# Italian Pizza Sauce, No Cooking Required

> Authentic Neapolitan pizza sauce is **not cooked at all** — whole tinned tomatoes crushed by hand with salt, olive oil and basil. The sauce cooks on top of the dough in the oven, and pre-cooking it means it cooks twice and loses its freshness.

**Italian Cuisine · 10 min · 8 servings · 45 kcal per serving**

The biggest surprise for anyone making pizza for the first time is that authentic Italian sauce has no cooking method at all. Four ingredients mixed by hand — the oven does the rest.

## Ingredients

- 800 g — whole tinned tomatoes
- 2 tbsp — extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp — salt
- 1 small bunch — fresh basil
- 1 clove — garlic
- 1 pinch — sugar
- 1 pinch — black pepper

## Method

1. **Choose the tomatoes** — Use **whole tinned tomatoes**, not passata or paste. Ready-crushed tomatoes have already been cooked; whole ones keep their acidity and fresh flavour.
2. **Drain the excess juice** — Pour off half the juice in the tin. Extra liquid makes the sauce loose and soaks into the pizza base from below.
3. **Crush by hand** — Crush the tomatoes **by hand in a bowl** until they are in small uneven pieces. A blender incorporates air, turning the colour pale orange instead of red and leaving a foamy texture.
4. **Season** — Add the salt, olive oil and a pinch of sugar if the tomatoes are sharp, and stir. Tear the basil by hand rather than cutting it — a knife blackens it.
5. **Rest** — Leave it for **at least 30 minutes** before use so the flavours settle. It keeps four days in the fridge and freezes for three months.

## Tips

- Crush by hand, not in a blender — a blender aerates the sauce, lightens its colour and leaves it foamy.
- Whole tinned tomatoes, not passata — passata has already been cooked and tastes heavy.
- Tear the basil by hand; a metal knife blackens the cut edges.
- Draining half the juice stops the base going soggy underneath.

## FAQ

### Why is the sauce not cooked?
Because it cooks on the pizza in a very hot oven. Pre-cooking means it is cooked twice, so it loses its freshness and ends up tasting heavy, like a pasta sauce.

### Can I use fresh tomatoes?
In season, if they are very ripe: blanch, peel, crush and drain them. But good tinned tomatoes are more reliable in flavour all year round.

### Why is there no garlic in the original?
Classic Neapolitan pizza sauce is tomato, salt, basil and oil only. Garlic is a common and perfectly acceptable American addition, but it is not in the original.

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Source: https://hanakoleah.com/en/italian-cuisine/no-cook-italian-pizza-sauce
Edited by: Marwa Mohamed
Last updated: 2026-10-29