Name: Pizza Sauce Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 12 (makes about 3.5 cups)
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil; 2 cloves garlic (minced (or 1 teaspoon prechopped garlic)); 1 can crushed tomatoes ((28 ounces))

You are going to love thisBasic Pizza Saucemade from crushed tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil. The sweet, vibrant flavor of this sauce will definitely take your next pizza night to the next level.

Pizza sauce being spread over pizza dough with a metal spoon.

If you are looking for a fun way to change up your weekly dinner routine thenpizza nightis a great place to start!Homemade pizzais fun, easy, affordable, and delicious. This homemade pizza sauce will take your dinner to the next level.

The rich, fragrant garlic adds a deep flavor to the sweet, juicy tomatoes. From start to finish, you can have this easy to make pizza sauce ready to use in just 20 minutes!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

It can be made ahead of time and frozen for long periods of time.
You can have this sauce ready to go in under 30 minutes.
You can customize the flavor ofyour saucewith a variety of herbs and spices.
This sauce tastes great on a variety of pizzas including pineapple pizza and stuffed crust pizza.

Recipe Ingredients

Tomatoes—Canned and crushed.
Garlic—Freshly minced.
Olive Oil

See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities

How to Make Pizza Sauce

top view pot with red pizza sauce and wooden spoon.

Step #1.Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and cook the garlic until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and continue cooking until the sauce thickens.

oval rustic pizza dough smeared with red sauce.

Step #2.Use the pizza sauce on your favorite pizzas or calzones.

Recipe FAQs

What is the difference between pizza sauce and spaghetti sauce?

Spaghetti sauce is a cooked tomato sauce that is usually left to simmer for a long time before serving over pasta. Pizza sauce typically thicker and is an uncooked tomato sauce (crushed tomatoes). Pizza sauce has a brighter tomatoes flavor in my opinion than spaghetti sauce.

Is homemade pizza sauce cheaper?

Making your own pizza sauce at home is very cost effective. If you are buying a fancy pizza sauce it could cost you several dollars for just a small jar. Plus, making your own sauce at home ensures that you know exactly what is going into your sauce.

How do you store pizza sauce?

There are a few options depending on how quickly you are going to use the sauce. The first option is to store your pizza sauce in mason jars in the refrigerator. If you aren’t going to use the sauce in the next couple of days then you can pour the pizza sauce into freezer bags and freeze them. They will stay good in the freezer for up to 6 months.

A close up shot of a golden brown pizza topped with sauce, cheese, and pepperoni.

Expert Tips:

We like to use canned crushed tomatoes, but you can use fresh tomatoes as well.
If you don’t have any fresh garlic then you can use garlic powder instead. You want to use about1/2 teaspoon of garlic powderfor every clove of fresh garlic you are replacing.
Be sure to stir your pizza sauce frequently so that it doesnot burn on the bottom of your pot.

top view - sheet pan with a rustic home made oval shaped cooked pepperoni pizza

How to Store Your Pizza Sauce

One of the best things about this pizza sauce recipe is how easy it is to store. You can store your sauce in the fridge for up to a week in an airtight container. Alternatively, you can freeze your pizza sauce for up to 2 months. If you are freezing your sauce then I recommend allowing to cool before pouring it into a large ziplock bag. When you are ready to use your frozen sauce, simply throw it in the fridge until it thaws completely.