Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce

easy homemade pizza sauce in a saucepan.

The Spruce / Diana Rattray

Prep: 3 mins
Cook: 12 mins
Total: 15 mins
Servings: 8 servings
Yield: 1 2/3 cups

This homemade pizza sauce is so easy and tastes so good you may never purchase another jar of ready-made sauce. With crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and a few basic seasonings, you'll have a delicious red sauce for your pizza in just 15 minutes. Plus, the sauce is vegan and gluten-free, with no preservatives, mystery ingredients, or excessive amounts of salt or sugar. And you can adjust homemade pizza sauce easily to suit your taste. Add extra garlic or add a bit of dried basil along with the oregano, or replace dried herbs with fresh.

The sauce is perfectly seasoned and makes enough for 2 pizzas. The sauce can also be used in pizza-style dishes and makes an excellent dip for appetizers, such as breadsticks, mozzarella sticks, calamari, and fried eggplant strips.

"This pizza sauce is easy to make, has minimal prep, and tastes delicious. It's a little on the thick side so you can always thin it out with a little water. It would be easy to double or even triple this recipe to freeze for the month." —Carrie Parente

Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce Tester Image
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic

  • 15 ounces canned crushed tomatoes

  • 4 tablespoons tomato paste

  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

  • 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar, or to taste

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    ingredients for easy pizza sauce
    The Spruce / Diana Rattray
  2. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté, stirring, for about 2 minutes, or until the garlic is softened.

    saute the garlic for pizza sauce
    The Spruce / Diana Rattray
  3. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, kosher salt, oregano, and black pepper to the garlic and oil; stir to blend. If desired, add a bit of sugar, to taste.

    Add the spices and tomato sauces
    The Spruce / Diana Rattray
  4. When the sauce begins to bubble, reduce the heat to low and continue to simmer for 10 minutes. Use the sauce right away or transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate until it's time to assemble your pizzas.

    Simmer the pizza sauce
    The Spruce / Diana Rattray

How to Serve Homemade Pizza Sauce

This pizza sauce is perfect for various pizza-style dishes and appetizers. Here are a few ideas to consider:

Recipe Variations

  • For a spicy pizza sauce, add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes to the saucepan along with the other seasonings.
  • For a chunkier sauce, use petite diced tomatoes instead of crushed tomatoes.
  • For a no-cook sauce, swap out the fresh garlic with 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder. In a bowl, combine the garlic powder with the remaining ingredients; stir to blend and use immediately or store in the fridge or freezer.

How to Store and Freeze

  • Refrigerate extra pizza sauce in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
  • Freeze the cooled sauce in an airtight freezer container or zip-close freezer bag for up to 6 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight or transfer it to a saucepan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring, until it is thawed.

How Do You Thicken Pizza Sauce?

The tomato paste helps to thicken the pizza sauce. If your crushed tomatoes are thin and somewhat watery, you may be able to fix the sauce with extra tomato paste. Or simmer the sauce for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until it is reduced and thickened.

Is Pizza Sauce the Same as Pasta Sauce?

Pizza sauce is typically thicker than pasta sauce and contains just a few basic ingredients. Pasta sauce, or marinara, is a long-simmered sauce and can contain peppers, cheese, meats, and other ingredients.

Can I Use Tomato Sauce Instead of Pizza Sauce?

You can use tomato sauce, but it is pretty thin, so you may want to thicken it with some tomato paste. To give it pizza sauce flavor, season it with a bit of garlic powder and oregano.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
40 Calories
2g Fat
6g Carbs
1g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 40
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 2g 2%
Saturated Fat 0g 1%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 182mg 8%
Total Carbohydrate 6g 2%
Dietary Fiber 1g 5%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 7mg 34%
Calcium 23mg 2%
Iron 1mg 5%
Potassium 242mg 5%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)