Name: Quick & Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 small shallot, (diced, about 2 tablespoons); 1 large clove garlic; 1 can tomato sauce, (15 ounces); 7 fresh basil leaves, (1 teaspoon dried); 2 sprig fresh oregano, (1 teaspoon dried); 2 sprig fresh thyme, (1/2 teaspoon dried); 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/8 teaspoon black pepper; pinch red pepper flakes

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Discover how easy it is to make a super delicious pizza sauce in just 15 minutes! This homemade pizza sauce recipe is made with a can of tomato sauce that is simmered with fresh herbs and spices. It is gluten-free, low carb, and sugar-free!

If you want a good pizza, you don’t just need a good pizza dough recipe, you also need a good sauce! I’ve been making this sauce for our pizzas all summer and let me tell you, it is spoon-licking scrumptious!

Pizza sauce with wilted basil leaves in a mason jar. On old oven pie dish surrounded by fresh herbs, garlic and an old spoon.

Making this pizza sauce from scratch is so easy because you start with a can of tomato sauce! Add in fresh pizza herbs and simmer for a few minutes. Next thing you know, you’ve got a delicious homemade pizza sauce that is not only super quick and easy to make but tastes better than store-bought!

What’s funny is, I used to make a version of this sauce all the time as a kid! (Yes as a kid!) I was making yeast-risen pizza dough from scratch and homemade pizza sauce in my youth. Looking back… how hilarious is that?! Back then though, I would just crack open the can of tomato sauce and stir in garlic powder, onion powder, and Italian seasoning. I would taste along the way and stop adding seasoning when my advanced palate thought it tasted just right! [laughs out loud]

Turns out the ingredients aren’t much different in my grown-up version! I’ve swapped fresh herbs, garlic, and shallot for the dried herbs and spices. (Still, in a pinch, you could use dried seasonings!) Another big difference is I cook the sauce to thicken it up and enhance the flavor!

Key Ingredients and Substitutions.

Tomato sauce in a bowl and basil leaves in a jar next to chopped shallot, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, and fresh oregano.

Tomato Sauce: I use the best quality canned tomato sauce I can find. If you have some freshly canned tomato sauce from your garden… use that! Canned crushed tomatoes would also work for this recipe.
Fresh Garlic and a Small Shallot: A shallot is similar to an onion. Substitute a similar amount of diced onion if you can’t find a shallot. Garlic powder and onion powder can be used in a pinch, but I much prefer fresh here.
Fresh Herbs: Fresh herbs add a ton of flavor but if you can’t find any, substitute with dried herbs! (Amount substitutions are in the recipe card below!)

Here’s what you don’t need in this recipe: tomato paste! Cooking the sauce for a few minutes creates a thick sauce and reduces the flavor enough that we don’t even need tomato paste!

Diet-friendly Sauce

I follow a gluten-free diet due to celiac disease but the great thing about this sauce is that it is also vegan, dairy-free, sugar-free, paleo-friendly, low-carb… it is all the things! Yay! So use it along with your favorite diet-friendly pizza dough and toppings and you’re well on your way to a great tasting pizza!

Difference Between Pizza Sauce and Pasta Sauce

The ingredients in pizza sauce and marinara sauce are very similar, so what’s the difference?

The main difference is moisture content! There is less water in pizza sauce which is good! We don’t want a watery sauce on top of our pizza. That is why this recipe starts with a can of tomato sauce which is then cooked down a little further. This lends us a sauce that is not only thicker but also more flavorful because the sauce has been reduced just a bit.

Sure in a pinch you can use your favorite jar of marinara on top of your pizza, which I have done many times, but after you taste this sauce and see how easy it is to make… I doubt you’ll ever want to do that again!

Make Pizza Sauce From a Can of Tomato Sauce

Tomato sauce in a saucepan with fresh herbs and spices on top.

Step 1: Put the tomato sauce, garlic, shallot, fresh herbs, and spices in a small saucepan.
Step 2: Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Step 3: Let the sauce cool slightly and then pull out the herb stems but leave in the tender herb leaves if you wish.

You can store leftover pizza sauce in a mason jar in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Cooked homemade pizza sauce in a saucepan with a wooden spoon.

Recipe Yeild

This recipe makes about 12 ounces of sauce. That is enough for me to make 8 small 10-inch pizzas with two big spoonfuls of sauce each. For me, that’s enough for two pizza nights. You could easily double this recipe if needed!

You could also make a double-batch and freeze half for later!