Today we were snowed in…school for the kids was cancelled and they played in the snow all day. We don’t regularly get snow here, at least not the kind that hangs around. However, when a storm does come through, the whole town shuts down. I kind of like that.
Anyway, what could be better than making homemade pizza on a day like this? This is my ABSOLUTE favorite sauce to make homemade pizza with. It doesn’t matter if you make your crust from scratch or purchase already made dough, just use this sauce!
It has a depth of flavor, and doesn’t require much work. It’s completely different from my garlicky white pizza sauce, but amazing in its own way.
A key ingredient in this recipe are the…don’t leave them out! It’s just not the same without them.
And yes, that’s snow outside. We always make homemade pizza when it’s snowing, using my Quick No-Fail Homemade Pizza Dough recipe. Make sure you have all the ingredients on hand for when the inspiration hits.
This sauce also freezes well. Make a double or triple batch and freeze in pizza sized proportions.
The Best Homemade Pizza Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup celery, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
- 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
- 2 Tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Directions
- In a large skillet, melt butter with the oil. Add the onion, celery and garlic; saute until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add tomato sauce and tomato paste and stir until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a slow simmer. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
- Remove bay leaf and puree the sauce in a blender until smooth. Spread sauce on prepared pizza dough and add your favorite toppings.
Sara in NY says
Ummm, that sounds fabulous!
Karen says
Looks terrific! Where can I purchase that cute shell pail dish? Who makes it??
Melanie says
I’ve used this recipe the last couple times I’ve made pizza, and we absolutely love it! I tend to prepare mine the exact same way you do. It’s a great recipe!
Kim says
Do you think this would freeze well?
Tupper says
I make a lot of pizza and sauce, so I enjoyed reading your post. There is nothing better than homemade pizza IMHO!
I’ve never used fennel seeds so I’ve got to pick some up. Not sure about the celery, I’m not a big fan, unless I’m putting it in soup. Thanks!
LadyJayPee says
I agree with you about the fennel seeds! I recently used it in a crockpot version of pizza sauce and have wondered if the long cook time and the fennel seeds were the secret. I think they were! 😀
Jennifer says
Hi Cathy!! I love that your pizza sauce is so thick – I think that’s what’s wrong with mine. I love doing a kind of breakfast pizza on the weekends as kind of a brunch – I am so making this sauce for that!
Cathy – I am working on a great project featuring food bloggers and would love it if you would like to contribute a recipe for it! Can you e-mail me @ [email protected] and I’ll give you the details>
Anne from Olympia says
Thank you for a pizza sauce recipe that tastes like pizza sauce and not spaghetti sauce! This is fabulous.
I coarsely ground the fennel seeds in a mortar and pestle. That flavor, in my opinion, brings the taste around to what I like in a pizza sauce. Love the puree part. Perfect.
Amanda says
Just finished making this for pizza tomorrow. Delicious! My hubby already loves it…
Amber says
I had a lot of difficulty blending my sauce because it was so think. Did anyone else have the problem? Is there anything I could have added to it to have made it thinner? Thanks!
John says
Looks really good. My only change would be to use San Marzano tomatoes (fresh if possible, canned if necessary), fresh basil instead of dried, and toasting the fennel seeds first: http://pickledrose.com/journal/2011/5/22/sourdough-pizza-crust-and-simple-tomato-sauce.html