The Perfect Homemade Pizza Sauce ~ Recipe | Queenslee Appétit (2024)

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This Homemade Pizza Sauce is the perfect addition to your homemade pizza. Easy to make and packed with flavour — once you make this sauce, you'll never resort to store bought again!

The Perfect Homemade Pizza Sauce ~ Recipe | Queenslee Appétit (1)

Who doesn't love pizza? I love to order pizza every now and then, but I mostly make it at home because NOTHING compares to homemade pizza! My perfect homemade pizza dough topped with this delicious sauce, along with my favourite toppings makes for the perfect pizza!

The Perfect Homemade Pizza Sauce ~ Recipe | Queenslee Appétit (2)

The Perfect Homemade Pizza Sauce

This sauce is nice and thick. It's the same kind of sauce you put on top of a Chicago style pizza, but I love it so much I had to use it on regular pizzas too! But just because it's called "pizza" sauce, doesn't mean that's all it can be used for. You can use this sauce for dipping breadsticks, topping chicken parm, and more!

Come to think of it, this recipe reminds me of my Homemade Meat Sauce, just without the meat! This is basically a vegetarian friendly sauce you can use in your favourite lasagna or as a spaghetti topping.

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Ingredients for the Perfect Pizza Sauce

This sauce requires 15 ingredients — but don't let that scare you away! These are very basic ingredients that you may have on hand already:

Olive Oil and Butter — this is the base of the sauce. The olive oil is used to cook the onions and spices in, and it's the best type of oil you can have in the sauce. The butter just adds some extra flavour to the entire sauce.

Onion — for this recipe, we don't slice or dice the onions, we grate them. Even tho it's an extra pain in the eyes, it's necessary to add a ton of moisture and flavour to the sauce. I used 1 small onion which yielded about ⅓ cup.

Garlic Cloves — a flavour powerhouse that does great things in this sauce!

Spices — oregano, basil, Italian seasoning, onion powder, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper are all used to season the sauce. Although this is supposed to be the base of a pizza, I still wanted it to be full of flavour.

Tomato Sauce and Tomato Paste — Make sure you choose the best-quality canned tomatoes for the most excellent flavour. When adding the tomatoes, I like to add a little bit of water to the can, swirl it around, and pour it into the sauce. I usually do this to clean the jars completely and get every last bit of tomato in the sauce. Even without the extra water the sauce will be watery, so to thicken it up we’re gonna add a can of tomato paste.

Parmesan Cheese — Yup, you heard right. Or read? Either way, we're gonna add a few tablespoons of parmesan cheese to enrich and thicken the sauce! The flavour is very subtle, but it does wonderful things to the sauce.

Sugar — as with all tomato sauces, we add a tiny bit of sugar to give the sauce a little bit of sweetness and mask the acidity in the tomatoes.

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Time = Flavour

I know a lot of recipes cater to busy people with their "5 minute sauces", but we're not doing that over here. Simmering is what gives a sauce it's amazing flavour! Luckily, instead of simmering for 2 hours like we do in my meat sauce recipe, we only need to simmer this sauce for 30 minutes. We want all the flavours to develop and meld together. Trust me, the extra time will totally be worth it in the end! The simmering also reduces the water and thickens up the sauce. The best part about this is that you can control how thin or thick you want your sauce to be. Thinner sauce = less time, thicker sauce = more time.

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This is enough sauce for about 2-3 large pizzas, or about 3-4 (12-inch) pizzas, depending on how much sauce you like on your pizza. The sauce can be used right away for topping pizzas or stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week or frozen for a few months. To freeze the sauce, allow it to cool completely, then pour it into large re-sealable bags and place in the freezer. Transfer the sauce to the refrigerator to thaw out the night before you plan to make your pizza, then re-heat it on the stove top.

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Planning on Making Homemade Pizza? Give these recipes a try!

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The Perfect Homemade Pizza Sauce ~ Recipe | Queenslee Appétit (10)

Yield: 2 cups

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

This Homemade Pizza Sauce is the perfect addition to your homemade pizza. Easy to make and packed with flavour — once you make this sauce, you'll never resort to store bought again!

Ingredients

  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • ⅓ cup grated onions (1 small onion)
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • ¼ teaspoon onion powder
  • ¼-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 1 (28 ounce) can tomato sauce
  • 1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
  • 3 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon Salt, or to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

Instructions

  1. Add the oil and butter to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the grated onion, minced garlic, oregano, basil, Italian seasoning, onion powder and red pepper flakes, for a little heat (optional). Toss around with a wooden spoon and cook until onions are softened and slightly browned, about 3-5 minutes. Be careful as the garlic can easily burn.
  2. Once the onions are cooked, add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Add a little water to the jars, shake a bit and pour into the pot.
  3. Add parmesan, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir until everything is combined. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes to reduce the water and enhance the flavour. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings to your preference.

