The Best New York-Style Pizza Sauce Recipe

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This New York-style pizza sauce recipe simmers on the stove to give you a flavorful and fresh-tasting sauce! It is slightly sweet and bursting with the flavors of tomatoes, garlic, and herbs. This delicious recipe is perfect for your next pizza night!

A spoon scooping out some pizza sauce from a jar and spilling sauce down the front of the jar onto the counter.

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What Makes This a Good Pizza Sauce Recipe?
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
Steps to Making the Best Pizza Sauce
What Else Do I Need for a New York Pizza?
Side Dish Recommendations
Frequently Asked Questions
More Pizza Recipes
Recipe
Reviews

What Makes This a Good Pizza Sauce Recipe?

This recipe is for a cooked sauce of tomatoes that is bursting with the flavors of garlic and basil. It has much more depth of flavor than a sauce is that uncooked, which makes every bite of your pizza simply extraordinary!

Key Ingredients & Substitutions

All of these sauce ingredients work together to create a robust pizza sauce where the tomatoes and herbs are hearty, without any one flavor being overpowering. While each ingredient is important, there are a few that really make the sauce what it is!

Whole Tomatoes: Most brands use their higher quality tomatoes for the canned whole tomatoes, and their lesser quality tomatoes go into their diced tomatoes. So for the best flavor, I use whole tomatoes for my sauce. If you need to use diced tomatoes then it is an equal substitution.

Tomato Paste: The addition of tomato paste in this recipe helps create a rich and thick sauce. If you do not have tomato paste then you can increase the whole tomatoes to 28 ounces. With this substitution, you may need to cook your sauce for up to 90 minutes in order to get a thicker consistency.

Fresh Basil: Some recipes use basil sprigs and remove them after cooking, but I like the flavor of basil blended into the sauce. It adds freshness and vibrance! When it comes to basil in this sauce, fresh is best! But if you do not have fresh basil then you can use 2 teaspoons of dried basil in its place.

Olive Oil and Butter: Many times when adding fat to a recipe, you use one source. But when we combine butter and olive oil together we get an even better sauce. The olive oil adds flavor, and the butter adds richness and texture.

Ingredients for New York-Style Pizza Sauce: Tomato Paste, olive oil, butter, whole tomatoes, basil, yellow onion, salt, garlic, sugar, red pepper flakes, and Oregano.

Steps to Making the Best Pizza Sauce

Step 1: Saute the herbs in olive oil and butter. This builds the foundation of the sauce.

Sauteeing the garlic and herbs in a pan.

Step Two: Add in all of the remaining ingredients. The tomatoes, onions, basil, and sugar go into the pot.

Tomatoes, onions, and basil added to the pan.

Step Three: Puree the tomatoes and other ingredients together. This can be done using a hand blender or food processor.

My family likes a smooth sauce with no tomato chunks, so I puree the ingredients until they are smooth. But if you like some chunks in your sauce then just blend it for a shorter amount of time.

Step Four: Simmer the sauce for an hour over low heat, with the sauce gently bubbling. The flavors deepen as the sauce cooks, and in the end, you will have a rich and delicious pizza sauce!

What Else Do I Need for a New York Pizza?

Now that you have made the best pizza sauce you will ever have, you just need a few other things for the very best New York-style pizza recipe!

Pizza Dough: They say that there is nothing like a true New York pizza crust. Apparently, there is something in the water that makes it impossible to recreate. But this cold ferment pizza dough recipe has great flavor and texture, and makes a darn good pizza!

If you want to enjoy your pizza today then try this delicious garlic & herb pizza crust.

Premium Quality Mozzarella Cheese: The third most important ingredient for a New York pizza (coming in behind the sauce and the crust) is the cheese. Shredded cheese, to be exact.

You won't find slices of fresh mozzarella cheese on a New York pizza. Instead, sprinkle shredded low moisture mozzarella over the sauce. The key here is that it needs to be whole milk, low moisture cheese. Skip the low-fat and pre-shredded cheeses, and you will end up with the best creamy, delicious topping for your pizza.

Additional toppings: You can add your favorite toppings, like pepperoni or sausage. Just keep the toppings minimal to let the crust and sauce shine through. Finally, sprinkle some shredded Parmesan cheese over the top and the pizza is ready to bake.

Spreading sauce onto a pizza crust, with a jar of sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese in the background.

Side Dish Recommendations

A big green salad
Some buffalo wings. Or to mix it up, try these sweet and spicy PB&J wings!
Toasted ravioli makes a great appetizer!
If you want to stick with iconic New York food then be sure to serve up some Half Moon Cookies for dessert!
Pair with a medium-bodied wine, like Syrah or Chianti. For a white wine, Sauvignon Blanc is a great choice!

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use this sauce for other styles of pizza?

This recipe is the perfect foundation for any homemade pizza! If you are making a Detroit or Neapolitan-style pizza, then follow the directions exactly as listed. For a Chicago-style pizza, blend the ingredients for less time, leaving small tomato chunks in the sauce.

How should I store the sauce?

Once the sauce has cooled to room temperature, transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months.

More Pizza Recipes

Pizza sauce spread thick on pizza dough, with a jar of sauce and a bowl of shredded cheese in the background.

Let me know how you like this recipe by leaving a review! And follow along on Instagram @stateofdinner for behind-the-scenes and to be among the first to know when new recipes post!