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Looking for a quick and easy homemade pizza sauce recipe that tastes even better than your local pizzeria’s? This pizza sauce from scratch is just that!
Table of Contents
- The BEST Pizza Sauce From Scratch
- Homemade Pizza Sauce Ingredients
- How to Make Pizza Sauce From Scratch
- How Long Does Pizza Sauce Last?
- Can You Freeze Pizza Sauce?
- Can I Omit the Brown Sugar?
- Tips for Making the Best Pizza Sauce
- More Homemade Condiment Recipes You’ll Love:
- Other Homemade Pizza Recipes
- Homemade Quick and Easy Pizza Sauce
- Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe
The BEST Pizza Sauce From Scratch
Over the years we’ve discovered that not all pizza sauce is created equal. There are definitely a few brands whose sauce I just don’t love, and we aren’t just talking pizza delivery, but store-bought as well. They just aren’t right. We wanted to find an easy-to-make homemade pizza sauce recipe that still tasted amazing even if it didn’t simmer on the stove for three days and have ingredients that were shipped from Italy.
Guess what? We found it. A homemade, quick and easy pizza sauce recipe you’ll fall in love with.
We love this homemade pizza sauce recipe because we can use it right away if we’re in a hurry and it only takes 5 minutes to make. But if we have time, we let it simmer for a couple of hours and the flavor just gets better and better.
Oh my goodness, and the smell. It is intoxicating. Cade walked in and came crawling into the kitchen begging to know what smelled so amazing. I love when he does that.
And the best part is he actually finished the sauce and made it amazing with his secret ingredient, cheese. I swear, dairy makes the world go round. If ever in doubt, add a little cheese, right? A little Parmesan made all the difference in this pizza sauce from scratch, and now I’ll never have a store-bought pizza sauce again!
We’ve been practicing and practicing to find our perfect homemade pizza sauce recipe, so let’s get into how to make it.
Homemade Pizza Sauce Ingredients
This pizza sauce from tomato paste and tomato sauce requires primarily pantry staples. Here’s what I used in this pizza sauce recipe:
- Olive oil
- Butter
- Garlic
- Onion powder
- Red pepper flakes
- Fresh basil and oregano
- Tomato sauce
- Tomato paste
- Grated Parmesan cheese
- Brown sugar
- Water
- Salt and pepper
How to Make Pizza Sauce From Scratch
It all starts out with blooming your spices. Start with a little oil in a dutch oven or pot. Adding your garlic and spices straight to the oil and butter brings them into contact with the heat, which opens up their flavor even more.
Then it’s just a matter of dumping in the tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, cheese, and water. Water helps to mellow out the tomato sauce a bit. Obviously, fresh tomato sauce or paste would be best, but I’m a mom and don’t have time to always make fresh everything.
Bring the pizza sauce to a light boil and use immediately, or let it simmer for 1 to 2 hours to let the flavors really develop.
read more: Want to switch up your pizza recipe? Try using our Simple Pesto Recipe instead of red sauce!
How Long Does Pizza Sauce Last?
Tomato-based sauces are only good for 5 days to a week. Don’t wait for the mold to form. In many cases, you won’t see the mold in the pizza sauce after five days, but it actually could be there.
Can You Freeze Pizza Sauce?
Yes, we like to make a big batch of homemade pizza sauce and often freeze the leftovers. Simply freeze it in an airtight container and it will last for up to 3 months.
Can I Omit the Brown Sugar?
Technically yes, but we recommend leaving in the small amount of brown sugar since it helps balance out the acidity in the tomatoes.
Tips for Making the Best Pizza Sauce
You all know that we prefer to use a 2qt round dutch oven by Le Creuset because that coated cast iron makes for the best pizza sauce every time and it’s the perfect size for this recipe.
Note that this pizza sauce is not spicy like some restaurants do. That’s just not my style. But please feel free to give it a little more oomph if you need it.
You can use fresh or dried herbs in this pizza sauce recipe. Fresh herbs are better if you know you’ll be eating this pizza sauce immediately and don’t have time to let it simmer for an hour.
More Homemade Condiment Recipes You’ll Love:
- Red Enchilada Sauce
- Tomatillo Cilantro Ranch Dressing
- Taco Seasoning
- Classic Pesto
- Burger Sauce
- BBQ Rub
- Authentic Salsa Verde
- Restaurant Style Salsa
- Nacho Cheese Sauce
- BBQ Sauce
- Spaghetti Sauce
- Ham Dipping Sauces
- All CONDIMENT RECIPES!
Other Homemade Pizza Recipes
- Perfect Pepperoni Pizza
- Meatball Lasagna Pizza
- Pepperoni Pizza Pinwheels
- Pepperoni Pizza-Stuffed Crescent Rolls
- Pizza Dip
- Pepperoni Pizza Bagel Bites
- Mexican Corn Grilled Pizza
- Pulled Pork Pizza
- Upside-Down Pizza Casserole
- …All of our Pizza Recipes!
If you need a quick and simple pizza dough recipe, try this 3 ingredient pizza dough from our dear friend at Fueling a Southern Soul!
