Homemade Pizza Sauce

Level up your homemade pizza with this easy pizza sauce recipe. Made with 8 simple ingredients, it's quick and flavorful—no cooking required!

Homemade pizza sauce

Making pizza sauce from scratch is simpler than it might seem. You don’t need any fancy ingredients or even very much time. My easy pizza sauce recipe calls for 8 pantry staples and comes together in 5 minutes—no cooking required!

I could be biased, but I think this homemade pizza sauce is better than store-bought. It’s thick and flavorful, seasoned with fresh garlic and dried herbs.

It’s also super affordable. This easy pizza sauce recipe makes a large batch, enough for 5 to 6 pizzas. Make it for your next pizza night, and store any leftovers in the freezer. You’ll love having them on hand for whenever a homemade pizza craving strikes. I know I do!

Pizza sauce recipe ingredients

Pizza Sauce Recipe Ingredients

My easy homemade pizza sauce recipe calls for 8 basic ingredients, most (or all) of which you likely have in your pantry! Here’s what you’ll need to make it:

  • Canned whole peeled tomatoes – I’ve tried making homemade pizza sauce with canned tomato sauce and canned crushed tomatoes. But I find that the sauce has the best texture and flavor when I start with whole peeled tomatoes and blend them myself. Because this recipe is so simple, I recommend seeking out good-quality canned tomatoes. If you can find them, choose San Marzano tomatoes, which are especially sweet.
  • Tomato paste – It adds tangy tomato flavor and thickens the sauce.
  • Extra-virgin olive oil – For richness.
  • Fresh garlic and dried Italian seasoning – For savory depth of flavor. Use your favorite store-bought Italian seasoning, or make homemade Italian seasoning with dried oregano, dried basil, marjoram, rosemary, and thyme.
  • Cane sugar – Its sweetness balances the acidic tomato paste.
  • And salt and pepper – To make all the flavors pop!

Optional, but delicious: If you’d like the pizza sauce to have a spicy kick, feel free to add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes!

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

Whole peeled tomatoes, tomato paste, olive oil, garlic, dried herbs, and sea salt in a food processor

How to Make Pizza Sauce

This pizza sauce recipe is quick and easy to make. Once you’ve assembled your ingredients, all you need to do is plop them in a food processor and blend until smooth! If you don’t have a food processor, you can use an immersion blender or regular blender for this step instead.

Homemade pizza sauce in a food processor

This is a no-cook pizza sauce recipe. Unlike my homemade marinara sauce or fresh tomato sauce, I don’t simmer this sauce on the stove. After blending, it’s thick enough to spread straight onto the pizza dough!

Simply season to taste before using it.

How to Store Pizza Sauce

This recipe makes a fairly large batch—it yields about 4 cups sauce, enough for 5 to 6 large pizzas.

Store leftover sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

It also freezes well. Seal it in an airtight container or jar and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Transfer frozen sauce to the fridge to thaw overnight.

  • Tip: Freeze the sauce in 2/3-cup portions so that you can thaw enough for 1 pizza at a time.

Pizza sauce recipe

Homemade Pizza Recipes to Try

Use this pizza sauce recipe on any homemade pizza! Spread it on homemade pizza dough and top it with shredded mozzarella cheese and your favorite pizza toppings. Bake in a 500°F oven until the pizza crust is browned, typically 10 to 15 minutes.

Or try it on my favorite veggie pizza or sheet pan pizza!

Get This Recipe In Your Inbox
Share your email, and we'll send it straight to your inbox. Plus, enjoy daily doses of recipe inspiration as a bonus!

Pizza Sauce

rate this recipe:
5 from 15 votes
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
My best pizza sauce recipe! This easy homemade pizza sauce comes together in 5 minutes with 8 basic ingredients. Olive oil, garlic, and dried herbs fill it with rich, savory flavor. Recipe yields 4 cups sauce, enough for approximately 5 to 6 pizzas.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a food processor, place the garlic. Pulse until finely chopped.
  • Add the whole tomatoes, tomato paste, olive oil, Italian seasoning, salt, sugar, and several grinds of pepper. Process until smooth and season to taste.
  • Spread pizza sauce directly on stretched pizza dough (there’s no need to cook it separately first). Store leftover sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It also freezes well for up to 3 months.

 

20 comments

5 from 15 votes (13 ratings without comment)

Leave a comment:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe (after making it)




  1. Rose
    09.17.2024

    Hi L&L, I have not had success freezing uncooked pizza sauces in the past. When thawed, the sauce becomes very watery making them unusable since they would result in a soggy, doughy pizza.
    I do see that you are adding tomato paste and am wondering if this would eliminate that watery consistency when thawed.
    Thoughts? Thanks!

  2. Susan
    09.17.2024

    Can regular sugar be substituted for cane sugar? How much? Trying to save some $$$ here.

  3. Janet
    07.27.2024

    5 stars
    Love this recipe. Tried others but this is simply the best ?

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      08.01.2024

      Hi Janet, I’m glad you love the pizza sauce!

  4. Lori
    06.07.2024

    5 stars
    Skip the food processor (and save yourself the cleaning) and just use an immersion blender!! Great easy recipe.

  5. Soso
    05.18.2024

    How long can it stay on fridge and freezer?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      05.22.2024

      Hi Soso, I’d keep it up to 5 days in the fridge and a few months in the freezer.

  6. Jenna
    05.17.2023

    Can you make this sauce ahead of time and store in the fridge until ready to use?

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      05.19.2023

      Hi Jenna, yes, definitely! It freezes well too.

  7. Cass
    12.08.2021

    Do you grease your pizza pan or stone before putting the dough on?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      12.08.2021

      Hi Cass, nope, it’s not necessary. The dough won’t stick to the preheated stone, and if you try greasing a pan, you’ll have harder time stretching the dough to the edges without it springing back.

  8. Carl
    09.13.2019

    Can you use this as a pasta sauce also or do you have a recipe for it?

  9. Susana
    09.13.2019

    Why use canned tomatoes while you could use fresh ones?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      09.13.2019

      you can use fresh ones if you like – this is my simple go-to pantry pizza sauce that I use year round.

  10. Jessica
    09.13.2019

    I love how simple this is! I always imagined pizza sauce having to simmer down. Thanks for sharing!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      09.13.2019

      Yep, it cooks as you bake the pizza! It’s not a heavy tomato-past-y sauce, it’s light like a Margherita pizza sauce which is what I prefer.

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.