Looking for an easy pizza sauce recipe? This one gets rave reviews: it uses only 5 ingredients and takes only 5 minutes in a blender!
Eleven years ago, Alex and I honeymooned in Italy: Rome and the Amalfi Coast. It was like falling in love all over again: with the beautiful views and Italian pizza! On the plane ride home, we dreamed of learning how to make homemade artisan pizza. Since then, we’ve become homemade pizza experts, perfecting our Pizza Dough Master Recipe over a period of years. And now, we’re thrilled to unveil our easy homemade pizza sauce recipe. It takes just 5 ingredients and 5 minutes to make! Here’s how.
5 ingredients in this pizza sauce!
This homemade pizza sauce is truly easy. For real! That’s saying something, because Alex and I actually don’t love the word easy! We’ve found there are rarely recipes that are actually easy. Simple, yes. But easy? There aren’t too many things like that in the kitchen: but this one is one of them.
There are just 5 ingredients in this pizza sauce recipe. Even better: it requires no cooking, just a simple whiz in the blender! The flavor depends on the quality of your ingredients, so choose wisely. Here are a few things to know about the ingredients:
- Fire roasted canned tomatoes: Fire roasted tomatoes are the base of the recipe. Try to find them if at all possible! Fire roasting brings a mellow, sweet flavor to the tomatoes. If you can’t find them at your local grocery, use the highest quality crushed tomatoes you can find.
- Small garlic clove: Garlic cloves widely vary in size. This recipe calls for a small clove — if you don’t have one, use half a medium or a quarter of a large clove (see the video below if you need a hint on sizes). This is important so the sauce doesn’t end up too garlicky.
- Dried oregano: Make sure to use dried oregano that’s fairly new to you, so that the flavor is strong enough. If it’s been in your cabinet over 1 year, it’s time for a refresh!
- Olive oil: Use extra virgin olive oil. Always.
- Salt. No recipe is complete without salt! We always use kosher salt: here’s why.
How to make this pizza sauce recipe
How to actually make this pizza sauce recipe? Take all those ingredients and blend them up! It’s as simple as that. Take a taste, and…well, you’ll be amazed by the flavor! Every time we make it, when I dip my spoon into that beautiful red sauce after blending it, it’s beyond my wildest dreams. We hope you’ll think so too! We’ve had countless people tell us that it’s the best pizza sauce they’ve ever had.
To guide you through the process even more, we’ve got a video! Here’s a video of me in our kitchen, showing you how to make our best pizza sauce recipe.
Top 10 ways to serve it!
Of course, the best way to serve this easy pizza sauce recipe is ON PIZZA! Alex and I have used this recipe in countless pizza recipes. Here are our favorite pizza recipes that use it:
- Best Margherita Pizza
- Homemade Cheese Pizza
- Best Healthy Pizza
- Our Best Vegan Pizza
- Veggie Supreme Pizza
- Mediterranean Pizza
- Breakfast Pizza
- Veggie & Avocado Pizza
- Perfect Neapolitan Style Pizza
- Easy Calzone Recipe
This pizza sauce recipe is…
Vegetarian, gluten free, vegan, plant based, refined sugar free, and naturally sweet.
Print
Easy Pizza Sauce Recipe (5 Minutes!)
(219 votes, average: 3.97 out of 5)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: About 1 1/2 cups 1x
Description
Looking for an easy pizza sauce recipe? This one gets rave reviews: it uses only 5 ingredients and takes only 5 minutes in a blender!
Ingredients
- 15 ounces crushed fire roasted tomatoes*
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small clove garlic (1/2 medium)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- Scant 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Cut the garlic into a few rough pieces (no need to mince it).
- Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until fully combined. (This pizza sauce is Italian-style, which has a slightly runnier texture than American style pizza sauce. See the video for the desired texture!) Store refrigerated for 1 week or frozen up to 3 months.
Notes
*If at all possible, try to find fire roasted tomatoes! They’re available at many mainstream groceries these days and have a mellow, sweet flavor. If you absolutely cannot find them, use a high quality brand of crushed tomatoes.
Inspired by Flour Water Salt Yeast
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Blended
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: Pizza Sauce, Easy Pizza Sauce, Pizza Sauce Recipe, Best Pizza Sauce, Homemade Pizza Sauce, Italian, Pizza, Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Pizza recipes & resources
If you’re looking to have a homemade pizza night, we have lots of resources, including:
- 29 Homemade Pizza Recipes
- What’s the Best Pizza Oven?
