Ready in just 5 minutes this easy-peasy Neapolitan pizza sauce recipe is light, fresh, sweet yet tangy. A simple, no-cook recipe relying on just the quality of its two ingredients: fresh or canned tomatoes and salt. For a guaranteed showstopper, spread it on our perfectly chewy yet crispy, Neapolitan Pizza Dough and top with puddles of gooey, fresh mozzarella.
Traditional Neapolitan Pizza Sauce
Fresh and light, true Neapolitan pizza sauce is traditionally made with only two ingredients: tomatoes and salt. The recipe relies completely on the quality of the tomatoes without any additional seasoning.
Neapolitan Pizza is also known as "Napoletano" Pizza and "Naples-style" pizza. This type of pizza is so famous that it is registered as a Traditional Specialty Guaranteed (TSG) product in the European Union and the United Kingdom. The art of making both the pizza and the sauce is included on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage.
While it is not always possible to reproduce a regional dish from another country due to the lack of local ingredients, the widespread availability of the key ingredient, San Marzano tomatoes, in canned form, makes it surprisingly easy. Using canned versus fresh tomatoes is not an issue since even the pizza makers in Naples (the Pizzaioli) use canned tomatoes! Why? Because fresh tomatoes are only in season from July through September.
Why you will love this sauce
- Fresh, flavorful, and delicious. This world-famous recipe is pure delicious tomato flavor. Try it once and you will know what I mean. Its so much better than store-bought pizza sauce.
- Easily available, authentic ingredients. The main ingredient, canned San Marzano tomatoes are available, year-round, in local grocery stores.
- No cook recipe. Unlike slow simmered, heavily seasoned New York Style pizza sauce, traditional Italian pizza sauce is a no-cook sauce. Light and fresh, it's more like a salsa.
- Ready in 5 minutes. Just blend and you are done. It's super easy and my go-to sauce whenever I am making pizza.
- Perfect on just about everything. It's not just for pizza! Use it as a salsa, a dip for crusty Artisan Bread, a soup or a sauce - the possibilities are endless.
Ingredients
Authentic Neapolitan Pizza sauce is made with only two ingredients - sun ripened tomatoes from the San Marzano region and fine sea salt. For additional flavor, you can add fresh basil leaves and olive oil. Both canned and fresh tomatoes are used by Italian pizza makers since fresh tomatoes are only available when in season.
Pizza Sauce with Canned Tomatoes
Ingredients for Pizza Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
- The most popular choice for Neapolitan pizza sauce is canned, peeled San Marzano tomatoes which is easily available at the grocery store. The next best alternative is to use canned, peeled plum tomatoes. If using fresh ingredients, use sun ripened plum, cherry or Campari tomatoes as fresh San Marzano tomatoes are not easy to find in the U.S.
- Fine sea salt is used to season the sauce. If you do not have fine sea salt, you can use regular table salt. Do not use salt with large crystals as it may not dissolve evenly.
Best tomatoes for making Authentic Neapolitan Sauce
Canned Tomatoes
Canned San Marzano tomatoes are highly recommended for Authentic Neapolitan Pizza Sauce because the quality, flavor and taste are consistently reliable and the canned tomatoes are available in local grocery stores year-round. Using canned tomatoes is also delightfully efficient - the tomatoes in the can are sun ripened, of a consistent quality, and come in skinless form. As a result, all you need to do is open the can, add a little salt and blend.
If canned San Marzano tomatoes are not available, the next best alternative is canned, whole, plum tomatoes.
Fresh Tomatoes
Authentic Neapolitan pizza sauce is made with sun-ripened San Marzano tomatoes or Pomodorino del Piennolo del Vesuvio. These tomatoes have a strong, sweet tomato flavor which is less acidic than other types of tomatoes. The fresh version is not easily available in the US. and is available in Naples between July and September.
Since the signature flavor of this sauce depends on the quality of its simple ingredients, I would recommend using the freshest, in season, sun ripened tomatoes available. The best fresh tomato varieties include sweet plum (closest cousin to the San Marzano tomato) and cherry tomatoes.
How to make Authentic Neapolitan Pizza Sauce
Sauce with Canned Tomatoes
Step One. Make the sauce. Pour the canned Italian San Marzano tomatoes into a bowl. Break up the tomatoes with a potato masher or immersion blender. Season the tomato puree as needed.
Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
Step One: Prepare the tomatoes. Cut an "x" at the bottom of each tomato.
Step Two: Blanche the tomatoes. Fill a large mixing bowl with ice water. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Add the whole tomatoes to the boiling water. When the skin starts to curl (about 30 seconds), carefully remove the tomatoes with a spoon and put them into the ice water. After about 2 minutes, or when the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, remove and discard the tomato skins.
Step Three: Make the sauce. Pour the blanched, skinned tomatoes into a bowl. Add the salt. Break up the tomatoes with a potato masher or immersion blender. Season the tomato puree as needed.
Expert Tips
- The sauce texture depends on the tool used to mash the tomatoes. This simple sauce will be finer or pulpier depending on the tool used to mash the tomatoes. For a chunkier sauce use a spoon or potato masher. For a smooth sauce, use a food mill, blender, or food processor.
- Add olive oil and fresh basil leaves to add more layers of flavor. For a richer and more complex flavor, add a tablespoon of olive and a handful of basil.
Using Authentic Neapolitan Style Pizza Sauce
Paired with our Authentic Neapolitan Pizza Dough recipe, this is the best pizza sauce recipe for recreating your favorite classic and gourmet brick-oven pizzas at home.
