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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.
Help! I can’t stop dipping my spoon in the sauce while its simmering on the stove. This is delicious!
That is the best problem ever! I can’t tell you how much that means to us. It’s silly, but we get so excited that everyone is liking the sauce!
I haven’t even let this simmer for 10 mins and it’s already delicious!!! Can’t wait to see what it tastes like in an hour! Yumm, smells so good!
Yay! I love hearing that! I don’t know why but this sauce is one of my favorite things ever!
Btw do you have Instructions for canning? That would be great!
Hi Megan, I’m working on it! Stay tuned…
this was… Incredible. I live in Israel and pizza here is sad, so I make my own. I’ve always used bottled sauce but this is so good I will never use it again. I never comment but I had to this time because I was eating it straight out of the pot. I felt like I was home, if only for a moment.
I have made this recipe several times and it is absolutely THE best sauce. My husband is not a big fan of pizza, but he loves this sauce. He will compliment me for days about how good it is. I have shared this sauce with my Mom and daughter and both love how it tastes. I now refuse take out pizzas. I make my own. So glad I found this recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Wooohoooo!!! Such a sweet comment and it seriously makes us so happy every time someone leaves a great review!
Authentic Italian or NY style pizza sauce? Me thinks not!
This sauce is truly amazing!!! I was eating it by the spoonful while I waited on my dough to rise. I immediately shared it with my mom and dad. They agreed it was their new favorite. Thank you so much for sharing this with us!
Oh, we are so glad! I don’t know what it is, maybe the parmesan, but we think it’s soooo much better than store bought. 🙂
Really appreciate that you also added the dried herb measurements. When you don’t feel like running out for fresh if they’re not on hand, it’s nice to have the dried option available. Appreciate the extra effort to include this. thank you. Hope to try this soon for my Chefs Toolbox pizza!!!
Thank you so much Emily. I always hate when recipes only recommend fresh measurements so I’m glad you agree.
The sauce looks OK, but I must say olive oil should never be heated – it leads to inflammations and may kill you much earlier than you were planning for. The olive oil should therefore be replaced with normal butter.
The same goes for tomato sauce – todays commercial tomato sauces are usually loaded with sugar/starch/flours. that gives you a fatty liver and fattens all of your organs. The tomato sauce should therefor be replaced by canned or fresh tomatoes run through the blender.
Interesting opinion. thank you
olive oil is good for you
Olive oil shouldn’t be heated? Don’t cook with olive oil? I’m only a pretend Italian and I know that’s a ludicrous statement.
haha, a pretend Italian! I love that! xoxo!
You can definitely heat and cook with Olive oil, but apparently it catches fire somewhat more easily than other cooking oils, so you want to be kinda careful. I learned that one trying to make my chicken alfredo recipe a little healther at 15.
No sautéing, and definitely no frying, but heating up a little garlic and then simmering with other ingredients for a sauce? Totally golden 🙂
Yes, that’s absolutely right, though we do use it for sauteing too. 🙂
Making this tomorrow for DIY freezer pizzas and to have extra on hand. I am hoping to make it in the croc pot since I am making such a big batch. Cant wait to try it!
I hope you loved it! Love the DIY freezer pizza idea too, I’ll have to do that!