The Best Homemade Pizza Sauce
A fresh and vibrant tomato sauce to elevate your next pizza night at home! This versatile sauce can also be used for pasta or even dishes as diverse as shakshuka.
Ingredients
- 1 can (28 oz) whole tomatoes (* see recipe notes if you are using fresh tomatoes)
- ¼ cup onion, minced (½ medium onion)
- 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp red chilli flakes (can increase depending on heat preference)
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tbsp fresh basil, coarsely chopped
- 1½ – 2 tsp sugar (adjust depending on taste)
- ½ tsp vanilla extract (optional but highly recommended to mellow the acidity of the tomatoes)
- ¾- 1 tsp salt (I use sea salt)
- A few good grinds of black pepper
Instructions
- Start by breaking down the canned tomatoes in a large bowl until they are chunky. Note: we are not going for a smooth or completely liquid texture.
- Next, heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in the onions first, cooking for a few minutes until sizzling. Then add in the garlic, chilli flakes, oregano, stirring often (to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan or burns). Cook for a few minutes until the spices are fragrant and have released their flavour and aroma.
- Next add the tomatoes, bringing the sauce to a gentle boil. Stir in the chopped basil leaves, add the vanilla extract and season with paprika, sugar, salt and black pepper. Lower the heat (to medium-low) and let the sauce simmer on the stove or at least 30 minutes or so until it has thickened. Stir occasionally and adjust the seasonings as per your taste. During this time the herbs and spices will infuse their magic and the flavour of the tomatoes will be amplified and much more concentrated.
- You can use the sauce immediately. Be generous and spread it evenly across the pizza dough.
Notes
- This recipe inherently relies on the use of good quality canned tomatoes. If you prefer to use fresh tomatoes, you’ll need about 6-7 of them. Blanche the tomatoes: score a small ‘x’ on the bottom of each tomato using a sharp knife. Add to a pot of boiling water and boil for about 1 or 2 minutes. Once removed, allow the tomatoes to cool before peeling. Once peeled, proceed with the recipe as outlined above.
- Pro tip: when making your pizza, follow the sauce with a thin layer of cheese before adding on the rest of your toppings. From cherry tomatoes to olives, jalapeños, fresh basil leaves and finely diced green chillies – the options and combinations are as diverse as they are deliciously set up by an intensely-rich pizza sauce as the base!
- This is a big batch recipe, so you’ll have heaps of sauce left over for liberal use across dishes from pasta to shakshuka! You can refrigerate the sauce for up to 1 week or freeze it for up to 3 months.