Pizza sauce is the foundation of any great pizza, and it can make or break the final product. As someone who has served many pizzas, I can tell you that people may not be able to pinpoint why they think your pizzas are great, but the secret is in the sauce.
In this article, I will share my personal recipe for making the best possible tomato sauce for your homemade pizza.
And no — it does not include buying the pizza sauce!
Preparation: Blending or Hand-crushing
Before we dive into the recipe, it’s essential to prepare your ingredients properly. You have two options when it comes to preparing your pizza sauce: blending or hand-crushing.
Blending the pizza sauce will make it taste fresher and lighter, while hand-crushing the pizza sauce will have small bursts of intense flavor.
Hand-crushing is also an excellent job for the little ones to help you with prep work, so it’s a win-win.
To Cook or Not Cook The Pizza Sauce?
The next question you may be asking yourself is whether to cook or not cook the pizza sauce. Both approaches are good, but they will deliver different results. Not cooking your sauce will make the pizza taste more light, while cooking your sauce will make the pizza taste more flavorful.
We recommend playing around with cooking the sauce for different lengths of time to see what works best for you. Here are a few options:
- 15 minutes: This will give the ingredients time to meld and reduce the sauce ever so slightly for a more flavorful taste (this is my personal favorite).
- 30 minutes: This will make the flavor more dense and reduce the sauce.
- 45 minutes: My personal favorite — Not too solid sauce, but it's been cooked in enough to pack a flavorful punch.
- 60 minutes: This will result in a more solid pizza sauce that’s more flavorful but harder to spread on the pizza. I've had comments on the pizza tasting "dry".
All ways are delicious in their way, so play around with the different methods to find what you and your family like best.
Ingredients for Homemade Pizza Sauce
Now that we’ve covered preparation and cooking methods let's move on to the ingredients you will need to make homemade pizza sauce. Here is what you’ll need:
- 1 can of 28oz San Marzano tomatoes
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1/2 to 1 full basil plant
- Salt to taste
Note: I like to make double the tomato sauce, which is 2x everything on the list above. I hate having too little, and even a large can of tomatoes can be too little.
For a Richer Pizza Sauce
This is where the recipe gets far from the traditional pizza sauce from Italy. They won't even put garlic in it.
But I like flavor, and over the years I've found playing around with the following ingredients can bring something extra to a pizza sauce:
- Oregano: Dried or fresh I love oregano in my sauce
- Sun-dried tomatoes: They just bring something extra
Directions for Homemade Pizza Sauce
Here are the steps you should follow to make homemade pizza sauce:
- Open the can of San Marzano tomatoes and pour them into a large bowl. Use your hands (or invite your kiddo) to crush the tomatoes until they are small, chunky pieces.
- Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Mince the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the crushed tomatoes to the pan.
- Add the basil by tying it up so it is easy to take out again.
- Heat up to a simmer, and reduce the heat to low and let the sauce cook for 15-60 minutes, depending on your preferred method. Leave the lid halfway on.
- Taste it every 15 minutes so it's where you want it
- When it's perfect then it's time to add salt. Adding salt to taste in the beginning before the sauce has reduce will risk oversalting the sauce.
- Once the sauce has finished cooking, remove it from the heat and let it cool.
Final Pizza Sauce Tips
Now that you have a great recipe for homemade pizza sauce, here are a few tips to help you take your pizza-making game to the next level:
Most pizza makers don’t add enough sauce. When making pizza, it’s easy to get carried away with the toppings and forget about the sauce.
But the sauce is just as important as the cheese and toppings! As a general rule of thumb, you should aim to use about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of sauce per pizza, depending on the size of your pizza.
Add more sauce towards the edges where the dough is thicker, and less in the center.
This will help prevent the center of your pizza from becoming too soggy and ensure that each bite has a good balance of sauce, cheese, and toppings.
If you’ve cooked your sauce, allow it to cool down before you add it to the pizza to avoid a sticky dough. Hot sauce can cause the dough to become soggy and difficult to work with, so let the sauce cool down to room temperature before spreading it on your pizza.
If you need more flavor, consider adding tomato puree to your pizza sauce. Tomato puree has a more concentrated flavor than tomato sauce and can help give your sauce an extra kick of flavor. Just be careful not to add too much, as it can overpower the other flavors in your pizza.
Finally, remember that the quality of your ingredients will impact the taste of your pizza sauce. Use high-quality San Marzano tomatoes for the best possible flavor, and don’t skimp on the garlic or olive oil. Fresh herbs like basil or thyme can also add a nice touch of flavor to your pizza sauce.
With these tips in mind, you’ll be well on your way to making delicious homemade pizza sauce that will take your homemade pizzas to the next level. Experiment with different ingredients and cooking methods until you find what works best for you and your family’s tastes.
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That's it! With this recipe, you'll be able to make delicious homemade pizza sauce that will take your homemade pizzas to the next level. Remember, the secret to great pizza is in the sauce, so don't be afraid to experiment with different ingredients and cooking methods until you find what works best for you.
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