By:Nagi
37 Comments
A good pizza sauce recipe is essential for an excellent homemade pizza. This recipe containsthree options:my go-to super speedy one (2 minutes), a fresh bright one and a rich New York style pizza sauce.
Add your favouritetoppings, and healthy dose of cheese then pop it in the oven!
No yeast? No worries! Make this Magic No Yeast Pizza Dough.
Pizza Sauce recipe
To be completely honest, you can get away with just using plain tomato paste with a pinch of salt and pepper as a pizza sauce. Once you pile on cheese and other toppings, it’s still completely scoffable.
However, it really is worth taking a bit of time to make a great pizza sauce! It’s just tastier, it has more flavour and is less harsh than plain tomato paste.
Here are the 3 pizza sauces I use –choose the one that suits your needs, best matches the pizza topping you are using or that you have the ingredients for.
Instant Pizza Sauce (my go-to) – made with tomato paste, no cook.This is the one I use most often because it pairs so well with strong flavoured toppings that I enjoy – such as pepperoni, prosciutto and rocket, Meat Lovers’, Supreme. Tastes like store bought Leggo’s pizza sauce (minus the preservatives). Excellent all rounder;
Fresh and Bright – made with Tomato Passata, no cook. This is ideal for classic Italian pizzas and lighter toppings (like spring vegetables). It’s a classic Italian style pizza sauce; and
New York Pizza Sauce – made with canned tomato, simmered slowly for an hour to cook out the excess water, this one is richly flavoured and is essentially the “all out” version of the Instant Pizza Sauce. I make this if I’m trying to impress friends!
How much pizza sauce to use
Use 1/4 cup of sauce for each 30cm / 12″ pizza.
Spread it evenly across the pizza base (hopefully homemade!) using the back of a spoon, leaving a 1cm / 1/2″ border for the crust.
Sprinkle with 130g / 4.5 oz mozzarella cheese then toppings of choice – here are our Favourite Pizza Topping recipes.
Bake per the directions in this Homemade Pizza recipeor the Magic No Yeast Pizza Dough recipe. Devour immediately upon removal from oven!! – Nagi x
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Pizza Sauces
Author: Nagi
Prep: 5 minutes mins
Mains
Italian, Western
4.89 from 18 votes
Servings4 pizzas
Tap or hover to scale
Pick the one that suits your needs to make homemade pizza! (No Yeast pizza dough here)
Instant Pizza Sauce – An intense flavour with the signature tang of tomato paste which compliments rich / intense flavoured pizza toppings. Tastes like Leggos pizza sauce sold at the stores. I use this the most often – personal taste and sheer convenience.
Fresh and Bright – A lighter, fresher pizza sauce thanks to the addition of passata. Ideal for more delicate toppings like margherita, vegetable pizzas and most classic Italian pizzas.
New York Pizza Sauce – A richly flavoured New York-style pizza sauce. Based on this recipe from Serious Eats.
Ingredients
Instant Pizza Sauce:
- 1 cup tomato paste , unsalted (Note 1)
- 1 tsp salt (Note 1)
- 2 tsp white sugar
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 tsp garlic , finely minced (optional)
- 2 tbsp water
- 1/2 tsp EACH dried parsley , basil and oregano (optional)
Fresh and Bright Pizza Sauce:
- 1 cup tomato passata (Note 2)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
New York Pizza Sauce:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion (small), finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic grated or finely chopped
- 800g / 28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
Instructions
Instant Pizza Sauce:
Combine ingredients and mix well.
Fresh and Bright Pizza Sauce:
Combine ingredients and mix well
New York Pizza Sauce:
Heat oil in a heavy-based, medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and sautee until onions are soft but not coloured.
Add tomatoes, oregano, salt and sugar. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half (about 1 hour). You will need to stir more frequently towards the end to stop the sauce catching
Leave to cool before using.
Using pizza sauce:
Use 1/4 cup of pizza sauce for each pizza (30cm/12" wide).
Place raw pizza crust on a pizza pan (preferably with holes). Spread sauce evenly using the back of a spoon, leaving a 1cm / 1/2" border for the crust.
Cover with toppings of choice (less is more!). Standard pizza – sprinkle with 130g / 4.5 oz freshly shredded mozzarella cheese, then 1 cup toppings such as sliced pepperoni. (See this post for pizza topping recipes)
Bake in preheated 275°C / 530°F oven on top shelf for 10 minutes, rotating at 4 minutes, until cheese has golden specks and crust is crisp. (See this homemade pizza recipe for full cooking directions, or this NO YEAST Pizza Dough recipe)
Recipe Notes:
1. Tomato paste – It’s common to find tomato paste with salt already added (check the ingredients label). If your tomato paste has salt already, reduce the salt quantity to 1/2 tsp.
2. Tomato passata – pureed, strained pure tomatoes, sometimes labelled Tomato Puree in the US (here’s a photo of Mutti Tomato Passata sold at Walmart). Readily available in Australian supermarkets nowadays, alongside pasta sauces.
Storage and leftovers – all 3 will keep for at least 5 days in the fridge, or freeze in portion sizes for 3 months. Leftover Fresh & Bright and New York-Style sauces make great pasta sauces! Add any ingredients you like or use as-is.
Nutrition for Instant Pizza Sauce, per pizza.
