• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Email
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • TikTok
  • YouTube
TVV-Logo-for-bright-bg

The Viet Vegan

Vegan. Feminist. Nerd.

  • Home
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
  • Recipe Index
    • TikTok Recipes
    • Instagram Feed
  • eBooks
  • Work With Me
    • Press

Simple Vegan Pizza Sauce

May 7, 2016 by Lisa Le 14 Comments

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Last month I learned that pizza sauce and pasta sauce are different things.
So here is a really simple homemade vegan pizza sauce for your pizza nights =)

Vegan Simple Pizza Sauce | The Viet Vegan

Aside from the fact that I’m vegan, I probably have about zero self-control. If I want something, I end up getting it within a few days because the craving never subsides. It happens with ice cream, burritos, rice bowls, and especially pizza. I usually am craving a specific slice from Apiecalypse Now downtown in Toronto, but considering that’s about a 30 minute drive away, that’s a pretty big deterrent.

One night, as we hemmed and hawed over what to have for dinner, I mentioned that I really wanted pizza but both Eddie and I had zero motivation to drive downtown to get it.

Vegan Simple Pizza Sauce | The Viet Vegan

Eddie: Why don’t you make pizza?

Me: I suck at making pizza.

The thing is, I’ve made dozens of pizza in my lifetime. They haven’t been the most beautiful things, but they’ve tasted good. I’m pretty experienced when it comes to making dough—I know what it’s supposed to feel like but I don’t like rolling it out. That alone has deterred me from making EPIC homemade vegan pizza for the past couple years.

Eddie: You do realize I worked at a pizza place for 5 years right?

I knew this, but totally forgot that this meant that he is a pro at making pizza.

Me: OH MY GOD YES CAN YOU MAKE PIZZA?!

 

Vegan Simple Pizza Sauce | The Viet Vegan

Eddie just laughed at my jolt of excitement as I basically teleported to the kitchen to make the dough. An hour later, dough was risen and ready to go. We started to roll out the pizza dough until Eddie stopped me and asked, “Wait, do you have pizza sauce?”

Me: Yeah, we’ll just use pasta sauce.

Eddie: What? No! This isn’t spaghetti pizza. You need pasta sauce.

It had just hit me then that I’ve always made pizza with pasta sauce, when apparently that’s wrong. I had no idea. He just described all my past pizzas (I’ve made pita pizza and stuffed pizza bomb things before) and he said they just taste like spaghetti sauce—which is totally what it is. It didn’t really occur to me that there was something specific about pizza sauce that was different from pasta sauce.

Eddie looked at a copycat recipe of his old workplace and listed off a bunch of herbs. I picked and chose which ones to put in based on what I had, and came up with this sauce that Eddie tasted and then nodded with approval.

Eddie: See that tastes like pizza sauce.

Vegan Simple Pizza Sauce | The Viet Vegan

I am not a pizza connoisseur, but I liked the way this tasted. It’s really simple, and I’ll admit, it does taste and smell much more pizza-like than the pasta sauce I had been using. It’s surprisingly easy to make because I always have some canned diced tomatoes on hand and I just so happened to have fresh basil in the fridge. You can probably substitute the fresh basil for about 1 tbsp of dried basil, but fresh basil is more fragrant and flavourful than its dried counterpart.

I have an epic pizza recipe coming up with a new and improved pizza dough (you may have seen photos on my Instagram) and hopefully a video to accompany it coming soon. But in the meantime, here’s a simple vegan pizza sauce that is good to have on hand when you want to pizza-fy your favourite carbs. Pizza grilled cheese, zucchini pizza, pizza pockets, naan pizza…

And since that initial night we made our first pizza together, we’ve made several pizzas since. We’re getting better and better, but to be honest, they still look kinda rustic.

Print Recipe

Simple Homemade Vegan Pizza Sauce

Prep Time5 minutes mins
Cook Time30 minutes mins
Total Time35 minutes mins
Servings: 4
Author: Lisa Le

Ingredients

  • 1 can 27 fl. oz/796 mL tomatoes (diced or whole, doesn't matter because you're blending them anyway)
  • 10-15 leaves fresh basil
  • 2 cloves fresh garlic
  • 1 tbsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/4 tsp dried thyme
  • 1/4 tsp red chilli flakes optional
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt add more to taste

Instructions

  • In a blender, combine canned tomatoes (or you could even use fresh), basil, onion powder, garlic, oregano, thyme, chilli flakes (if using) and salt and blend on low until the basil leaves and garlic cloves are small little bits.
  • Transfer to a pot over medium heat and bring to a bubble. Once bubbling, lower to a simmer and cook uncovered until thick and no longer watery (about 30 minutes).
  • Transfer to a clean jar and let cool before storing in the fridge.

