The sauce moisturizes your pizza and allows you to add hearty and warm flavors. You only need a touch of sauce to bring out the unique pizza flavors, but it can make or break your cooking. As such, it's crucial to choose your sauce recipes and ingredients carefully. There are several homemade pizza sauce recipes for beginners and seasoned bakers, and most have components you can replace to personalize the outcome.
Ingredients
Below is one of the recipes you can use to make the best sauce for your homemade pizza. It is a vegan-friendly, gluten-free recipe ready within 30 minutes and serves 3 to 5 crusts. Here’s an overview of all the ingredients and their measurements:
- Whole Tomatoes: Tomatoes are the key ingredient in pizza sauces. You can use pureed or diced canned tomatoes, but whole tomatoes offer the best results for homemade dressings. Use one can of whole tomatoes or about 28 oz if you choose pureed and diced options.
- Olive Oil: The olive oil improves flavor and helps cook and bring out the other spices and aromatics. Olive oil tends to burn and lose flavor under extreme temperatures, so use only 1-2 tablespoons.
- Grated/Minced Onions: You can use a grater box or chop the onions roughly and throw them into a food processor to avoid tears. Finely minced onions will produce a heartier sauce, but grated onions also work. You'll need ¼ cup for the recipe.
- Dried Seasoning: There's room to work with your favorite dry herbs and spices. However, the best choice for homemade pizza sauces includes dried oregano, dry basil, dry marjoram, and red pepper flakes. If you have many toppings for the pizza, cut back on the oregano. You'll need ½ teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon basil, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, and a pinch of marjoram.
- Pressed Garlic: The best way to press your garlic clove is via the help of a garlic press. Using a press takes a few seconds only, but you can also crush the garlic in a wooden bowl. Use 3 cloves of garlic and make sure they are pressed evenly.
- Salt and Sugar: 2 teaspoons sugar and 1 teaspoon salt will help favor the sauce and tame the acidity of the canned tomatoes. You can do away with the sugar if the acidity doesn't bother you or use tomatoes straight from the farm.
Instructions
The first step to making a homemade pizza sauce is prepping the ingredients. Make sure your tomatoes, onions, and cloves are clean , and get your mixing bowls and saucepans in place. To make the sauce:
1. Break down the Tomatoes
Pour the tomatoes into a large bowl and use your hand to squish them. You can also use kitchen shears or an immersion blender to break down the tomatoes into smaller pieces. The tomatoes should be chunky with small parts, not completely liquid.
2. Cook Your Aromatics
Use a medium saucepan over medium heat to heat the olive oil and grated/finely minced onions. Add the dry oregano, dry basil, and red pepper flakes and let them cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent the ingredients from sticking to the pan or burning. Everything should cook evenly. Next, add the garlic and continue to cook for at least 30 seconds up to 1 minute. Make sure you sauté the garlic briefly to take away the bite and prevent it from overpowering other ingredients.
3. Simmer Your Sauce
Add your squished tomatoes, salt, and sugar to the saucepan with the aromatics and stir to mix everything. Allow the sauce to reach a simmer, then turn down the heat to medium-low and let it simmer for up to 30 minutes. You can taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings if necessary. Some people prefer a more concentrated sauce. If that's you, let the sauce simmer for an additional 15 minutes. You can use the sauce immediately on your pizza or let it come to room temperature and store it in a container.
Why it’s the Best Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe
Recipes are subjective, so there’s no single best choice for everyone or every pizza. However, this recipe works for most homemade pizzas and offers a hearty, aromatic sauce to enliven your taste buds. Here are some reasons why it’s one of the best homemade pizza sauce recipes:
- Readily Available Ingredients: The ingredient list features readily available items you probably have in your kitchen. You can also purchase them from the local grocery store, and it's possible to replace them with other options, so you aren't restricted to the exact ingredients. For example, you can use fresh basil or add Italian-style seasonings like thyme, rosemary, fennel, or marjoram. Canola oil is also a good replacement for olive oil.
- Vegan-Friendly Sauce: If you fancy vegan diets, you’ll be happy with this sauce. No animal or dairy products are featured, so you can use the sauce with other vegan dishes. All ingredients are organic, and you can use them fresh from the farm to achieve the best results.
- No Gluten Present: Gluten is a protein found in some grains, such as wheat and rye. It appears in small quantities and isn't necessarily unhealthy unless you have celiac disease. However, you should avoid gluten as much as possible to stay on the safe side. The best pizza sauce recipes don't include any gluten, so you shouldn’t worry if you have celiac disease.
- Cooks in 30 Minutes: You can complete this recipe in as little as 30 minutes. Preparation and cooking of the ingredients take a couple of minutes, and the rest is to let it simmer. You’ll generally be finished within 50 minutes if you prefer more concentrated sauces.
- Store for Later Use: The homemade pizza sauce can last up to one week in the refrigerator and three months in the freezer. The best way to go about it is to make more if you use sauce more often. You don't have to keep making another unless you need fresh sauce every time.
- Versatile: There are many ways to use your homemade pizza sauce. It's perfect on freshly made no-knead pizza dough, traditional pizza dough, cheesy garlic pull-apart bread, garlic roll wreath, and more.
Summary
The best homemade pizza sauce should bring out the rich flavors in your pizza and match other tastes in the dough and toppings. If it's your first time making the sauce at home, use fresh ingredients and follow the recipe as it is. You can tweak the seasonings and flavors once you are comfortable making sauces regularly, and voila, a pizzaiolo in the making!
