Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe
This post contains links to affiliate websites, such as Amazon, and we receive an affiliate commission for any purchases made by you using these links. We appreciate your support!
This incredibly easy, bright and fresh-tasting homemade pizza sauce recipe uses only 6 ingredients and is ready in under 10 minutes! Use high-quality canned tomatoes, such as San Marzanos, for the best flavor.
Homemade pizza is one of my very favorite things to make. There are a lot of things that I genuinely feel taste better homemade than from your average takeout restaurant, and pizza is one of them.
*This post probably contains affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure policy for details.
That said, Neapolitan-style pizza, which is a big deal in Montreal right now, is pretty hard to replicate at home. If you’re not familiar, Neapolitan pizza has a very thin, tender and elastic crust. The toppings are simple, usually just tomato sauce and buffalo mozzarella, though around here you can get it topped with all kinds of things.
The reason it’s hard to replicate at home is because it’s baked for like ONE MINUTE in a 900 F oven – almost twice as hot as the average home oven gets. So when I get a hankering for Neapolitan pizza, I just make my way to one of the dozen or so places in my neighborhood alone that does a great job with it.
However, my very favorite part of Neapolitan pizza is the fresh tomato sauce. This is no heavily-simmered, thick and pasty American-style tomato sauce. Instead the sauce is made with uncooked, high quality tomatoes, usually San Marzanos, and very minimal seasonings.
It’s so fresh and delicious, and it’s one thing about Neapolitan pizza that you can easily pull off at home. In fact it’s pretty much the easiest pizza sauce you can make.
I do take the liberty of adding a couple of extra ingredients to mine, which is why I don’t specifically label it “Neapolitan pizza sauce”, but the basic concept remains the same.
Slathered on top of the best homemade pizza dough, this sauce is pretty amazing. Later this week, I’ll share a recipe for the pepperoni pizza we make more often than any other pizza in our house.
Here’s how I make this super simple, bright, fresh pizza sauce.
How to make fresh homemade pizza sauce
- Drain a 28 oz can of high-quality Italian tomatoes. I like to squish the tomatoes a bit to get more juice out. Reserve the juice.
- Place the drained tomatoes in a food processor with a little olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, oregano, sugar, salt and pepper. Pulse a few times until still a little chunky.
- Add a half cup of grated parmesan and pulse a couple more times until it’s as smooth or chunky as you like it. If you find the sauce a bit thick, stir in some of the reserved juice.
That’s it friends! You’ll definitely have at least half of it leftover if you make one pizza, and it freezes beautifully. I like to freeze my leftover sauce in a mason jar.
Enjoy! xx
Sound good to you? If you make this homemade pizza sauce recipe, or any of my other recipes, I would be thrilled and honored if you would take a pic of and tag me on Instagram @ourhappymess!
Or pin for later! ↓↓↓
Here are a few other posts that will help you make the best homemade pizza
The Best Pizza Dough Recipe (for real!!)
And if you’re looking for even more easy dinner inspiration, follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. Or subscribe in the sidebar on the right to get every new recipe in your inbox ?
Homemade Pizza Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 28 oz can whole peeled Italian tomatoes best quality, such as San Marzano
- 2 cloves garlic smashed
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- pinch sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese freshly and finely grated
Instructions
- Drain the tomatoes, squeezing them a bit to get most of the juice out, and reserving the juice.
- Place the drained tomatoes, garlic, oregano, olive oil, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine.
- Add the grated parmesan cheese and pulse a couple more times until the sauce is as smooth or chunky as desired.
