This San Marzano pizza sauce is perfect for Margherita pizzas and more. Made with 5 simple ingredients, it's fresh, flavorful, and easy to make!
I love my classic pizza sauce recipe, but when I’m making a Margherita pizza or another Neapolitan-style pie, this San Marzano pizza sauce is a must. Made with 5 simple ingredients, this sauce is similar to pizza sauces I’ve enjoyed in Italy. It’s slightly thinner than typical American pizza sauce, and it has a sweeter, fresher flavor.
Unsurprisingly, I love to make this sauce with San Marzano tomatoes. This variety of plum tomatoes is grown in a specific part of southern Italy near Naples, and it’s known worldwide for its sweetness, intensity, and mild acidity. It gives this easy, no-cook sauce a wonderful tomato flavor.
Unfortunately, San Marzano tomatoes aren’t always easy to find in the US. Many grocery stores carry other canned tomato products that are designed to look like San Marzanos, fooling customers into thinking they’re buying an authentic product when they’re not. True San Marzanos will always be labeled DOP, or Protected Designation of Origin. I recommend buying ones from a trusted Italian brand such as Rega or DeLallo.
And if you can’t find San Marzano tomatoes, that’s ok! Any whole peeled tomatoes will work here instead. Just make sure to use high-quality ones. Because this sauce is so simple (you don’t even have to cook it!), you can really taste the difference between sweet, juicy tomatoes and overly acidic, tinny ones.
San Marzano Pizza Sauce Ingredients
This San Marzano pizza sauce recipe calls for 5 basic ingredients:
- Canned whole peeled tomatoes – Preferably San Marzanos, of course! If you can’t find authentic ones, other high-quality canned tomatoes will work here. I like the Mutti and Bianco DiNapoli brands.
- Extra-virgin olive oil – A few teaspoons give the sauce a little richness, so it’s not too watery.
- And fresh garlic, sea salt, and dried oregano – They round out this sauce, giving it a full, robust flavor.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make It
Instead of cooking this San Marzano pizza sauce on the stove, I blend it together in a food processor. Simply add the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, salt, and oregano and blend until smooth.
After blending, the sauce is ready to spread directly onto pizza dough. So simple!
How to Use San Marzano Pizza Sauce
Once you’ve spread the sauce on your pizza, top it however you’d like! I’m a fan of pairing it with fresh basil leaves, tomatoes, mozzarella, and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes to make a Margherita pizza.
Feel free to play with different toppings too! Sautéed spinach, olives, mushrooms, or roasted red peppers would all taste great with it.
This recipe makes a large batch, about 2 1/2 cups, so you’ll likely have leftovers. Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. For longer storage, freeze the sauce for up to 3 months.
More Sauces to Try
If you love this homemade San Marzano pizza sauce, try one of these simple sauces next:
San Marzano Pizza Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 small garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
Instructions
- Place the tomatoes and their juices, olive oil, garlic, salt, and oregano in a food processor and blend until combined. For a thicker sauce, drain the tomatoes before blending.
- Makes enough sauce for about 4 pizzas. Store any extra sauce in the fridge or freezer.
Recipe comes out too ‘raw’ in flavor. Closer to a bruschetta than a pizza sauce.