This homemade pizza sauce with fresh tomatoes is garden fresh, and so easy to make.
Some things just don’t need to be complicated. This sauce is all about what’s fresh, simple and on hand.
Made from fresh, ripe tomatoes, this easy peasy homemade pizza sauce tastes heavenly and is healthy and wonderful for you as well.
Honestly, anything you make with fresh tomatoes is going to be better than canned. Fresh tomatoes almost always have more flavor, and less acidity.
Looking for a yummy crust to go with this? Check out our homemade pizza crust! You can also check out this Caputo flour, with an elastic gluten that’s perfect for pizza.
What are the best tomatoes for pizza sauce?
The best tomatoes for pizza sauce are plum or Roma tomatoes fresh from the garden.
Roma and plum tomatoes work well because they’re a fleshy tomato that cooks well, making a thicker sauce.
You’ll also get better flavor in your fresh pizza sauce with homegrown tomatoes, especially heirloom varieties.
I love to use heirloom tomatoes fresh from the garden. These are the same ones I use in our homemade chunky salsa recipe for canning.
That said, any tomato that’s fresh and ripe will make a delicious tomato sauce. You just make have to simmer varieties like Early Girl or cherry tomatoes a little longer until they thicken up.
Here’s what you’ll need for pizza sauce from fresh tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 minced garlic cloves
- 5 cups of fresh tomatoes, seeded and cubed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 5 fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- pinch of sugar
How to make homemade pizza sauce from garden tomatoes
We don’t take the skins off our tomatoes, preferring to have all of that delicious fiber in our sauce. Instead, we use a hand blender to pulverize the skins in the last step.
Heat the olive oil to medium low in a medium pot.
Saute garlic gently for 3 or 4 minutes.
Add fresh tomatoes, salt, basil and oregano to pan and simmer slowly for 30 minutes.
Add sugar halfway through cooking, to taste.
Use a hand blender to mix. This will grind the tomato skins into the sauce.
Enjoy! This sauce is perfect with a margarita pizza with fresh basil baked on a homemade crust.
This recipe will makes enough sauce for four – 12 inch pizzas.
Homemade Pizza Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
This homemade pizza sauce with fresh tomatoes is garden fresh, and so easy to make.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 minced garlic cloves
- 5 cups of fresh tomatoes, seeded and cubed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 5 fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- pinch of sugar
Instructions
- In a medium pot, heat the olive oil to medium low.
- Sauté garlic gently for 3 or 4 minutes.
- Cut tomatoes into large chunks, add fresh tomatoes, salt, basil and oregano to pan and simmer slowly for 30 minutes.
- Add sugar halfway through cooking, to taste.
- Use a hand blender to mix.
Notes
This recipe makes enough sauce for four – 12 inch pizzas.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 101Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 275mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 3gSugar: 6gProtein: 2g
All information and tools presented and written within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information should only be used as a general guideline.
42 comments
Thanks for the recipe! I am doing homemade crust right now, but my next project is the sauce!
Did you peel the tomatoes first?
Hi Robert,
I like my pizza sauce chunky, so I don’t peel tomatoes. It’s also a lot faster not to peel them 🙂
Have you canned this sauce?? How long would a do a water bath for it!!??
Hi Melanie! I haven’t canned this sauce yet, though that’s a great idea. A water bath of about 45 minutes for a pint jar would be about right. The USDA has a really helpful guide with canning times (which change a bit depending on your altitude) here https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/usda/GUIDE03_HomeCan_rev0715.pdf . If I canned the sauce, I’d probably peel the tomatoes first using a hot water bath. If you haven’t done that, I talk about it a bit here in my homemade chunky salsa recipe for canning: https://www.theparentspot.com/recipes/homemade-chunky-salsa-recipe-for-canning-farm-fresh-and-delicious/
Enjoy!
How many pizza’s would this do?
Hi Jessica, this recipe will make enough sauce for four – 12 inch pizzas. Since it’s made with fresh tomatoes, that may vary a bit if your tomatoes are more or less watery.
This sauce was delicious! I was wondering if I made it a day ahead, does it store well in the fridge? Thanks!
Hi Vicki! So glad you liked it! I store mine in the fridge often. It stays fresh for 3 or 4 days.
What is “seeding” a tomato exactly? Do you just spoon out the entire inside?
Hi Arriel! You scoop out the seeds, usually with a spoon. There’s a fleshy part of the inside that you can leave behind.
This sauce was fabulous! Have you put it in the freezer at all and had success with cooking it a month or two later?
I’ve had great success freezing it!
Hello! I was looking for a homemade tomato pizza sauce recipe, and so far, I want to use this one with my home grown heirlooms. I do not have extra virgin olive oil, and was wondering what I can use as a substitute? Thanks!
Hi Brittani! I haven’t tried it, but you could try a liquid vegetable oil like canola or avocado oil, though I think olive oil would be much tastier. Let me know how it turns out!
