The best pizza sauce recipe is also the easiest! The best part is, it’s also an authentic Italian recipe–so what are you waiting for? Next time you make pizza, this is your recipe!
I am amazed at how many pizza sauce recipes I’ve found that are so complicated, include a laundry list of ingredients (including sugar) and that are nothing like a pizza sauce that I’ve ever seen in Italy!
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Some recipes take so much time because you have to cook the sauce before putting it on the pizza, but pizza sauce should never be cooked! A few of the photos I’ve seen have scarred me for life: red spackling paste? Please let me help you. (Updated: just read some of the reviews below. This recipe is life-changing!) 😀
Why is this the Best Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe?
THIS PIZZA SAUCE IS THE BEST BECAUSE IT’S SIMPLE AND USES ONLY TOP QUALITY INGREDIENTS.
That’s the reason, in a nutshell. So who am I to tell you what the best recipe is? I am by no means a pizza making expert. However, my mother was born in Italy (just north of Naples, where pizza was born), and she and her family (6 sisters who are amazing cooks) know how to make an authentic Italian pizza sauce, trust me on that!
I’ve also been traveling to Italy and eating incredibly delicious pizza there since I was a born. If you’re not looking for a really authentic, traditional and classic Italian pizza sauce, this isn’t for you.
For example, there are a few ingredients you will never find in an authentic Italian, and delicious pizza sauce recipe.
How to Select the Ingredients for your Pizza Sauce
Doesn’t this pizza sauce look more appealing than a dark red spackle-type sauce? It’s light, fresh and delicious, like so many other authentic Italian creations! If you don’t like pieces of tomato or seeds, just use a purée or passata which is smooth. (You can also purée whole or chunky tomatoes to make them smooth.)
Looking for a real (easy) Italian spaghetti sauce?
What Ingredients Are Used in the Best Sauce Recipe?
Pizza’s original home is Naples, so why wouldn’t we use the best pizza sauce recipe from there to make your pizza at home? Given that most of us don’t live in Naples, I will share tips on how you can make the best pizza sauce in your home without stressing about following the “rules” to a T. According to the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, the best pizza sauce recipe includes, but is not limited, to the following:
- TOMATOES: you can use fresh tomatoes, however, for guaranteed quality and taste, try to get your hands on “pomodoro pelato S.Marzano dell’Agro Sarnese-Nocerino D.O.P.” Don’t be scared of that long name, you’ll recognize them as San Marzano tomatoes (but they’re the real deal, not fakes). These are simply the “cream of the crop” of the Greatest Tomatoes from Europe (GTFE). Of course, you can use any good quality canned tomatoes for great results, including pomodorini (cherry tomatoes) like the photo of the can above. Be careful as to what you consider to be “quality”, so check the GTFE site to make sure.
- EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL: be sure to use a top quality oil (some are mixed with other oils.)
- CHEESE: grated hard cheese, like authentic Italian Parmigiano Reggiano (sprinkled on the pizza not added to the sauce).
- OREGANO: dried oregano is fine. Fresh herbs are not critical, except for the basil.
- BASIL: fresh basil is best.
- SALT: use a good quality sea salt.
Note: if you want to add hot pepper flakes to the sauce, you can, but in Italy, spicy pizza is called pizza alla diavola, and is topped with a spicy dry cured sausage, more like salami. It’s actually one of my favorite pizzas!
Selecting Ingredients: What to Avoid
Let’s cover the ingredients you should NOT use if you want the best results.
- Inferior quality tomatoes, i.e. tasteless, acidic, and/or sour tomatoes, whether fresh or canned; your pizza will be ruined. If you want to read in more detail about the difference in canned tomatoes, click here. Most important is NOT TO BE DUPED by companies selling “San Marzano” tomatoes that are not DOP or from the special region of Naples (or even Italy for that matter)!
- Tomato paste. It simply should never meet pizza dough in any form. Most people do not use tomato paste properly or as it was intended to be used by Italians.
- Sugar. Any type of sweetener is simply unnecessary when you are using top quality, great tasting tomatoes.
- “Italian Seasoning.” This is a non-Italian creation. It simply doesn’t exist in Italy, therefore, belongs in no authentic Italian dish, including pizza.
- Garlic powder or garlic salt. Just no. (No onion or other powders, for that matter.)
Tips for Making this Recipe & Frequently Asked Questions
How is Pizza Sauce Different from Pasta Sauce?
The main difference is that pizza sauce is raw, whereas pasta sauce is cooked. In the region where my mother is from, oregano is for pizza sauce, not pasta sauce. Also, don’t believe for a minute that either one should be “thick” or “heavy.” If you end up with a thick pizza sauce, you’re not making anything remotely Italian.
THIS IS PHOTO IS NOT PIZZA SAUCE, I’m just sharing my Authentic (Quick) Italian Tomato Sauce for Pasta. Someone mistakenly thought this was a photo of me cooking pizza sauce, so I’m explaining in more detail.
How do you make Italian pizza sauce from scratch?
