This Pizza Sauce Recipe is just like the Robust-inspired tomato sauce on Dominos Pizza! It’s rich in flavor, thick, and so delicious! I’m thrilled to share this copycat pizza sauce because it really does taste like the tomato sauce from Dominos!
When tomato season is at its peak you make homemade recipes to can and use later. This marinara sauce recipe is one of my favorites for canning season and tastes so much like a Pizza Hut sauce! Now I have a robust inspired tomato sauce that will make any pizza taste amazing! (P.S. you can use this tomato sauce like any spaghetti sauce recipe for all your favorite pasta dishes!)
Homemade Pizza Sauce
Get ready for an exciting recipe! For all my canning peeps, this pizza sauce will be a huge hit! This Pizza sauce recipe was worth every effort to make homemade! It’s a flavorful tomato sauce with savory herbs and is perfectly thick tart, and a little sweet just like Domions pizza sauce!
I’m a sauce connoisseur! I love recreating some of my favorite sauces from scratch! If you haven’t known, we love recreating restaurant favorites from alfredo sauce to homemade Dominos pizza we just love it! Happily, our readers also give us amazing feedback on our copycat recipes so I’m not the only one to judge.
This tomato sauce got approved by my husband when we were taste testing it, during the making. He just couldn’t tell a difference anymore! I literally had Domino’s Pizza sauce side-by-side when developing this recipe and kept adjusting it to achieve the real thing!
I’ve been blessed with so many fresh tomatoes this year, I have room to experiment with sauces! See the Heinz ketchup recipe we recently posted for more tomato inspiration!
Pizza sauce from fresh tomatoes is the best way to use up garden ingredients and incorporate wholesome food. Domino’s Pizza uses tomato puree which is a processed tomato product known as tomato paste and water. Since the liquid from our tomatoes is substantial to dilute our paste we’re packing our pizza sauce with as many nutrients as possible! Our tomatoes are not sprayed or chemically processed which makes it the best pizza sauce!
How To Make Pizza Sauce Recipe
Pizza Sauce can be made with tomato paste or other canned tomato products known as diced tomatoes, tomato juice, tomato sauce, etc… Either form of tomatoes needs to be pureed if crushed or whole for a smooth sauce consistency. I personally love to make pizza sauce from fresh tomatoes that I puree to make thick tomato juice or pulp. If you don’t have access to fresh tomatoes buy bulk tomato products to make this tomato recipe at home.
Once you have tomatoes you want a 24-quart stockpot to simmer your tomato sauce and herbs. Keep in mind this is a canned pizza sauce recipe so you’ll need some pint jars to can the sauce afterward. The beauty of canned foods is that once they seal you have it all year round from wholesome ingredients! Unlimited homemade pizzas too!
Robust Inspired Tomato Sauce
Domino’s Robust-inspired tomato sauce is rich in flavor and has a slight kick from black pepper and crushed pepper flakes. I knew it was savory and peppery from trying! Domino’s Pizza recipe is simple.
Their ingredient list is too which are: tomato puree, sugar, salt, spices, garlic, oil, and citric acid. I typically like to use fresh onions and bell peppers for pizza sauces like Marinara but this time I only stuck to fresh garlic and tomatoes to replicate accordingly. I’ve never made a pizza sauce with vinegar which is a milder citric acid. But it’s what gives the robust flavorful attribute to pizza sauce and is found in other pizza sauce brands too.
I love that it’s easy enough to make a big batch and you’re not cooking down any onions or peppers. I’ve been a believer that mass-production foods have it easy to maintain such quantity and this fits the criteria (if you’re familiar with canning.) If you have never canned anything, I want to tell you it’s not as complex as it may seem. You just need some handy equipment to make canning easier and some produce!
Q&A
How To Make Pizza Sauce with Tomato Sauce?
For the best pizza sauce use fresh tomatoes! However, to make pizza sauce with canned tomato products measure out any pureed tomatoes to the same amount. Be sure to check the labels to make sure no additional salt or herbs were added. Adding tomato paste to pureed tomatoes helps thicken the sauce.
- To make pizza sauce: combine all the tomato pulp, spices, oil, and vinegar. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
- Simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally to prevent the bottom from scorching.
- Pour into pint jars. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
What’s In Domino’s Pizza sauce? The main ingredients found in their Robust Inspired Tomato Sauce: is tomato puree (water and tomato paste), sugar, salt, spices, garlic, oil, and citric acid.
Notes:
*To sterilize jars I wash them under very hot tap water and place them upside down on towels to drain. They don’t have to be dry to hot pack (fill.)
*Lids have sealed correctly if you press down the center of the lid and you hear no popping or clicking. It will just feel like the lid vacuumed shut. You can unscrew the bands before placing them on the shelf to re-use them for other recipes.
Pizza Sauce vs Pasta Sauce?
