Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce

Thanks to Applegate for sponsoring this post!

Lately, I’ve been a little obsessed with homemade pizza. I’ve been experimenting with crusts, adjusting baking times, and tinkering with oven temperature in a quest to nail the perfect pie.

I’m still making Citizen Mom’s homemade pizza dough, as well as this new favorite from Dinner A Love Story. There are nights I carried away and make too much dough, which means there’s enough to stash away in the freezer for a busy night.

Toppings? I love fresh chopped, sautéed spinach on mine. My nine year old has taken a shine to barbecue sauce, chicken, and mozzarella. My husband, a purist, likes pepperoni. So I’m glad that Applegate–our go-to brand for breakfast sausage–now makes a pepperoni that’s perfect pizza size. And as with all their products, the turkey & pork pepperoni are made from humanely raise pork and turkey that were given no antibiotics and no hormones–and they’re lower in fat and sodium than conventional brands.

While the crusts and toppings may change from week to week, the pizza sauce I make remains basically the same. I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on this sauce, which takes just a minute or two to mix up. It’s modified slightly from this recipe by Estela at Weekly Bite. It starts with a can of tomato sauce, which is typically tomato puree seasoned with some salt and other spices. If you’re looking for an organic brand, try Muir Glen. I like pizza that’s heavy on sauce, so I always double this recipe (and freeze any extra). I’ve also made it starting with plain tomato puree or crushed tomatoes, adding an extra shake of oregano plus 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.

Homemade pizza night is now a weekly fixture for us. It’s an easy meal when you have guests too, since they can customize their own pie (nothing like inviting people to your house and making them cook their own dinner!). When my son recently had some buddies over, I overheard him say, “We’re having homemade pizza for dinner.” Then he quickly added, “But don’t worry, my mom makes really good pizza.”

Disclosure: I’m happy to be working with Applegate this year as a member of their Advisory Board, because it’s a brand I buy and respect. I received free samples of the pepperoni products and am compensated for this post. All opinions expressed are my own.