Pizza sauce is usually made with crushed tomatoes/whole tomatoes (then it’s blended at the end), fresh basil, minced garlic, oregano, sugar, onions, olive oil, and butter.
Typically you don’t need to make pizza sauce with tomato paste because it’s not necessary. The crushed tomatoes or whole tomatoes will give the pizza sauce all the flavor it needs, in combination with the herbs.
How to Make Pizza Sauce Without Tomato Paste
Materials
- 1 28 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 tbsp butter unsalted
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp oregano dried
- pinch red pepper flakes
- to taste salt
- handful fresh basil separate into leaves and stems
- 1 medium onion cut in half
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Place olive oil and butter in a large saucepan over low-medium heat. Add in 2 cloves of minced garlic and sauté for a couple of minutes until fragrant.
- Add oregano, pepper, salt, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Place the whole can of tomatoes and juice into a large bowl. Use a pastry blender to crush the tomatoes into a bit smaller pieces. Add crushed tomatoes to the saucepan. Separate the basil leaves from the stems. Add 3-4 stems of fresh basil, mix together and cook for 3-4 min.
- Add sugar to the saucepan. Cut the onion in half leaving the root in tact. Peel the outer layer off of the onion and discard. Place the peeled 1/2 onions face down in the sauce and cook for 45 min on low.
- Cut basil leaves into strips. Add the basil leaves after 45 min and cook for 5-15 min. They can turn bitter if you cook them for too long, so best to cook them for as little time as possible. Fresh basil will wilt and combine in the sauce easily using a wooden spoon to press them into the sauce.
- Remove onions and basil stems from the sauce using a strainer and discard. Blend the pizza sauce with a blender until smooth.
- Pizza sauce is ready to use.
Can you use pasta sauce as a pizza base
You can use pasta sauce as a pizza base in a pinch. Try to add fresh basil, a little tomato paste, and a bit of sugar to thicken it up. Alternatively, you could add crushed tomatoes or fresh diced tomatoes to thicken up your pasta sauce for your pizza base.
Other uses for pizza sauce
- Dipping sauce for garlic sticks
- Dipping sauce for bread
- Pizza pinwheels
- Breadmaker pizza pretzels
- Pizza bites
- Pepperoni pizza pinwheels
What is the pizza sauce made of?
Pizza sauce is made of:
- Crushed tomatoes/whole tomatoes
- Fresh basil
- Minced garlic
- Oregano
- Sugar
- Onion
- Olive oil
- Butter
Are pizza and marinara sauce the same?
Pizza and marinara sauce are similar, but not the same. Pizza sauce and marinara sauce are both made with whole tomatoes. Marinara sauce is pasta sauce, which typically has tomato paste in it, along with diced onions, and possibly other vegetables to make it the base of a meal. Pizza sauce has onions infused with it, and usually has fresh basil cooked in it, unlike marinara sauce.
What is the tomato sauce on pizza called?
In North America it’s called pizza sauce, or tomato-garlic sauce. In Italy, they call it marinara sauce. In North America they call pasta sauce marinara sauce. So it really depends on which area you live when deciding what to call pizza sauce.
What can I add to marinara sauce for pizza
You can add fresh basil, olive oil, butter, sugar, minced garlic, and oregano to marinara sauce to make pizza sauce.
What is the best melting cheese for pizza?
The best melting cheese for pizza is mozzarella cheese. Mozzarella cheese is creamy, thick, easy on the mouth, and has a squishy texture. The texture makes it stringy when it melts. This is due to how it’s manufactured. Mozzarella cheese is kneaded and stretched when it’s processed. That’s why you get strings of cheese coming off of your pizza when you take a slice off of your pizza. It melts effortlessly when it’s baked on top of pizza in a clay oven.
In Italy they use fresh mozzarella for their best cheese on top of a pizza. You don’t need as much fresh mozzarella on top of a pizza as regular mozzarella.
What’s the difference between fresh mozzarella and regular mozzarella?
Regular mozzarella cheese has had the majority of its moisture removed so it’s considered a low moisture cheese. Regular mozzarella cheese is dried longer, and contains more salt. It has a rubbery feel to it, and easily browns and crisps up when cooked on a pizza in a hot oven.
Fresh mozzarella is purchased with water or brine surrounding the cheese to keep the moisture content high within the cheese. Since it’s only good for about a week after production, it’s best used as soon as you purchase it. It can be vacuumed sealed and will stay good for a bit longer. The high moisture content in fresh mozzarella means that it melts and spreads, but typically does not brown. It’s consistency is much softer and can easily be squished between your fingers, unlike regular mozzarella.
How do you thicken marinara sauce for pizza?
Thicken marinara sauce by adding fresh basil, minced garlic, oregano, sugar, olive oil, and butter to make pizza sauce.
What cheese do Italians use for pizza?
Italians use fresh mozzarella for their pizza.
What makes Italian pizza different?
Italian pizza is different from American pizza because they use fresh mozzarella, olive oil on their pizza crust, and bake it in a wooden fire oven. The crust is much thinner in Italian pizza, so thin that you typically have to eat it with a fork and knife. If you go to Naples, they are famous for their pizza without pizza sauce. They use olive oil instead of pizza sauce.
