I experimented with numerous different store-bought sauce brands before deciding to make my own. Although this sauce is fantastic and quite simple to create, it should be chilled overnight to allow the flavors to mingle. 1 tablespoon of brown sugar was my starting point. The sauce was well-liked by all of us, but I’ll give it another go with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Prior to use, refrigerate overnight. enough to fill 4 big pizzas.
| Prep Time: | 5 mins |
| Cook Time: | 45 mins |
| Additional Time: | 8 hrs |
| Total Time: | 8 hrs 50 mins |
| Servings: | 16 |
| Yield: | 16 servings |
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (28 ounce) can tomato sauce
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar, or more to taste
Instructions
- Stir the olive oil, garlic, tomato sauce, red pepper, thyme, Italian seasoning, basil, oregano, salt, and brown sugar together in a saucepan over low heat; simmer, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes. Refrigerate overnight before using.
Reviews
Made it as called out…awesome
This is a fantastic sauce! Both my husband and myself loved it! The only change I made was to cut the red pepper flakes to 1/4 tsp. It still had enough heat for us.
Best homemade pizza sauce I’ve ever made! As far as I’m concerned it needs nothing else added to it! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I had people visiting who I had to convince not to buy canned pizza sauce and to let me make this instead. They liked it so much they both asked for the recipe afterward and have been using it for their own pizzas since.
Oh my gosh! This sauce is the answer to a search that I’ve been on for many years. I’ve made many sauces and have even bought many that were made by others but couldn’t find what I was looking for. I’ve been on a quest making a copy cat pizza of a popular local favorite. I had everything right except the sauce. This sauce is what my pizza has been missing. This is a keeper and the answer to a puzzle that I couldn’t solve. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
I’ve been making this for years with minimal variations. So rich and delicious. Everyone raves about the pizzas we make with it.
The only thing I added to your recipe was crushed fennel.
This is a great pizza sauce! I have made it again.
I made this as directed. Did not let sit overnight, but it was excellent anyway. I froze the leftovers since there are only two of us.
I was out of Basil but It was still delicious! This will be my go to sauce from now on. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
My whole family loved this. Definitely going to be my go to recipe for a large family of pizza lovers.
I have spent years looking for what I consider to be the perfect pizza sauce recipe. I have finally found it in this one. I make homemade pizza probably at least twice a week if not three times a week. Yes, my waistline is paying for it. This sauce has everything that I look for in a sauce: taste, texture and simple complexity if that makes sense. I absolutely recommend the sauce to anybody looking for something that can be made with ingredients you already have on hand yet tastes like a million!
Made as directed, a day ahead, as directed, and WOW!!! Best pizza sauce ever! Even with no fresh herbs. Only sauce I will ever make! Thank you for posting this wonderful recipe!
I am new to cooking from scratch. Have to say this is the best pizza sauce I have ever eaten. I did use 2 tablespoons of brown sugar as some one else suggested.
Loved this recipe! doesn’t make as much as said, I had enough to make one large pizza, a hot pizza dip, and have a dip for Cheeto covered mozzarella sticks.. I did make a fee changes, I added 2 Bay leafs, 1 tbls of honey and three table spoons of Sugar in the raw (instead of brown sugar), 2tsps of fennel seed, 1 extra tsp of Italian seasoning. I cut use of the red pepper, extra basil, and extra oregano. Turned out perfectly!! loved it!!
I made this recipe with a few modifications: Used fresh beefsteak tomatoes (halved, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt/pepper) that I grilled along with the toppings I used. I also used fresh herbs at the rate of 1t dry = 1T fresh and added about 2tsp fennel seeds. I also used 2-3T brown sugar for a sweeter sauce. Using the beefsteak tomatoes meant I had a lot of liquid, but, cooked it down to the consistency I was after. Oh, and I skipped the Italian seasoning, it seemed redundant. It was really good, I’ll definitely make it again.
I added parmesan cheese. left out red pepper and hot stuff.
Love this sauce, bold and flavorful and so easy!
Sauce was good but we found it too oily. We cut the thyme back because we aren’t really fond of it. Overall good recipe!
This was the best pizza sauce I’ve made. I used fresh thyme, and I’m cooking up my second batch right now. Thank you!
I wasn’t a big fan of all the seasoning in this sauce. I’d probably either 1/2 or 1/4 the added spices. I personally like my pizza sauce on the mellow side so the tomato shines, but I figured I’d give it a shot.