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The Spruce Eats / Amelia Manley
Before you reach for the jar of marinara sauce in your cabinet on pizza night, there’s something you should know: Pizza sauce and pasta sauce are not the same thing. Sure, they’re close—and interchangeable in a pinch—but there is an inherent difference. Pizza sauce is essentially an uncooked tomato sauce; pasta sauce is typically low-simmered to develop a deeper flavor. The lack of precooking ensures pizza sauce has a bright, tomato-forward taste.
That said, you don't need to rely on garden-fresh tomatoes for a killer pizza sauce to compliment your homemade dough and fresh cheese. Today, there are plenty of no-fuss store-bought options that taste just as good. Each has its own unique flavors and textures, from chunky to smooth or sweet to tangy, and you only need about 0.5 cups (or 4 ounces) of sauce per 12-inch pizza, so you will likely have some left over for another fresh, homemade pie.
Best Overall
Don Pepino Pizza Sauce
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AMAZON
If you're going to go with one sauce, go with a classic made from Jersey-Fresh tomatoes. Don Pepino's pizza sauce, which has a total of just five ingredients—tomatoes, corn oil, salt, spices, and garlic powder—is free from some of the extra ingredients you sometimes find in store-bought products, including preservatives, starches, artificial sugar, added color, gums, and citric acid, and isn't watery or overly chunky. This makes for a consistent and flavorful pizza sauce.
Finally, the sauce is packaged in a fun, retro-looking can that’s easier to store than big, bulky glass jars. It has a pull tab, so you don't need to rummage through your drawer looking for the can opener. The 14.5-ounce cans offer enough sauce for about three large homemade pizzas, but of course that depends on your sauce preference—if you like more sauce than the typical 0.5-cup per 12-inch pizza, you should stock up on more cans, and if you like less sauce then you will probably have some left over for other things like a dipping sauce for garlic bread or mozzarella sticks.
Price at time of publish: $2 per 14.5-ounce can
Serving Size: 0.25 cup | Calories Per Serving: 40 | Sodium: 125 milligrams | Total Sugar: 3 grams
Best Jarred
Ragú Homemade Style Pizza Sauce
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Amazon
Just because you’re looking to keep your grocery bill in check, doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice quality. Look no further than Ragú’s Homemade Style Pizza Sauce. Each 14-ounce jar in this four-pack yields plenty of smooth and thick sauce for more than a handful of pies yet rings in at less than a couple of dollars per bottle. Still, the flavor and the consistency are comparable to other pizza sauces. This is mostly thanks to the fact that, like other great pizza sauces, the formula hinges on vine-ripened tomatoes, olive oil, and spices—not much else. There are also no artificial flavors, added colors, or high fructose corn syrup.
Price at time of publish: $2 per 14-ounce jar
Serving Size: 0.25 cup | Calories Per Serving: 30 | Sodium: 260 milligrams | Total Sugar: 3 grams
Best Canned
Stanislaus Full Red Fully Prepared Pizza Sauce
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Amazon
Stanislaus has been in business for 80 years, and has since perfected the art of canned store-bought pizza sauce. The slightly chunky sauce is made from California-grown tomatoes along with virgin olive oil, sunflower oil, salt, black pepper, basil, oregano, and garlic for a fresh-tasting ingredient in your next pizza pie at home.
Although it is pricier than other pizza sauces on this list, this can is gigantic—weighing almost 7 pounds. That is bigger than any other pizza sauce on this list and means there are a lot of fresh, homemade pizzas in your future! After opening, it is easy to store the rest of the sauce in a mason jar or another glass storage container to help make it last a while.
Price at time of publish: $11 per 106.87-ounce can
Serving Size: 0.25 cup | Calories Per Serving: 35 | Sodium: 250 milligrams | Total Sugar: 3 grams
Best Organic
Otamot Organic Pizza Sauce
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Amazon
If you're looking for an organic pizza sauce, Otamot's option is one to try. It is not only made with organic vine-ripened tomatoes, sweet onion, extra virgin olive oil, basil, garlic, white balsamic vinegar, and salt but additional veggies like sweet potato, carrot, butternut squash, red bell pepper, and red beet. Not to worry—all those hidden veggies don't stand a chance against the traditional tomato flavor.
Otamot's name is quite literally "tomato" spelled backward! This means your pizza will still taste authentic while also having a nutritional kick. The jar is slightly smaller than others on this list, but it isn't expensive and we still recommend it based on its contents.