Could I use a Ninja blender in place of a hand blender?
Absolutely!
Hi ,would love to try this,Can dried basil replace fresh?
Absolutely! You can substitute 1/8 teaspoon dried basil for the fresh basil.
I made this today but it seemed very watery so I simmered an extra hour almost. It still seems less thick than a pizza sauce should be. Any ideas?
Thickness can vary a lot, depending on the type of tomato you use. Roma tomatoes make a thicker sauce than most other tomato types.
How long is this good for in the fridge?
Hi Krista! It will keep for three to five days in the fridge.
how many tomatoes is 5 cups diced?
This sauce was wonderful! I used Roma, heirloom, and cherry all from our garden. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
So happy to find this recipe! We have just so many heirlooms to use up. I love them fresh but just can’t really eat anymore. Too many is better than too few though, we had so much rain my crop of eggplant is not doing well. Off ti check out your salsa recipe for canning also.
Can you freeze this?
Absolutely!
This is an amazing sauce – it was hard to find it, I had to search through several pages to find anyone willing to consider a pizza sauce made with fresh tomatoes. I am trying to avoid canned tomatoes, and also, I don’t want to have to keep buying canned tomatoes, but I already buy fresh tomatoes for all sorts of uses all the time.
The ingredients are simple and the instructions are even simpler. No peeling!! I didn’t even seed mine, and it turned out perfect. The kids and adults loved the pizza sauce. Someone asked me for the recipe.
Thank you very much!
Will this freeze well?
Absolutely. This freezes beautifully. To use, I just thaw in the microwave.
I have only made this recipe one time but I’m about to make it again since my son loves pizza and it’s so easy to make. First time I made it I felt it was a little watery and not enough tomatoes, so I added a can of tomato paste and a can of fire roasted tomatoes and blended it up well. My family enjoyed it. I’m going to try adding more tomatoes and probably still add a can of tomato paste to help thicken it up
This sauce was so good, I wanted to drink it! Or eat it from a bowl with a grilled cheese. Can’t wait to try it on my pizza.
Did you boil and/or cut the tomatoes before putting them in the olive oil?
Hi Amy! Yes, you cut the tomatoes before adding them to the olive oil. Since they reduce down a lot in cooking, I generally cut them in large chunks of an inch or more.
Can you freeze the sauce? If so for how long?
Oh my goodness this is sooo delicious! Thank you! I’m actually about to put some of this with pasta as I made it ahead for pizza tomorrow and it’s too delicious not to eat some. Some people mentioned the sauce being thin so when mine looked like it could be, I just cooked it longer – like maybe somewhere between an hour and an hour and a half so that it would reduce. Added extra basil too. The result is the most delicious sauce ever – honestly, so much better than store bought and better for you too!
This was rich and delicious, so so gorgeous on fresh made pizza dough. I added more fresh basil than in recipe, I used Roma tomatoes but it was still quite thin at half an hour so I just kept cooking it for quite a bit more time which made it thicker and richer because the liquid reduces. Definitely will be a staple for our household. I also had some on pasta which was delish!
Hey there! I stumbled upon your article about homemade pizza sauce and I must say, I was immediately intrigued. As someone who enjoys cooking and trying new things, I can confidently say that sometimes the simplest recipes are the best. I appreciate that you emphasized the importance of using fresh ingredients in this sauce, as I truly believe that fresh produce is key to achieving optimal flavor in any dish.
I love that your recipe only requires a handful of ingredients that are likely already in my kitchen, such as ripe tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and spices. It’s refreshing to see a recipe that doesn’t require a long list of complicated ingredients that I may not be able to find or afford. Plus, knowing that this sauce is healthy is an added bonus.
In addition, I appreciate that you included a recommendation for a homemade pizza crust to pair with the sauce. I’ll definitely be checking out your recipe for that as well! Thanks for sharing this recipe and your tips for using fresh ingredients. I can’t wait to give this sauce a try on my next homemade pizza night. Cheers!
I’m so excited to try this recipe with my gardens tomatoes! I’m curious how it’ll turn out since I grew beefsteak! I saw in another comment that you’ve had great success in freezing this sauce! I was just wondering what you froze it in and how long you think it’ll stay in a freezer!
Hi Teslin! Yes, I’ve been able to freeze this, storing in a Rubbermaid container (or even a thick freezer bag works too!). Generally, you should eat veggies frozen in a deep freeze within eight months, according to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln – https://food.unl.edu/article/freezing-tomatoes
This is the best pizza sauce recipe that I’ve ever made. It’s perfect. It’s fresh, and light, and so flavorful. I also cook it a little longer and add more basil, but other that, there’s not a lot you would want to change. I will no longer be searching the web for pizza sauce recipes, this one is a keeper!!! Thank you!