It’s so easy: source the best ingredients and follow my recipe below! Here’s my pizza dough recipe, but a more authentic and improved recipe is coming soon!
Can I Make Pizza Sauce Ahead of Time?
Yes, just keep it refrigerated if you don’t plan to use it right away. It will keep in the fridge for two or three days until you’re ready for pizza night!
Can I Substitute Tomato Paste for Pizza Sauce?
Absolutely 100% NO! This is the devil’s pizza sauce if you do this! Tomato paste has no place anywhere on a pizza, or in a pizza sauce. I just don’t understand how Italian cuisine has become so misunderstood and disparate in the US and UK (mostly). Tomato paste is used as a thickener when you have really runny tomatoes, or to add some tomato flavor to a soup, but never used as a pizza sauce base, or even in a pizza sauce. The flavor and consistency are the main reasons for not using the paste. Do a taste test if you don’t believe me.
Can I Freeze Pizza Sauce?
Yes! If you plan to keep it longer than two or three days, put the pizza sauce in a freezerproof container and freeze. It should last about a month in the freezer, but try to use it before then.
Baking a Delicious Pizza Using this Recipe
So this is the part we have the least control over in making a really good Italian pizza: the oven. We can always buy a pizza stone, which helps, but the fact that we can’t get an oven temperature of more than 500 degrees F is the biggest problem. Pizza needs a super hot oven upwards of 700 degrees F.
Without buying a professional pizza oven, the next best thing I’ve found is an inexpensive countertop pizza maker. I love mine and it reaches over 600 degrees F! The Petite Pizzeria that I have has been discontinued, but this Chef di Cucina Pizza Maker looks almost exactly the same and gets rave reviews.
My mother and family’s go to pizza sauce is actually what is called a Marinara pizza. Somehow, Americans/Brits got mixed up with what marinara sauce is. A Marinara pizza sauce includes garlic and oregano, however, for a Margherita pizza, these are omitted.
How to Make this Authentic Italian
Pizza Sauce Recipe
by Christina Conte enough sauce for 4, 10″ pizzas
FULL PRINTABLE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW
(including recommendations for the best products)
What You’ll Need
A medium sized bowl, kitchen shears or blender, and spoon.
Ingredients
- good quality tomatoes, fresh or canned
- good quality extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- fresh Italian basil
- oregano (optional)
- fresh garlic (optional)
- Pour the can of tomatoes into a bowl. If it is pomodorini or whole tomatoes, crush them with your hands, or you can roughly cut them with kitchen shears. If your tomatoes have a lot of liquid, if you mix them all together, it shouldn’t be too watery. However, if you don’t use an entire can, just leave more of the liquid with the tomatoes you don’t use.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Taste for salt and add if needed. That’s it, the sauce is ready to use!
- (Don’t add too much sauce to the pizza dough; you don’t want to drown it.)
Although this is a “best pizza sauce recipe” post, I want to briefly discuss the toppings. Since the pizza sauce is so tasty on this pizza, you don’t need a ton of toppings. You can have it plain, which is my mother’s favorite pizza. Just go easy on whatever you add: a little fresh mozzarella, some sautéed mushrooms, anchovies, roasted red pepper or pepperoni. You can truly add what you like, just don’t tell me if you add Hawaiian p——-e!
At this point, you may believe me that this is the easiest pizza sauce recipe ever, but you’ll have to taste it to believe that it’s the best. If you try it, please leave a review (see the star rating in the printable recipe card or the WRITE A REVIEW at the bottom next to the comment tab).
(Updated 2/2021: PLEASE READ WHAT READERS HAVE ALREADY WRITTEN
IN BOTH THE COMMENTS AND REVIEWS TABS BELOW!)
I hope this changes your pizza game! Let me know if it does. Ciao!
Best Pizza Sauce Recipe (No Cook, Authentic Italian Style)
The best and easiest Italian pizza sauce recipe.
Ingredients
- 14 oz (400g) can of European tomatoes (preferably pomodoro pelato S.Marzano dell’Agro Sarnese-Nocerino D.O.P) THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT-do not use inferior quality tomatoes
- 3 Tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- a few pinches of dried oregano
- 2 or 3 leaves of fresh Italian basil, torn into small pieces
- (optional: a clove of fresh garlic, minced) my Italian family uses garlic, but it's only used on one type of pizza in Naples
Instructions
- Pour the can of tomatoes into a bowl. If it is pomodorini or whole tomatoes, crush them with your hands, or you can roughly cut them with kitchen shears.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Taste for salt and add if needed. (Don't add a lot of sauce to the pizza dough; you don't want to drown it.)
Notes
Best quality ingredients are essential for this recipe. Do not subsitute the tomatoes.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving:Calories: 167Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 5mgSodium: 453mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 3g
Nutrition info is estimated.
