Easy Pizza Sauce (Italian no-cook recipe!)
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This easy pizza sauce is simplicity at its best: it’s light, full of bright flavor and deliciously fresh. Added bonus? It’s a no-cook recipe, ready in a couple of minutes, and it’s perfect with any vegetarian pizza toppings.
Oh, did I mention that this is actually the classic Italian pizza sauce?
Yes, my friends, Italians do not cook their pizza sauce. The best pizza places in Italy simply use top quality canned tomatoes, salt, olive oil, and fresh basil.
These ingredients are the only stars of the show!
For an authentic Italian pizza sauce, you don’t need tomato paste, you don’t need sugar (sugar, seriously?!), and you don’t need garlic powder or other seasonings. Last but not least, you don’t need to cook it: this will reduce and thicken the the pizza sauce making its flavor too intense.
Instead, you want that fresh, bright tomato flavor with hints of basil and extra virgin olive oil at every bite. That’s what you want for your crispy, delicious homemade pizza.
The good news is that you can whip up this amazing, fresh, and easy tomato sauce in zero time. And we love that, don’t we? : )
List of the ingredients
- Canned tomatoes (I usually use San Marzano D.O.P. or these cherry tomatoes. Make sure you use only good quality canned tomatoes)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Fine salt
- Fresh basil and oregano
- Black pepper (optional)
How to make easy pizza sauce
(Note: this is a quick description with step-by-step photos, the full recipe is at the bottom of the page).
- Place the ingredients into a bowl, or jug if you use a stick blender.
- Crush the tomatoes with the back of a fork, or partially puree them with a stick blender. You don’t want to make a smooth puree or incorporate much air. All you want to do is break the tomatoes and the basil, then mix the ingredients throughly keeping a rough, thick texture.
- Taste, adjust the seasoning (no sugar, I’ve warned you! : ), and the easiest pizza sauce is ready to use. That was fast, right?
Recipe notes
Easy pizza sauce ingredients
Tomatoes: canned tomatoes are convenient and work totally fine. San Marzano D.O.P are not cheap, but they’re among the best canned tomatoes you can buy (see notes in the recipe card). Alternatively, make sure you go for premium quality cherry tomatoes or whole peeled tomatoes. Avoid crushed tomatoes or inferior qualities. You want them to taste nice and sweet straight from the can, and there’s no need to add extra tomato puree (we go for fresh flavours here!).
Extra virgin olive oil: although regular olive oil is fine for this recipe, why settle for less if you can use good extra virgin olive oil? It’s the best, it’s a no brainer.
Salt: you need some fine salt, of course. It’s easy to taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking. Feel free to use a bit of freshly ground black pepper.
Herbs: fresh basil and dried oregano are the only herbs for this pizza sauce recipe: basil adds freshness, and oregano adds its hearty, aromatic flavor. You don’t need anything else.
Pizza sauce variations
Any variation? Only 1 small garlic clove, minced or pressed, but it’s optional, use it only if desired. Other than that, nothing else.
If you want to use tomato paste instead of fresh or canned tomatoes, or if you wonder if it’s ok to add sugar or other stuff, virtually you can. However, that will be a different pizza sauce. It would be more like an American-style sauce, richer and sweeter than this simple Italian recipe.
Note: premium quality canned tomatoes don’t need any sugar to balance their acidity. They are a must, they can make or break your pizza sauce.
How long does this easy pizza sauce last?
This tomato pizza sauce keeps well in the fridge for up to 4 days. It’s best to store it in a covered glass container. It’s freezable too.
Let’s talk pizza recipes!
Big fan of pizza? You and I will probably be best friends! Have a look at this collection of vegetarian pizza recipes, they all are delicious and full of veggies. Below you’ll find some of our favorites:
- Pizza with arugula
- Artichoke pizza
- Veggie pizza
- Pizza with zucchini
- Pizza with eggplant
- Spinach pizza
- Pizza with gorgonzola
- Greek pizza
- Onion pizza
If you make this amazing artichoke pizza this weekend, or you have a question, let me know by leaving a comment. I would love to hear from you! x
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Easy Pizza Sauce (Italian no-cook recipe).
Ingredients
- 1 can (14oz/400 grams) only good-quality tomatoes (San Marzano and cherry tomatoes are the best)
- 1 ½ Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- ½ scant tsp fine salt, adjust to taste
- ¼ tsp dried oregano
- 3-4 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
- freshly ground black pepper, optional
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in one bowl. I use ¼ heaped spoon of oregano, and a couple of cracks of freshly ground black pepper too, but the pepper is optional.
- Smash the tomatoes with the back of a fork. You want to break them. You can use a stick blender to puree quickly tomatoes and basil just until the sauce is mixed throughly but still coarse (you don't want a smooth texture like tomato passata).
- Taste, adjust the seasoning if desired. The sauce is ready.
Notes
It’s freezable. Nutrition facts: the nutrition values are for one serving and are based on an online nutrition calculator (the final drizzle of olive oil is not included). It’s an estimate only and it should not be considered as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. Please see my disclosure policies.
