Zach's writing ranges from matters of gardening, cooking, aquariums, and fish to more niche topics like coin collecting.

Looking for an alternative to sauce filled with preservatives? Try this preservative-free homemade sauce. Pedro Sandrini

No way around it, a terrible sauce makes for a terrible pizza. Commercial and canned sauces look and taste like a thick mess. So, when you're surrounded by preserved sauces, what do you do? You've got to get with the program and make an incredibly fresh alternative. Luckily, I've got a great recipe. If you're looking for something that calls for canned tomatoes, you might as well just move along now. Creating the best pizza sauce can only be accomplished with the freshest tomatoes and the best herbs. If you're not afraid to break out of the canned tomato mold, keep reading to discover the freshest pizza sauce recipe from scratch around!

Not Your Typical Pizza Sauce

I'll admit, as far as traditional pizza sauces are concerned, this recipe is a bit of an oddball. Instead of simmering a sauce on the stove top, fresh tomatoes and herbs are slowly baked in the oven and then quickly pulsed in a blender to create the final sauce. What you're left with is a sauce with enhanced tomato flavor and a wonderful freshness from garlic and basil. Sure it's different, but taste is what matters right?

Prep. Time—10 Minutes

Total Time—1 Hr. 15 Minutes

Yield—Enough for Two Large Pizzas

Difficulty—Easy

Ingredients

10 oz. Grape Tomatoes

2 Teaspoons Dry Oregano

1 Teaspoon Dry Thyme

3 Cloves Garlic

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Bunch Fresh Basil

Salt & Pepper

Tomatoes, Tomatoes, Tomatoes

Grape tomatoes are one of my favorite tomatoes for pizza sauce. They are slightly sweeter than most other varieties, but still retain a hefty amount of tomato zing. If you're not a fan of grape tomatoes, try using other tomatoes such as Roma, Hot House or Beefsteak.

Process

Although the tomatoes do need some time to chill in the oven, the overall prep work is extremely easy. Good ingredients should always speak for themselves.

Baked Grape Tomatoes

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300F. Halve the grape tomatoes and place skin side down on a non-aluminum baking sheet. (Acids in tomatoes can react with and cause aluminum cookware to leach.) Drizzle over the two tablespoons of olive oil. Additionally, sprinkle on the dry oregano, thyme and a little salt and pepper. Place in the oven and set a timer to 30 minutes. After 30 minutes has elapsed, add three cloves of garlic (skin on) to the baking tray. Close oven and allow to bake for an additional 30 minutes. When ready, remove from the oven and let cool. Move the tomatoes to a blender or food processor and add your handful of fresh basil. Remove the garlic cloves from their skin and pop them in there as well. Pulse the mixture until a sauce forms. At this point, your sauce is finished. It may be used right away to sauce up some pizzas, or you can keep it covered in the refrigerator for up to five days for later use.

From Scratch Pizza Sauce

It's really that simple! There's no need to make a mess on the stove and there's definitely no need to constantly tend to your sauce. Just pop in the oven and pulse real fast at the end. The sauce is incredible and I guarantee that you'll be able to taste the difference. Kiss those nasty pre-made sauces goodbye and say hello to your new fresh friend. Thank you for reading my article highlighting the perfect pizza sauce from scratch.

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Tina on August 17, 2019:

Can I freeze it?

Pam on August 09, 2018:

Just found your recipe, made it today! AWESOME. I have been making sauce for years the hard way. I used vine tomatoes, upped the oven temp to 325, quartered the tomatoes took 1 hour. Thanks for the recipe.

Shannon Pippin on August 17, 2016:

I will ask again, has anyone tried canning this? I have a ton of grape and cherry tomatoes.

Monica on August 29, 2015:

Has anyone ever tried canning this sauce after it is made?

Archa from India on May 19, 2014:

This sounds like really tasty pizza sauce. I have never made any pizza sauce before as there are many readily available sauces in the market. But its always nice to make one at home as one can blend according to ones taste and interest.

couponswhiz on February 03, 2014:

I just love pizza and sauce, so delicious..

Dick Chavez on November 18, 2012:

Your a genius! I often make pizza from scratch and coming home from work Nd trying to get dough made and sauce done and thin enough in time was impossible. I will be trying this tonight.

CarlSimons on June 12, 2012:

Awasome tips. This will be great for a pasta with shrimps.

littlemarkiesmom from The hot, humid South on June 11, 2012:

I've been making my own sauce for several years now. My husband always gets really bad heartburn from ANY canned or jarred tomatoes or sauce. I, however, do the simmer in a pot on the stove all day method, BUT I'm gonna have to give this one a try cause it looks soooo good and EASY! I love the flavor of mine, but it tends to be very watery (which is one reason I simmer it all day). Yours looks fabulous though! And since our garden is about to explode with tomatoes.... :) Thanks!

