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!

The Perfect Homemade Pizza Dough

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Stuffed Crust Pizza

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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

How does Gordon Ramsay make pizza sauce? ›

Gordon Ramsay's Pizza Sauce, serving six, is made with tomato paste and sauce, oregano, Italian seasoning, garlic and onion powders, garlic salt, black pepper, and sugar. Mixed in a bowl, it's easy to prepare and perfect for enhancing homemade pizzas.

What makes homemade pizza taste better? ›

Baldwin suggests making your toppings yourself for the best homemade pizza. "Slice your own pepperoni for a thicker cut, roast red peppers and garlic, crumble and sauté some sausage," she says. "Doing all these things from scratch makes the pizza truly great."

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 do you make pizza sauce taste better? ›

13 Ways To Upgrade The Flavor Of Store-Bought Pizza Sauce
  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. ...
  5. Blend in Calabrian chile peppers for a spicy kick.
Mar 4, 2024

What gives pizza sauce its distinctive flavor? ›

Traditional pizza sauce is made with a base of tomatoes and spices like garlic, onion, basil, and oregano. You might think that this makes a pizza simple or boring, but this isn't the case. There are so many varieties and recipes for it that you'll never get bored of this meal!

How to make pizza sauce Jamie Oliver? ›

How to Make Pizza Sauce Jamie Oliver Style
  1. Heat the Olive Oil: In a saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
  2. Sauté the Garlic: Add the minced garlic to the pan and sauté for about a minute until fragrant.
  3. Add Tomatoes and Seasonings: Pour in the can of chopped tomatoes and sprinkle in the dried oregano.
Feb 13, 2024

Why does restaurant pizza taste so good? ›

According to Inside Science, using a wood-fired brick oven is what's best for pizza. Restaurants use these ovens because the key to a well-rounded savory tomato pie is for both the toppings and the dough on the bottom to finish cooking simultaneously.

What seasoning makes pizza taste better? ›

Popular Seasonings and Herbs to Add to Pizza
  1. Parmesan Cheese. Parmesan cheese is a hard cheese that can be grated, shredded or shaved over the top of pizza after it has finished baking. ...
  2. Italian Seasoning. ...
  3. Oregano. ...
  4. Garlic. ...
  5. Red Pepper Flakes. ...
  6. Parsley. ...
  7. Basil. ...
  8. Thyme.
Apr 21, 2023

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 meat go over or under cheese on pizza? ›

Everything goes on top of the cheese. That is why they're called toppings. The reason is that meat toppings don't get crispy, and vegetable toppings get soggy if they go under the cheese.

How to stop pizza toppings falling off? ›

You are using too many toppings and your sauce is likely too thin so the toppings sort of float on top of it. Thicken out your sauce some and cut back on the number of toppings. Another trick that works is to put a thin layer of cheese on your toppings.

Why do you put sugar in pizza sauce? ›

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 are the best tomatoes for pizza sauce? ›

Plum tomatoes are ideal for making pizza sauce. Actually, the best tomatoes for pizza sauce are ones below Mt. Vesuvius' soil outside Naples in San Marzano, Italy. But, since everyone doesn't live around Vesuvius, canned San Marzano tomatoes are available in the supermarket.

What makes a pizza taste best? ›

Cheese and tomatoes have some of the highest natural levels of glutamate. Glutamate: an amino acid (one of the building blocks of DNA) is found in every pizza ingredient and is a critical component in giving pizza its flavor. Glutamate is found in protein-rich foods like wheat flour, cheese, meat and some vegetables.

Why does pizza sauce taste different? ›

Pizza sauce is prepared with uncooked pureed tomatoes while pasta sauce is made with cooked blended tomatoes and flavorful garlic, herbs, and spices. Whether you're looking to open a pizza shop or just making personal pizzas, most chefs will agree that the secret is in the sauce.

Does authentic Italian pizza have sauce? ›

With real italian pizza, you will find homemade sauce made from freshly peeled tomatoes and a blend of savory, complimenting herbs. You will also notice that authentic Italian pizza doesn't combine the toppings and sauce to be cooked together. They simply layer the sauce along the crust.

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