San Marzano tomatoes pizza sauce is a thick and lush pizza sauce with a sweet finish that you can use for pizza, pizza pretzels, or as a breadstick dipping sauce.
San Marzano Tomatoes for Pizza Sauce
San Marzano tomatoes are less acidic than Roma tomatoes, and have a more powerful flavor.
San Marzano pizza sauce is a little on the sweeter side.
San Marzano tomatoes were first grown in volcanic soil from the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius close to Naples in Italy.
San Marzano tomatoes have very thick walls, thick fleshy inside, and very few seeds. Therefore, when the tomatoes are broken down to make pizza sauce, it creates a paste like consistency.
This makes San Marzano pizza sauce extra thick and creamy.
Breaking Down San Marzano Tomatoes
There are 2 ways you can break down San Marzano tomatoes for pizza sauce.
Hands
You can use your hands to break apart your tomatoes for pizza sauce. It will feel slimly and wet! But you need to break down the tomatoes in order for you not to have a chunky sauce.
Pastry Blender
A pastry blender will easily cut tomatoes into small pieces while keeping your hands clean!
Press the pastry blender into the tomatoes and cut them into bite sized pieces. Then you’ll be ready to make your pizza sauce.
Draining San Marzano Tomatoes
You should drain off tomato juices of San Marzano tomatoes when you’re making pizza sauce.
Draining off the juices will make the pizza sauce have a thicker consistency, and you can always add the juice drippings if the pizza sauce is too thick for your liking.
You have more control over the pizza sauce consistency by draining the San Marzano tomatoes.
To drain your tomatoes, place a strainer on top of a glass bowl. Add your tomatoes into the strainer and let them sit for about 20 minutes prior to making your pizza sauce.
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Tacos are favorite family dinner that can be paired with taco coleslaws cilantro lime coleslaw, avocado crema coleslaw, or honey mustard coleslaw depending on the taco meat or vegetables you choose.
Taco coleslaws are made by adding a sauce to a coleslaw base.
Coleslaw bases can be made with a combination of red cabbage, green cabbage and carrots. You can also add cilantro leaves to your coleslaw mix as well if you like.
Avocado crema coleslaw is made by first making an avocado crema, which is then used to coat the coleslaw.
Thick plain yogurt mixed with avocado makes the sauce creamy and full bodied. It has a strong lime flavor to the avocado crema that finishes the sauce off well.
Avocado crema sauce is made by combining plain yogurt, avocado, cilantro leaves, minced garlic, fresh lime juice, olive oil, and a little salt in a food processor. To keep the sauce full and thick, the mixture is only “pulsed” in the food processor until it combines.
Coleslaw is made with shredded red cabbage, green cabbage, and carrots.
Mix avocado crema with coleslaw for a creamy avocado taco coleslaw. You can use it on top of shrimp tacos, cauliflower tacos, pulled pork tacos, chicken tacos, and fish tacos.
Creamy Mexican Coleslaw
Creamy Mexican coleslaw is a thick sauce made with a sour cream base with a hint of cumin flavor.
A bag of coleslaw mix (shredded red cabbage, green cabbage, and carrots) are combined with sliced green onions and chopped cilantro leaves for the base of the taco coleslaw.
In a separate bowl, mayo and sour cream are mixed together along with fresh lime juice, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt and pepper.
Add the spicy lime sauce to the coleslaw mixture to coat the cabbage.
Your creamy Mexican coleslaw can be used over steak tacos and chicken tacos.
To make the honey mustard sauce for the coleslaw, mix together Dijon mustard, mayo, honey, milk, and salt and pepper.
Drizzle sauce over a coleslaw mix. You can find coleslaws mixes near your produce section. Coleslaw mixes include red cabbage, green cabbage and carrots.
Honey mustard coleslaw goes well over a BBQ sauce marinated meat for tacos like pork or chicken.
Depending on how spicy you want your sauce, you can start with 1 jalapeno, and add more if you want it with a bit more heat. You can also remove the seeds and membrane from the jalapenos and only use the pepper to have a more mild crema sauce.
Jalapenos, chopped up onions, cilantro leaves, minced garlic, fresh lime juice, honey, salt, and sour cream are placed in a food processor, and blended until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the food processor, and then blend again until all of the ingredients are incorporated.
Sour cream, mayo, cilantro leaves, lime zest, lime juice, minced garlic, and salt are blended in a food processor until the sauce is thick and smooth.
