The 3-part pizza mini series continues today with Part 3: The Sauce. Catch up on Part 1: The Gear and Part 2: The Dough. During one of our earlier dough-offs to find the best dough recipe, we unintentionally had a pizza sauce throw down. I made my old trusty tomato paste sauce while Kev made a more traditional Neapolitan sauce using crushed tomatoes. I didn’t lose this throw down, but I didn’t win either. At the end of the dinner, the dough critique turned into a conversation about the sauce. It was unanimous—we all liked aspects from each of the recipes.
So I combined the two, using the ease of the tomato paste from my old recipe with the spices, garlic, and vinegar from his recipe. And that was one big variable we solved early on in our wood-fired pizza experimenting. This pantry pizza sauce has a rich, warm, garlicky flavor and comes together as fast as you can open a can of tomato paste. Speaking of, source a paste with good flavor. In this case, all pastes are not created equal. We’ve been buying the organic option from Costco for years, which has a nice even, almost sweet flavor. Don’t be scared of the vinegar either. It’s an unsung hero in home cooking. And I’m singing it. Note: a little goes a long way in cooking.
A quick, well rounded pantry pizza sauce that comes together in a couple stirs. For minimal clean-up, use a tablespoon and 1/4 teaspoon for measuring, doubling and halving when needed.
Ingredients
Scale
4 tbsp. tomato paste
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/8 tsp. kosher salt
4+ tbsp. water
Instructions
Stir together all the sauce ingredients in a bowl or mason jar until smooth. Add additional water 1 tablespoon at a time to thin to desired consistency. I prefer my sauce on the thinner side. Taste and add additional salt if needed. This sauce is strong in flavor. A little goes a long way, so spread a very thin layer on your pie.
This can be made up to a week in advance. Store leftovers in an airtight jar.
This blog is made possible by your support (thank you), select brand partnerships, advertisements, and affiliate links to items I love and use. READ MORE >
Seriously the best pizza sauce and sooo easy! Also it can be frozen, I had leftovers so I froze it to save it going to waste, thought it was worth a try and I’m pleased to report I pulled out the last little bag of it last week, possibly a year after I’d thrown it in the freezer and forgotten about it and it was perfect 👌
Yep, you can! It’ll last a good while in the fridge. “Pantry” here means made from pantry staples (tomato paste, water, dried spices, oil), but I also consider pantry staples to include things that hold up for a good while in the fridge, like condiments, dressings, or this sauce. Hope you enjoy it! Let me know if any other questions come up!
I’m so excited to get back into the rhythm of making pizzas! It’s more a of a winter habit for us, since no part of me wants to crank up our oven to 550F in the summer hehe. I’m working on a sourdough crust, but definitely keeping this easy sauce in mind for our next pizza dinner!
i’m typically #teamcrushedtomatoes, but this sounds so interesting with the paste & vinegar! i can’t wait to try it – i’ve seriously loved/anticipated this series SO much. one of our dreams in our new house has been to create a cozy minnesota backyard pizza haven & this is so inspiring! thank you so much for sharing! xo
Seriously the best pizza sauce and sooo easy! Also it can be frozen, I had leftovers so I froze it to save it going to waste, thought it was worth a try and I’m pleased to report I pulled out the last little bag of it last week, possibly a year after I’d thrown it in the freezer and forgotten about it and it was perfect 👌
Do you keep the leftovers in the fridge? I’m confused by “pantry staple!” thanks!
Yep, you can! It’ll last a good while in the fridge. “Pantry” here means made from pantry staples (tomato paste, water, dried spices, oil), but I also consider pantry staples to include things that hold up for a good while in the fridge, like condiments, dressings, or this sauce. Hope you enjoy it! Let me know if any other questions come up!
This is the best sauce I have tasted let alone made. Can’t believe how simple it is. Thank you for this awesome staple recipe! 🙂
I’m so excited to get back into the rhythm of making pizzas! It’s more a of a winter habit for us, since no part of me wants to crank up our oven to 550F in the summer hehe. I’m working on a sourdough crust, but definitely keeping this easy sauce in mind for our next pizza dinner!
i’m typically #teamcrushedtomatoes, but this sounds so interesting with the paste & vinegar! i can’t wait to try it – i’ve seriously loved/anticipated this series SO much. one of our dreams in our new house has been to create a cozy minnesota backyard pizza haven & this is so inspiring! thank you so much for sharing! xo
delicious! good, homemade pizza sauce is a hard thing to master. Can’t wait to try yours!
Your first pantry staple pizza sauce is my go-to, so I’m very excited to try this!