Notes

  • The sauce can be used right away for topping pizzas or stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week or frozen for a few months. To freeze the sauce, allow it to cool completely, then pour it into large re-sealable bags and place in the freezer. Transfer the sauce to the refrigerator to thaw out the night before you plan to make a pizza, then re-heat it on the stove top.
  • This is enough sauce for about 2-3 large pizzas, or about 3-4 (12-inch) pizzas, depending on how much sauce you like on your pizza.

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FAQs

What makes homemade pizza taste better? ›

Cornmeal and olive oil make all the difference

Inspired by the pizza crust often found in delivery pizzas, the publication points to cornmeal as the key to a quality texture and suggests basting the dough with an oil-based spread to enhance the color and flavor.

When making pizza do you make the sauce or cheese first? ›

Cheese always goes belowthe toppings

You've got your dough as the foundation. Then your sauce. The cheese is the next solid layer. Then your toppings (after all, they're called top-pings and not bottom-ings), and then finally your garnishes like basil, pepper, fresh mozzarella, etc, after the pizza is cooked.

How to make pizza sauce taste like spaghetti sauce? ›

To turn your pizza sauce into pasta sauce, do the following:
  1. Take your jarred pizza sauce and bring it to a stovetop.
  2. Before turning on the heat, add some pasta water from the boiled pasta.
  3. Add a pinch of sugar and salt until you find the correct balance.
Sep 27, 2021

How do you make can pizza sauce taste better? ›

Have fun, taste test along the way, and remember that, when it comes to pizza, it's hard to go wrong.
  1. Mix in Parmesan cheese for a greater depth of flavor. ...
  2. Stir in melted butter to balance acidity. ...
  3. Add garlic powder for a smooth and well-seasoned sauce. ...
  4. Pour in red wine for a more robust taste.
Mar 4, 2024

Why does restaurant pizza taste so good? ›

The No. 1 reason restaurant pizza is better than homemade is that they have ovens that can reach 900°F, or even hotter, which makes for perfectly crisp and chewy crusts, with those lovely charred spots, says Kierin Baldwin, chef-instructor of Pastry & Baking Arts at the Institute of Culinary Education.

Do you cook pizza dough before sauce? ›

If you're baking the pizza in the oven, whether on a pizza stone or not, I always pre-bake the dough for 4-5 minutes before adding toppings, to make sure the pizza dough cooks crisp on the outside and soft and airy in the middle. Once you add the Pizza Sauce and toppings, return it to the oven to finish baking.

Should pizza sauce be smooth or chunky? ›

You will often find tomato chunks in pasta sauce, whereas pizza sauce calls for a smooth tomato sauce that is usually pureed to reduce chunks.

Do Italians put cheese on pizza first or last? ›

Traditionally, Italians put cheese on their pizza before cooking it. The cheese is typically added as one of the first toppings and melts during the baking process, resulting in a deliciously melted and bubbly layer on top of the pizza.

What spices make pizza sauce different from spaghetti sauce? ›

Pizza sauce tends to be somewhat simpler in terms of ingredients. While both feature tomatoes in one form or another, a pizza sauce's add-ins are often limited to things like garlic, oregano, basil, and olive oil.

Does spaghetti sauce work as pizza sauce? ›

If you've ever reached for a jar of marinara sauce in a pinch to top your pizza, then you know that pasta sauce CAN be used as a substitute for pizza sauce. This is especially true if using Otamot Essential Sauce, which is super fresh-tasting and on the thicker side already.

Why do you put sugar in pizza sauce? ›

Spices: Basil, oregano, onion powder, salt & pepper. Taste and adjust these spices to your liking. Sugar: I know it sounds like a weird addition but granulated sugar is an essential ingredient as it mellows out the acidity of the tomatoes.

What is the best cheese to use for homemade pizza? ›

Best cheese for pizza
  • Mozzarella. Perhaps the most well-known and popular pizza topping of all-time, Mozzarella is cherished for its near perfect consistency and straightforward flavour. ...
  • Cheddar/Matured Cheddar. ...
  • Aged Havarti. ...
  • Gorgonzola. ...
  • Provolone. ...
  • Goat cheese. ...
  • Pecorino-Romano. ...
  • The ultimate cheese pizza.

Why do you put baking soda in pizza sauce? ›

The baking soda is supposed to mellow out the sauce a little bit, make it less acidic, and possibly prevent heartburn.

Why is my homemade pizza so bland? ›

If your pizza is bland, you need to figure out if it's the dough or the sauce and toppings, or the cheese. Many people fail to use enough spices in their sauce or on the pizza itself. One reason is that probably you are using cheaper, worse ingredients. Another is that pizza isn't supposed to be a homemade food.

How to make a pizza tastier? ›

Use good cheese and top it with your favorite veggies or other toppings. I am all about the salty toppings - capers, green olives, marinated artichokes. This tastes amazing on a “white” pizza, no red sauce. Instead ricotta and fresh mozzarella.

Why does my homemade pizza taste bland? ›

You don't add enough salt

Given that traditional pizza crusts (you know, not the cauliflower and kale versions) are made nearly entirely from flour, salt is essential. If you don't add enough, your crust will be bland.

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