Cilantro lime crema can be used to mix with coleslaw (shredded cabbage and cilantro leaves), which you can add to your taco as well.
Tomato Salsa
Tomato salsa is a juicy, chunky salsa that has a little bite to it.
Salsa adds a ton of flavor and compliments tacos well as a topping.
Salsa can be paired with guacamole well for serving on top of steak tacos.
Tomato salsa is made by adding whole canned tomatoes, and a can of diced tomatoes with green chilies (Rotel tomatoes work well) as the base of the salsa.
Finely chopped jalapeno with the seeds removed are added to the salsa, as well as some diced onions.
A few herbs like garlic and cumin are added, and then the salsa can be “pulsed” only in a food processor. Don’t overmix the salsa until it becomes a mush.
Pulse the salsa 7-10 times to get it just perfectly chunky.
Chimichurri Sauce
Chimichurri sauce is a red wine vinegar sauce that is made with fresh herbs and olive oil.
Chimichurri sauce is made by mixing together olive oil, red wine vinegar, minced garlic, fresh parsley, oregano, red pepper flakes, minced red chili pepper, fresh lemon juice, and a little salt and pepper.
Chimichurri sauce needs to rest for at least 30 minutes to let the herbs infuse into the olive oil and vinegar to create this herbaceous sauce to drizzle over steak tacos.
Avocado Salsa
Avocado salsa is a creamy, spicy salsa made with fresno chilis. You could also use a jalapeno pepper as a substitute if you can’t find fresno chilis.
Avocados are diced to create the base of the salsa, and placed in a large bowl.
Diced red onion, minced fresno chilis, minced garlic, fresh lime juice, cilantro leaves and salt are added to the bowl of avocados.
Gently mix the salsa so the avocados stay diced and they don’t mash together until all of the ingredients are combined.
Spoon salsa over steak tacos to enjoy!
Corn Salsa
Corn salsa is a sweet and spicy salsa you can use for steak tacos.
Corn salsa is made with corn, finely chopped jalapenos, red onions, and bell pepper.
A little bit of freshly minced garlic, lime juice, cumin, chili pepper and fresh cilantro leaves are the spices that are added to the savory corn salsa to create the tangy flavoring.
Charred Tomato Salsa
Charred tomato salsa and avocado crema sauce pair well together for steak tacos. Both of them give the steak tacos a refreshing and creamy flavoring.
Whole tomatoes, half a red onion, and a serrano pepper are coated in olive oil, and grilled on the BBQ for a few minutes until they begin to char.
After the ingredients have cooled, they are chopped and placed into a food processor.
Minced garlic, and cilantro leaves are added to the food processor until the salsa is fully combined.
Place salsa in a bowl, and add fresh lime juice to finish off charred tomato salsa for your steak tacos.
Avocado Crema
Avocado crema sauce is a sauce made out of avocados that is blended with yogurt and herbs to make a tangy, citrusy sauce for steak tacos.
Avocado crema sauce is made with thick plain yogurt which gives the crema a thick base.
The yogurt mixed with avocado makes the sauce creamy and full bodied. It has a strong lime flavor to the avocado crema that finishes the sauce off well.
Avocado crema sauce is made by combining plain yogurt, avocado, cilantro leaves, minced garlic, fresh lime juice, olive oil, and a little salt in a food processor. To keep the sauce full and thick, the mixture is only “pulsed” in the food processor until it combines.
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Tacos are favorite family dinner that can be paired with crema sauces like cilantro lime crema, avocado crema, or chipotle lime crema depending on the taco meat or vegetables you choose.
Crema sauce is usually made with sour cream for a full body sauce for tacos, but you can also use Greek yogurt for a lighter sauce if desired.
Chipotle lime cream is made by combining sour cream, chipotles in adobo sauce, fresh lime juice, lime zest, honey and salt and blending them together. You can thin out the sauce with a bit of water if desired.
Chipotle lime crema goes well with fish tacos, cauliflower tacos, or chicken tacos.
Avocado crema sauce is a sauce made out of avocados that is blended with yogurt and herbs to make a tangy, citrusy sauce for tacos.
Avocado crema sauce is made with thick plain yogurt which gives the crema a thick base.
The yogurt mixed with avocado makes the sauce creamy and full bodied. It has a strong lime flavor to the avocado crema that finishes the sauce off well.
