How much Sauce for Pizza (7 easy saucing tips)

A person putting sauce on a pizza

Italy has given so shared so many amazing things with the world when it comes to luxury, food, and beauty products, and one such thing that was invented in the remote towns of Naples, Italy in the 1600s has become one of the most sought-after meals in the world today and that is Pizza! Originating from Italy, pizza is one of the most popular dishes in every country in today’s world and it is because of its versatility and convenience.

Ideally, use a quarter cup of pizza sauce for every pizza slice of 30 centimeters. In general, use four ounces of sauce for a 12-inch pizza, six ounces of sauce for a 14-inch pizza, and eight ounces of sauce for a 16-inch pizza.

Related Post: https://couchpotatodelivery.com/why-is-a-pizza-round-and-the-box-square-problem-solved/

Pizzas have taken over the world mainly for their versatility, as in you can add, subtract and tweak the ingredients to your liking and invent new flavors and varieties every single time with your skills. But the only thing that stays constant and makes pizza, well, pizza is the sauce. Saucing the pizza is a simple yet important process as it determines the overall taste of the pizza.

But before we delve into the tips for sauce-perfect pizzas, let us go through a simple recipe that you can make at home for your own homemade pizza sauce that you can store in the fridge for days and can use anytime you want. How awesome! All you will need is –

  • Tomatoes puree
  • Italian seasonings and oregano (get your hands on everything)
  • Water
  • Sugar (optional)

Now, once you have all the above simple ingredients in hand all you have to do is to take a pan, add the puree and other ingredients and boil it until it starts bubbling (ideally in about 40 minutes) by adding water depending on how thick or thin you want the sauce to be. You can also add a pinch of sugar in the end if you take sweet tones in your sauce or completely omit the step. And your homemade pizza sauce on demand is ready to enjoy as a topping! You can also add cheese, onion, or garlic based on your preferences, especially garlic which is known to increase the aroma and enhance the taste of any dish, literally. So go all generous with garlic as well.

The table below gives the quantity of sauce needed for making pizza

Pizza SizeSauceless borderRegular PortionLight PortionExtra Portion
10 inch¾ inch3 oz.1.5 oz.4.5 oz.
12 inch¾ inch4 oz.2 oz.6 oz.
14 inch¾ inch6 oz.3 oz.9 oz.
16 inch¾ inch8 oz.4 oz.12 oz.
12-inch pan/deep dish¾ inch4 oz.2 oz.6 oz.
14-inch pan/deep dish¾ inch6 oz.3 oz.9 oz.
12-inch thin-crust⅛ inch4 oz.2 oz.6 oz.
14 inch thin-crust⅛ inch6 oz.3 oz.9 oz.
Small Rectangular/Square¾ inch3 oz.1.5 oz.4.5 oz.
Medium Rectangular/Square¾ inch4 oz.2 oz.6 oz.
Large Rectangular/Square¾ inch6 oz.3 oz.9 oz.

Relate Post: https://couchpotatodelivery.com/how-many-slices-of-pizza-should-i-eat/

Here are some of the ways you can make sure to get a sauce-perfect pizza every time you bake one.

➥ Tip 1: The longer you cook, the better the flavor

This tip works for almost all sauces as the flavors begin to gain more and more depth when you give it enough time to boil and blend. Simmering the sauce is the secret to its amazing flavor so it is important to let it sit for about 30-45 minutes depending on how thick you want the sauce to be. This might get you a little impatient but it is so worth it in the end and you will be genuinely surprised.

The simmering also helps you keep a check on the water content in the sauce. If you want a thick sauce let it simmer until the excess water is evaporated, and if you prefer a runny one, turn off the heat when you are satisfied with the consistency, Ideally, thick sauces work best for pizzas as they give it a lot more taste and flavor as opposed to the runny ones.

➥ Tip 2: Tomatoes are the real heroes

Since the very base of the sauce is tomato puree, make sure you use the best quality tomatoes if you are making it from scratch as the entire flavor of the sauce and ultimately the pizza will go bad if you put it in a rotten one by mistake. The tomatoes must be of great quality and ones that are not raw as it imparts a raw tangy taste to the sauce when cooked.

If you are using tomatoes that come in a can, make sure you use freshly manufactured ones to retain the maximum flavor. Why this step is important because tomatoes play a great role in bringing the flavors together. One trick you can use is to drain the can after emptying the tomatoes from it and use the same water for the sauce which will help in avoiding adding extra water that will make the sauce runny. This will also add a milder tomato flavor to the sauce along with the canned ones.

