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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.
This pizza sauce tasted amazing! Ive tried other recipes and they just didnt taste well. My husband loved the pizza i made using this sauce…which is a big accomplishment as my husband is a picky eater. I also used this on my spaghetti that i made and it tasted fresh even after 1 week and a half. Still was as fresh as when i made it. This recipe is a keeper. Im definetely bookmarking this page. Thank you. 🙂
YES!!! I love it when things work out perfectly. I love it in lasagna too!
Dynamite sauce, thank you for the recipe. All I had for pizza was 10-day old flat bread (home-made, but still a little dated), leftover slices of red onion, tiny bits of good parm, fontina, mozzarella and a 500 degree oven. The finished product was, by-golly, outstanding! Am putting your sauce into service for my Mom’s 80th birthday party. Thanks again 🙂 !
That is seriously awesome! Thank you so much for coming back to tell me!
Shared your pizza sauce recipe on my brand new blog! https://barefootbanquet.wordpress.com/2014/03/09/last-weeks-menu/ It’s more of a public declaration of my disdain for menu planning than it is a blog, but I loved your recipe either way! Thanks!
thank you!
After a hard week of commuting and working, I love pizza on Friday night. In order to save money, I decided to make enough pizza dough for a month of pizza. I was searching the internet for a good pizza sauce and I came upon your recipe. I just made it and it is so good! I was literally licking the sauce off the spoon. This is going to be my go to recipe for pizza sauce. I made enough for the entire month! Thanks for sharing.
Has anyone tried freezing this sauce? Or how would you bottle something like this? I would love to make some to have on hand in my pantry long term.
I make a VERY SIMILAR sauce and freeze it all the time!! It freezes GREAT!
Awesome!! We love freezing ours and using it for everything including lasagna!
I just loved this sauce! It was so easy to make using ingredients I always have in my kitchen. It smelled soooo good while cooking. I just couldn’t wait to eat my pizzas after smelling this cooking for an hour. They turned out yummy because of this sauce (and my own, perfect crust!). Thanks for sharing this recipe!
I’m so glad you loved it! It’s our favorite and I love hearing that everyone else is enjoying it like we do. I used our leftovers to create a really delicious meat sauce the other day.
I had been looking for a better recipe that had both basil and tomato paste… Really looking forward to trying this tonight… 🙂
Quick question, you have butter in the ingredients list, but then never mention it again. Just curious if it’s a typo that it’s there? Do you put it in at the beginning with the olive oil to help sauté the garlic? Or would that brown it too much, so just add it with the cheese?
We have lots of “Pizza” party’s, made your sauce and used it. It is the best sauce we ever put on a pizza. Had a lot of great comments. Thank!
I’m so glad!! THank you so much!
I feel a little stupid for asking this, but what do you mean by 2 – 8oz cans of sauce. I thought we were making the sauce? What kind of sauce?
Jennifer, it’s 2 cans of tomato sauce. It’s what makes the pizza sauce, not two jars of pizza sauce. 😉 I’ll clarify in the recipe.
This sauce looks soooo nice! Always good to come across a new recipe! Bookmarked 🙂