Can You Use Marinara Sauce for Homemade Pizza?

When making homemade pizza, one of the most important steps is adding the sauce. There are numerous sauce options to choose from for your pizza. You can also make your own using tomato paste and puree.

While tomato isn’t the only sauce you can choose for your pizza, you should probably try several different ones before getting too creative.

You might find yourself in that position already. If you’re reading this article, you are probably thinking about trying marinara for your pizza sauce.

As one of the most common tomato sauces available in store and as one of the quicker, easier ones to make from home, you can bet the marinara is a sensible choice for creating a delicious homemade pizza in less than an hour.

That said, you’re worried because you’ve never used marinara on your pizza before. Should you even do that? What if the sauce soaks into the dough or ruins the flavor of the other ingredients?

Can you use Marinara Sauce for Pizza?

Yes. This sauce is perfect for pizza and is delicious with almost any toppings you choose, from beef to anchovies – it works.

There are still some things you should know about marinara sauce and pizza before you rush off to get started. Read on to find those out.

What is Marinara Sauce?

Marinara Sauce combines flavors from ingredients like garlic, crushed red peppers, basil, and sometimes oregano. Don’t forget the tomatoes, of course!

It is used as a pasta sauce and is sometimes known as spaghetti sauce. You will often find it in use on bread in meatball marinara subs or hoagies.

Related: Best Substitute for Marinara Sauce

The texture is semi-smooth with a bit of thickness from some of the ingredients, making it ideal for a wide range of recipes, including pizza.

Marinara Sauce for Pizza

You should ensure that your marinara sauce is the right consistency for pizza. One of the most significant issues you can run into when using marinara as a pizza base sauce is thickness.

You want your marinara sauce to be thick enough that it isn’t watery, but it shouldn’t be so thick that you feel like you’re biting through bits of pulp.

Also, if the dough is too crispy and not soft enough, the sauce will sit on top of the pizza preventing any flavor from making its way into the dough itself.

Homemade Marinara Sauce Recipe For Pizza

Try out our recipe for enough marinara sauce for a standard 12-inch pizza.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of crushed plum tomatoes
  • 1/4 chopped onion
  • 1/2 diced red pepper
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1-2 teaspoons of dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon of olive oil

Instructions:

Add olive oil to the pan and add in garlic once the oil has warmed a little. Once the garlic is starting to cook, add in your peppers, onions, and basil. Next, add in tomatoes as required and allow to simmer. 

Taste test the sauce and add in salt as needed.

How do you thicken marinara sauce for pizza?

If you need to thicken up your marinara sauce toward the end of the cooking process, you can add a little all-purpose flour or a small amount of potato starch. Add a little at a time and as you gradually stir while the sauce continues to simmer.