You can use pasta sauce on pizza, but there are a few things you may want to add to the mix to bring it closer to the taste and texture you expect from pizza.
But you can use pasta sauce because it has the same base ingredient for pizza – tomato sauce!
Read on for more. I even added a special treat for all our readers: a specialty recipe which incorporates pizza sauce!
The Differences Between Pasta and Pizza Sauce
Both pasta and pizza sauce contains the same essential ingredients, but there are a few differences.
Pizza sauce has uncooked pureed tomatoes, and pasta sauce uses cooked blended tomatoes.
Pasta sauce also comes with a flavor of herbs, garlic, and other Italian spices. It is not only used as a substitution but can pull you out of a bind if you do not have any pizza sauce in the pantry.
What About Pizza Sauce?
Pizza sauce still has a robust flavor, especially regarding the garlic flavor.
How the sauces cook is another thing that will separate them. Both will get thicker as they are cooked, but the pasta sauce will never match the pizza sauce’s thickness.
It would take adding tomato paste to the pasta sauce to reach consistency. Still, the tomato chunks, which hold liquid, will be a little runnier than pizza sauce.
Likewise, if you want a thinner pizza sauce, add a little water to the mix.
The Ingredients in Pizza Sauce
Pizza Sauce is made with pureed tomatoes or tomato sauce with tomato paste to thicken the consistency and texture.
The sauce must be thick so that it sits on top of the pizza dough and does not soak into it while baking. If the sauce soaks in, the pizza will come out soggy and not hold all the toppings, as the slices will fall apart.
The added spices are Italian seasonings, oregano, onion powder, garlic salt, and a touch of sugar. Sugar does several things for the sauce.
It cuts back on the heartburn most people feel when eating tomato-based products and adds a tangier flavor to the mix. The sugar also compliments the oil and fats found in the mozzarella cheese.
The Ingredients in Pasta Sauce
Pasta sauce is also known as spaghetti sauce and has crushed tomatoes mixed with water. The water added to the sauce makes it thinner than pizza sauce but is meant to spread over the noodles to add flavor.
It has the essential ingredients of dried oregano, salt, and pepper.
Unlike pizza sauce, pasta sauce has chunks of tomatoes, and some pasta sauces add Italian sausage or ground beef to make it a meat sauce. Using the meat sauce for pasta could work in favor of thickening up the sauce for the pizza.
Some people like the sauce thick, others like it runny. Overall, when it comes to the seasonings and the flavor of pasta sauce, a person can add what they want to jazz it up.
A Special Pizza Sauce Recipe
You will need the following ingredients to make this special sauce for up to two pizza servings:
16 ounces smooth tomato sauce
8 ounces of tomato paste
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon of onion powder
3/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon of dried basil
Red pepper flakes (optional and to taste)
Step 1: Take a bowl and start with the tomato sauce and paste and mix well.
Step 2: Add the onion and garlic powder, sugar, salt, pepper, and all of the dried herbs and seasonings to the sauce.
Step 3: Mix everything until the herbs and seasonings are fully dispersed inside the sauce.
Step 4: Pour the mixture on the pizza to the desired amount and spread with a large spoon across the top.
Special Note: Any leftover sauce should be stored in a sealed, airtight container. It will last about a week in the fridge and up to two months in the freezer.
Thaw it out overnight in the refrigerator or cold water while the sauce is sealed inside a container or Ziploc freezer bag.
Alternatives for Pizza Sauces
Any sauce you choose will have to be some improvising to spruce it up to pizza standards, but there are other alternatives.
These are a few substitutes:
Ranch Dressing
Pesto
Barbecue Sauce
Garlic and Olive Oil
Tapenade
Sweet Chili Sauce
Balsamic Glaze
Chimichurri Sauce
Alfredo Sauce (Try it with garlic powder to taste)
Buffalo Wing Sauce
There are many options, and you can have fun experimenting and trying new sauces in the kitchen. Who knows? You may come up with something new that other people may purchase.
FAQ
What is good to add to pasta sauces?
Try mixing the sauce with heavy cream or milk and letting the mixture simmer for a few minutes. You can add your favorite herbs and seasonings if you wish.
You can add other items to make the sauce thicker, are hard or fresh cheese. It will come out more like an Alfredo.
What are the best pasta sauces to use in place of pizza sauce?
We recommend the top three sauces: Barilla Marinara, Emerils’s Homestyle Marinara, and Bertolli Tomato and Basil sauce.
