EASY NO-COOK PIZZA SAUCE (plus how to make stovetop tortilla pizza)

This easy no-cook pizza sauce can be whipped up within minutes. All you need are some simple pantry ingredients, thirty minutes of resting time, and you are just few short steps away from eating a restaurant-worthy pizza at home.

One thing I haven’t shared on my blog yet, is that my family has been in the pizza business for over 25 years. When I was in my last year of high school, my parents bought a small, well-established, mom-and-pop pizza shop. Little did we know the work that lied ahead.

All of a sudden, we had a huge responsibility on our shoulders. We quickly learned that we were not allowed to fail. We had to make it work in order to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. All five of us – my parents, my two younger brothers, and I – worked around the clock to keep the business going.

Over time, we had built the business from the ground up. Our hard work started paying off. We started hearing from our customers that we made the best pizza in town. The same friendly faces kept coming back each week. We got to know our regular customers on a personal basis, and we always got new ones through referrals and word of mouth. Our business didn’t feel like a business anymore, but more like a home with a growing family.

One of the first things that my parents perfected was the pizza crust, which is still made the same way by my brother and my sister-in-law, who have since taken over the family business. The dough is made fresh daily and is never frozen. The bottom crust bakes up thin and crispy, and the thick crust handle is crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside.

Years ago, after watching an episode of America’s Test Kitchen, where Christoper Kimball visits DiFara Pizza in Brooklyn, it dawned on me that our humble Canadian-Made Italian pizza is similar to a New York style pizza. If you have ever made America’s Test Kitchen Pizza Crust recipe, then you would have an idea of what ours is like. 😉

Now, over the years, I have always heard that for a good pizza, you have to have a good pizza crust. I agree, but I will add that a great pizza sauce will take it beyond extraordinary.

Let me explain what I mean. Our customers have always raved about our pizza sauce. Quite a few have even repeatedly asked for the recipe. An old friend suggested that we sell it in jars with our name on it. The only criticism I heard years ago when my parents first started, was that the sauce was not spicy or hot enough, like a certain competitor. Back then, I simply nodded my head and thanked her for her feedback. When I look back, I should have replied that not everybody likes a spicy sauce. 😉

My parents continued using the same recipe for years. When I was 19 years old, my dad showed me how he made it. It was just a simple concoction of everyday ingredients that made our pizza taste sooooo delicious, that is was almost addictive. No, strike that. It was addictive back then and it is still addictive to this day!

Now, that day that my father showed me, he also made me promise to never share our recipe – and to this day I have kept that promise. So, the recipe I’m sharing today isn’t our secret family recipe, but another version that is still wonderfully flavourful and restaurant-worthy.

In all of my tomato sauce recipes, I always stress that using a good quality tomato sauce should come from a glass jar. For a pizza sauce, however, I recommend that you use a sauce that is either canned or in a Tetra-Pak. I find that it doesn’t have as much water content, like the one in a jar. If the sauce is too runny (whether from freshly pureed tomatoes or from a jar), it should then be cooked down a bit until thickened, and completely cooled before adding the dried ingredients. Reducing it, though, would defeat the ease of this recipe. 😉

When it comes to seasoning, the ingredient list is minimal. In this recipe, the sauce is seasoned simply with dried basil and garlic powdered, and balanced out with a teaspoon each of salt and sugar. Only fresh herbs go into my cooked sauces and pestos, but I find that dried herbs add more flavour to a non-cooked sauce. A good amount of garlic powder gives the right amount of heat (or kick) without addition of hot peppers. This is great for little ones who love to eat pizza but don’t like spicy foods.

The best part about this pizza sauce is that there is no cooking involved! Stir the ingredients together and let it sit for half an hour for the ingredients to mingle. It can also be made one or two days before using, and stored in the fridge. The sauce will thicken up (as shown in the pictures above) but that is totally normal. Just stir and use as needed. 🙂

Sometimes the simplest things are the best things in life. No peeling, no chopping, no cooking. This recipe is ridiculously quick and easy to prepare. This has been my go-to pizza sauce for over a year and everyone who has tried it have only raved about it.

Give it a try and find out for yourself. Use it in the tortilla pizza recipe below. This is how I usually prepare tortilla pizzas for my boys and they go crazy over them. Each of them will devour an entire pizza and sometimes ask for seconds. 🙂

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HOW TO MAKE STOVETOP TORTILLA PIZZA

Who doesn’t love an ultra thin crispy pizza? My kids simply adore this meal! Their little faces light up the moment they find out I am making it for them. They could eat this every day, if I would let them. 😉

This is so easy to prepare and it comes together in minutes, which is great for a weeknight meal! This is also a great alternative for those who are watching their carb intake.

Choose a tortilla – white, whole wheat, or multi-grain – that best fits the diameter inside your frying pan or skillet. The ones I usually buy are 25 cm or 10 inches in diameter. Preheat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat, and then lightly toast one side of a tortilla for a minute or two, but make sure not to let it brown. The pan I always use is non-stick, but a cast iron pan would work just as well.

Place the toasted-side-up on a dinner plate and top with 2 heaping tablespoons of pizza sauce. This is already a generous amount, but I wouldn’t go too heavy on the sauce, though. You want the ingredients to heat through quickly without burning the bottom of the tortilla.

Next, sprinkle a couple of handfuls of mozzarella cheese,  or just a little more than a half cup that is not packed in. As much as I love cheese, I wouldn’t over do it here either. Again, you want the ingredients to heat through quickly without burning the bottom of the tortilla.

Slide the tortilla (the un-toasted side) into the hot pan and cover tightly with a lid that fits the diameter of the pan. This creates a “mini stovetop oven“, containing the heat inside, which in turn will melt the cheese. The timing will depend on how hot your stove is and how heavy-bottomed your pan is. Check the bottom of the tortilla once in a while, to see how dark it gets. If it’s browning too quickly, simply turn down the heat or move it to a small burner (I do this with my gas stove).

The pizza is ready when the cheese has melted and the bottom is nicely browned. There are times when I remove the pizza from the pan and the cheese is not completely melted. I simply nuke the tortilla pizza for 10-15 seconds to further melt the cheese. This will not affect the crust in any way.

I like to finish off the tortilla pizza with fresh torn basil leaves and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. If you prefer to add other toppings, then cook them beforehand. Fry up some sliced salami, pepperoni, sliced chicken or ground meat … or saute some garlic bell peppers and/or mushrooms. Onions? Fry them till they are golden around the edges or gently cook them till they are translucent. The possibilities are endless! Be creative or simply use leftovers in the fridge. 🙂

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OVEN METHOD:

Now, if you prefer the oven method, here is how to do it…

Prepare the tortillas with the same quantities as mentioned above, and bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius / 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 to 8 minutes or until the cheese has turned golden. Slice, serve and enjoy!

Thanks for reading and buon appetito!!!

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EASY NO-COOK PIZZA SAUCE
(Printable Recipe)

This easy no-cook pizza sauce can be whipped up within minutes. All you need are some simple pantry ingredients, thirty minutes of resting time, and you are just few short steps away from eating a restaurant-worthy pizza at home.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (500g or 500 ml) tomato puree or pomodoro passato
• 2 tbsp dried basil
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar

Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and let it sit for half an hour at room temperature before using on your favourite pizza dough.

2. The sauce can be made in advance and refrigerated. The sauce will thicken up, but simply stir before using. If necessary, adjust the salt.

3. This recipe makes a little over 2 cups or enough for two large pizzas.

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Inspired by our secret family recipe 🙂

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