Price at time of publish: $6 per 12-ounce can
Serving Size: 0.25 cup | Calories Per Serving: 60 | Sodium: 115 milligrams | Total Sugar: 3 grams
Best Chunky
Williams Sonoma San Marzano Pizza Sauce
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Williams Sonoma
This pizza sauce is unique because it gets its sweet and delightful flavor from the world-renowned San Marzano tomatoes—a variety of plum tomato known to be well-balanced and nuanced in flavor. Beyond the tomatoes, the ingredient list is abbreviated—extra-virgin olive oil, sea salt, basil, black pepper, and citric acid—to let that natural flavor shine through.
The consistency is spot on, too. The sauce is thick and slightly chunky, but consistent. You won’t get large hunks in some spots and a thin sauce in others. Instead, it spreads beautifully, so each bite is just right. The jar itself is also a few ounces larger than others, so even though it is more expensive, you are getting more.
Price at time of publish: $17 per 18-ounce jar
Serving Size: 2 tablespoons | Calories Per Serving: 30 | Sodium: 150 milligrams | Total Sugar: 5 grams
Best Vodka
Paesana New York’s Vodka Pizza Sauce
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Amazon
Head to a pizzeria in New York City and you’ll likely find a pizza with vodka sauce and large, thick cuts of mozzarella on the menu. Don’t book a plane ticket, though, because you can also make this at home. Pasta and pizza sauce brand Paesana makes vodka pizza sauce packed with tomatoes, heavy cream, fresh onion, olive oil, parmesan, romano cheese, garlic, salt, basil, and of course, vodka. It comes in 8.5-ounce jars the company argues is a single serving for one 16-inch pizza. We think you may or may not use it all for one pie, but if you don’t the resealable cap keeps it fresh for later.
The sauce itself is produced in New York and is creamy with a slight kick. If you prefer more spice, sprinkle some chili flakes on top or into the sauce. Otherwise, you’ll taste a smooth, tanginess on a homemade vodka pizza.
Price at time of publish: $6 per 8.5-ounce jar
Serving Size: 0.25 cup | Calories Per Serving: 70 | Sodium: 290 milligrams | Total Sugar: 2 grams
Best White
June Moon Spice Company White Garlic Pizza Sauce
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Amazon
Every crowd-favorite pizzeria has more than just tomato sauce on the menu, even in Italy. Besides just switching things up during your next pizza night at home, we like this option because it is mayonnaise-based. Yes, that sounds strange and not Italian at all, but it allows for as much customization as you’d like. There is parmesan in the ingredients, along with olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper, but this 12-ounce bottle is absent of any other type of cheese. It does have a strong parmesan flavor but allows the pizza chef to not only control how much sauce is on the pie, but how much and what types of cheese to sprinkle or place on top.
The company takes great pride in its almost 20-year-old family recipe that creates a thick, savory sauce that you can use for pizza but also pasta, salads, toast, and more. We recommend pairing your homemade white pizza with a lighter wine like Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc.
Price at time of publish: $12 per 12-ounce jar
Serving Size: 1 tablespoon | Calories Per Serving: 80 | Sodium: 200 milligrams | Total Sugar: <1 gram
Best Keto
Rao's Homemade Pizza Sauce
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Amazon
Rao’s Homemade Pizza Sauce is a premium product that’s a better fit than most for the health-minded consumer. One of the sauces with the lowest amount of sugar, this slow-simmered sauce is bursting with flavors, thanks to a combination of whole peeled tomatoes and Italian cherry tomatoes, as well as olive oil, Italian spices, and a medley of fresh vegetables like carrots and onions. And, like other great sauces, the consistency is nice and thick so it spreads evenly and plentifully atop pizza dough. One jar is enough for about three pizzas, too, so you can try it with all kinds of toppings.
Price at time of publish: $5 per 13-once jar
Serving Size: 0.25 cup | Calories Per Serving: 40 | Sodium: 170 milligrams | Total Sugar: 2 grams
Best No Sugar Added
Yo Mama's Classic Pizza Sauce
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Amazon
There are just 10 ingredients in this store-bought pizza sauce, and not a single one is sugar. Although many types of tomatoes have a sweeter taste, sometimes products will contain sugar or other sweeteners to try and mimic the natural stuff.
Yo Mama's pizza sauce contains fresh non-GMO tomatoes, onions, garlic, olive oil, oregano, basil, salt, black pepper, natural spices, and balsamic vinegar for a smooth, fresh sauce the company guarantees you will love, or it will refund your purchase. Although sugar helps cut the acidic taste of tomato sauce, there's not a problem here thanks to the sweet basil.
