Neapolitan San Marzano Pizza Sauce Recipe (no-cook) (2024)

FAQs

Should pizza sauce be raw or cooked? ›

The reason pizza sauce is uncooked is because it will actually result in a better-tasting pizza — it will give you fresh, zippy tomato flavor, even after it has been baked in a hot oven. Pasta sauce, on the other hand, is slow-simmered. It usually has a few more herbs involved, like basil or even a bay leaf.

TIP: For a thicker sauce, strain the tomato puree over a fine-mesh sieve until it reaches your desired consistency. Step 3 - Add optional toppings: Stir in any desired toppings, such as chopped herbs or garlic powder.

Don't Cook the Sauce!

This isn't just for convenience — a no-cook sauce will actually taste better on your pizza, giving you that fresh, zippy tomato flavor, even after it has been baked in a hot oven.

If you're baking the pizza in the oven, whether on a pizza stone or not, I always pre-bake the dough for 4-5 minutes before adding toppings, to make sure the pizza dough cooks crisp on the outside and soft and airy in the middle. Once you add the Pizza Sauce and toppings, return it to the oven to finish baking.

Be careful not to over blend. Over blending may cause too much water to seep out of your tomatoes resulting in a watery pizza sauce. If you are using crushed tomatoes, simply dump into a container/bowl, add salt to taste and mix to combine. Easy, right?!

Incorporate thickening agents like tomato paste, cornstarch, or arrowroot powder to the sauce to improve its consistency. Mix a small amount of the thickener with water before adding it to the sauce to prevent lumps. Gradually add the mixture while stirring continuously until you reach the desired thickness.

If you don't have tomato paste on hand, you can use pasta sauce on pizza by following these steps: Strain the pasta sauce to remove excess liquid. Add the pasta sauce to a food processor or blender and pulse until smooth. Add your desired seasoning and salt to taste.

Use Flour and Water

Combine 2 tablespoons flour with every 1/4 cup cold water and whisk until smooth. Add the mixture to your sauce over medium heat, and continue to stir and cook until you've reached your desired consistency.

Can you use Ragu as pizza sauce? ›

Ragu Homemade Style Pizza Sauce is excellent! It's got the natural flavorings I like without the chunks and without added sugar. It's the best tasting pizza sauce I have ever had.

Spices: Basil, oregano, onion powder, salt & pepper. Taste and adjust these spices to your liking. Sugar: I know it sounds like a weird addition but granulated sugar is an essential ingredient as it mellows out the acidity of the tomatoes.

The baking soda is supposed to mellow out the sauce a little bit, make it less acidic, and possibly prevent heartburn.

But unless you're making a Chicago-style deep dish (which is an entirely different process in itself), stick with just a thin layer of sauce on your crust. Overdoing it can cause the dough to absorb excess moisture, which can prevent your crust from becoming nice and crispy.

Pizza sauce is prepared with uncooked pureed tomatoes while pasta sauce is made with cooked blended tomatoes and flavorful garlic, herbs, and spices.

At its most basic, it is a sauce based on fresh or canned tomatoes (usually plum tomatoes) cooked with olive oil, chopped onions, and basil. It may include other vegetables and aromatics; it may be cooked briefly to preserve the tomato flavor or long and slow with other ingredients.

There's one primary difference between the two types of tomato-based sauces that's directly related to the disparate preparation methods: Pasta sauce from a jar is cooked (usually slow-roasted), and pizza sauce is uncooked, with ingredients combining over a period of hours.

Cook sauce first.

Keep the sauce on a low simmer until pasta is ready. Your pasta shouldn't wait for your sauce to cook. Waiting will lead to overcooked, overly starchy pasta.