Sometimes when I cook, I want to make an elaborate dish with myriad ingredients and myriad steps (like the time I made a trionfo di gola after a years-long inside joke with my best friend’s parents). But other times, I long for shortcuts that don’t taste like shortcuts. Enter: this easy, homemade pizza sauce. The combination of high-quality canned tomatoes and garden-fresh herbs gives this sauce authentic Italian flavor without having to cook multiple times or hunt down unique ingredients like marmite. In fact, you don’t even cook it at all – simply whip it up in a blender.
Keys to Even Better Pizza Sauce
As a rule, I always keep the basic ingredients of this sauce on hand. If you have a 28 ounce can of high-quality whole peeled tomatoes on hand (Cento San Marzano tomatoes are my favorites), you have a world of culinary wonder at your fingertips. The fresher each ingredient, the better!
While you can certainly make this sauce with dried Italian seasoning and garlic powder in a pinch, using fresh herbs and garlic adds an even more beautiful layer of depth to this easy, homemade pizza sauce. Without fresh herbs you can whip up this sauce in about 5 minutes. But trust me, taking the extra few moments to strip fresh herbs and press fresh garlic makes a world of difference.
Finally, if you want to experiment with flavors, I can’t stop you. But I caution you against adding white sugar, onion, red pepper, marmite, red wine, or other ingredients people add to their marinara without trying this first. The beauty of this pizza sauce is in the simplicity of its flavors as well as the simplicity of its preparation. Why ruin God’s perfect food (tomatoes) with extra nonsense?
Ways to Use This Sauce
The key to this sauce is knowing when to use it. I wouldn’t toss any pasta in it, as the sauce doesn’t have a thick enough consistency (for pasta, I recommend my homemade tomato sauce). Instead, use it for pizza and dipping pizza-adjacent baked goods like garlic knots, pepperoni rolls, and stromboli. Store it in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to two weeks, and warm it up before dipping!
Easy, Homemade Pizza Sauce
Equipment
- food processor or blender
- measuring cups and spoons
- Can opener
- Large jar (for storage)
Ingredients
- 1 28- ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp minced garlic 2-3 cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Fresh Italian herbs to taste rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano or 1 tbsp dried Italian seasoning
Instructions
- If using fresh herbs, remove the leaves from the stems and set aside in a small bowl.Fresh Italian herbs to taste
- Add all ingredients to the bowl of a food processor or blender.1 28- ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, 1 tbsp olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 tbsp minced garlic
- Blend all ingredients together until smooth.
- Transfer to jars and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
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