This easy pizza sauce recipe only takes two ingredients and about two minutes to make!
I’ve been holding out on you a little because I didn’t tell you we went home to Mississippi over Spring Break at the beginning of the month. Normally I tell you what’s going on with me, but announcing, “Hey, Internet! Our house is going to be empty for the next week!” seemed like a bad idea. Now we’re home, so I can tell you that we were away visiting family, going to the beach, riding horses and 4-wheelers, and eating lots of fresh seafood and other Southern food.
While we had plenty of good food to eat, there were some limitations. I can’t eat wheat; Matt’s dad can’t eat cheese or nuts; Matt still can’t eat very chewy foods; and my kids are just picky. Given how difficult we are, I’m surprised we managed to eat at all! One thing we didn’t have for sure was pizza, and I had a major hankering the day we came home.
I LOVE pizza, but it’s a little more challenging to have since I had to go gluten free. There are two places that deliver GF pizza to our house. One is my favorite pizza place, but the crust is just OK. The other has a better crust, but the pizza is always cold when it arrives. We still end up ordering delivery sometimes, but I’m usually happier with homemade pizza nowadays. It’s easy to find gluten-free pizza crust mixes or frozen crusts, and then it’s just a matter of coming up with toppings.
I already have an easy pizza sauce recipe I love (click here to see it), but after traveling all day, I was looking for something even easier. That’s where this pesto pizza sauce comes in. It literally takes two minutes to make and only needs two ingredients (plus water): tomato paste and prepared pesto. If you like a sweeter sauce, you can stir in a little sugar (which would make three ingredients, but that’s still not very many).
Now you might be saying to yourself that you could just buy a jar of pizza sauce instead of buying pesto, which is true. However, a jar of pesto costs about the same as a jar of (good) sauce, and then you can make lots of pizza sauce or use it in other recipes too! I always have a jar of pesto in my fridge, and I definitely feel like I get my money’s worth out of it since a little goes a long way. In fact, I’m going to show you some of my favorite pesto recipes right below this easy pizza sauce recipe. Which one is your favorite?
| Prep Time | 2 minutes |
| Servings |
pizzas
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- Stir all ingredients together until smooth.
Taste sauce. Add 1-2 teaspoons of sugar if you prefer a sweeter sauce. You can also add hot sauce or red pepper flakes to make it spicy.
Here’s what you can do with the rest of that jar of pesto!
Pesto Stuffed Oven Baked Pork Chops
Irresistible Cheesy Pesto Bread
Creamy Pesto Chicken Soup
Pesto Pizza Grilled Cheese
Just brilliant! And lower in sugar, which is what I’m always looking for!
Thank you so much, Kalyn! I don’t care for sweet pizza sauce either, but it’s easy to add sugar to taste. I lived in Ohio for a little while as a kid, and I didn’t like the pizza up there because it was all sweet! I didn’t even know that was a thing. I like mine tangy. Have a great weekend!
Your trip sounds amazing! So glad you had a nice time, and that you were able to feed everyone! This pizza sauce looks delicious and I love how easy it is!! Homemade is always so much better than delivery!
Thank you, Cate! Have a great weekend :)
It’s really great that gluten-free options are so much more available now than in the past! This sounds like the perfect sauce when you need it quickly (and even when you don’t)!
Hi, Patricia. I’ve been surprised that going gluten free hasn’t been that bad at all. I just miss “real” bread! When I make my boys sandwiches on soft sandwich bread, I’m always a wee bit jealous ;) Thanks so much!
Andi, that is so smart to make pizza sauce with pesto! I’m definitely going to have to try that because I almost always have pesto on hand. Glad to hear that y’all had a fun trip, too! The beach and southern food are always good things. :)
Thank you, Ashlyn! I think pesto is a great thing to always have on hand because it can make for a good recipe shortcut.
I had no idea you were a Mississippi girl! I’m from Alabama so I know all about beachin’ and eating lots of seafood on vacay. That’s pretty much the only reason I go home these days! Well, besides family of course.
You know, I make a pizza sauce that involves a can of tomato paste and a TON of dried herbs. I’m totally making my life easier by using pesto next time.
Yes! I was born and raised on the MS Gulf Coast, went to college at Mississippi State, and then moved to San Francisco. I didn’t know you were from Alabama! Maybe someday we’ll be visiting the coast at the same time and can meet up!
What a simple and allergy friendly looking sauce. I’m sure it’s hard finding something you can all eat but it sounds like it worked out in the end :)
Thanks so much for your sweet comment. Have a nice weekend!
I would have never guessed that one of the ingredients was pesto!!! Sneaky sneaky but looks delicious!! :)
It was tasty, and you can’t beat how easy it is. Thanks so much, Beth!