- What’s the Best Pizza Stone?
- How to Make Artisan Pizza
- Quick Pizza Dough in a Food Processor
- Thin Crust Pizza Dough
- Homemade Pizza for Beginners
Last updated: December 2019
About the Authors
Sonja Overhiser
Cookbook Author and writer
Sonja Overhiser is author of Pretty Simple Cooking, named one of the best healthy cookbooks of 2018. She’s host of the food podcast Small Bites and founder of the food blog A Couple Cooks. Featured from the TODAY Show to Bon Appetit, Sonja seeks to inspire adventurous eating to make the world a better place one bite at a time.
Alex Overhiser
Cookbook Author and photographer
Alex Overhiser is an acclaimed food photographer and author based in Indianapolis. He’s host of the food podcast Small Bites and founder of the recipe website A Couple Cooks. Featured from the TODAY Show to Bon Appetit, Alex is author of Pretty Simple Cooking, named one of the best vegetarian cookbooks by Epicurious.
38 Comments
Ruth Erwin
September 3, 2018 at 11:07 amWe had friends over for a make your own pizza party this weekend – I tried this sauce (instead of my typical store bought) and everyone loved it! It was so easy to make. I’m never buying pizza sauce again!
Sonja
September 3, 2018 at 9:46 pmOoo we are so glad it was a hit! Thank you so much for trying it and that makes our day!
Neil
September 3, 2018 at 12:22 pmI like to simmer the ingredients together for half an hour or so, then use an immersion blender. I cook the garlic in the olive oil for a few minutes then add the rest of the ingredients: and I also like the flavor that thyme brings, so I use that as well as oregano.
Sonja
September 3, 2018 at 9:50 pmThat sounds delicious! We’ve tried cooked sauces but have never found one we love. We’ll have to try your version! What tomatoes do you use?
Sabrina
September 3, 2018 at 5:04 pmI understand the inspiration from visiting Italy and love how you capture that in this pizza recipe and love artisan recipes, thank you
Sonja
September 3, 2018 at 9:51 pmThanks for reading!
Brittany Audra @ Audra's Appetite
September 3, 2018 at 10:52 pmCannot wait to try this; love how simple this is!! I always have these ingredients on hand to…perfect! :)
Darlene Enns-Dyck
September 8, 2018 at 3:20 pmHow would you do this with fresh tomatoes??
Darlene Enns-Dyck
September 8, 2018 at 3:21 pmIf I were using fresh tomatoes, should I crush them in a blender and cook them for a few minutes?
Sonja
November 17, 2018 at 7:41 pmGood question! We typically don’t use fresh tomatoes in our tomato sauce, but you can! Most recipes I’ve looked up do what you suggested but cook the tomatoes for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. If you can, I’d use canned here and then put fresh tomatoes on top! (Thinly sliced or seeded and diced, since they do release some water when cooked)
Martha
January 1, 2020 at 10:51 amHi Sonja I made the sauce but tweaked it a bit. I used what I had on hand, a can of crushed tomatoes,but I drained the liquid From the tomatoes. Next I fire roasted 4 Roma tomatoes I had on hand drained them the juice and blended it all along with the rest of the ingredients. Delicious! Not runny at all .someday I will experience an actual Margherita pizza in Italy, til then this will work. Thanks.
Ashleigh
November 17, 2018 at 6:42 amHi! I’ve never been a commenter but I love your site and your cookbook. I always thought fire-roasted meant spicy, is that not true? Thank you for helping us to bring healthy food to the table!
Sonja
November 17, 2018 at 7:37 pmThank you so much for the kind comment! No, actually fire-roasted is not spicy at all! It does seem that way :) Fire roasting is just a way to cook the tomatoes that really brings out the sweetness. Their flavor is a lot more developed than most canned tomatoes. If you can’t find them you can just do crushed, but we love the flavor of fire roasted here!
Allison
March 13, 2019 at 5:19 pmThis pizza sauce was amazing, never buying store bought sauce again.
Sonja
March 23, 2019 at 9:05 pmWe are SO glad to hear it! Thank you so much for trying it out!
andrea
May 27, 2019 at 6:43 pmShould you drain the tomatoes first? My sauce was very thin and not sure if that was the issue. Thanks
Alex
May 27, 2019 at 9:49 pmHi! No, you shouldn’t need to drain them. I wonder if your can just had extra liquid?
Sonja
May 28, 2019 at 9:39 pmHi Andrea, could you let us know if you remember: what brand and type of tomatoes did you use?
