Jeff's Favorite Pizza Sauce

Homemade pizza lives or dies by the sauce, and this one is thick, deeply flavored, and concentrated the way proper pizza sauce needs to be. Simmering pureed Italian plum tomatoes with a full can of tomato paste gives the sauce the right density, so it holds its place on the dough without leaking out onto the crust as the pizza bakes.

The tomato paste is the non-negotiable ingredient. Pizza sauce made only from tomatoes ends up too thin and wet, and watery sauce equals soggy pizza. A full 12 ounces of paste concentrates the flavor and gives that signature rich pizzeria character. Don’t cut this down.

Cheese in the sauce itself is the kind of technique home cooks rarely do but pizzerias swear by. Two tablespoons of grated parmesan added in the last 10 minutes of the simmer adds salty, umami depth throughout the sauce, not just as a topping. It enriches the flavor and helps the sauce cling to the crust.

A full half hour of simmering is the minimum. This isn’t spaghetti sauce; pizza sauce needs time to reduce and deepen so it can stand up to hot oven temperatures without breaking or weeping liquid.

Makes enough for 3 to 4 pizzas. Portion and freeze in flat zip-top bags; thaws quickly on pizza night.

Chef Tips

• Use canned plum tomatoes, not crushed; plum tomatoes have the right body.
• A pinch of sugar can balance overly acidic tomatoes.
• Finish with a drizzle of good olive oil off the heat for richness.
• Let sauce cool before topping dough; hot sauce steams the crust.

Variations

• Add a pinch of red pepper flakes for a spicier take.
• Stir in a tablespoon of fresh chopped basil at the end for brightness.
• Use fire-roasted canned tomatoes for a subtly smoky flavor.