Classic Pizza's
- Pizza Margherita or "Neapolitan Pizza" is one of the best pizza recipes in the world. Toppings include, extra virgin olive oil, our authentic pizza sauce, fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese and fresh basil leaves.
- Marinara Pizza or "Pizza a la Marinara" is another famous pizza which is topped with extra virgin olive oil, tomato sauce, dry oregano, and sprinkled with thinly finely minced garlic cloves. For additional flavor, top with red pepper flakes.
Artisan Pizza Toppings
- Anchovy, Goat Cheese and Fig
- Shitake Mushroom and Thyme
- Anchovy, Fig and Pecorino
- Hot Honey, Arugula and Pepperoni
Non-traditional Uses for Homemade Pizza Sauce
In addition to spreading it on a pizza base, this Authentic Neapolitan Pizza Sauce recipe can also be used as a marinade, a dipping sauce, as fresh homemade salsa (add chopped onions and cilantro), instead of tomato juice for drinks like Bloody Mary, as a base for pasta sauce, marinara sauce, curries and chili.
You can add more flavor to this delicious sauce by adding a drizzle of olive oil, some minced garlic or garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and fresh herbs. Fresh oregano, fresh chili flakes, black pepper and fresh basil go very well with this authentic pizza sauce.
Storing Pizza Sauce
In the refrigerator: Stored in an airtight container, pizza sauce will last for about 1 week in the fridge.
In the freezer: Pizza sauce will last for about 3 months if stored in airtight container. If freezing a large batch, the best way to store pizza sauce quickly is to divide them into individual freezer-safe Ziploc bags. After adding the sauce to the bag make sure to press out all the air from the bag before sealing. Mark the bag with the date for easy reference. Flatten down the bags and freeze in a stack.
To thaw: Slowly defrost the pizza sauce by leaving it in the refrigerator overnight. For faster thawing run cold water over the pizza sauce (in the airtight container) in a large bowl until thawed.
Nutrition
A single serving of this Authentic Neapolitan Pizza Sauce Recipe has about 39 calories, 0g of fat and 11g of carbohydrates.
This recipe yields approximately 9 servings. The nutrition guidance is intended for informational purposes only. Please use it as a general guideline. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should independently verify it using your preferred tool.
Frequently Asked Questions
While San Marzano tomatoes are highly recommended, you can still enjoy this sauce without them. Canned plum tomatoes are a great substitute as they are similar to San Marzano tomatoes. If the tomatoes are not sweet enough, just add a pinch of sugar to plum tomatoes.
Homemade 12-inch pizzas require about 3 tablespoons of pizza sauce. This is a little less than the amount used commercially due to the longer baking time needed because of the lower temperature of the home oven. While the amount used is based on personal preference, it is better to be safe and use a little less sauce, as too much will result in a soggy, undercooked bottom crust.
6-inch pizza: 2 teaspoons
10-inch pizza: 2 Tablespoons
12-inch pizza: 3 Tablespoons
14-inch pizza: 4 Tablespoons
16-inch pizza: 6 Tablespoons
18 inch pizza: 7 Tablespoons
Authentic Neapolitan pizza is required to made up of crushed San Marzano tomatoes or Pomodorino del Piennolo del Vesuvio and fine sea salt.
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Authentic Neapolitan Pizza Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 14 ounce Canned San Marzano tomatoes (whole, skinless) or 1 pound sun ripened tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt to taste
- 1-2 Tablespoon olive oil optional
- ½-1 cup fresh basil leaves optional
Instructions
Pizza Sauce with Canned Tomatoes
- Pour the canned Italian San Marzano tomatoes into a bowl. Add salt, fresh basil leaves (optional) and olive oil (optional) Break up the tomatoes with a potato masher or immersion blender. Taste for seasoning.
Pizza Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
- Prepare the tomatoes. Cut an "x" at the bottom of each tomato.
- Blanche the tomatoes. Fill a large mixing bowl with ice water. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Add the whole tomatoes to the boiling water. When the skin starts to curl (about 30 seconds), carefully remove the tomatoes with a spoon and put them into the ice water. After about 2 minutes, or when the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, remove and discard the tomato skins.
- Make the sauce. Pour the blanched, skinned tomatoes into a bowl. Add salt, fresh basil leaves (optional) and olive oil (optional) Break up the tomatoes with a potato masher or immersion blender. Taste for seasoning.
Video
Notes
- The sauce texture depends on the tool used to mash the tomatoes. This simple sauce will be finer or pulpier depending on the tool used to mash the tomatoes. For a chunkier sauce use a spoon or potato masher. For a smooth sauce, use a food mill, blender, or food processor.
- Add olive oil and fresh basil leaves to add more layers of flavor. For a richer and more complex flavor, add a tablespoon of olive and a handful of basil.
Cynthia | What A Girl Eats
I spent a week in Naples in the fall and couldn't get enough of the Napoli pizza! Looking forward to trying this!
Lima
Please let us know what you think! We are thrilled that you might try our recipe!
Colleen
So often, simple recipes are the best ones, and this neapolitan sauce is a good example. Thanks for sharing!
Lima
Thank you! Please let us know if you try it!
Caitlin
Such a delicious recipe with only a few ingredients! You are so right that the best pizza sauce doesn't have a million ingredients in it!
Lima
Agreed! We use it in so many other recipes - not just as pizza sauce!
Sara Welch
This was everything a gourmet sauce should be, and then some! So bold and flavorful; easily, a new favorite recipe!
Lima
Thank you Sara. Really appreciate your kind words.
Tara
I love how you can make this sauce with either fresh or canned tomatoes depending on the season. Such an easy and delicious recipe.
Lima
Thank you Tara. We were surprised at how tasty it was!