Home Kitchen From-scratch Pizza Sauce

Making my own pizza sauce without a mix used to mean opening a can of tomato sauce, sprinkling in a little Italian seasoning, a pinch of sugar, garlic powder and maybe a pinch of red pepper flakes. Until one day when I opened up my pantry to start making pizzas and I realized I was out of tomato sauce.

Story of my life.

However I did have was tomato paste, and when you have tomato paste anything is possible. I simply had to get creative. I scoured my entire kitchen, including the pantry and fridge – Chopped-style – and whipped up what has become everyone at the table’s regular pizza sauce. It’s so perfectly robust and satisfying that I put it in my cookbook.

What makes this from-scratch pizza sauce so special?

Two things: sun-dried tomatoes and wine. Both give a depth of flavor that you can’t find in jarred or no-cook pizza sauces. The rest of the ingredients are pretty typical, like: fresh garlic and onion, dried oregano and basil, salt and black pepper.

To cook this From-scratch Pizza Sauce Set out:

• light olive oil
• finely diced white onion
• fresh garlic
• sun dried tomatoes
• dried oregano
• dried basil
• tomato paste
• sugar
• water
• kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Start by heating up a 10-inch skillet over moderate heat. Once hot, add in a tablespoon of olive oil and 1/2 cup finely minced white onions. For a smoother sauce, you could pulse the onion in a mini food processor.

The moment the onions have softened, add in 2 cloves of garlic. You can either mince, grate or squeeze them through a garlic press. Sauté the garlic for about 30 seconds.

To the garlicky onions, add in 2 tablespoons minced sun-dried tomatoes, 2 teaspoons dried oregano and 1-1/2 teaspoons dried basil.

Stir and let the heat and oil soften the dried herbs for a little bit.

Next, pour in 2 tablespoons of white wine. Use a wine you like to drink – preferably a dry white and not a sweet white wine. If you’re avoiding alcohol, only up the water to 1 cup plus the 2 tablespoons and add it in later on after the tomato paste.

Let this simmer until the wine is absorbed.

Then add in 6 ounces of tomato paste.

And then add 1/4 teaspoon sugar and pour in 1 cup of water. Reduce the temperature to medium-low to low and let it simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Lastly, season with 3/4 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt and a few grinds of black pepper.

This sauce is thick and luscious and is completely standout!

Besides pizza, this sauce can be used as a spread on sandwiches, filling for pizza rolls or as a dip for mozzarella cheese sticks. The options are endless!

There’s pizza sauce and then there’s from-scratch pizza sauce and kitchen-made is the dependable!

How To Store Kitchen-made Pizza Sauce:

Allow to cool before transferring it to a jar or container with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate or freeze (using a freezer safe container).

How Long Will From-scratch Pizza Sauce Last?

If store properly, pizza sauce will last for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer.

Enjoy! And if you give this From-scratch Pizza Sauce recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!