This homemade San Marzano pizza sauce is made with five ingredients in 30 minutes and will make any pizza taste restaurant-worthy! Use this fresh sauce as the base for chewy pizza dough or a dip for garlic bread bites to elevate your next Italian night!
Pizza night in my house always involves from-scratch soft pizza dough and pizza sauce! This San Marzano pizza sauce is the best because it's so easy to make and blows any store-bought tomato sauce away.
San Marzano tomatoes are very high-quality tomatoes and the best for giving any sauce an authentic restaurant-quality flavor.
Need a recipe to use your homemade sauce? Try my super popular Cast Iron Skillet Pizza and Focaccia Pizza.
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why you'll love san marzano pizza sauce
- This homemade pizza sauce is baked in the oven, making it quick and easy for a last-minute pizza night.
- You only need five ingredients and 30 minutes to make this recipe.
- This recipe is made with the best quality ingredients and tomatoes, giving it an authentic restaurant-quality taste!
ingredient notes & substitutions
Whole San Marzano tomatoes: These tomatoes are the best quality to use for homemade sauce because they have a sweeter taste and less acid, water, and seeds than other varieties. I do not recommend substituting them.
Sugar: The sugar is used to cut through some of the acids in the tomatoes. You can also substitute honey instead.
Shallot: Shallots are sweeter than regular onions and hold more flavor than regular onions.
Full ingredient measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card below!
recipe instructions
Before you start, preheat the oven to 400 F/205 C.
Step 1: Combine the sauce ingredients. In a large cast-iron skillet, dutch oven, or oven-proof pan, combine the San Marzano tomatoes, fresh garlic, shallot, granulated sugar, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper (image 1 below).
Step 2: Bake the pizza sauce. Bake the sauce in the preheated oven for 30 minutes (image 2 below).
Step 3: Test for doneness. When the sauce is ready, it will look thick and will have reduced slightly (image 3 above).
Step 4: Blend! Transfer the baked sauce to a blender and blend for 30 seconds until it's very smooth. If you prefer a chunkier sauce, blend or pulse it until you reach your desired texture (image 4 above).
expert tips
- Use San Marzano tomatoes: These tomatoes are widely available and are of higher quality than regular brands. They are always my go-to choice for creating the tastiest sauces!
- Make a double batch for later. I love making a double batch and freezing half of it for later! Then you can pull it out for your next pizza night.
storage & freezing
You can store any leftover sauce in the fridge for up to five days in an airtight container or jar.
This recipe yields about three cups of sauce. You can transfer any leftovers into an airtight container and store them in the freezer for up to three months. When you are ready to use it, let it defrost in the fridge overnight or place the container in a bowl of cool water for a few hours.
faqs
This recipe yields about 3 cups of sauce. Depending on how big your pizzas are, you can make up to 6-9 pizzas.
Yes! Store the sauce in an airtight container or jar for up to three months in the freezer.
Absolutely! You will likely need a larger pan and will need to add some minutes to the baking time.
San Marzano tomatoes are viewed as the best tomato choice for pizza (or pasta) since they contain less water which creates a thicker sauce.
more savory recipes you'll love
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Recipe 📖
San Marzano Pizza Sauce
Equipment
- blender
Ingredients
- 28 ounce can San Marzano whole tomatoes
- 5 fresh garlic cloves smashed
- 1 medium shallot chopped
- 1 ½ tablespoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F/205 C.
- Combine the tomatoes, garlic, shallot, salt, pepper, sugar, and Italian seasoning in a 9 inch cast iron skillet, dutch oven, or oven-proof baking pan.28 ounce can San Marzano whole tomatoes, 5 fresh garlic cloves, 1 ½ tablespoon Italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon granulated sugar, ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 1 medium shallot
- Bake the sauce for 30 minutes, or until the pizza sauce looks reduced and thickened.
- Transfer the sauce to a blender and blend until smooth, about 30 seconds.
- Store it in a sealed container or jar in the fridge for 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months!
Notes
- Use San Marzano tomatoes: These tomatoes are widely available and are of higher quality than regular brands. They are always my go-to choice for creating the tastiest sauces!
- Make a double batch for later. I love making a double batch and freezing half of it for later! Then you can pull it out for your next pizza night.
Nutrition
The calorie information provided for the recipe is an estimate. The accuracy of the calories listed is not guaranteed.
Ashley says
Came out great!
Kelsey says
This was the cherry on top to the best my homemade Neapolitan style pizza night!
Kristin says
Could you make a large pot and can this?
Cambrea Gordon says
I haven't tried canning it myself but I'm sure it would work just fine!!
Paul says
Drain tomato’s first?
Cambrea Gordon says
No draining, everything goes in the pan!
Katie says
Delicious!!!
Cambrea Gordon says
Yay! Thanks so much for coming back to leave a review Katie! 🙂
Mary says
I’ve made this recipe multiple times and it is my favorite! So easy to throw together, I always make a double batch and freeze most of it. It’s perfect to pull out whenever I need it and tastes soooo much better than store bought!
Cambrea Gordon says
Yay! Love to hear that!
Randy says
This recipe turned out great! Not gonna buy pizza sauce again. Thanks.
Cambrea Gordon says
Thanks Randy! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Candice says
I will never buy store bought pizza sauce again! This was incredibly easy to make and so flavorful- we froze leftover sauce to use for our next pizza night!
Cambrea Gordon says
YAY! Love to hear it, thanks Candice!! 🙂
Nolan says
I had never made homemade pizza sauce before and this recipe was so easy! It tasted much better than store bought sauce. We put it on your cast iron pizza which was recommended, I don't think we'll be buying pizza from a store or take out any time soon!!
Cambrea Gordon says
Thanks so much for the review Nolan! I'm thrilled to hear you loved this recipe.
Esther Kowalski says
This sauce is delicious! I made it for our cast iron pizza recipe and it was so good!😋
Cambrea Gordon says
Yay! Love to hear this, thanks for the review Esther! 🙂
Savannah says
The sauce was perfect! We made it on your cast iron pizza recipe and it was so good everyone really loved it!