Marites Mabugat-Simbajon from Toronto, Ontario on June 10, 2012:

Good job, Joe Macho! And it is a good thing it became the Hub of the Day or I might not be able to come across it! Thanks so much for sharing a great tomato sauce recipe. My household never tire of eating pizza and we do make personalized homemade pizzas too. This tomato sauce magic of yours will do a great contribution to our individual pizzas! Bookmarking, pinning and sharing! :)

Angela Brummer from Lincoln, Nebraska on June 10, 2012:

OMG this looks amazing!

Yvonne Spence from UK on June 10, 2012:

This is a great recipe. I often make fresh tomato sauce, but had never thought of doing it in the oven. I will definitely do it your way from now on! Thanks for sharing your recipe and congrats on your hub of the day!

sadie423 from North Carolina on June 10, 2012:

Very similar to my sauce. Looks great!

Penny Lulich from Indiana on June 10, 2012:

I definitely want to add a "ditto" to all of the above comments. I love pizza, and have made my own pizza sauce many times on the stove top. I'm now eager to try out your sauce made in the oven. Talk about a great idea!

Milli from USA on June 10, 2012:

Wow! Seems so tasty. I will try making pizza sauce this time when I make pizza at home. Thanks for the great idea. Voted Up!

Congrats on HOTD!

Jaye Denman from Deep South, USA on June 10, 2012:

What a terrific recipe! Just reading it made my mouth water. Pizza with fresh sauce, anyone?

RichieGils on June 10, 2012:

This looks and sounds scrumptious Joe! Can't wait to try it out! Cheers!

Victoria Lynn from Arkansas, USA on June 10, 2012:

I love grape tomatoes. I use them year round since they seem to retain their flavor better than other tomatoes bought in the store. I love pizza, too, so I'm looking forward to trying this sauce sometime. Thanks for sharing your recipe. Many votes! Congrats on Hub of the Day!

shall1432 from Boynton Beach, FL on June 10, 2012:

Lovely, I love a great sauce. I tend to make my own sauce from scratch when making pizza at home. My kids make fun of my pizza but they always said my sauce is the best.

Great article, blog of the day!

stars439 from Louisiana, The Magnolia and Pelican State. on June 10, 2012:

Wonderful hub. GBY

Rajan Singh Jolly from From Mumbai, presently in Jalandhar, INDIA. on June 10, 2012:

The look of the sauce is so different and inviting. The pictures are a treat. Looks exceedingly simple even to someone uninitiated in cooking. Will ask my wife to try this soon.

Bookmarked, Voted up and all the way across. Shared this recipe hub too on G+1 and facebook.

rdown from Usa on June 10, 2012:

sounds delicious!

Saadia A on June 10, 2012:

Love this amazing recipe. Nothing compares to a home made sauce. The pre made sauces are usually weird in taste. So thank you for sharing the recipe.Looks good and i am surely going to try it.

Congrats on your Hub of the day as well!!!

Lenzy from Arlington, Texas on June 10, 2012:

Oh, that looks so good. I will definitely try this out. Thanks for the great looking recipe. I will be checking out some of your other recipes as well. Lenzy

Nina L James from chicago, Illinois on June 10, 2012:

The pictures that you present look awesome & delicious. I'm going to try out these recipes myself. Great hub!!!!

emilybee on June 10, 2012:

Looks greats and easy to make. Nice photos!

Anoop Aravind A from Nilambur, Kerala, India on June 10, 2012:

Well written hub.... Love it....

Thelma Alberts from Germany and Philippines on June 10, 2012:

Congrats on the HOTD! This is a great idea. I always use canned tomatoes for my self bake pizza. Thanks for sharing this. I can´t wait trying your recipe. Have a great sunday!

Claire from Lincolnshire, UK on June 10, 2012:

This sounds yummy. I very rarely eat pizza as I am milk and wheat intolerant but I think this would be very nice as a pasta sauce as well

myownlife from london on June 10, 2012:

what a useful recipe, I am excited to try it

kelleyward on June 10, 2012:

Oh wow Yum!!!! This looks amazing and so easy. I don't like making my own sauce because it takes so much time but this one is a fantastic way to make pizza sauce! Trying this soon. Congrats on HOTD! Take care, Kelley

Patricia Scott from North Central Florida on June 10, 2012:

You are so right. From scratch does the trick every time. The little grape tomatoes will make a tasty sauce for sure. Thank you for sharing this. It is easyt o follow and sounds tasty. I am anxious to give it a try.

