I have two homemade pizza sauce recipes here on Kitchen Treaty – first, we have this one right here, the best pizza sauce recipe ever, basically (I previously titled this recipe Our Very Favorite Homemade Pizza Sauce, and that still holds true!) I’ll tell you up front that this pizza sauce recipe is a bit of a time investment, but trust me. It’s TOTALLY WORTH IT.
This homemade pizza sauce takes an hour and a half to make, but most of that is simmer-time on the stove. All of that simmer time results in an incredibly rich, hearty, flavor-bomb of the very best pizza sauce ever. SO GOOD.
(If you’re short on time, I have a pizza sauce recipe for that, too! Check out my 5-Minute No-Cook Pizza Sauce recipe. That one is delicious too!)
What Makes this Pizza Sauce the Best Pizza Sauce?
In my opinion, a great classic pizza sauce has a pronounced tomato flavor (with a pinch of sugar to both highlight tomatoes’ sweetness and also balance the acidity), a good amount of garlic, a nice hit of earthy oregano, a slight bit of heat, and, well, not much else. Simple is better.
The key to the recipe, other than the simple list of meaningful ingredients, is the time it takes to simmer uncovered. It cooks for an hour and a half, allowing the flavors to mellow and meld and the sauce to thicken to the perfect consistency.
Best Pizza Sauce Ingredients
This homemade pizza sauce recipe, slightly adapted from Sunset magazine, calls for:
- Fresh or diced tomatoes – fresh can be better, but diced are still absolutely terrific (and how I make it the majority of the time). Just start with good tomatoes and your sauce will be all the better for it. (And, of course, canned whole tomatoes will work too).
- Garlic
- Olive oil
- Oregano – a must in pizza sauce!
- Sugar (or honey or agave) – sounds weird, but a small amount helps neutralize the acidity of the tomatoes
- Crushed red pepper flakes for a bit of heat (adjust to your preferences!)
- Salt & pepper
How to Make It
To make it, simply cook the garlic and oregano in the olive oil (mmmm, makes the house smell so good), then add the tomatoes, sugar, crushed red peppers, salt and pepper. Then – and this is the key to the best pizza sauce – cook it loooow and slooooow. Really let that pizza sauce become who it was meant to be.
I like to make a double batch and freeze individual portions for future Friday pizza nights, when we make our individual homemade pizzas and enjoy a movie while we wind down for the week.
You’re going to want to make this one again and again. Because an amazing “pizza” isn’t just about the crust – it’s about an incredible pizza sauce, too.
4.75 from 27 votes
The Best Pizza Sauce Recipe Ever
Prep: 5 minutes mins
Cook: 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins
Total: 1 hour hr 35 minutes mins
Author: Kare
Yield: 4
This easy classic homemade pizza sauce simmers for a good long time to allow the tomatoes, garlic, and oregano to mingle and meld. Freeze the leftovers so you have pizza sauce at hand whenever you have a hankering for good homemade pizza.
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about two or three large cloves)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano or 1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano (if using fresh, add at the end of the cooking time)
- 2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes (undrained) (or 2 pounds diced fresh tomatoes)
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar (can substitute honey or agave nectar)
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (this makes for a lot of heat, which we love, but I recommend you start out with 1/4 teaspoon or even just a generous pinch if you're unsure)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- Black pepper to taste
Instructions
In a medium saucepan over low heat, warm the olive oil.
Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for about a minute. If you’re using dried oregano, add that along with the garlic. If you’re using fresh, add it to the sauce at the end of the cooking time.
Increase the heat to medium. Add the tomatoes, sugar, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper.
Leave over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until boiling. Reduce heat to low for a nice simmer.
Gently simmer uncovered for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in fresh oregano, if using that instead of dried.
Allow the sauce to cool to a safe temperature and then, using an immersion blender or working in batches with a blender, puree sauce.
Assemble pizza using your delicious homemade sauce, or refrigerate until ready to use. Keeps well in the fridge for about 4 days. I love to freeze this sauce in individual-pizza portions, too.
Notes
Refined-sugar-free option
Replace the granulated sugar with honey (if not vegan) or agave syrup. Try not to leave this little bit of sweetener out entirely, though. It really helps cut the acidity of the tomatoes.
Kid-friendly option
Making this sauce for kids? Consider leaving out the red pepper flakes, or only adding a small pinch. I like to make two separate batches – one with more heat for the adults, and no heat for the kiddos. If you end up with leftover sauce, try freezing it for easy homemade pizza-makin’ later on.
Nutrition Facts
Calories: 75kcal, Carbohydrates: 10g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 589mg, Potassium: 386mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 315IU, Vitamin C: 20mg, Calcium: 75mg, Iron: 2mg
This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a portion of the proceeds. More about this here.
Comfort Food Dinner Freezer Friendly Kid Friendly Lunch Pizza Sauces, Jams, and Condiments
About the AuthorKaren Troughton
Karen is a vegetarian home cook living among carnivores. She loves creating irresistible and flexible recipes that help multi-vore families like hers keep the peace - deliciously.
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147 Comments on “The Best Pizza Sauce Recipe Ever”
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Terry — Reply
Do I need to peel the tomatoes or do I use the whole mater?! Thanks in advance, terry
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David Ker — Reply
I’m making a large batch right now and I only vary by using chopped onion also. This time I used 4 lbs
of fresh tomatoes. In a few weeks I will be able to use fresh San Marzano tomatoes from my garden.
Bye for now, Dave Ker , Bermuda -
Wolf — Reply
I will preface this with the fact that we made a minor adjustment. We added about 1 tbsp of dried basil and a little extra sugar because we like sweet sauce. But we can tell that even without those adjustments this review would still stand.
But Holy. Freaking. Heck. This pizza sauce is out of this world. My dad and I made it for my birthday dinner pizzas this weekend and we were both blown away by how amazing this was. It was one of the best pizzas sauces either of us have tasted in our lives. We put a THICK layer on our pizzas and it was delicious. We actually plan on making again this very weekend, but making a triple batch so we can freeze some. In fact we also plan on making another triple batch after that, but without blending it. Because we both agreed that chunky style would be delicious too. This would even make an amazing pasta sauce and we want to put it on some noodles to try that soon too. This sauce was so simple too, just mix it all together and let simmer. We had to throw in a bit of water in while cooking because our stove is difficult to adjust so it boiled too much water off before we could settle it onto a simmer. But even with that, it was so good. Truly delicious and I am super looking forward to making pizza again this weekend. If you gave me pizza with this sauce on it I would absolutely think it came from an actual restaurant.
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Kare — Reply
I’m so glad this pizza sauce was a hit for you! Thank you so much for coming back to share and leave a review. Happy happy birthday to you!
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