How to make pizza sauce from scratch

Every pizza oven owner should have an amazing pizza sauce recipe and in this blog, Gozney development chef Joe Boiling takes us through a few do’s and don’ts for brilliant homemade pizza sauce...

You say tomato, no one I know says ‘tom-A-toe’! However you pronounce the delicious red fruit that should never feature in a fruit salad, being able to make a banging pizza sauce from them is a key recipe in any pizza chef's arsenal.

Let’s start with Neapolitan pizza, regarded by most as the original pizza, that is governed by a group called the AVPN (you can read more about that here) that have a list of rules for their pizza; no oil in the dough, the pizza must be baked in under 90 seconds, that sort of thing.

And as you would expect with that level of detail they have some pretty strong views on pizza sauce ingredients too. Neapolitan pizza should be topped with a very simple tomato sauce of just San Marzano tomatoes and a little salt, that’s it. Hardly a pizza sauce recipe is it?!

But you know what? That’s honestly all you need for a delicious Neapolitan pizza! Sure you can play with your homemade pizza sauce ingredients- add some oregano, a splash of balsamic- to suit your palate but really all you need are great canned tomatoes and a little salt.

The folks of Naples will swear by San Marzano tomatoes grown in the volcanic soil at the foot of mount Vesuvius but a lot of American pizza makers favour Californian tomatoes- really it’s about putting some thought into which canned tomatoes you buy next time you’re in the store and doing some taste testing.

Once you’ve found your tastiest tomato variety you can keep your pizza sauce recipe as simple as the Neapolitans or get a little more experimental.

Our Detroit style pizza recipe is topped with a tomato sauce that is made by cooking garlic and oregano in butter and olive oil before adding tomatoes amongst other things to produce a sauce that is thick and flavorful. And will make your kitchen smell like a scene from the Sopranos for added points.

This spicy margherita takes the cooked tomato sauce up a notch by adding a terrific touch of chilli that can bring a brilliant punch of heat to most pizza topping combos.

Canned tomatoes are used in the majority of pizza sauce recipes but if you really want to make pizza sauce from scratch and use fresh tomatoes that can be done too. Our yellow margherita recipe uses sweet, yellow cherry tomatoes to make a vibrant looking homemade pizza sauce and the technique is transferable to the more recognisable red tomatoes.

Whether you grow some tomatoes in the garden and make your own pizza sauce from scratch or make a thicker cooked down sauce filling the kitchen full of pizzeria aromas, the most vital thing is the tomatoes themselves. The better the tomato, the better your sauce will be- regardless of how you pronounce it.