➥ Tip 3: The importance of spices

Adding all kinds of spices to the sauce only makes it better and better as the flavor gets more intensified with each seasoning you add. Go ahead and add your favorite oregano, Italian seasonings, onion powder, garlic powder, red chili flakes, salt, and pepper and simmer it all together along with tomato puree to make it a divine combination of whole spices.

Even though the sauce is just the base of the pizza and you can most definitely add the above-mentioned spices while making the pizza, you can still add it to pasta sauce too to have it packed with flavor. This trick goes especially well while making Margherita pizzas. Because the pizza in itself is just basil and cheese on top, adding spices to the pizza sauce will add any missing flavor to it.

➥ Tip 4: Saucing by angle

While you can use any ladle or spoon you have to layer tomato sauce over raw crust, it will be super helpful to know a trick that is used by pizzerias all over the world with the perfect poodle size and a specific method and it is called saucing by angle. While making the sauce out of the container with a ladle of a specific measure, you will pick up the same amount of sauce every single time, if you are keeping it at a certain specific angle.

If your sauce portion is about four ounces for your pizza, dunking the ladle in and out of the container at 45 degrees will give you the exact same amount every time you do it. In the same manner, it works the same for three ounces of sauce at a 60-degree angle, six ounces of sauce at a 15-degree angle, etc. You can use this method to get the right amount with near accuracy but it is not the best option out there as it can be difficult over time.

➥ Tip 5: Avoid adding tomato paste to the sauce

It is always best to use big and ripe tomatoes for the base or canned tomatoes work too. Make sure you do not use tomato paste in the sauce mainly because it is too concentrated and might change the flavor altogether.

As tomatoes are the main ingredient in pizzas because they are used in the topping, it is better to use ripe ones as opposed to normal ones, mainly due to their deeper tomato flavor. Adding tomato paste will cause the sauce to get too concentrated or gives away too much tomato flavor, which will cause the pizza to get tangy. You can substitute, with sugar, a tablespoon or two of oregano, salt, or pepper if you require, or a few cloves of garlic will also do the trick in hiding the tanginess. (Source)

➥ Tip 6: Avoid Pasta sauce for pizza

The most asked and researched question about pizza sauces is if we can use pasta sauce over pizza sauce and a simple answer is that you could, but you will not be able to get the same taste and flavor in a pizza with pasta sauce simply because both sauces are different inconsistency, ingredients, etc, even though their base consists of tomatoes.

Pasta sauce is fully cooked whereas pizza sauce is slightly uncooked with fewer ingredients. Pasta sauce is known for its sweetness because we generally do not add any major spices or garlic to it. So it might do the job for time being if you have nothing else on hand, but make sure you prioritize making your own pizza sauce to have the perfect pizza, but you could use pasta sauce if there is a time constraint.

➥ Tip 7: Consistency wins always

While the above steps might be helpful for you to make sure you get a sauce perfect pizza every time, like everything else, being consistent with it by trying out various methods will help a lot as you will eventually figure out the sweet spot where you know what to use, how much to use and when to use it for a sauce perfect pizza as there is actually no perfect solution for consistency and right portioning.

So even if you do not get the consistency right for the first few times, go for it again and try until you figure out your own trick, which you will do over time. You will figure out your own unique saucing technique that will make your pizzas special.

Related Read: https://couchpotatodelivery.com/different-types-of-pizza/

As a bonus, here are some great pizza sauces that we recommend if you do not have the time to make them from scratch. Give these a shot!

My Recommended Pizza Sauce on Amazon

  • Mrs Wages Pizza Sauce Canning Mix
  • Chef Boyardee Pizza Sauce with Cheese
  • Pizzaiolo Pizza Sauce Autentico No. 10 Can
  • Don Pepino Pizza Sauce
  • Contadina Canned Pizza Sauce

How Much Sauce For Pizza? – My Opinion

Pizza sauces may come in a variety of different styles but the base ingredients are the same in all sauces. And because of its versatility, you can customize your pizza and its sauce to your liking.

You can add more spices and herbs or omit them if you want a cheesy tomato pizza. One can truly experiment when it comes to the sauce and once you get the hang of it, it would take you no less than an hour to bake your own homemade pizza for those savory days or on weekends.

Please comment down below and let us know if there are any tips or tricks that you had come across previously that have changed your pizza-making game.

Photo of author

Peter Jameson

Peter Jameson is passionate about eating healthy food. While he is doing his search for this, he will share that with the Couch Potato Delivery's readers. As an experienced home cook, he knows what to look for in the food delivery services he reviews. You can find more about him here.