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A wooden spoon spreading simple pizza sauce on a round of pizza dough.
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5 / 2 votes

Simple Pizza Sauce

This simple pizza sauce from scratch is astoundingly easy and inexpensive to make yet it tastes darn complex. Definitely a keeper according to everyone who's slathered it over pizza dough and slid it in the oven.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time3 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Course: Mains
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 11 (1/4 cup) servings | 2 3/4 cups
Calories: 59

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • One (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 1/3 cup cold water
  • 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • Salt

Instructions

  • In a small skillet over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Be careful not to let the garlic scorch or the resulting sauce will be bitter.
  • In a nonreactive bowl, stir together the garlic and its oil along with the tomatoes and their juices, the dried basil, dried oregano, dried thyme, pepper, water, and 1 1/2 tablespoons of the vinegar. Taste and season with salt and additional vinegar as desired.
  • Canned tomatoes vary in salt content, so season the sauce with just a pinch of salt to start, and then gradually add more to taste. When seasoning with the red wine vinegar, add just enough to make the flavor really sparkle; the sauce shouldn’t taste tangy.
  • Use the sauce right away or cover and refrigerate it for up to 1 week.

Nutrition

Serving: 1portion | Calories: 59kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 132mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g