Description
This homemade pizza sauce recipe delivers a rich, flavorful base for your pizzas with simple pantry ingredients and quick stovetop cooking. With options to adjust texture and sweetness, you can customize this sauce to perfectly complement your favorite pizza dough. Ready in just 20 minutes, it’s ideal for any pizza night.
Ingredients
Scale
Base Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/3 cup onion, chopped (optional)
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced (about 1 tablespoon)
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 28 ounces canned whole tomatoes or crushed tomatoes
Spices
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 & 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional, up to 1 teaspoon)
Instructions
- Prep Ingredients: Chop onions and mince garlic. Open cans of tomato paste and tomatoes.
- Combine Spices: In a small bowl, mix oregano, basil, garlic powder, kosher salt, and crushed red pepper if using.
- Heat Oil and Sauté Onions: Heat a medium skillet over medium heat, add olive oil, swirl to coat, then sauté onions for 3-4 minutes until beginning to brown. If skipping onions, heat garlic alone for 1 minute, ensuring it doesn’t brown.
- Add Garlic and Spices: Stir in garlic and spice mixture, cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add Tomato Paste: Stir tomato paste into the skillet, spreading it out and warming it through to deepen flavor.
- Add Tomatoes and Simmer: Pour in canned tomatoes, breaking them up with a wooden spoon. Simmer gently for 5 to 30 minutes, allowing flavors to meld; longer simmer for fuller taste.
- Adjust Sweetness: Taste and add 1/2 teaspoon sugar if acidity is too sharp; increase up to 1 teaspoon if needed.
- Blend Sauce (Optional): Turn off heat and blend sauce using an immersion blender until smooth, or cool slightly and blend in batches carefully in a standard blender. Skip if chunkier texture preferred.
- Store or Use: Use immediately on your pizza or store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Onions are optional; if omitted, adding 1 teaspoon minced dried onions can enhance flavor.
- Simmering time is flexible based on desired flavor depth and thickness.
- Blending is optional for a chunky or smooth sauce.
- Adjust sugar to balance tomato acidity according to your taste.
- Store leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator or freeze for longer storage.