Avocado crema sauce is made by combining plain yogurt, avocado, cilantro leaves, minced garlic, fresh lime juice, olive oil, and a little salt in a food processor. To keep the sauce full and thick, the mixture is only “pulsed” in the food processor until it combines.
You can use avocado crema sauce and spoon it onto the tacos, or you can use it to coat a mixture of coleslaw, and place that inside your taco.
Avocado crema sauce goes well over shrimp tacos.
Lime Crema
Lime crema is a refreshing citrusy sauce you can drizzle over cauliflower tacos or chicken tacos.
Lime crema is made by whisking together sour cream, minced garlic, fresh lime zest, fresh lime juice, and a little bit of salt.
Another option is to substitute sour cream for Greek yogurt for a plainer flavoring. Sour cream can add a tangy flavor, so using yogurt instead focuses solely on the lime flavoring.
Depending on how spicy you want your sauce, you can start with 1 jalapeno, and add more if you want it with a bit more heat. You can also remove the seeds and membrane from the jalapenos and only use the pepper to have a more mild crema sauce.
Jalapenos, chopped up onions, cilantro leaves, minced garlic, fresh lime juice, honey, salt, and sour cream are placed in a food processor, and blended until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the food processor, and then blend again until all of the ingredients are incorporated.
Cilantro Lime Crema
Cilantro lime crema is a creamy, tangy sauce you can use in fish tacos, or steak tacos.
Sour cream, mayo, cilantro leaves, lime zest, lime juice, minced garlic, and salt are blended in a food processor until the sauce is thick and smooth.
Cilantro lime crema can be used to mix with coleslaw (shredded cabbage and cilantro leaves), which you can add to your taco as well.
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Tacos are favorite family dinner that can be paired with green sauces like salsa verde, cilantro lime sauce, or avocado cream sauce depending on the taco meat or vegetables you choose.
Tomatillos are usually the base of many green sauces for tacos. They’re small green tomatoes that are wrapped up in a husk, and need to be peeled to use for salsas.
Jalapeno sauce is made by adding mayo, sour cream, diced jalapenos, cilantro leaves, tomatillo salsa, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper to a blender, and blending until smooth.
Jalapeno sauce works well for pork tacos or steak tacos.
Avocado cream sauce is a sauce made out of avocados that is blended with yogurt and herbs to make a tangy, citrusy sauce for tacos.
Avocado cream sauce is made with thick plain yogurt which gives the crema a thick base.
The yogurt mixed with avocado makes the sauce creamy and full bodied. It has a strong lime flavor to the avocado crema that finishes the sauce off well.
Avocado cream sauce is made by combining plain yogurt, avocado, cilantro leaves, minced garlic, fresh lime juice, olive oil, and a little salt in a food processor. To keep the sauce full and thick, the mixture is only “pulsed” in the food processor until it combines.
You can use avocado cream sauce and spoon it onto the tacos, or you can use it to coat a mixture of coleslaw, and place that inside your taco.
Watermelon is made into balls using a melon baller. Onto each skewer, a piece of watermelon, and a piece of fresh mozzarella is alternated until the entire skewer is full.
Fresh lime juice is mixed with lime zest, salt, and honey for the coating on the skewers.
Drizzle the sauce on top of the skewers, and serve immediately.
Slices of mozzarella cheese and sundried tomatoes are arranged over the flatbread and then it’s baked in the oven.
After the flatbread comes out of the oven, more fresh pesto is spooned onto the flatbread. This gives the flatbread more of a burst of pesto flavor for this savory appetizer.
Pistachio Pesto Pasta
Pistachio pesto pasta is a nutty flavored pasta that is finished off with fresh mozzarella.
Pistachio pesto is made by adding fresh mint, oregano, basil leaves to a food processor along with pistachio nuts.
Minced garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and sea salt are added and blended together until the pesto is smooth and oily.
Pistachio pesto is added to cooked pasta and zucchini slices. Zucchini can be cooked along with pasta in the last couple of minutes in the cooking time.
Garnish pasta with pieces of fresh mozzarella cheese, pistachio nuts, and fresh basil leaves.
In between the layers of peaches is a slice of mozzarella.
On the top layer of peach, add a single leaf of basil and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.
Place a toothpick through the sandwich so it can easily be eaten without it falling apart.
Pepperoni Caprese Bites
Pepperoni caprese bites are an eye catching appetizer assembled on a toothpick, with a basil vinaigrette dressing.