Anonymous
June 22, 2019 at 2:57 pmMine also turned out very thin. I used Kroger fire roasted diced tomatoes (the only fire roasted tomatoes I could find). It tastes great! Just thin.
Sonja
June 22, 2019 at 4:08 pmHey, thanks for the note! As I noted above, this pizza sauce is intended to be Italian-style, which might be a little runnier than you’re used to from store bought versions that are American style. Would you be able to take a look at the video and see if it turned out runnier than shown in the video? Then it seems it would be due to the runniness of the tomato brand — which can vary greatly!
Kris
June 20, 2019 at 7:29 pmI ended up adding almost an entire can of tomato paste. It tasted fine, just was thin and anemic looking. I guess either we are used to a more robust sauce or my fire roasted tomatoes were weak.. Once I did that though, it was great! I used Hunt’s fire roasted tomatoes..
Sonja
June 22, 2019 at 4:07 pmThanks for the note! This pizza sauce is intended to be Italian-style, which might be a little runnier than you’re used to from store bought versions that are American style. Would you be able to take a look at the video and see if it turned out runnier than shown in the video? Then it seems it would be due to the runniness of the tomato brand — which can vary greatly!
Kris
June 30, 2019 at 12:12 pmYes, mine was quite a bit runnier than video. I will try a different brand – or strain and reserve the liquid from the tomatoes and add as needed to get the consistency.
Laura Adams
March 29, 2020 at 7:38 pmMade the sauce, delicious. So easy to make. Never using jar sauce again. I usally have all the ingredients on hand. Very much like Italian sauce
Alex Overhiser
March 29, 2020 at 7:53 pmSo glad you enjoyed it!
sheri
April 7, 2020 at 4:20 pmSince I didn’t have fire roasted tomatoes, I added a splash of balsamic. I too added a can of tomato paste and a little more herbs.
Austin
April 21, 2020 at 12:09 pmCan you provide a source for fire-roasted crushed tomatoes? It seems they’re rarer than unicorns. I’ve tried five grocery stores and three large online retailers, including Amazon. They all have diced fire-roasted tomatoes, but my understanding is that diced tomatoes are treated with calcium chloride to help maintain shape. Where are you purchasing crushed, fire-roasted tomatoes?
Alex Overhiser
April 21, 2020 at 12:23 pmWe can find them at Whole Foods and Fresh Thyme grocery in Indianapolis. Usually the crushed are in the smaller 14-ounce cans. Muir Glen has a locator on their website as well: https://www.muirglen.com/find-us/
Austin
April 21, 2020 at 12:31 pmThanks! Maybe the pandemic is causing supply chain problems in our area. It’s also inspiring us to make lots of pizza.
Alex Overhiser
April 21, 2020 at 12:52 pmI find that there’s a lot of variability on what tomatoes different stores stock as well. Enjoy the pizza!
Leah
June 15, 2020 at 7:08 amHello! How do you store leftover sauce per your recipe? And how long is it good for in the fridge/freezer?
Sonja Overhiser
June 15, 2020 at 12:24 pmThis lasts for 1 week refrigerated and 3 months frozen! We’ve updated the recipe.
thy
July 8, 2020 at 6:48 pmHi! What blender are you using? I was worried my vitamix might be too strong.. perhaps the immersion blender? thanks!
Alex Overhiser
July 9, 2020 at 11:31 amHi! We make this with a standard blender and a vitamix with the same results. Just don’t blend it for too long :)
Phyllis Paetznick
November 20, 2020 at 5:40 pmHi Sonja,
So fun to find your recipe and video. I’m a good friend of your parents. I loved how easy this recipe was. I’m a big fan of fire roasted tomatoes too. Yummy sauce. Definitely a keeper.
Thanks Phyllis
Peter Dyck
December 28, 2020 at 12:41 pmHi Sonja, your presentations are interesting. I am on a sodium restricted diet. As a result, years ago, I started fire roasting my own tomatoes and peppers on a propane grill. I like them better than canned. I also swap some organic dried kelp pellets for the salt. I do like the southern European styles of pizza much better than North American styles. I like the minimalist approach to both their dough and their toppings. We were supposed to spend a month in Italy last summer, but….hopefully next summer. I do have cooking classes lined up there. Keep up the good work. Peter
Jose
January 16, 2021 at 7:13 pmThat sauce was really [email protected]!*ing good.
Alex Overhiser
January 16, 2021 at 9:04 pmHa! Glad you loved it :)