I’m not usually too dramatic with my post titles but this one seriously is the best pizza sauce recipe you will ever need. If you’re looking for a real Italian pizza sauce, this is it. It features no sugar and only calls for 4 ingredients. Homemade pizza sauce from scratch is key to perfect pizza every time.
I’ve said it time and again, but when it comes to authentic Italian cuisine the golden rule is always one: less is more. The best Italian recipes often feature just a handful of ingredients. The secret is to pair them wisely, using the right proportions.
This is very much true especially when it comes to pizza sauce. In Italy the sauce is extremely simple business. Tomato sauce, salt, a drizzle of olive oil and you’re good to go. Just like in this recipe – we’re keeping things simple.
Authentic Italian pizza sauce
I often stumble upon pizza sauce recipes that call for like 10 ingredients and I’m always puzzled. Sugar is often featured, and that’s beyond me. Other ingredients are tomato paste and a whole array of spices that include seasoning mixes and garlic powder.
I am not here to shame anyone, let’s make this clear. There is nothing wrong loving a food one has grown up with. If your idea of a perfect pizza features a thick and very seasoned sauce, I am nobody to say it’s wrong. But if you’re looking for an Italian pizza sauce recipe, here it is.
My pizza sauce is the kind of sauce you’d get on a pizza in Italy. It’s simple to make and only calls for 4 ingredients. If you want to make Italian-style pizza night, you should consider using an authentic Italian pizza sauce. It will pair wonderfully with classic Italian pizza toppings like buffalo mozzarella, gorgonzola, prosciutto, anchovies or artichokes.
Best pizza sauce recipe
This pizza sauce recipe only calls for 4 simple ingredients. Quantities are listed in the recipe card below:
- Good quality canned tomatoes (I prefer crushed)
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Dried oregano
- Salt
The procedure is very simple: add all the ingredients to a container or mason jar that can fit an immersion blender, and blend for about a minute. If you don’t have an immersion blender, a blender jug is a good alternative.
Your sauce is ready to use. One portion yields enough sauce for 3-4 regular-sized pizzas or 2 sheet pan pizzas. While it can keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week, I would recommend to make it on the spot when needed. It takes so little time and effort that to me it’s just a part of my pizza night routines.
Pizza sauce recipe tips
While turning the crushed tomatoes into a sauce, the use of a blender also emulsifies the olive oil and tomatoes. This produces a creamier (and lighter in colour) sauce than just by stirring the ingredients with a spoon. This is why I would strongly recommend blending this sauce, for the perfect texture.
I personally like to use crushed tomatoes, but diced work equally fine. If you have a favourite passata you can also use that. Blending the sauce, the texture will be smooth in the end regardless of the sieze of the tomato pieces you’re using. If you are using a passata (tomato sauce) make sure it’s 100% tomatoes with no other ingredients added.
Since we’re only using 4 ingredients, go for the best you can afford. Good quality canned tomatoes are rich in flavour and have been harvested when properly in season. If you are using good quality canned tomatoes there is no need to up the tomato flavour with tomato paste.
How to use it
On pizza obviously! Quick batch for one? Try my pizza dough for one! Remember that you can always make homemade dough even if you’re only feeding yourself. If you have time for a pre-ferment you should try my poolish pizza dough recipe. A minimal amount of yeast and a long fermentation gives a pizza dough that is very tasty and easier to digest.
Got sauce leftovers? 100 ml of this sauce (roughly 1/4 of a batch) is enough to thinly spread on puff pastry and make fabulous pizza pinwheels! 200 ml (half a batch) is perfect to use on baked eggplant pizza bites.
Who’s ready for some pizza now? I will not lie, the morning I took the pictures for this post I got such an appetite for pizza that I fed my sourdough starter to get it going. I needed to put this batch of sauce to good use anyway, right?
Happy pizza baking and until next time! Don’t forget to pin this recipe for later reference. Please subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on Pinterest.
Authentic Italian pizza sauce
Equipment
- Immersion blender
- Mason jar
- Measuring spoons
Ingredients
- 390 g crushed tomatoes (1 can)
- 30 g extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/3 tsp salt
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a tall container or mason jar that can fit an immersion blender. Blend for a minute, the tomatoes and olive oil will emulsify. Spread over pizza dough and top with your favourite ingredients.
Notes
I wanted to make pizza on the weekend, but didn’t want to use store-bought pizza sauce! The best thing about this recipe is that it uses only 4 ingredients! I need to make this for my pizza!
Hi Farruz! It’s very easy indeed, store-bought doesn’t stand a chance when the effort of making homemade is so minimal.
I tried this sauce and came out great. Next time I will double up the recipe since my kids are pizza crazy and an extra jar would definitely come in handy for me.
Thank you Gunjan. How awesome!
I can always use a pizza sauce recipe and I cannot wait to try your recipe. It looks so easy!
Hi Kathryn! That’s right, you never have too many pizza sauce recipes!
Thanks a lot for this idea! It is indeed the best pizza sauce ever! Will surely use this again!
Thank you Allyssa, I’m glad you liked it!
I love how easy this is! I usually make a pizza sauce that I cook for hours which is amazing, but this was perfect when the kids wanted pizza at the last minute and I needed something homemade fast.
Hi Donna! Oh I can imagine a long-cooked one must be amazing indeed.
I can see this pizza sauce will be on repeat often. So easy to make, light, and flavorful!
Thank you Linda!
I loved all the textures and flavors of this recipe. I took some pizza to work and shared it with my coworkers, and they seemed to fall in love with your recipe too! I will be looking forward to your next blog post! Your food is remarkable! Our family is from Italy so I totally agree that all the additive ingredients in the sauces made here are NOT authentic.
Have a great week!
Heidy
Thank you Heidy! I’m glad you completely understood what I meant. Store-bought sauces with a gazillion ingredients can be good, too. But this one is authentic. And good 🙂
OMG, this sauce was so delicious! This recipe is definitely a keeper for us, my family loved it and they’re huge pizza fans, so we’re always ready to try something new!!
Thanks Melanie! It can be useful to have a recipe with a short ingredient list sometimes. You never know when pizza cravings hit!
Homemade sauce is always the best. Love this 4 ingredient recipe. Looks fantastic. Making this soon.
Thank you very much Kushigalu!
I love the simplicity of the sauce. I’ve heard Italians like to keep their recipes to be *really* traditional without adding sophistication. No messing around, haha. That’s what makes a recipe truly authentic (even if it only contains 4 ingredients) 😉
Hi Naiby! And that is very true, messing around is for more elaborate things, pizza sauce gotta be simple business 😀
Hi Eva,
I made your sauce for the second time today. I used Cento tomatoes even though there are many less expensive brands available. I made a double batch and put into an ice cube tray with four 1/4 C holes making four servings of sauce. I will put frozen cubes in a freezer bag and use one at a time. I have a question though. Is there anything I can do with all the tomato juice I strained into a large bowl.
Thanks,
Tom
Hi Tom! Nice idea using whole San Marzano tomatoes instead of crushed! Not familiar with those from Cento (had to google it) so I’m unsure how thin the tomato juice you strained is, but the first thing that came into my mind was to mix it with chicken broth and use to make tomato risotto? Just an idea here.