Pizza is a popular menu item at our house. If it was up to my husband, we would have pizza for dinner 7 nights a week. Probably for lunch too. During the colder winter months, pizza makes an appearance on our plates at least once a week. Usually on the weekends. Over the years I’ve learned some short-cuts to make pizza night a piece of cake… er, pie.

While I haven’t been able to nail the recipe for a super tasty gluten free crust (I’ve tried a few, but it’s still a project on my to-do list), I keep it as nutritious as possible with a blend of organic unbleached all-purpose and whole wheat flour. We load on the veggies, of course, and sometimes sprinkle with Daiya or Follow Your Heart vegan mozzarella (and ocassionally this homemade mock-zarella). And we always, always use this easy “homemade” sauce.

This sauce is basically the cheater’s version of “homemade” pizza sauce. I don’t see myself embarking on an all day cook-down of a giant vat of fresh tomatoes anytime soon, but when I do you’ll all be the first to know about it! I much prefer this super simple, open-a-couple-cans-and-pour method. You can customize the spices according to your preference, and it’s so easy to double or even triple the batch, freeze the sauce in bags, and have healthy pizza sauce ready to go for months! Or a few weeks if you live at our house.

Veggie pizza topped with spinach and balsamic glaze

You might be wondering why I even go to the trouble of making my own sauce when there are plenty of pre-made pizza sauces on the market. Like, duh Larice, haven’t you ever been down the tomato sauce aisle? Well I have, and quite frankly I’m underwhelmed. It’s slim pickings for organic pizza sauces at our grocery store, and even the organic ones have added sugar. Why, why, why??? Pizza sauce, in my humble opinion, does not need sugar. I promise you won’t miss it at all. Save that sweetener for something more fun, like my double chocolate pecan brownie cookies, for instance. If you can find one without sugar, then chances are it has added oil, which isn’t a huge deal if it’s a good quality olive oil, but once again, not necessary for a yummy sauce. The last reason I like to make my own, is that it’s cheaper, and that’s a buck or two you saved can go towards, say, buying a bar of dark chocolate for those pecan brownie cookies I was talking about. You know, just an idea.

So here I am on paragraph number five and my plan was just to throw this idea at you, short and sweet, just like the recipe itself. Once again my wordiness took over and here I am blabbing away at you. As always, feel free to play around with spices, and dried herbs to make this your very own. I make it different every time, but this is a good basic starting point. Here’s to happy homemade pizza nights!

Easy No Cook Pizza Sauce (organic, oil-free, sugar-free, vegan)

Adapted from this recipe

• 1 – 15 oz can organic tomato sauce
• 1 – 6 oz can organic tomato paste
• 1 large garlic clove, pressed*
• 1 scant tablespoon of Italian blend seasoning
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• dash or two of cayenne and/or red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1/4 – 1/2 tsp sea salt (optional but I always add it)
• splash of water if you want it a little thinner

Instructions:

So easy, just stir everything together in a big bowl. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. I can usually get about 3 pizzas worth out of one batch, depending on pizza size. Freeze the rest, or use within 5 days. Store in the fridge.

* IF you have time or want to take the time, run this through the blender for the smoothest sauce. I don’t usually do this, but if you don’t have a garlic press or if you don’t want chunks, then give it a whirl in your blender.