Homemade Quick and Easy Pizza Sauce
Homemade Pizza Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons Olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon Butter, optional (or sub more olive oil)
- 4 Cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 3/4 teaspoons Onion Powder
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Fresh Basil, chopped (or 3/4 teaspoon Dried)
- 1 teaspoon Fresh Oregano, chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon Dried)
- 5 Tablespoons Fresh Parmesan Cheese, grated
- 2 teaspoons Brown Sugar
- 2 Cans Tomato Sauce, 8oz cans
- 4 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
- 2/3 Cup Warm Water
- Salt and Pepper , to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium heat, add the olive oil and butter and heat until almost shimmering.2 teaspoons Olive oil, 1 Tablespoon Butter
- Add the garlic, stirring a few times around the pot. Then, quickly add the onion powder, red pepper flakes, basil, and oregano.4 Cloves Garlic, 1 3/4 teaspoons Onion Powder, 1/4-1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes, 1 1/2 teaspoon Fresh Basil, 1 teaspoon Fresh Oregano
- Stir a few times and allow the herbs to bloom.
- Add Parmesan cheese and brown sugar, then quickly dump in the tomato sauce, tomato paste, and water.2 Cans Tomato Sauce, 4 Tablespoons Tomato Paste, 5 Tablespoons Fresh Parmesan Cheese, 2 teaspoons Brown Sugar, 2/3 Cup Warm Water
- Stir to combine and bring to a light boil.
- Turn the heat down to low, season to taste, and allow to simmer for 1-2 hours for ultimate flavor or use immediately if needed.Salt and Pepper
Recipe Notes
- This sauce can be stored in a sealed mason jar for up to 3 weeks.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Excellent sauce!
I will not buy store sauce again, knowing how easy this is to make.
Thank you!
Looks delicious and great images by the way. I normally don’t use any paste in my pizza sauce. What’s the reason for adding it? Sweetness?
The paste just gives it a little more heftiness. I like a full flavored pizza sauce versus the runny ones you buy at the store. You can skip it and see how it goes without. 🙂
I was in a pinch …. making pizzas for dinner and realized that I did not have my “go to” Prego sauce! I found your recipe and in 10 minutes I had yummy real pizza sauce! I tried it and I love it! I did not use the parm, nor fresh herbs … still very tasty!
I’m so glad it worked for you!! Try it with the parm and it’s even better!
Would you please explain to me why everyone is making coments without trying the recipe? One reply that tried it is worth 1000 who think it looks good. Wake up people.
well I’ve tried it and I think it’s delicious 😉 I believe there are comments that they’ve tried it and loved it. Or maybe they just emailed me directly. I can’t remember, but I do hope you like it.
Well I also tried it and it is as awesome as everyone who hasn’t tried it yet says it is…maybe you should quit reading all the reviews and just make it!!!!
I am so happy I found this recipe…my kids love it! I’ve made it 2xs without reading the reviews and it’s perfect!!! I can’t really add any comment that was already made…
I had told my daycare children that we were going to make our own pizza today and they got all excited as usual 🙂 The problem was when I realized that I didn’t have any pasta sauce! I have made my own sauce in the past but that was a while ago and all I remember was it wasn’t fun, it was messy and it took so long 🙁 I looked at my pantry saw some ingredients and thought I’ll just wing it! Right before getting started I decided to give the internet another try and right away found this recipe. Different, simple and when I read that I didn’t have to wait it was a winner. I had all ingredients and it’s simmering as I’m writing. I could taste the sauce off the spoon and it’s lunch time. Perfect timing, perfect taste, perfectly simple! Thank you! You saved the day!!
can I use fresh tomatoes? if so, how much?
Well, I just made this sauce and it was super, super good. I recently had to stop eating certain foods for health reasons, so I’ve been making everything at home. I’ve been trying different recipes for my brown-rice-tortilla pizzas, and I had tried one from another website that was pretty gross. But this is very good!! And it’s definitely something I will make again and again. I had to use black pepper instead of red pepper, I’m sure it would have been better with red, but, that’s all I had. But pretty much everything else was the same. Last pizza I made with the other recipe was pretty terrible because of the sauce and I found myself choking it down. The pizza I made with this recipe has been gobbled down. It was seriously good. I think it’s the olive oil and garlic at the beginning that not only makes perfect sense, but kinda sets this sauce apart from others I have seen online.
THANK YOU!! This really has helped me because now I have an easy food I can turn to when I just want to eat something quick and not have to cook a full meal. That might not sound like a big deal, but it kind of is to me. And an added bonus is that I actually made it with my dad, (even though I’m a grown woman 🙂 ) and we both got to have fun making sauce and enjoying pizza together.
I love it, Mimi! I’m so glad you enjoyed it and I love that you made it with your dad. You’re never too old to spend time with a parent in the kitchen. It’s my favorite thing ever.
Basil is great on pizza. Tough to find the flavor in a store bought basil. The best basil was grown in my backyard. Kelp4less helped me.
Friday night is pizza night around here and almost all he time I try to make my own sauce but haven’t quite found ‘the” one. Will have to give yours a try, Sounds delicious Carrian!
Yum! This looks so amazing. I really cant wait to try it 😀