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Emma Christensen
Emma Christensen
Emma is a former editor for The Kitchn and a graduate of the Cambridge School for Culinary Arts. She is the author of True Brews and Brew Better Beer. Check out her website for more cooking stories
updated Aug 11, 2022
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Tomato sauce for topping homemade pizzas is an easy DIY. It's just three ingredients and a quick blitz in the blender. Here's what to do.
Makesabout 1 1/4 cupsPrep5 minutes to 10 minutesJump to Recipe
Jump to Recipe
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Tomato sauce for homemade pizzas is one of the all-time easiest DIY projects. It’s made with just a few ingredients — canned tomatoes, garlic, balsamic vinegar, and a drizzle of olive oil — and a quick blitz in the blender or food processor. You can even freeze it in single pizza-sized portions to make things all the easier for yourself on pizza night!
Here is your step-by-step recipe, with everything you need to know to make homemade pizza sauce tonight.
Use Canned Tomatoes
Canned tomatoes are just great for making homemade pizza sauce. You can use whole or diced tomatoes, but make sure no spices or herbs have been added. You want basic, everyday, plain tomatoes here! Fresh tomatoes can be used too, but can make a watery sauce; use only paste tomatoes, or squeeze the tomatoes of excess liquid before blending.
Buy Now
Any variety of tomatoes works just fine for making pizza sauce — even your grocery-store brand. For the classic Neapolitan pizza experience, however, pick up a can of San Marzano tomatoes. They’re a little sweeter and meatier than other varieties, and they can really level-up your sauce game for pizza night.
Don’t Cook the Sauce!
This pizza sauce is ready to be used as soon as it’s blended — no cooking needed! Spoon it right onto the pizza, cover with additional toppings, and bake. If you’d like a thicker sauce, strain the tomatoes from their juices before blending.
This isn’t just for convenience — a no-cook sauce will actually taste better on your pizza, giving you that fresh, zippy tomato flavor, even after it has been baked in a hot oven.
Tester’s Note
The first time I made this sauce I was a skeptic: A no-cook pizza sauce made from canned tomatoes? That sounded too simple and easy to be good. Thankfully, I can admit when I’m wrong. Some readers commented that the sauce as originally written was watery with a strong balsamic vinegar flavor. I agreed and added instructions to drain the tomatoes and reduce the vinegar.
Since this sauce does not require cooking, questions also arose about including raw garlic. I can assure you that the garlic flavor is pleasant, not pungent. There is no need for a knife and cutting board since the food processor does all of the work — and no, the sauce isn’t bitter from puréeing the tomato seeds. A little bit of sugar and specified amounts for salt and pepper mean this sauce is everything you would expect from your neighborhood pizzeria.
— Patty, March 2018
How To Make Homemade Pizza Sauce
Tomato sauce for topping homemade pizzas is an easy DIY. It's just three ingredients and a quick blitz in the blender. Here's what to do.
Prep time 5 minutes to 10 minutes
Makes about 1 1/4 cups
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- 4
cloves garlic
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can
diced tomatoes, drained
- 2 tablespoons
olive oil
- 1 teaspoon
sugar
- 1 teaspoon
balsamic vinegar, plus more to taste
- 3/4 teaspoon
kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Equipment
Food processor or blender
Muffin tin, if freezing
Freezer bag, if freezing
Can opener
Fine mesh strainer
Mixing bowl
Instructions
Show Images
Chop garlic in food processor. Pulse the garlic 2 to 3 times in a food processor until coarsely chopped.
Purée the sauce. Add the tomatoes, olive oil, sugar, vinegar, salt, and pepper to the food processor and process for 20 to 30 seconds or until pureed to desired consistency.
Use the pizza sauce. This sauce is ready to be used as is — no cooking required. Just spoon it onto a round of pizza dough and use the back of the spoon to smooth it out. This amount of sauce makes enough for 8 medium pizzas, depending on how much sauce you like on your pizza.
Recipe Notes
Storage: Refrigerate unused sauce for up to 1 week. To freeze the sauce, spoon any unused sauce into muffin tins. Freeze until solid, then pop the frozen cubes out of the mold and transfer to a freezer container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight before using on pizza, or microwave the cubes in 30-second bursts until they melt into a sauce.
Filed in:
allergies
Canned Goods
Dairy-Free
dinner
easy
Freezer Friendly
