Name: No-Cook Pizza Sauce (Passata)
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 1 cup Sieved tomato puree aka Tomato sauce (see details in the post); ½ tsp Garlic powder; ½ tsp Basil (dried); ½ tsp Oregano (dried); ½ tsp Salt; ⅛ tsp Black pepper

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This is the easiest and quickest pizza sauce you can make at home. Grab a sieved tomato puree, also known as passata, and the right seasoning and make the perfect homemade pizza sauce. No cooking is needed. Mix, spread, and bake.

Red pizza sauce is spread in circles on top of a pizza crust with a ladle.

Everyone has a favorite pizza. Ours is the airy, fluffy Neapolitan pizza, which my husband perfected over the years. Here is our homemade pizza dough recipe or a gluten-free pizza option if you need that.

What to expect?

Our no-cook pizza sauce offers a convenient and flavorful option for homemade pizza lovers. The main ingredients are passata (or sieved tomato puree), garlic powder, and a selection of herbs and spices like basil, oregano, salt, and black pepper.

The key distinction between marinara sauce and pizza sauce lies in their preparation methods. While marinara sauce is pre-cooked, pizza sauce is not as it is “cooked” directly on the pizza. The authentic Italian pizza sauce is when you make the passata from scratch, usually from ripe, sweet fresh tomatoes like San Marzano or Heirlooms.

Red pizza sauce in a white bowl. A hand is holding a spoon taking some of the sauce closer. Red cherry tomato vine is in the background

Ingredients

This easy pizza sauce recipe is so quick. Grab these pantry ingredients, mix them in a bowl, and you can spread it on your favorite pizza within 5 minutes tops.

Sieved tomato puree – We use Cirio Passata or Mutti’s Passata. Passata is thicker than tomato sauce and has a more concentrated tomato flavor. You can substitute it with canned tomatoes if you puree them with a food processor.
Garlic powder
Dried basil and oregano – You can also substitute it with Italian seasoning.
Salt and black pepper

? You can find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Instructions

Collect and measure your ingredients: tomato passata sauce, dried oregano, dried basil, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper.
If you use fresh ingredients, chop them finely but keep a couple of fresh basil leaves for decoration.
Mix them well.

Red pizza sauce in a white bowl with a spoon. Red cherry tomato vine is in the background

Variations

This vegan pizza sauce is perfect as it is. If we would like to add more flavors, we usually add them as a topping. However, here are some quick tips to enhance the sauce further, depending on your taste.

Spicy – add red pepper flakes, sriracha, or hot chili powder
Cheezy – add parmesan or nutritional yeast
Thicker – add tomato paste for a more robust tomato flavor
Richer – add a dash of red wine or a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar or soy sauce to make it richer. They are all excellent flavor boosters.

Ways to use this sauce

Well, the primary reason we make this homemade pizza sauce recipe is to spread it on one of our favorite vegan pizzas:

However, this no-cook pizza sauce can be used in many other ways. It works perfectly in any recipe calling for an Italian tomato sauce like:

Storing tips

The sauce is perfect for batch cooking. You can easily store it in the refrigerator for up to a week without any problem. Store any leftovers per serving (in a jar, in a ziplock bag, or air-tight container) in a freezer and thaw whenever you need it. Don’t worry. It freezes well. Although I almost never do that since the prep time to make it fresh is like 5 minutes!

FAQs

What is the difference between marinara and pizza sauce?

The basic ingredients are pretty much the same, but the main difference is that marinara sauce is a cooked sauce, while pizza sauce is uncooked. Furthermore, marinara sauce is also usually chunky, while pizza sauce is smooth.

How to make pizza sauce from scratch?

While our recipe uses sieved tomato puree as a shortcut, if you want to make it from scratch, you can. Find the ripest san marzano tomatoes or heirloom tomatoes. Deseed them and use a food processor or powerful blender to make a puree. Or if you have a mouli grater, you don’t have to deseed them in advance.

Does pizza sauce need to be cooked?

No. It will be cooked on the pizza.

Can you substitute tomato paste for tomato sauce?

No. Tomato paste is extremely concentrated. You can add a tablespoon to enhance the flavor, but don’t use it as a pizza sauce substitute.

More tomato-based sauce recipes

You can browse through our vegan pasta sauce recipes or our quick vegan meals collection or check out