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i have actually been doing this for years, but I am guilty of adding bit of tomato paste, I get what you are saying and next pizza no mas. where I live the challenge is the tomatoes, so it is a compromise, I buy the best I can get I also ferment my dough for 3 days, really important as well, and of course buy the best moz I can find,,,,, , I recently bought a grill that gets super hot, I think I have a future here
I am no pro in cooking,
Well followed the instructions out here and the sauce turned out amazing. Honestly I was hesitant to try wondering about the water that may make the readymade pizza breads base soggy while roasting (bought breads from a store) as we don’t have a good oven, we first cook the pizza in the oven and then transfer it to a pan to make the base crispy. Yet it was a success
The pizza was so yummy because of the sauce and my family loved it a lot.
Getting the exact canned tomatoes out here in India was challenging but not impossible.
Followed the instructions and voila the sauce was ready
Love this, Ruzbeh! Thanks for letting me know and I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe! :) Yay!
I’m a bit confused about stating this sauce is not cooked. Tomatoes are cooked in the tins during the sterilisation process so if you are using tins the tomatoes have been cooked? I was about to start cooking up our fresh San Marzano’s from the garden when i came across your recipe so i’m going to try them raw although maybe they need the extra heat of a proper pizza oven to cook on the dough… will have to find out :) I just find it hard to see how you could get similar results from fresh and tinned…?
Hi Jon, you are correct in that the tomatoes are heated for the sterilization process, but I mean cooking them on the stove. You could blanch your fresh tomatoes for 2 minutes to remove the skin to give it a bit more of the canned tomato texture, but fresh tomatoes are great when used on pizza (given that they are tasty, good quality tomatoes). Let me know what you think.
the tomatoes in cans are NOT cooked, and if you try, the best quality, pay a bit more its worth it
Outstanding! I usually can’t help myself and wind not trusting some aspect of online recipes but in this case I followed it exactly and I’m glad I did. The three tablespoons of olive is not something I might have done on my own but seemed to be very important don’t skip or downscale that. I suspect that is what pulls the flavors together. I will only say this recipe is heavily if not completely dependent on superior quality tomatoes. I usually buy DOP certified imported tomatoes this time I used cento brand whole peeled tomatoes and luckily they were excellent. Taste first, if you’re starting with a sour bitter, watery can of tomatoes you might be disappointed. Good tomatoes for this purpose are packed in an already thick pulpy sauce not water.
Hi Max, I’m so glad you did follow the directions! They’re not mine, but the proper southern Italian way of making pizza sauce, I’m just the messenger. :) Yes, the tomatoes are key, however, all quality ingredients make it the best possible sauce! Share with your friends. If you can, please click the 5 stars above the PRINT button in the recipe card, thank you!
Hello I agree! I usually buy DOP tomatoes too. San Marzano and cento are the best on the big box shelf!
Hi JC.
I buy Cento San Marzano pomodoro San Marzano certified whole peeled tomatoes all the time. When I found this pizza recipe, I grabbed a can and researched the label. On the back it says “ certified by an independent E.U. Third party agency under UNI EN ISO…ISO is an independent, non-governmental international organization not affiliated with any consortium, agency or DOP/PDO.” So I’m thinking Cento makes DOP approved tomatoes?? And do they taste better than the only Cento tomatoes are in my area?
I never thought there was so much involved in buying canned tomatoes but I want to learn. Your feedback is welcomed.
I’m popping in here as I missed J.C’s post until now.
First of all, JC states “San Marzano and Cento…”. One is a type of tomato and one is a brand, which means he is confused as so many of us have been. Unless he’s referring to one of the worst tomatoes I’ve ever tasted which used to have San Marzano on their label as the name with “pomidori” (tomatoes in Italian, spelled incorrectly) which is a US company pretending to sell an Italian product.
Secondly, Cento has been involved in a lawsuit so Sharon, you are correct, they are not DOP tomatoes. They are getting sneakier and more sly all the time because it’s big $$$ that’s involved. You can read more here: https://news.italianfood.net/2019/03/01/san-marzano-tomato-pdo-lawsuit-goes-to-the-core-of-authenticity/
be careful, some cans say san marzano style or Italian style, you need the real deal if possible
Hi Bill, you are so right, but most times they don’t even say “style”, they flat out just say San Marzano. It’s like putting the Mercedes hood ornament on a Hyundai. Just not right.
Under “What is the Best Pizza Sauce?” you mention this:
CHEESE: grated hard cheese, like Parmigiano Reggiano
But it does not seem to go into the sauce?
Hi Torben, you are correct, it doesn’t go into the sauce, but a proper/real Neapolitan pizza has Parmigiano Reggiano ON it. It’s not much, and my family never put it on, but yes, it goes on the pizza :)
If we are using fresh grown tomatoes should we roast them to remove the skins? In my experience canned tomatoes always have the skins removed.
Hi Ross, you don’t have to remove the skins/seeds, but you absolutely can. However, do not roast the tomatoes, simply blanch them for about 45 seconds into boiling water, then put into a bowl of ice water. The skins will slip off. Enjoy!
[…] seemingly pretty authentic recipe is adapted from Christina Cucina, a Scottish-born Italian cook, whose mom is originally from just north of Naples, Italy. For anyone […]