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.

Tzatziki

For our April dinner party, we went a bit Greek, and what is a Greek menu without some delicious tzatziki? Cool, lemony, and creamy, tzatziki is the perfect sauce to drizzle over the delicious lamb patties that we made.

The recipe I used was based off of Ina Garten's recipe over at FoodNetwork.com. I cut the salt based on reviewer recommendations and I started off with Greek yogurt rather than bothering to strain regular yogurt.

Tzatziki

modified from Ina Garten's

Ingredients

• 16 oz Greek yogurt (I used Oikos)
• 1 cucumber, unpeeled and seeded
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 lemon)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh dill
• Pinch freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Grate the cucumber and toss it with 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt; place it in a sieve, and set it over a bowl. Let drain for an hour.

Put the Greek yogurt in a bowl. Squeeze as much liquid from the cucumber as you can and add the cucumber to the yogurt. Mix in the sour cream, vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, dill, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Serve chilled or at room temperature.