This blog post also is available in German.
Jump to Recipe Print RecipeA pizza night with friends is just around the corner? Or is it just time for a pizza again? Be it alone or in company. Then this homemade pizza sauce with seasonal tomatoes and fresh herbs is a must. The sauce is easy and super fast to prepare and tastes much better than store-bought products. It’s also completely sugar-free, naturally vegan, and, thanks to the purely natural ingredients, also healthy. If time is short, the homemade pizza sauce can easily be prepared in advance or in larger quantities. Your guests – old or young – and you will love them!
Pizzaiolo Sauce made from fresh tomatoes
When I moved out of my parent’s home, I used to prepare my pizzas with ready-made tomato sauce. The result was okay, but somehow not intoxicating. Somehow the sauce was always too watery and soaked the pizza dough. In addition, I always had to check if there was sugar in the sauce (I don’t think sugar in tomato sauce is necessary). Not to mention the many seasonings and herbs that needed to be added. I easily could have made a sauce myself.
As a child from a typical Swiss household, I grew up with Betty Bossi cookbooks and learned a lot from them. I had inherited a small collection and put it in my new home. In one of those books, I stumbled upon a great recipe for a pizzaiolo sauce. From that moment onwards, this sauce was my go-to pizza sauce.
Over the years I`ve refined the sauce and adapted it to my needs and preferences.
So the original recipe is from Betty Bossi. Nevertheless, I’d like to share my version with you today.
Homemade pizza sauce
You`ve spread your pizza with bought tomato sauce and found it`s totally liquid and bland. Do you know what that is?
Or you bought a tomato sauce and boiled it down for the first 20 minutes so it wouldn’t be too watery. Sounds familiar?
Believe me, I’ve done both, and I’ve come to the conclusion If you have to cook the tomato sauce first anyway, you might as well make a homemade pizza sauce.
Take a quick pause if you`re already panicking and think about hours of work in the kitchen to cook a pizza sauce! The sauce only needs 20 to a maximum of 30 minutes and then it`s ready. You don’t need any fancy ingredients either. Just fresh, ripe, and if possible seasonal and regional tomatoes. That is already half the battle! Then onion, garlic, and fresh Italian herbs such as marjoram, oregano, and basil.
How to make your own homemade pizza sauce
First of all, you can do nothing wrong! The sauce is absolutely sure to work. There are two things you should consider though. First, the consistency of the sauce and second, the quality of the ingredients used.
This homemade pizza sauce is much thicker than bought tomato sauces. That’s right, so don’t pour too much water in a moment of panic. It definitely looks more like a puree than a sauce. But don’t worry, the end result is convincing. Moreover, the pizza dough is much less soaked if the pizza sauce isn`t too watery.
Now let’s talk about the ingredients. This homemade pizza sauce lives from the taste of the tomatoes. Yes, actually that goes for every tomato sauce. If the tomatoes don`t taste like anything, then so will your sauce. That’s why I recommend you make sure when buying the ingredients that they`re in season and if possible from the region. If so you can be sure that they`ve ripened in the sun and can release their full aroma. The tomatoes should also be completely ripe.
Last but not least, I recommend that you remove the tomato skin before you process them any further. This gives the pizza sauce a much softer texture, as the tomatoes can fall apart much better without the skin.
And don’t forget: Don’t store tomatoes in the fridge! This doesn’t help their flavor.
Low waste tips for your homemade pizza sauce
As the homemade pizza sauce per se consists of fresh ingredients, there`s practically no waste. Nevertheless, here are a few small tips on how you can avoid garbage even better:
- Buy all fresh ingredients unpacked & in organic quality at the weekly market
- You can also grow your own herbs at home.
- Onion, garlic, and tomato peels can be boiled down with other vegetable waste to make homemade broth or dried to make broth powder. (You can freeze everything until you have enough leftover vegetables).
- You can buy spices unpackaged in the unpackaged shop or in your favorite spice shop.
