Making homemade pizza sauce is really easy and can be quickly made with pantry ingredients like tomato paste. This recipe makes enough sauce for multiple pies.
In our early years of parenting, we had many homemade pizza nights because going out to eat just wasn't that fun with 2 little kids. I like making homemade pizza sauce but preferred to not make it every single week. Since I couldn't find an easy pizza sauce recipe that also made a big batch, I set out to create my own.
This is a Big Batch Recipe
I created this recipe to make a lot of pizza sauce so I wouldn't have to make it every time we made pizza. You will technically get 8, ยฝ cup portions of sauce, which is enough to make a thin layer of sauce of a typical large pizza. However, if you like a saucy pie, you may want to use up to one cup.
Ingredients
It was important to me to use ingredients in this homemade pizza sauce that I usually had on hand. I also want a thick texture for my sauce so I rely heavily on tomato paste.
Each batch includes 4, 6 ounce cans of tomato paste. I usually buy them in bulk at a warehouse store making them very affordable and always in my pantry.
The flavoring ingredients are ones I always have on hand. If you don't have maple syrup, you can leave it out completely or use molasses. You could substitute honey in but I do think it would change the flavor. That might not be a bad thing, but I haven't tried it so I do not know.
Red wine might be the only thing you don't have on hand. To fix that problem in the future I recommend buying the 4 pack of the single glass bottles of wine, canned, wine, or single box wine which are perfect for cooking.
How to Freeze Pizza Sauce
This recipe is PERFECT for freezing. In fact, that's the point of making so much. Here's your steps for successfully freezing:
- Let the sauce cool in the pot to room temperature.
- Spoon into either 4 ounce or 8 ounce glass jars, leaving a small space at the top of the jar for expansion during freezing.
- Store in freezer for up to 6 months.
- To defrost, place jar in the fridge for 8 hours or on the counter for 1 hour.
Recipe
Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
This is the best and easiest homemade pizza sauce recipe that makes enough for up to 8 pizzas depending on how saucy you like them.
Ingredients
- 4 6 oz cans Tomato paste
- ยฝ cup Dry red wine ((like Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Chianti, or a blend))
- 1 cup Water
- ยผ cup Olive oil
- 1 tbsp Kosher salt
- 1 tbsp Onion Powder
- 2 cloves Garlic, (minced)
- 1 tbsp Dried basil
- 1 tablespoon Dried oregano
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp Maple syrup
Instructions
- Combine tomato paste, wine, water and oil in a medium pot and gently whisk together to combine.
- Turn burner heat on to medium low temperature.
- Stir salt, onion powder, garlic, basil oregano, and syrup into the sauce.
- Simmer for at least 30 minutes, and up to an hour.
- Allow to cool slightly before topping pizza dough. If freezing, allow to come to room temperature before bottling for freezing.
Notes
- A ยฝ cup serving of sauce is estimated for each pizza but you can use more if you like.ย
- This is perfect for freezing. Spoon into small glass jars once sauce comes to room temperature. Leave a ยฝ" space in the jar to allow expansion when freezing.ย
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Entree
- Cuisine: Italian
Pizza Dough Recipe
I can't write about homemade pizza sauce without at least mentioning the other components of the pizza. I've tried a lot of pizza crust recipes and my favorite one to date is this King Arthur recipe.
I tweak this recipe in the following ways:
- I do not use their pizza dough flavoring but if I had some, I would. It's fine without it but I'm sure better with it.
- I add 1 tablespoon of molasses to the dough. I got this idea from Mellow Mushroom who has the best crust IMO. If Mellow does it, it must be for a good reason.
- I use my bread machine (I also like this bread machine too) to make the dough. It's so stinking easy and you can't screw it up. I may be one of the only people who still has a bread machine, but for pizza dough alone, it earns it spot in my kitchen.
- You absolutely want to use the semolina flour in this recipe. It helps give a super crispy bottom edge.