New York-style pizza sauce simmers on the stove to build real depth of flavor. It's slightly sweet, rich with tomatoes, garlic, and basil, and thick enough to spread without soaking into the crust.

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

A woman with medium-length dark brown hair and fair skin smiling with trees behind her.

Note from Erin

I first developed this recipe when my daughter was young and wanted extra sauce on her pizza. She was particular about flavor and texture, so I needed a sauce that was smooth, balanced, and not too sharp.

Most quick pizza sauces skip the simmering step, but cooking the tomatoes makes a real difference. The flavor deepens, the sauce thickens naturally, and it spreads easily without softening the crust.

Key Ingredients & Substitutions

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.

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, a few really make the sauce what it is!

Whole Tomatoes: Most brands use their higher-quality tomatoes for canned whole tomatoes, and their lower-quality tomatoes for diced tomatoes, so for the best flavor, I use whole tomatoes in my sauce.

Tomato Paste: Adding tomato paste to this recipe helps create a rich, thick sauce. If you do not have tomato paste, then you can increase the whole tomatoes to 28 ounces. I've found that the increased liquid will require you to cook your sauce for up to 90 minutes to achieve a thick 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!

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.

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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!

Building Your Pizza at Home

Spread a thin, even layer of sauce onto your favorite pizza crust, then top with whole milk, low-moisture mozzarella for the best melt and stretch.

If you are adding a lot of toppings, leave a slight indentation in the center so the heat can cook through without trapping excess moisture from the sauce.

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

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.

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

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