Alternative options for used products
If you`ve read up to here, you`ll have noticed that this homemade pizza sauce is primarily suitable for the summer. Because that`s when the ingredients are in season and available regionally. I agree with you there! So what if you get the urge for pizza in winter? I have a solution here too! Actually two, but one is less zero waste :).
Firstly, in summer, you can prepare pizza sauce in larger quantities and then freeze it. The best way to do this is to freeze it in an ice cube form and then put it in a freezer bag.
Secondly, you can also prepare the sauce with canned tomato pieces and dried spices. To save some garbage, you might want to use the aluminium can as a flowerpot or decoration instead of throwing it away. You could dry herbs yourself in summer for the winter.
You’re welcome to experiment with different herbs if you don’t like the ones I used. If you like you can also chop vegetables into the sauce. I personally like it rather simple. The pizza is still going to have toppings.
Meal prep tips
You can easily prepare this homemade pizza sauce in advance. It stays good for several days if tightly closed. If you don’t use it immediately, just put it in a clean screw-on jar while it`s still hot and screw it shut immediately.
You can also prepare the pizza sauce in larger quantities and freeze it as described above. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you how long the homemade pizza sauce will keep in unfrozen and uncooled condition. With us, it`s used up within a week.
Why you should try this homemade pizza sauce
It’s:
- vegan
- made from fresh ingredients only
- seasonal
- easy to prepare
- quick to prepare
- healthy
- sugar-free
- sure to succeed
- suitable for meal prep
- so much better than a store-bought
Other foods that taste way better when homemade
- Vegan yogurt
- Feta made from tofu
- Sugar-free BBQ sauce
- Pesto made from carrot greens
- Burger buns
- Almond milk
If you are trying this homemade pizza sauce, I would love your feedback here in the comments. If you share your creation of this recipe on Instagram, please don’t forget to link @velvetandvinegar and use the hashtag #velvetandvinegar. So my community and I won’t miss your contribution.
By subscribing to my newsletter, you also get access to my ebook and other freebies, as well as exclusive offers & content directly to your inbox. I also regularly send you the latest recipes, personal insights and interesting tips and tricks on vegan nutrition and sustainability.
You can also contact me directly via the newsletter by simply replying to my emails. This allows me to respond more specifically to your questions and wishes. I am happy to welcome you as part of my community!
Read you soon
Your Sarah
Homemade Pizza Sauce
Ingredients
- 500 g tomatoes* organic
- 1 onion organic
- 2 garlic cloves organic
- 2 tbsp olive oil* organic
- 1 tbsp (app. 20g) tomato purée organic
- 1/2 bunch of fresh oregano* organic
- 1/2 bunch of fresh marjoram* organic
- 1/2 bunch of fresh basil* organic
- 2-3 tbsp fresh thyme* organic
- 1 bay leaf organic
- 1/2 tsp sea salt organic
- 1-2 tsp Italian herb & spice blend organic, optional
Instructions
- Cut tomatoes crosswise on both sides, pour over boiling water and let them sit in the hot water for 1 minute. Then remove the skin using a knive.
- Cut tomatoes into small cubes.
- Peel onions and garlic cloves, crush garlic and finely chop onion.
- Heat olive oil in a pan, sauté onion and garlic until translucent.
- Add tomatoes and tomato purée, cook for another 2 minutes on low heat. Add about 50ml of water if necessary.
- Rinse off herbs and finely chop them.
- Add the herbs and all the other ingredients to the sauce, cover the pan with a lid and let simmer for 10 up to 15 minutes. Make sure to check in the sauce to prevent it from burning. Add some water if necessary.
- Fill in a jar or directly use on your pizza dough.
Notes
*If you’re avoiding to cook with oil, use water instead.
* If you can’t find any seasonal herbs, use dried ones instead.
Do you have a Pinterest account? Then you can find me here and of course pin this picture!
