Basic Pizza Sauce Recipe (Red)

This easy red sauce recipe is the first of many pizza sauce recipes to come here on WFE.  Since a pizza is like a blank canvas, there is no end to the flavors you can introduce to it using a variety of sauces and condiments.  It only makes sense for us to start with the most common pizza sauce, so we’re posting this tomato-based pizza sauce recipe first.  In the next couple of weeks we’ll be posting other pizza sauce and condiment recipes which will be the foundation for a lot of future pizza recipes to come.

We can’t stress enough the importance of using high quality tomatoes in your red sauce.  We’ve tried many varieties in the years we’ve been making wood fired oven pizza, and our favorites are Cento San Marzano tomatoes, and Mutti finely chopped tomatoes.  In a blind taste test, those two brands had the best “real” tomato flavor, and were the most popular with our guests.  If you can find them, definitely try them out – if you can’t, just use your favorite brand of canned tomatoes for this recipe.

There is no cooking involved in making this basic pizza sauce recipe.  We’ve found that not cooking it prior to using it on our pizza results in the most vibrant flavors on the finished pie.  This is our “go-to” pizza sauce recipe – let us know what you think!

Basic Pizza Sauce Recipe (Red)

 

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An easy and delicious tomato-based (red) pizza sauce recipe.

Author: Mellissa Sevigny

Recipe type: Pizza Sauce

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: Approximately 2 cups

Ingredients

• 14 oz canned chopped tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt (or to taste)

Instructions

1. If using canned whole tomatoes, pulse them in a magic bullet or food processor until mostly smooth. Whether or not you leave some chunks is a matter of preference. If using crushed or finely chopped tomatoes, you can skip this step.
2. Combine the chopped tomatoes and the rest of the sauce ingredients in a medium-sized glass or plastic bowl and stir well. Taste and season with more salt if desired - just remember that the cheese and other toppings will also contain salt so you don't want to go overboard.

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