Homemade Pizza Sauce

This pizza sauce is so simple to make. We used fresh oregano for its intense spicy flavor, but dried will work too if it’s the wrong time of year for fresh. There are lots of other herbs, plus garlic, in this baby. It knocks the socks off of store bought pizza sauce (which I always think is too sugary).

Oregano and tomatoes: the two most important ingredients in pizza sauce. Aren’t they fresh and pretty?

If you’ve been growing oregano you will probably discover that it’s been crawling around down low under every other plant in the garden, secretly attempting to put down little roots.  Almost as bad as mint!


I love when I can report that a homemade ingredient is less expensive (in addition to better tasting) than its store-bought counterpart.  If you’ve got a stockpile of dried herbs in the pantry, the cost to make this sauce is about equal to a 28 oz can of tomatoes.  What’s that…$1.50?  Not bad.

Psst, check out our homemade pizza dough recipe, too!

Homemade Pizza Sauce

Thank you to Annie’s Eats for the recipe inspiration.

• 28 oz can of diced or crushed tomatoes
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp dried basil
• 1.5 tsp fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried)
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes (or less…1 tsp made this sauce too spicy for the toddlers!)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to achieve a simmer.  Allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until it is no longer watery and instead becomes thick and saucy.  Transfer to a food process and run for 30 seconds to create a smoother (but not totally smooth) sauce.  Store in glass mason jars in the fridge.

If you’re interested in canning this pizza sauce, just add lemon juice to the jars prior to adding the sauce.  More info here, or in Ashley English’s book Canning & Preserving.