To assemble the pepperoni appetizer, place a fresh piece of mozzarella, then a folded piece of pepperoni, a fresh basil leaf, and a cherry tomato on a toothpick.
Drizzle basil vinaigrette dressing on top and serve immediately.
Peach Flatbread
Flatbread is a delicious crispy, warm peach appetizer. Flatbread can be cut into small pieces so it’s easily eaten.
Peach flatbread is made by simply brushing olive oil on the edges of the flatbread dough.
Add pizza sauce on the dough, and arrange fresh mozzarella on top of the pizza sauce.
Place folded pieces of prosciutto all over the flatbread. Slice peaches and dry off excess water. You don’t want too much leaking into your flatbread or it won’t crisp up.
Bake the flatbread, and add fresh leaves of basil once it comes out of the oven, along with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.
The tomato sauce is made by cooking butter with minced garlic and olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat.
Halved grape tomatoes are added to the saucepan with a bit of sugar to sweeten the acidic tomatoes.
Fresh basil leaves are added to finish off the sauce, and then it’s tossed with cooked spaghetti.
Shaved Parmesan cheese, and pieces of fresh mozzarella are added and mixed into the hot pasta, which will let them melt and add a creamy, rich flavoring.
Caprese Pesto Crostini
Caprese pesto crostini’s are made by marinating cherry tomatoes and fresh mozzarella with dried basil leaves and olive oil.
Once you’ve made your crostini’s and they have cooled, fresh pesto is spread on the crostini.
Mozzarella slices and cherry tomatoes are placed on top of the layer of pesto.
Finally, the pesto appetizer is topped with freshly chopped basil leaves, parmesan cheese, and balsamic vinegar.
Make your own crostini’s by slicing a baguette, brushing olive oil on to one side of the bread, and then broiling it in the oven for 2 minutes until it’s toasted.
Assemble the bruschetta by putting one slice of tomato, and one slice of mozzarella onto the crostini’s. Add a couple basil leaves to the bruschetta, and then broil in the oven until the cheese has started to melt.
Drizzle balsamic reduction over the bruschetta and enjoy!
Chicken Parmesan
Chicken Parmesan is a savory pasta made with fresh mozzarella cheese that’s baked in the oven.
Chicken is tenderized and soaked in egg. Chicken is covered in a mixture of bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and garlic powder.
Chicken is baked in the oven, and then a little bit of tomato sauce is poured overtop. A slice of fresh mozzarella is placed on top of the chicken and baked until the cheese begins bubbling.
Serve chicken Parmesan over spaghetti coated in tomato sauce.
Avocado cream sauce is a sauce made out of avocados that is blended with yogurt and herbs to make a tangy, citrusy sauce for burritos.
Avocado cream sauce is made with thick plain yogurt which gives the crema a thick base.
The yogurt mixed with avocado makes the sauce creamy and full bodied. It has a strong lime flavor to the avocado crema that finishes the sauce off well.
Avocado cream sauce is made by combining plain yogurt, avocado, cilantro leaves, minced garlic, fresh lime juice, olive oil, and a little salt in a food processor. To keep the sauce full and thick, the mixture is only “pulsed” in the food processor until it combines.
Avocado cream sauce goes well over shrimp burritos.
Chipotle lime cream is made by combining sour cream, chipotles in adobo sauce, fresh lime juice, lime zest, honey and salt and blending them together. You can thin out the sauce with a bit of water if desired.
Jalapeno sauce is made by adding Greek yogurt, diced jalapenos, olive oil, cilantro leaves, lemon juice, garlic, onion powder, salt and dill to a blender, and processing until it’s smooth sauce.
Jalapeno ranch sauce works well for cauliflower burritos or shrimp burritos.
Tomato salsa is a juicy, chunky salsa that has a little bite to it.
Salsa adds a ton of flavor to burritos.
Tomato salsa is made by adding whole canned tomatoes, and a can of diced tomatoes with green chilies (Rotel tomatoes work well) as the base of the salsa.
Finely chopped jalapeno with the seeds removed are added to the salsa, as well as some diced onions.
A few herbs like garlic and cumin are added, and then the salsa can be “pulsed” only in a food processor. Don’t overmix the salsa until it becomes a mush.
Pulse the salsa 7-10 times to get it just perfectly chunky.
Salmon fillets are pan fried with salt, pepper, and a bit of lime juice squirted on top.
