best left to sit overnight first so the herbs can soften and the flavours all merge.
FAQs
No. This pizza sauce is uncooked and thick enough to coat pizza perfectly. If you’re using it on something uncooked (like spreading on sandwiches), it’s best to make it 24 hours ahead so the dried herbs have time to soften.
Pizza sauce and spaghetti sauce vary in their consistency more than anything. They vary a little in ingredients too with sauce often having chopped tomatoes in it but have a similar flavour profile. Try my homemade pasta sauce.
Just any tomato sauce won’t work – it may not have the flavour or the consistency required giving you a soggy pizza. This homemade pizza sauce has the flavour you’re looking for and the right consistency to be able to spread and not leave you with soggy pizza.
No, please don’t! Spaghetti sauce has a higher water content which will result in soggy pizza. Pizza sauce is much thicker, containing a much lower water content so is perfect for smothering your pizza without worrying about it turning out soggy.
This pizza sauce recipe will cover two large (10-12 inch) pizzas.
Yes, you can very easily scale this recipe to whatever amount you’re doing. If you’re having a big pizza night, just divide the number of pizzas you’re making by 2, then scale the recipe by the result. So if you’re making 4 pizzas, it’s a straight double of the recipe. If you’re making 8 pizzas, do 4x this recipe and so on. You can make a big batch and store it for a couple of weeks in the fridge.
Storage
This easy pizza sauce stores well in the fridge for up to 2 weeks in an airtight jar (I love my Weck preserving jars) or airtight container.
It also freezes incredibly well and there are a couple of ways to go about it.
- Option 1 is to freeze it in an ice cube tray, then transfer the blocks to a container or ziplock bag once solid.
- The second option is to pour it into a large ziplock bag, seal it, making sure to press out the air, then lay it flat in the freezer so that it freezes in a thin sheet. You can simply break off the amount you need this way.
Now there’s no need for store-bought pizza sauce again!
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Homemade Pizza Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ cup passata (tomato puree) (125ml)
- ¼ cup tomato paste (60ml)
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs (4 teaspoons, see notes 1)
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well to combine.
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (4 teaspoons worldwide). Many countries use a 15ml tablespoon so check yours first.
- Feel free to add in other flavours as well: ¼ – ½ teaspoon garlic powder, 2 teaspoons balsamic or some dried chilli flakes (red pepper flakes) for a spicy kick.
- With your DIY pizza sauce and this pizza dough recipe, you’re ready for pizza night!
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