Jennifer Stone from the Riverbank, England on June 10, 2012:

Great recipe, thanks! Roasting tomatoes really does bring out their flavour and is my favourite way to cook them. I will try this recipe next time I make pizza. Congratulations on HOTD award! Voted up and useful.

mwilliams66 from Left Coast, USA on June 10, 2012:

Wow, this looks fantastic. I've never made sauce with grape tomatoes. What a great idea

We have pizza night every Friday night. Looks like I have a new recipe for next Friday.

Congrats on earning hub of the day!

chamilj from Sri Lanka on June 10, 2012:

A great recipe. Thanks!

Vespa Woolf from Peru, South America on April 10, 2012:

I love roasting tomatoes for the sweetness it brings out. Your recipe sounds great...will have to try it. Thanks!

Merall on April 05, 2012:

Wow! Such a great recipe! Been looking for such a good sauce recipe for awhile. I bet it would be good with spaghetti or ravioli too!

Zach (author) from Colorado on March 26, 2012:

soulaiman - If you want to build me one, bring on the smokey pizza!

Houstonbabe - Thanks for reading. Enjoy!

Houstonbabe on March 26, 2012:

love the recipe! amazing amazing amazing!

soulaiman on February 22, 2012:

my friend its amazing idea and it would be more amazing if u use a wood oven so u'll have the smokey pizza sauce.

Zach (author) from Colorado on January 26, 2012:

Rob Andrews - Hey Rob, I'm glad that you thoroughly enjoyed the recipe! I haven't yet used Romas (I've got a fixation for grape tomatoes!), but it's great to hear that everything works out the same. As you mentioned, there's probably a lot more moisture locked up in the larger tomatoes, so more time in the oven is most appropriate.

PS. I've used this for all sorts of meals. You hit the nail on the head when you said it's a great base sauce!

Take it easy my friend!

Rob Andrews on January 24, 2012:

What an amazing recipe this is turned out to be.

I used Roma tomatoes and instead of using the cloves of garlic, I minced the garlic and added quite a bit more since I love garlic so very much.

After blending the sauce I put it on the stove to reduce it a bit further but think next time I will leave the tomatoes in the oven a while longer to reduce the volume of liquid to create a bit thicker sauce.

This is outstanding. Thanks so very much for sharing. This is the perfect starting base for so many things.

Zulma Burgos-Dudgeon from United Kingdom on January 23, 2012:

Cool. Thanks for the answer.

Zach (author) from Colorado on January 23, 2012:

phoenix2327 - Vine tomatoes should work just fine. I'm usually pretty lax with my recipes, so they can always be easily modified.

Zulma Burgos-Dudgeon from United Kingdom on January 21, 2012:

itsmonkeyboy is so right. Having grown up on New York pizza, what they call pizza in the UK is both a travesty and a tragedy.

Your recipe looks fantastic and seems easy to prep. Question: will vine tomatoes work as well?

Zach (author) from Colorado on December 13, 2011:

@Simone Smith - It really is the perfect pizza sauce! Don't stop there though, I imagine it would work perfect with pasta or as a dipping sauce. Fresh and simple. Thanks for stopping to read.

@Derdriu - Thanks for your feedback, I much appreciate it!

@Danette Watt - Heck, if you've already made your own pizzas, then what's the sauce? You'll notice the difference. Enjoy

Danette Watt from Illinois on December 13, 2011:

Hmm, never thought of making my own pizza sauce although I have made pizza at home. I'll give this a try. Thanks for sharing

Derdriu on December 13, 2011:

Joe Macho, What a quick, straightforward, tasty recipe for the all-important pizza sauce! You've gotten it correct.

Thank you for sharing, etc.,

Derdriu

Simone Haruko Smith from San Francisco on December 13, 2011:

Goodness- this looks incredible, and it actually IS easy!! I cannot WAIT to try this! Thanks for the recipe, Joe Macho, and for the gorgeous photos, too!

Zach (author) from Colorado on December 12, 2011:

itsmonkeyboy - You're welcome. Commercial pizza sauce is just plain nasty. People deserve more. Thanks for your feedback and I hope you enjoy.

itsmonkeyboy from London, UK on December 12, 2011:

Fantastic! Coming from Italy I love pizza, but am quite fed up with the pizza I eat in the UK these days. I'm definitely going to be trying out your recipe this coming weekend. Thank you so much for sharing.