Best EVER Pizza Sauce
Rich and flavorful Best EVER Pizza Sauce will surely become your favorite go-to sauce for pizzas, breadsticks, and more after just one bite!
My Best EVER Pizza Sauce recipe is thick and loaded with flavors achieved with simple ingredients! Take that pizza delivery joint off of speed dial and simmer up a sauce made with tomatoes, fresh onions, celery, garlic, and savory spices, to create pizzas the family will rave about!
The Perfect Sauce
People have big opinions about pizza, and it’s usually about the sauce. Whether you like your sauce spread thick or thin, everyone can agree that they like a sauce that isn’t watery, bland, and tastes like tomatoes. This pizza sauce recipe brings all the flavor to the pizza party and is also amazing on breadsticks and calzones! The fresh veggies sauteed with tomatoes picked at their peak and the perfect combination of spices make this sauce irresistible. I love to make a nice-sized batch of this sauce and freeze portions to make future pizza nights even easier- the sauce thaws beautifully and tastes just as fresh as when I first made it.
Cover all the pizza night essentials with Easy Peasy Pizza Dough Bread Sticks, or kick it up a few notches with an amazingly delicious Italian Stromboli!
Other Recipes to Serve with Best EVER Pizza Sauce
- After one taste of this pizza sauce, you’ll be looking for more ways to use it, and this Meatball Pizza Bread was made for dipping in this sauce!
- Make pizza night a little more special with a decadent and chocolaty Brownie Fruit Pizza, and watch the crowd go wild!
Ingredients
Pantry Staples: To make this sauce, you will need a little olive oil, tomato sauce, and tomato paste.
Veggies: Purchase onion, celery, and garlic to bring fresh flavors to this sauce.
Dairy: You will need parmesan cheese for this sauce, which you can either buy shredded or grate yourself, as well as a little butter, which helps round out the acid from the tomatoes.
Seasoning: Create pizza sauce magic with basil, oregano, fennel seed, salt, pepper, granulated sugar, and a bay leaf. Remember to remove the bay leaf before serving the sauce.
How to Make Pizza Sauce
STEP ONE: Combine the butter and the olive oil in a saucepan and melt over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, celery, and garlic, and cook until the veggies are soft. Once softened, puree the veggies in a blender until smooth.
STEP TWO: Add the pureed vegetables to the pot and stir in the tomato sauce and paste.
STEP THREE: Stir in the parmesan cheese, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, fennel seed, sugar, and bay leaf, and lower the heat.
STEP FOUR: Simmer the sauce for 30-60 minutes, and remember to remove the bay leaf before enjoying it!
Tips for Success
- If you prefer a chunky pizza sauce, then there’s no need to puree the veggies. You can leave them as is and continue to add the rest of the ingredients.
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese will melt much better than pre-shredded cheese, but as always, use what you have on hand.
- If you can, let the sauce simmer for a full 60 minutes. It will be thicker, and the flavors even more developed. The sauce will taste delicious after 30 minutes, but the longer cooking time reduces the water even better for a thick, full-bodied sauce.
- Keep leftover sauce covered in the fridge for up to four days or store in portion-sized containers in the freezer for up to three months.
What sauce is best for pizza?
The most popular sauce, and the one most people think of when it comes to pizza, is a classic tomato sauce with spices. There are more pizza sauce recipes out there than you can shake a stick at, as everyone seems to have their preferences for flavor and texture, but most people agree that tomato sauce is a must-have. Of course, there are other popular choices, such as pesto, marinara, and alfredo, which makes pizza so fun and versatile!
Is marinara sauce the same as pizza sauce?
Pizza sauce and marinara sauce share many of the same ingredients but subtle differences exist. First, pizza sauce is always cooked down much more than marinara sauce, so it’s thick but still spreadable. The longer cooking time and additional spices give pizza sauce a much more intense flavor, unlike a light marinara. Marinara sauce also tends to be much more chunky than pizza sauce because it is not blended smoothly. Both delicious sauces are commonly used on pizza and for dipping, but I don’t think you’ll see pasta with a dollop of pizza sauce on top too often!
Enjoy the Best Ever Pizza Sauce in so Many Delicious Recipes!