The difference between pizza sauce and pasta sauce is that pizza sauce is cooked on pizza pies, whereas pasta sauce is tossed with noodles such as pasta. Both tomato products are cooked and then processed into jars or cans. Pasta sauce can be slightly runnier and not as thick as pizza sauce. Pizza sauce can be seasoned simply as additional toppings are typically added to a pizza. Oftentimes, pasta sauces are additionally flavored with mushrooms or meat sauce to enhance dishes like pasta.
Ingredients Needed?
Pizza Sauce takes minutes to combine together! The flavors then get simmered. Here’s what you need:
- Tomatoes- fresh or canned tomato sauce. Products like diced tomatoes, whole plum tomatoes, and crushed tomatoes can be used if pureed.
- Sugar- sweetens the tomato sauce.
- Salt- essential.
- Spices- and herbs like Italian seasoning, black pepper, dried parsley, oregano, and red chili flakes.
- Garlic- fresh crushed garlic is best since a lot of herbs are already used. Dried garlic will work.
- Oil- Domino’s uses soybean oil which is what I used.
- Citric acid- Vinegar is mild like citric acid, and gives a similar sour taste. Citric acid is stronger. To substitute triple the vinegar for citric acid in recipes.
Storing?
This Homemade pizza sauce is preserved by canning for longer shelf life. Once you open a jar of homemade sauce it can last for a month in the refrigerator.
Canned Shelf-Life: Canned tomato sauce can keep for years in a dark cool area if it has been sealed correctly.
Storing pizza sauce in the refrigerator once opened: Keep in the fridge for up to 2 months. Keep water away and avoid sauce sitting out all night.
For the most recent food preservation facts on canned Ketchup visit this Preparing and Canning Tomatoes article.
How To Sterilize Canning Jars?
There are a few ways to have ready-to-use jars for canning. Sterilizing jars is just a matter of getting the jars hot to prevent them from bursting when you add hot food. Plus you’re cleaning them at the same time.
- Run jars through a dishwasher before you begin canning. The dishwasher does the washing and heats them hot.
- Wash or rinse jars with hot tap water. (My method.)
- Place clean jars on a sheet pan and heat in the oven.
Home Canning Tools:
With the right knowledge and some kitchen equipment, canning can become an easy task! Here is what you’ll need:
- 8-9 Quart Sized Mason jars, with rings, and lids. Smaller pint jars will yield more.
- Jar lifter and funnel to carefully transfer the hot jars and liquid.
- Oven-Mittens or thick kitchen towel.
- 42-quart stockpot for a water bath. (Same exact one I own!)
- 24-quart stockpot for cooking tomato sauce and other sauces!
- Food Mill or Hand Blender
How Many Tomatoes Make 2 Gallons of Tomato Juice?
8 quarts of pureed tomatoes make 2 gallons of tomato pulp.
Can you reuse Canning Lids?
If the lids are not damaged, you can reuse the lids. I like to place my used lids into a saucepan and bring it to a boil to ensure they sterilize properly and heat back into shape. Avoid dented, bulged, or damaged lids. If lids fail to seal always toss them.
How To Know if My Canning Lids Sealed?
To Check if lids are sealed: when you push in the middle of the lid, it should not pop up and down. If you hear a pop or a clicking sound the seal did not form and the jar needs to be used up or refrigerated. Properly sealed pickles can last years!
For the most current canning guideline on pickles from the National Center For Home Food Preservation check out these resources for canning in this canning guideline article.
Citric Acid vs Vinegar?
Vinegar is mild like citric acid and gives a similar sour taste. Citric acid is stronger. To substitute triple the vinegar for citric acid in recipes.
Tips for Canning Pizza Sauce:
- Freeze fresh tomatoes to drain the excess liquid after thawing. This gives you thicker tomato pulp, or just simmer tomato sauce longer to thicken sauce if using fresh tomatoes.
- Make your own blend of Italian seasoning to control which spices you want for your pizza sauce.
- Can in pint jars so you don’t have excess pizza sauce sitting around for too long.
- Black pepper and cayenne pepper add a robust flavor!
More Tomato Recipes:
- Ukrainian Pickled Tomatoes (Canned)
- Canned Ketchup Recipe (Heinz Copycat)
- Canned Marinara Sauce
- Easy Tomato Soup Recipe
How To Make Pizza Sauce:
Pizza Sauce Recipe (Domino's Copycat)
Equipment
- 24-quart stockpot
- 21-pint jars and lids with bands.
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 8 quarts thick tomato juice (*pureed fresh tomatoes)
- 1 cup oil
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/3 cup salt
- 3 Tbsp dried parsley
- 4 Tbsp oregano flakes
- 5 Tbsp Italian seasoning
- 2 Tbsp red pepper flakes
- 3 Tbsp black pepper (ground)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 cups white distilled vinegar
- 96 oz tomato paste 8 (12-ounce cans)
Instructions
Instructions:
- To make pizza sauce: combine all the ingredients into a large 24-quart stockpot
- Simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally to prevent the bottom from scorching.
- Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
Notes
- 42-quart stockpot for a water bath. (Same exact one I own!)
- 24-quart stockpot for cooking tomato sauce and other sauces!
- food mill or Hand Blender