Nutrition Information:
Calories: 82cal (4%)Carbohydrates: 14g (5%)Protein: 3g (6%)Fat: 3g (5%)Saturated Fat: 1g (6%)Sodium: 518mg (23%)Potassium: 664mg (19%)Fiber: 3g (13%)Sugar: 9g (10%)Vitamin A: 999IU (20%)Vitamin C: 15mg (18%)Calcium: 26mg (3%)Iron: 2mg (11%)
Keywords: pizza sauce
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.
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37 Comments
jb says
Ahhggg, I might as well forget about losing weight! I occassionally bought discounted Walmart pizzas if the thought of cooking was worse than their chemical-filled junk. That ends with the no-yeast pizza crust and Instant pizza sauce! I added a little balsamic vinegar since I cut the salt and sugar by half. BTW, if you don’t knead the no-yeast crust, it’s just like Walmart’s breakfast pizza crust w/o the unpronounceable stuff.Reply
- Larah says
Love your site. Never wanted to prepare and devour Pizza so badly. Loving all your tips & recipes 😘 ❤️P.S. Never left comments on any blog all my life 😜 Good pizza job. Your family must be lucky to have you there ❤️ Well! Haha! 🤣
Reply
- Deb_TheBakingNurse says
New York Style Pizza Sauce- excellent – but as always I had to tweak it- we like it more spicy-( hope you don’t mind)
2 tbsp virgin olive oil/1 small red onion/4 fat garlic cloves/500g passata/2 tsp balsamic vinegar/1 tsp dried oregano/1/2 tsp dried basil (half a bunch fresh leaves, torn, added at the end)/1 fresh birds eye chilli/1 tsp paprika(smoked paprika)/Pinch white pepper/1/2 tsp salt( to taste)/1 tsp white sugar
Love your recipes & style of cooking🥰🥰😋😋 - Karina says
Best pizza sauce I tried! ( fresh and bright pizza sauce)Reply
- Phoenix Sarunic Benincasa says
This is amazing pizza sauceReply
- Amin says
Thanks Nagi, The instant pizza sauce is perfect in a pinch. Will not be buying the canned stuff any longer.Reply
- Juliana Pires says
The best and easiest pizza dough I’ve ever made.Reply
- Juliana Pires says
This comment was meant for the pizza dough recipe!
The salsa is amazing too!!!Reply
- Linda Tjoa says
Tried the New York pizza sauce tonight and we loved it!!! Your recipes are amazing as always..
Reply
- Becky says
The instant pizza sauce was great and created the perfect amount for my pizzaReply
- Kim says
I made the New York style sauce and it was well worth the time it took to simmer down to the best sauce I’ve ever eaten! We used it for our pizza made with Naan bread. Thank you for sharing this recipe 😋Reply
- Ben says
Can I use bottled pasta sauce instead?Reply
- Nagi says
I prefer homemade but of course you can use bottled sauce if you like!! N x
Reply
- Stacy says
Oooh. You said the instant one tastes just like the Leggo’s but without the preservatives? I’m down. Gonna try this ASAP as I really like the Leggo’s version, but not a fan of all the preservatives etc!
Reply
- Melinda says
The Instant Pizza Sauce is sosososo good! One of the gifts you provide in every recipe I’ve tried are lots of suggestions and substitutions. This is a gift that has allowed me to introduce many different edible elements to my beloved spouse. Thanks to you the variety of his vegetable intake has soared. Meal planning has become meal creation. Being in the kitchen is a delight once again. Thank you so much Nagi! 🥰Reply
- Awais says
New York pizza sauce tasted really good but was thin. Next time will reduce sauce for longer to thicken moreReply
- Judy says
HI:New York Pizza sauce is supposed to be thin, I am not a fan, myself. Spent. few days in New York and tried several pies. NONE of them was any good-even the one from one of the oldest pizza restaurants in America. We stood in line for 45 minutes to get in. Ordered our pizza. Was VERY disappointed. But everyone around us seemed to rave about their pizza, with lots of selfies being taken. We just felt like we were taken to the bank, as the pizza cost about $35 USD! But I will try her instant pizza sauce. Thanks all Happy eating!
Reply
- Lizeel47 says
My daughter made the ‘fresh and bright’ pizza sauce and loved it! Many thanks for the recipe.Reply
- Fred says
Can I use tomato sauce
Reply
- Nagi says
Hi Fred – tomato sauce in lieu of tomato paste? N x
Reply
- Becki says
Oh Nagi, I’m almost overwhelmed with garden tomatoes. I recently made your Chicken Parm recipe, using my tomatoes to make tomato puree for the sauce & it was heavenly.
I’m going to can up some crushed tomatoes for the NY style sauce! Thank you!Reply
- Katy says
The instant pizza sauce is a lifesaver. I could hug you. I had my dough out defrosting during the day with my evening all planned. When does THAT ever work? After a rushed evening mopping up about a zillion times after a late running plasterer, then running out to go shopping, then breaking a bottle unpacking the shopping which went EVERYWHERE and more mopping….I could’ve just tossed the pizza dough in the bin! However a quick spot of instant pizza sauce and 10 minutes in the oven…the world is a better place. Wine also helped. Great recipes!!Reply
- Ahmed says
Delicious and easyReply
- Roju says
Hi Nagi, thanks for all the great recipes!
Regarding the New York pizza sauce, the link you attached to the Serious Eats website includes butter in their recipe. Would you recommend adding butter?Reply
- Nagi says
Hi Roju, yes it’s based on that recipe – but I make my own as per the recipe in my post, I don’t bother with butter. N x
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