Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe (5- Minutes)
Posted Sep 23, 2018, Updated Sep 30, 2024
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This easy Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe is made in 5 minutes with 8 ingredients. This no-cook sauce is truly the best pizza sauce recipe ever – developed from my experience working in a Chicago pizzeria!
We love making pizza at home because it’s easy (my kids have been making it every week since they were 5), fun and less expensive than delivery.
This is our go-to easy homemade pizza sauce recipe. It takes five minutes to make and results in the best pizza you’ve ever had.
I’m from Chicago (born and raised), so we’ve enjoyed some of the best pizza in the world. I remember, one evening after dining at a famous pizza restaurant my husband was less than impressed. I thought he had gone crazy!
His problem was with the sauce. “There was only a thin layer and it tasted just like tomatoes” was his personal opinion. He likes his pizza saucy, bold and flavorful and that particular pie just didn’t cut it. Moral of the story: there’s no weak sauce allowed in our household. And this Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe ensures that!
Pizza Sauce Recipe: Substitutions
Here are a few possible substitutions that can be made in this recipe.
- Tomato Sauce. Sometimes I run out of cans of tomato sauce, and in a pinch I have used a can of diced tomatoes that I tossed in the blender. You can also use fresh blended tomatoes as well.
- Tomato Paste. Please don’t leave out the tomato paste. It makes the pizza sauce thick which is key in making non-soggy pizza.
- Oregano/Italian seasoning. I always make this with dried spices, but you can use fresh. Also, if you like a sauce with a less bold flavor, you might want to start will less and add more to your preferences.
- Garlic salt. If you don’t keep garlic salt on hand, substitute an extra ¼ teaspoon garlic powder and ½ to 1 teaspoon sea salt.
- Granulated sugar. This can be omitted, or you can substitute honey. However the sugar enhances the flavor of the tomatoes and cuts the “bite” of the sauce.
Note: this pizza sauce recipe is vegan as written, so you can even make some great dairy-free pizzas with this recipe.
How to Make Pizza Sauce
This homemade pizza sauce recipe is easy to make in 5 minutes. You can also prepare it ahead of time and store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it to make pizza.
Begin by mixing the tomato paste and sauce together in a medium size bowl until well combined. Using a whisk is a great choice.
Then, add the rest of the ingredients (oregano, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, garlic salt, pepper and sugar) and mix until the ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the sauce.
Then, use it in your favorite pizza recipes. The flavor and essence of a pizza lies in the pizza sauce. So be sure to spread a nice, thick even layer on top of your pizza dough.
Pizza Recipes:
This Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe is our go-to. It requires no rising, and makes a delicious pizza in under 30 minutes! Or try this whole wheat pizza dough. And check out our extensive post on how to make pizza!
Also, try our favorite pizza recipes like cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza, BBQ chicken pizza and french bread pizza – all of which use this sauce recipe!
How to Store Pizza Sauce
Store this pizza sauce in a glass jar with a lid for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator, or up to 3 months in the freezer.
To use, let the sauce come to room temperature before spreading it on your pizza dough.
Pizza Sauce Recipe FAQs
This recipe makes enough sauce to make two large pizzas, or four medium-sized pizza.
This easy pizza sauce recipe is easily doubled or tripled.
This is a common question I get asked all the time! Here are some distinctions between the two:
Spaghetti sauce has a higher water content. This is why I don’t recommend using a jar of marinara when making homemade pizza, you could end up with a mushy watery mess!
Pizza sauce is thicker. this goes along with the point above, but pizza sauce contains tomato paste, which causes it to spread easier and more evenly!
Pizza sauce is more flavorful. This might be my own opinion, but we like a lot more spices in our pizza sauce than we do in our spaghetti sauce!
This recipe is for a no-cook pizza sauce so it does not need to be cooked.
I actually get this question a lot – please do not use ketchup as pizza sauce. Ketchup is not a substitute for any of the ingredients in this recipe.
If you make and love our recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along with us on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so we can see your creations!
Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 15 ounces tomato sauce
- 1-2 Tablespoons dried oregano to taste
- 2 Tablespoons Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ Tablespoon garlic salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sugar*
Instructions
- Mix tomato paste and sauce together in a medium size bowl until smooth.
- Add the rest of the ingredients – oregano, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, garlic salt, pepper and sugar – and stir until evenly distributed throughout the sauce.
- Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.
- Spread onto your favorite pizza dough recipe.
Video
Notes
- Tomato Sauce. Sometimes I run out of cans of tomato sauce, and in a pinch I have used a can of diced tomatoes that I tossed in the blender. You can also use fresh blended tomatoes as well.
