Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe (5- Minutes)
Posted Sep 23, 2018, Updated Sep 30, 2024
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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.
Try these recipes
Delicious! This is the #1 sauce I will use for my homemade pizza. Thank you for the recipe!!
Thank you Elizabeth!
How many fresh tomatoes can be subbed for this?
Delicious! Tastes like my fave takeout pizza spot!
I’m so happy you love it!
I love it. Tasty, thick enough, easy to make. ty.
I’m so glad you love it, Kath!
Question about the pizza sauce. Is it enough for just one pizza or do you need to store the rest to use another time?
It depends on how saucy you like your pizza. I think it’s enough for two!
Delicious! Even my picky 4 year old said this was the best pizza sauce EVER 🙂 Shocked that I could make a sauce this fantastic with ingredients already in my pantry. Thank you!!
That’s basically how I cook – taking inventory of what’s already in my fridge and pantry and making something delicious with it! 😉 I’m so glad you and your kids love this recipe!
Just discovered I do not have pizza sauce for our home made pizza tonight, so I googled and found your recipe. I happened to have all the ingredients. We loved it! We will be using this recipe from now on. It’s uch more flavorful than the jar pizza sauce we had been using. Thank you!
Thank you so much Susan!
Looking forward to making this (and thanks for sharing), but is a glass mixing bowl (sold by you) really necessary? How about that red spatula you’re hawking? Will the sauce go down in flames sans these lil’ moneymakers?
Have some class, sweetheart…
Hey MJ – I only link to things I have and use every day. I am not a salesperson. Yes, those are affiliate links, but I include them only to be helpful. I have had my glass measuring bowl (batter bowl) for 16 years and use it multiple times every single day. And the red spatula has been in my kitchen for 10. You can use any equipment you have in your home (obviously) to make this recipe!
You know, I am very glad that instead of charging her readers for the recipe itself, she chooses to supplement her income in other ways by giving her readers links to helpful tools.
Thank you so much! <3 I love providing free recipes for my readers -it brings me so much joy!
Wow, I think it’s common for people to comment on these recipes and videos “where did you get that apron?” “What blender is that?”, “where did you get that spatula?” My guess is the author was sharing her fav items in preparation for those questions. I laughed when I saw the supply list of “red spatula” thinking that was oddly specific; then realized that it was to save us from staining a light colored one. Some people just think ahead. Don’t be a negative Nancy and assume that just because she shared a link in anticipation of questions as a money making opportunity to hawk her wares. You don’t have to click them nor buy them. Have some class.
Thank you Alissa! I stained my most favorite little white spatula making this recipe 15 years ago – which is what prompted me suggesting a red (or dark colored) spatula! 😉
Just thought I’d try this one instead of my usual recipe. Really good, didn’t mix it till smooth though. Was really nice with the bits of chopped tomatoes so in future I think I’ll do it the same way.
I’m so glad you love it, Chris!
We were in a pinch and needed some sauce. Found your recipe and thought we’d give it a try. We used the canned diced tomatoes, and were a touch light also on some of the spices. Made the entire batch in the blender…very well mixed. Made ourselves mini pizzas on Italian bread under the broiler. Fabulous! Delicious! Thank you!
Thank you, Krissy!