To make lime hollandaise sauce, butter is melted over a hot water bath. Butter is placed in a metal bowl over a pot filled with about 1″ of water. The water should be boiling in order for the butter to melt.
In a separate heat proof bowl, egg yolks, lime zest, and lime juice are whisked together.
When the butter has melted, slowly add it to the egg yolk mixture whisking vigorously so the eggs do not begin to cook.
Once the pasta has been cooked and drained, you can drizzle lime hollandaise sauce over your salmon and pasta for a citrus, buttery sauce to enjoy.
Pasta Salad with Steak and Basil Hollandaise Sauce
Pasta salad is made with pasta, corn, cannellini beans, cherry tomatoes, butter lettuce and onions.
Steak is sautéed with garlic and butter to sear it, and then it’s let to rest while the hollandaise sauce is made.
Hollandaise sauce is made by melting butter over a hot water bath. You can put a metal bowl over a pot filled with about 1″ of water in the bottom. The water should be boiling in order to melt the butter.
In another bowl, place egg yolks, fresh basil leaves, fresh lemon juice and salt and whisk them together.
You can cut the basil leaves into strips, or chop it up finely. Once the butter has melted, slowly add the butter to the egg yolk bowl whisking vigorously so you don’t cook the eggs.
Basil hollandaise sauce has a bit of a kick to it. You can add fresh chilies as well to make it a bit more spicy.
Hollandaise sauce is drizzled over steak and pasta salad for a creamy and rich flavoring.
Olive oil is heated in a pan, and then slices of chorizo are cooked until they turn brown on each side.
Deglaze the pan with a bit of dry white wine.
Add shrimp, capers, and a bit of caper juice and cook until the shrimp turn pink. Add lemon juice to the pan, and then add cooked pasta to coat in a bit of sauce.
Prepare your hollandaise sauce by melting butter over a hot water bath. You can put a metal bowl over a pot filled with about 1″ of water in the bottom. The water should be boiling in order to melt the butter.
In another bowl, place egg yolks, fresh lemon juice and salt and whisk them together.
Once the butter has melted, slowly add the butter to the egg yolk bowl whisking vigorously so you don’t cook the eggs.
Drizzle hollandaise sauce over shrimp and chorizo pasta and enjoy!
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Fresh mozzarella is a creamy, rich cheese you can use to make salads, appetizers, crostini’s, pasta, and pizza.
Fresh mozzarella a staple food to make caprese appetizers using toothpicks or skewers.
You can also make crostini’s or bruschetta using fresh mozzarella cheese.
Not only that, you can add fresh mozzarella to pasta, pizza, and salad recipes for a rich flavoring.
Appetizers
Fresh mozzarella can be paired with tomatoes, peaches, watermelon, strawberries, and fresh basil leaves to create luscious appetizers that will tantalize your taste buds.
Alternate fresh mozzarella and your chosen fruit combination, along with a fresh basil leaf to fill up a toothpick or a skewer. You can make the appetizer ahead of time and place it in the fridge prior to your guests coming over.
When you’re ready to serve them, add a drizzle of balsamic reduction over the appetizers to give them a chef worthy look, and add a hint of sweetness.
Margarita pizza is a classic pizza that is made with pizza sauce and fresh mozzarella. After it’s been baked in the oven, fresh basil leaves are placed on top and it starts to wilt a little right before it’s served.
Fresh mozzarella is usually placed sparingly on pizza, due to it’s rich flavor.
You can also place more fresh mozzarella in the center of the pizza after it’s come out of the oven.
When you’re taking a slice of pizza, you can grab a little more fresh mozzarella from the center, and enjoy it’s creamy, soft texture on top of your pizza slice.
Crostini’s are small pieces of baguette that have been toasted in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil.
You can add pesto, fresh tomatoes, roasted tomatoes, basil leaves, herbs with olive oil, peaches, and fresh mozzarella to create your own enticing appetizers.
Fresh mozzarella will enhance the flavor of the crostini, giving it a body of flavor to enjoy along with its pairings.
Fresh mozzarella is added at the end of making pasta, due to it’s soft, delicate makeup.
Fresh mozzarella will melt into the soft, adding a thick, velvety finish to pasta sauce.
You can also add it to ricotta cheese and stuff ravioli pasta with it as a savory filling. Drizzle with a brown butter and sage sauce over the pasta for a rich, buttery sauce to dip your ravioli in.