Vegan Simple Pizza Sauce | The Viet Vegan

Spread the love:
error
fb-share-icon
Tweet
fb-share-icon

Filed Under: Condiments & Sauces, Gluten-Free, Vegan recipes Tagged With: pizza, sauce, simple, vegan

About Lisa Le

Lisa is the thirty-something, nerdy, procrastinating, feminist blogger and photographer behind The Viet Vegan. She loves spicy foods, noodles, and food in bowls.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. jess says

    May 7, 2016 at 8:54 PM

    I always use (fancier brand) basil pasta sauces (with extra tomato puree added) as pizza sauces lmfao. I’m definitely gonna try and make this next time I make pizza.

    Reply
    • Lisa Le says

      May 9, 2016 at 8:46 PM

      Hahahah SPAGHETTI PIZZA! But that sounds a lot closer to pizza sauce than the straight up pasta sauce I would normally use hahah

      Reply
    • Chai says

      July 15, 2020 at 10:22 PM

      Hi! May I know how long it will last if it is refrigerated?

      Thank you! This is awesome.

      Reply
      • Lisa Le says

        July 16, 2020 at 2:21 PM

        Like a week maximum? I would say safer to say 3-4 days, but we use it up pretty quickly, and freeze larger batches as well.

        Reply
  2. Katy says

    June 12, 2016 at 7:53 PM

    Made this tonight… added a little bit more oregano (because really, how can you go wrong with oregano?) and it was excellent!!! Big win and go-to pizza sauce from now on. Thanks!!!!

    Reply
    • Lisa Le says

      June 13, 2016 at 12:10 AM

      Glad you liked it! Thanks for your feedback (and you’re so right, you can’t go wrong with oregano!)

      Reply
  3. Marcus says

    January 23, 2017 at 9:56 PM

    If using fresh tomatoes, how many would you suggest use and what type of tomato? Roma?

    Reply
    • Lisa Le says

      January 25, 2017 at 7:12 PM

      Roma tomato would be good, use about the same volume as would be in a can of diced tomatoes. When I look online, it’s about 10-12 whole tomatoes :)

      Reply
  4. Catalina Hall says

    May 16, 2017 at 3:43 PM

    Just wondering what the serving size is for this.

    Reply
    • Lisa Le says

      May 16, 2017 at 3:51 PM

      It makes about 3 cups of sauce :) Depends on how saucy you like things, I think I’ve made about 3-4 pizzas with one batch.

      Reply
  5. Marcia says

    July 9, 2017 at 4:14 PM

    We had everything ready to go until we couldn’t find the pizza sauce. Panic set it! I decided to try the Internet and your recipe came up! Let me tell you, we were soooo surprised and delighted at how wonderful your sauce was! Thank you for saving the day. This may have been my first time here, but it won’t be my last!

    Reply
  6. Sandy says

    September 12, 2017 at 2:59 PM

    I use the same recipe for my pizza sauce, but try not cooking it next time. It leaves the pizza lighter and more fresh when you just allow the sauce to cook while the pizza is baking.

    Reply
    • Lisa Le says

      September 14, 2017 at 7:50 PM

      You do you! I find it too dilute in flavour for myself =P

      Reply
  7. Veronica A Moniello says

    August 15, 2021 at 11:34 AM

    Just made it for the first time and it has already become my go to pizza sauce. So easy and delicious!!!!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Welcome!

Lisa

Xin chào! Welcome to my food blog. Thanks for visiting, reading, and enabling my obsession with food and photography.

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

looking for something?

Get recipes straight to your inbox!

Subscribe

* indicates required

Recipe index sidebar

Soup Season eBook

Soup Season ebook cover
Vietnamese recipe index button

Vegan Fish Sauce

nuoc cham with vegan fish sauce bottle, surrounded by lime, garlic, and chili pepper

Footer

recipe index

Looking for something?

Find me in other places :)

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Find me on YouTube!

TVV logo

Copyright© 2025 · The Viet Vegan · All rights reserved

  • Recipe Index
  • Privacy Policy
  • Work With Me
  • Press