Homemade Pizza Sauce (basic homemade pizza series lesson:2)
Now that you know how to make the perfect pizza dough, it’s time to tackle the sauce. My homemade pizza sauce recipe is actually really simple and quick, but full of clean flavor and you’ll wonder why you ever bothered with bottled sauce.
Let’s talk about pizza sauce for just a second. I’m not talking about cloyingly sweet red sauce that makes you wonder what the red color comes from or the overwhelmingly herby sauce that masks any tomato flavor. I’m talking about true tomatoey flavor with some clean, vibrant flavors to just enhance that natural sweet, acidic bite. This sauce has 4 ingredients (including salt), and is my all-time favorite pizza sauce.
The trick to a really good sauce is the quality of ingredients. If you use bland, boring tomatoes, you’re going to get bland, boring sauce. Of course not all expensive food is better and not all inexpensive is worse, so try some out that interest you and try a side by side taste test. You can’t go wrong with a bunch of pizza sauce leftovers stocked up in your freezer, right?
I like to use whole peeled tomatoes and squish them with my hands or run them through a food mill with the coarse blade. I like a little texture to my sauce, but not too much. But it’s all a matter of personal preference, so if you prefer, you can definitely buy crushed tomatoes.
Now let’s go take care of pizza night!
- 1 28 ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes*
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Transfer the tomatoes and their juices into a medium bowl and crush with your hands until desired smoothness is achieved. Alternately, run the tomatoes through a food mill with the coarse blade. Set aside.
- In a medium sauce pan, heat the olive oil and garlic over medium heat until fragrant. Add the crushed tomatoes and salt. Let simmer, stirring frequently, until the sauce is thickened and reduced to about 3/4 the original amount, about 15 minutes. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator for 1 week or in the freezer for 1 month.
- *I prefer to use San Marzano tomatoes, best flavor and texture.
Laura
March 25, 2016
Yay! It’s THE sauce! I remember the first time we made this at home and we couldn’t stop sampling it. I mean, seriously, my eyes roll back in my head just thinking about it. We had it with spaghetti squash. I’m totally going to make a batch for homemade pizzas because my family already thinks mine is perfect and I want to blow their socks off with this. 😉 . This is also cheaper than canned or bottled sauce. Win win.
Lillian
March 30, 2016
Yay! So glad you like it! Putting it on spaghetti squash is genius, thanks for the idea
Gerald
June 7, 2019
What if you don’t have a food mill?