*This post was originally posted on 04/15/2013
Best EVER Pizza Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ cup yellow onion chopped
- ¼ cup celery chopped
- 1 clove garlic chopped
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese grated
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon fennel seed
Instructions
- Add the butter and olive oil to a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and garlic. Saute until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Transfer the veggies to a blender. Cover and puree until smooth. Then return the puree to the same pot.
- Add the tomato sauce and tomato paste and stir to combine.
- Add parmesan, basil, oregano, salt, sugar, pepper, bay leaf, and fennel seed and stir everything together. Allow the sauce to simmer on medium-low heat for 30 to 60 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaf. Store in an airtight container in the fridge or use immediately on your pizza.
Thanks Aubrey for the delicious sauce. After finally mastering gourmet homemade pizzas, cheese zaatar, and breads, this sauce was a welcome addition to my recipes. It had a great flavor. My family enjoyed it. They don’t even want take out anymore. I made some flat bread with a spoon of Renee’s garlic spread, mozzarella cheese on top, pinch of salt and pepper on top and baked them like I would my pizzas with a pizza stone and high temp for 5 min or so. I used your recipe as a dipping sauce type marinara sauce to try something new. It turned out great. It’s so great to make fresh homemade and not have to order out for a pizza or anything or go out to buy zataar early mornings on the weekend. My house often smell like a bakery now and my friends and family love it. You mentioned giving out a pizza dough before recipe. All I know is that once someones masters the pizza dough, you can pretty much bake anything with a few variations here and there. Thanks again!
Yummy! That looks so good. I like to cook my pizzas on a stone to get the crust evenly baked and crispy. That’s what makes the perfect pizza.
Thanks Anthony! I’ve just started cooking my pizza on a stone and love it.
Fantastic sauce, thank you. I don’t buy tomato sauce, but organic diced tomatoes in a can, put in the blender with the onions and celery works great. I love this sauce!!
Thanks Michelle!
You weren’t lying when you said the best! The Hubs loved it (a miracle) the child loved it (another miracle) and I could have eaten it out of the pan.
I’m glad it was a hit!
I think is 6 ounces of tomato paste and 8 ounces of tomato sauce…but I think maybe you mean 16ounces and 18 ounces… because there is a number one beside the 6 and the 8…. can you confirm how much it is.
thanks….sorry my english
Sorry Alex, there is a typo and I left out the word can. I’ve updated the recipe.
Awesome sauce 🙂 Very similar to how I make mine – I also add shredded carrot to the sauce. Adds just a tiny bit of sweetness.
Pinned!
What a great idea Vicki! Thanks for sharing that tip, I’ll have to try it next time.
What a great tip!! Thanks!
Both the sauce and the dough look amazing! I can’t wait to try them! Do you know if the dough can be frozen before it’s baked?
Thanks Sherilyn! I’m not sure it it would work. I think it would but you’d have to let it thaw and rise on the counter. If I try it I’ll let you know but if you try it first pop back in and let me know. 🙂
My daughter worked at pizza hut and their dough after it is made is frozen.
They take out the night before for it to thaw out and use the next day.
Looks delish! I’m featuring it in my PINTASTIC Friday post tomorrow, May 2–stop over and visit!
Cindy
crazyloucreations.blogspot.com
Thanks Cindy! We will. 🙂
Thank you. pinned it! Vicki
Already pinned and can’t wait to try this! Have been wanting a recipe like this for years. That jarred stuff is nasty!
Okay, I’m so making this. Pinned!
This looks so good! I am going to make it this weekend! It looks like the perfect sauce! Would you consider sharing this recipe and any others you may have over at my Pinterest Party?
http://www.thetaylor-house.com/2013/04/17/pinterest-power-party-features-6.html
Thanks!
Chrissy
Totally! Thanks Chrissy.
celery? really?
Yes Margot, celery. 🙂 I was more surprised by the fennel seed but all the flavors really work together. I would try it out with all the ingredients and you will love it.
Can’t wait to try this one. Sounds yummy!
Thank you for sharing I am very excited to make both the sauce and the bread sticks this week!
Enjoy your day!
Thanks Karie! Let me know what you think. 🙂