- Tomato Paste. Please don’t leave out the tomato paste. It makes the pizza sauce thick which is key in making non-soggy pizza.
- Oregano/Italian seasoning. I always make this with dried spices, but you can use fresh. Also, if you like a sauce with a less bold flavor, you might want to start will less and add more to your preferences.
- Garlic salt. If you don’t keep garlic salt on hand, substitute an extra ¼ teaspoon garlic powder and ½ to 1 teaspoon sea salt.
- Granulated sugar. This can be omitted, or you can substitute honey. However the sugar enhances the flavor of the tomatoes and cuts the “bite” of the sauce.
- Refrigerate: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. The sauce will thicken in the refrigerator, so be sure to let it come to room temperature or gently warm it in the microwave before using!
- Freeze. Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to two months!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Who needs pizza with this? tasted great right out of the bowl.
I was soooooo pleasantly surprises by this recipe! This is definitely a legit pizza sauce recipe. It is on the thick side and it completely reminds me of Chicago stuffed pizza sauce. Very east to make and very versatile to to adding/omitting ingredients to personalize to your liking. 100% recommend and will 100% use this as my pizza sauce! Thank you for this recipe!!! <3
Found this a couple weeks ago when I found out pantry unknowingly void of our regular jar of premade pizza sauce. Let’s just say we no longer buy the premade. This stuff is so easy to whip up and 100% delicious just the way it is. We even have a jar we keep in the fridge with leftover to use in other things during the week! Thanks!
I totally agree. We will not be buying pizza sauce again as I have all the ingredients for this one and it was quick.
This is a delicious sauce but I blitzed it before using as the herbs would have been an issue with my daughter who has texture issues. I doubled the quantities and it generously covered 4 large pizzas. I froze the leftovers in small containers for future use.
Really great to know what has gone into the sauce. First time making pizza at home and saved a fortune. Now I just have to perfect making a pizza base!
Made the sauce with fresh rosemary, marjoram, basil and thyme in place of the Italian seasoning and omitted the garlic salt. Yum! Used on a pizza with Bob’s Redmill gf pizza crust recipe and it is a hit! So happy to enjoy pizza again despite egg/gluten/dairy allergies. My boyfriend, who can eat everything, likes it as well. Thank you!,,
Wendy S,
Do you think I could have your Bob’s Redmill gf pizza crust recipe? Please, thank you.
The sauce recipe was great.
I added red pepper flakes, finely diced garlic, fresh basil for sugar, fresh oregano and dried italian seasonsings.
Put it all in a bowl with a TBSP of pompeian evo for 2 minutes until it bloomed. Thanks for sharing!
Loved this pizza sauce. I made it a few months ago, and froze one jar. Got it out yesterday and used it for pizza. Forgot how tasty it was. Will make it again!!
Thank you for a great pizza sauce recipe. I was using a canned pizza sauce that was terrible. I make my own crust, so it was a shame to not have a decent sauce. This sauce tasted great, and was super quick to make. Bravo.
This sauce was delicious! Glad I found it.
This is a great sauce, but I recommend leaving the sugar out regardless of your diet – sugar does not belong in pizza or pasta sauce. Southern Italians used to use sugar in sauces when they had to use end of season, poorly ripened tomatoes that were low in sugar content. Any tomato paste or sauce you buy will already have enough natural sugar for you (a 6oz tomato paste can usually has 4-5 grams of sugar alone).
Another tip: pizza can go from almost done to burnt in the oven usually because of the crust itself. If you want to avoid this hassle, use a sourdough starter based pizza dough recipe (King Arthur Flour has a great discard recipe). The use of sourdough starter will give you a better texture in your crust and will prevent burning because it doesn’t require sugar. Most pizza doughs have sugar to help the yeast metabolize faster. The sourdough discard speeds up the process without sugar, helping prevent burning crust (the crust burns because the sugar caramelizes and burns).
I personally loved the texture, but thought it was a smidge overseasoned so I’ll probably slightly cut back on some of the herbs. In regards to Austin’s sugar comment, however, the sugar isn’t because the sauce isn’t sweet enough, it’s to cut through the acidity. This sauce batch is enough for two large pizzas. Assuming you’re eating a quarter of a pizza, you’re only adding literally half of a gram (4 grams per tsp) of added sugar per portion, a truly negligible amount nutritionally.
If you have truly optimal tomatoes the sugar is unneeded in sauce, but canned tomato products are frequently canned at varying levels of ripeness due to their mass-produced nature and have a higher acid content. The sugar isn’t required, as is stated, but many people will appreciate having less of an acidic bite.