Tomato sauce
The best pizza sauce is never cooked. It is mixed cold and bakes on the pizza. Five minutes, done.
Real pizza sauce is made from good-quality crushed tomatoes, salt, olive oil and a little basil – no cooking. The sauce bakes on the pizza in the oven, and that is enough. Cooked sauces with lots of spices taste like ketchup, not pizza.
Ingredients
- 800 g crushed tomatoes or whole San Marzano tomatoes
- 8 g salt (1% of the tomatoes' weight)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- A few leaves of fresh basil
- A small pinch of oregano if you like it
How to make it
- 1
Pour the tomatoes into a bowl. Whole tomatoes? Crush them by hand – not a blender, or the sauce turns foamy and bitter from the seeds.
- 2
Add the salt and olive oil.
- 3
Tear in the basil.
- 4
Stir. Done. Taste it – it should taste of tomato, not spices.
- 5
Spread a thin layer on the pizza, about 70–80 grams. Too much sauce makes the base soggy.
Good to know
- The quality of the tomatoes IS the sauce. Buy the best crushed tomatoes you can find.
- The sauce keeps 4–5 days in the fridge in a jar with a lid.
- Always taste new tomato brands – some need a pinch of sugar against the acidity.
Common questions
Why should the sauce not be cooked?
The sauce bakes on the pizza in very high heat – that is its cooking. If you cook it beforehand it loses its freshness and tastes canned. Uncooked sauce gives that fresh tomato flavour from real pizzerias.
Do they have to be San Marzano tomatoes?
No. They are fantastic but expensive. Good Italian crushed tomatoes from the wholesaler work brilliantly. Try a few brands and pick the one that tastes most of tomato.
Can I use tomato paste?
No, not as the base. Paste is cooked and concentrated and tastes completely different. Crushed tomatoes are just as cheap and much better.
How much sauce should go on a pizza?
Less than most people think: 70–80 grams, a thin even layer where the base shows through. Too much sauce is the most common beginner mistake – the pizza turns soggy and heavy.