Homemade Pizza Sauce (2024)

FAQs

How much pizza sauce is enough? ›

I use the 1/2 the diameter of the pie to determine my cheese amount and half the cheese amount to determine my sauce (that gets me close but I do adjust a bit sometimes). So for a 16 inch pie I would use ~8 oz of cheese and ~4 oz of sauce. For a 14 inch pie, ~7 oz of cheese and ~3.5 oz of sauce, and so on...

Pizza sauce is typically made with plain tomato sauce or pureed tomatoes and tomato paste, causing it to be a thicker consistency than pasta sauce. The thicker sauce prevents the dough from getting too soggy while the pizza cooks.

Combine 2 tablespoons flour with every 1/4 cup cold water and whisk until smooth. Add the mixture to your sauce over medium heat, and continue to stir and cook until you've reached your desired consistency.

As for how much sauce to use per pizza, I usually go fairly light, using only about 1/4 cup per 10-inch pizza, so the pizza dough can get crisp as it cooks. This recipe yields about 3 cups of sauce, which is enough for about a dozen pizzas. If you like a saucier pie, feel free to add more.

The key to great New York-style sauce is creating balance between sweetness, acidity and heat, with a definite herbal backbone. Furthermore, it needs a texture that's thin enough enough to spread, but thick enough to keep your pizza from turning soggy during the de rigeur fold-and-carry.

A good rule of thumb is to make sure that the dough is still visible. If it's entirely blocked out by red sauce, you've probably added too much. To nail the right amount, avoid plopping multiple scoops of sauce all over your crust.

Tomatoes naturally contain lots of water, so cooking any tomato sauce for a long period of time will help eliminate some of the water content. The water will slowly but surely evaporate, leaving behind a thickened, full-bodied sauce with lots of flavor.

In general, a classic tomato sauce is what you want for a standard cheese or margherita pizza. But if you're looking for something more herby, set your sights on a pesto. For something richer, try a white sauce or a vodka sauce.

The Best Tomatoes for Pizza Sauce

For the classic Margherita and Marinara pizzas, the standard in Naples is San Marzano canned tomatoes. They are oblong, bright, red tomatoes that grow in a specific area not too far from Salerno (about one hour south of Naples).

What sauce is closest to pizza sauce? ›

Tomato sauce and BBQ sauce are just versions of pizza sauce. One alternative, used frequently in Italy, is pesto. Although usually an olive oil/basil/garlic/nut combination, it can also made with fresh oregano and Parmesan. Another option is seafood, particularly clams and sardines.

You can substitute pizza sauce with pasta sauce, pesto, white garlic sauce, Buffalo sauce, Hummus, and more. The right recipe can make any sauce usable as a pizza base. However, make sure you're well aware of the flavor profiles of your toppings with your base sauce.

If you don't keep garlic salt on hand, substitute an extra ¼ teaspoon garlic powder and ½ to 1 teaspoon sea salt. Granulated sugar. This can be omitted, or you can substitute honey. However the sugar enhances the flavor of the tomatoes and cuts the “bite” of the sauce.

Too much fresh cheese with a high water content can also lead to sogginess. For example, fresh mozzarella that's stored in liquid should be used carefully, as it releases a lot of moisture in the oven. The best cheese for pizza is a blend of cheeses for great texture, flavour and colour that won't compromise your base.

For tomato-based sauces, a good rule of thumb to follow is to use one jar of 24-ounce pasta sauce for every 16-ounce package of pasta. When calculating how much sauce for pasta per person, generally about 2 to 4 ounces (1/4 to 1/2 cup) of sauce for each 2 ounce (about 1 cup cooked) serving of pasta would be needed.

We find about 2-3 tablespoons just right for a 9-inch pizza, in which case one batch will easily make enough for six pizzas.

so for a 16 inch pie, 8 ounces of cheese and 4 ounces of sauce.