One 12.5-ounce jar can make up to around 6 pizzas, depending on how much sauce you use. If you have more you can store it in the jar or another glass container, or you could even freeze it to keep it fresh much longer.
Price at time of publish: $6 per 12.5-ounce jar
Serving Size: 0.25 cup | Calories Per Serving: 30 | Sodium: 50 milligrams | Total Sugar: 1 gram
Best for Kids
Contadina Pizza Squeeze Original Pizza Sauce
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Amazon
Making pizza is one of the most fun family activities you can do in the kitchen, but there’s a price to pay: It can be a very, very messy endeavor. This pizza sauce really shines because it comes in an easy-to-use squeeze bottle. Rather than fiddle with spoons that inevitably lead to spills, kids can get a good grip on the packaging and squeeze sauce right where it needs to be. We love this because it means less work and cleaning later.
It’s not all about convenience, though. The budget-friendly sauce tastes great, has a desirable consistency, is packaged in the USA, and is non-GMO.
Price at time of publish: $2 per 15-ounce bottle
Serving Size: 0.25 cup | Calories Per Serving: 30 | Sodium: 340 milligrams | Total Sugar: 3 grams
Don Pepino Pizza Sauce is an overwhelmingly popular choice because it will help you recreate your favorite slice at home. For an organic and jarred option, we recommend Otamot Organic Pizza Sauce.
What to Look for in Store-Bought Pizza Sauces
Ingredients
As with most products, your best bet is usually an item with a shorter ingredient list. Most sauces will start with a tomato base and include spices, oil, and a preservative. "I would avoid sauces with lots of unknown ingredients," says Frank Linn, owner/chef of Frankly Pizza in Kensington, Maryland. "If you can't pronounce it, you may not want to eat it. Sauces with the least amount of ingredients are best."
Type of Sauce
The type of sauce you choose can dramatically change the type of pizza you’ll be having for dinner. Are you looking for a white pizza? You’ll want to look for a cream-based/white sauce. Are you hoping to make a margarita pizza? You’ll want a classic tomato sauce with just a little bit if sweetness. In the mood for a pesto pizza? You’ll want to shop for pre-made pestos instead.
Sodium
Sodium can often be on the higher end when it comes to pre-packaged foods, so you’ll want to check that nutrition facts panel before adding the pizza sauce to your cart. It's good to be aware of how much added salt is already in the sauce, so you can be careful and not add too much extra salt later when you’re assembling the pizza (many popular pizza toppings can be high in sodium too!).
FAQs
How can you make store-bought pizza sauce better?
According to Linn, you can spruce up your store-bought pizza sauce with other ingredients you likely already have in your kitchen, "such as dried herbs and spices, things like red pepper flakes, dried oregano, dried basil, or maybe some garlic or onion powder." He warns against using garlic salt, however, "because sometimes the store-bought sauces already contain a lot of sodium."
Can you freeze store-bought pizza sauce?
Yes, you should have no problem freezing any extra pizza sauce you have on hand, says Linn.
Can you use store-bought alfredo sauce instead of pizza sauce?
When it comes to trying other sauces on your pizza, Linn says to "experiment away!" Whether it’s alfredo sauce or getting creative with different cheeses (Linn suggests Gruyere or Parmesan), pizza is a relatively forgiving dish and it’s hard to go wrong.
How We Researched
To compile this list, our team of editors and contributors spent hours researching the best store-bought pizza sauces on the market, evaluating their key features—like ingredients, style, and price—in addition to reviews from customers and other trusted sources.
Why Trust The Spruce Eats?
This roundup was written by Brigitt Earley, who has written and edited food content for various publications over the course of the last 10 years. She also holds a culinary degree from the French Culinary Institute.
This roundup was updated by Alyssa Langer, who is a registered dietitian and foodie, always curious about the next food or ingredient craze and hungry to learn and try more. Having worked in cookbook publishing, CPG label data, nutrition writing, and meal kits, her diverse background and varied interests provide a unique perspective that fosters clear, well-researched, and trustworthy reviews. She updated this story to include the best products and their information.
Amanda McDonald is an editor at The Spruce Eats and has over seven years of experience researching, writing, and editing about all things food — from what new products are at the grocery store to chef-approved hacks that keep tricky leftovers fresh for days. She also updated this article to include the most up-to-date information.
Sources
- Frank Linn, owner/chef of Frankly Pizza in Kensington, Maryland
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