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.
Table of Contents
Why We Love This Recipe
- 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 and 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
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 and 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 Pizza Night Recipes
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San Marzano Pizza Sauce
Equipment
- blender
Need Metric Measurements?Use the button options below to toggle between US cups and Metric grams!Ingredients
- 28 ounce can San Marzano whole tomatoes
- 5 fresh garlic cloves, smashed
- 1 medium shallot, chopped
- 1 1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp 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 1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning, 1/2 tsp granulated sugar, 1/4 tsp fine sea salt, 1/4 tsp 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.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below & tag @cambreabakes on social!
Hey! I am planning to make this recipe but was wondering if it would make any difference taste-wise to blend the ingredients first before baking? It seems it might be easier this way, dumping the can and spices into the blender rather than having to transfer it from the hot skillet. Any thoughts?
Hi Haley! Great question, I hadn’t thought of doing this myself but I think it should work just fine. I would maybe keep an eye on it while it’s in the oven to make sure it doesn’t burn or boil over or anything. I’d love to hear how it turns out! 🙂
Can’t this damage your cast iron seasoning or is that a myth? I always heard it was a bad idea to cook more heavily acidic ingredients with cast iron.
Hi Jason! I’ve never heard that before, but I’m no cast iron expert so I’d have to do some research into it. Thanks for bringing it up!