No-Cook Pizza Sauce
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Whole canned tomatoes, a little paste and a few quick pulses, and the sauce is done. It cooks right on the pizza in the oven, and the kids at your elbow will have opinions about how much to spread.
The short version
Drain a can of whole tomatoes, pulse with tomato paste, olive oil, basil, oregano and salt until mostly smooth, and spread it raw. Five minutes, no cooking; the pizza bakes it. Makes enough for 4 to 5 pizzas.
What makes ours better
what we fixed so you don’t have to
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Start with whole peeled tomatoes. They taste fresher and sweeter than canned sauce or crushed tomatoes, which are often made from the leftover bits. You control the texture.
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Drain them and add tomato paste. Draining keeps a watery sauce from making a soggy crust, and a couple of spoons of paste bring deep tomato flavor and thick body.
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Skip the raw garlic, use a little powder. A pizza bakes through before raw garlic can mellow, so it tastes harsh. Garlic powder blends in and gives the flavor you want.
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Pulse, don't puree. Over-blending whips air in and can bring out bitterness from the seeds. A few quick pulses give a sauce that's smooth enough to spread with a little body left.
What you need
the usual suspects
- Whole peeled tomatoes1 can
- Tomato paste2 tablespoons
- Extra-virgin olive oil2 tablespoons
- Fresh basil leaves3 large
- Dried oregano½ teaspoon
tap each one as it goes in. no double-salting.
Steps
nobody opens the oven door. looking at you, Dad.
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Drain the tomatoes
Tip the tomatoes into a colander set over a bowl and let the juice run off for a minute. Pinch off any hard cores or stem ends you see.
Save the juice. It's good in soup, rice, or a morning Bloody Mary.
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Blend
Put the drained tomatoes, tomato paste, olive oil, basil, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper flakes in a blender or food processor. Pulse 6 to 8 times, until the sauce is mostly smooth with a few small flecks of tomato.
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Taste and adjust
Taste on a bit of bread. Add salt a pinch at a time. If it tastes sharp, add the sugar. The sauce should taste bright and a little too strong on its own; the cheese and crust will tone it down.
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Spread on the dough
Use about ⅔ cup per 12-inch pizza. Spoon it into the center of the stretched dough and spread outward, leaving a 1-inch border. Top and bake as the pizza recipe says, usually at 500°F.
Less is more. Too much sauce makes the center soggy.
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Store the rest
Spoon leftover sauce into a jar or freezer container in ⅔-cup portions, one pizza each. Refrigerate for the week, or freeze for later.
Good to know
the stuff I’d tell you over the phone
- The sauce is meant to be raw. It cooks in the oven in the 10 to 15 minutes the pizza bakes.
- For a cooked, deeper sauce, simmer it in a saucepan over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring now and then, then cool before using.
- Use good tomatoes. San Marzano-style whole tomatoes are sweeter and less acidic, which means you'll need less sugar.
- Storage. Refrigerate in a sealed jar up to 5 days. Freeze in ⅔-cup portions, one pizza's worth, up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the fridge.
Questions, answered
the questions my cousins text me
Do I need to cook pizza sauce?
No. Raw sauce tastes fresher and cooks on the pizza in the oven. If you like a deeper, jammier flavor, simmer it 10 minutes first.
Why is my pizza sauce watery?
Most likely the tomatoes weren't drained. Drain them well, and don't skip the tomato paste, which thickens the sauce.
Can I use crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce?
Yes, in a pinch. Crushed tomatoes work if you stir in the paste, oil and seasonings, but whole tomatoes have a fresher flavor and you control how smooth they get.
Why does my sauce taste bitter or too acidic?
Over-blending the seeds can add bitterness, so pulse briefly. If it's sharp, add a half teaspoon of sugar and a bit more salt, and use better tomatoes next time.
Can I use fresh tomatoes?
Canned tomatoes are more consistent for pizza sauce. Use fresh only in peak summer, and you'd need to peel, seed and cook them down to remove the water.
How much sauce goes on a pizza?
About ⅔ cup for a 12-inch pizza, spread thin. A thin layer lets the crust brown and the cheese melt evenly.
From the table
Made it? Tell me everything. Especially if somebody said it was better than their mother’s. I’ll keep your secret.
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Published October 29, 2026.